It’s never too late no matter how old you are and there’s no better time than now to learn to ski or snowboard. Two of our writers went out on their own paths this season in pursuit of doing just that, and, in the process, gained insight and experience into the cult of snow-sliding fanatics.
Working for this magazine, I’d long been inundated with notions of “the stoke.” I’d googled ski terms and jargon, sometimes without answer. I’d even found myself amongst skiers watching Warren Miller ski films. Each time, there was this nagging: I wish I knew how to ski.
Last December, I threw myself out there and asked to write this article. I knew most mountains offered a three-lesson Learn to Ski program, and I chose 49° North as the place I wanted to learn. I bought a good pair of gloves from the Spokane Alpine Haus, snow pants on sale at REI, and headed up the mountain.
First off: the folks at 49° North know how to take care of a newbie. Under the 1-2-3 Learn To Ski program, a lift ticket and all the gear rentals you’ll need are included. It’s a come-as-you-are (but dress warmly) scenario. I checked in at their new, domed Experience Center, where I was fitted in rental boots and handed skis and poles. I then walked clumsily to the flagged learning area at the bunny hill, carrying my skis while the real skiers hustled into line for the chair lift. (Having gotten stuck after clipping into a bike pedal before, I damn well wasn’t going to clip into my skis until someone gave me instruction.)
My instructor was named Hana, a lifelong skier from the Czech Republic. She began by asking what the goals were for each of the adults in my small group lesson. One wanted to keep up with his partner who skied every weekend. I wanted to learn to ski alongside my son. We began by walking in circles with one ski on one foot. Though comical looking, it felt doable. And that was the emphasis throughout the lesson: always ski in control. Seemed like a good motto.
I wasn’t totally new to sliding on snow, as I grew up snowmobiling, but having a ski on each foot felt totally awkward. I was jealous of the two-year-olds on the bunny hill sliding between their parents’ skis, wondering if this sport would ever feel natural starting at 33.
At first, I couldn’t even control my “pizza” wedge. But Hana was calm, encouraging, and gave expert pointers for someone like me who was a logistical/visual learner. After a form correction, I was able to stop when intended on the next run down the bunny hill. Hana tutored all three adults both individually and as a group during our hour-and-a-half lesson. She reminded us that it was not a competition, and that we would take the fundamentals we learned on the bunny hill to all future terrain.
From crossing my tips to making my first fluid turns, it was a satisfying morning of progress. My second lesson was the next day, as 1-2-3 lessons operate weekends only, so I drove the hour and change from southwest Spokane through Chewelah and up the mountain again. We were blessed with ice, so my day two instructor, Nicole, taught us how to set an edge and how to finesse a wedge turn into something more parallel. After the lesson, I was starving. I pounded a basket of chicken strips and fries from the lodge’s “Yard Sale” eatery and made my way down the mountain, already feeling a bit at home within this new world.
Lesson three took place a few weeks later, and I’m pleased to report that most of it occurred on Chair 3. After a warm-up on the bunny hill, Hana taught me how to load the chair lift and gave real-time pointers and drills as I navigated my way down the hill. In just three short lessons, I had my ski feet under me. I know I have a lot more to learn and am already eyeing 49’s all-women clinics later this winter.
It will be a while until I’d call myself a skier. But a little bit of that stoke has taken hold. As I took my lessons, my husband gave our five-year-old his first ski tutorial on the bunny hill. Thanks to 49° North covering the logistics of learning, we’re both on our way to nailing the basics.
Lisa Laughlin is the managing editor of Out There Outdoors. She hopes to do a little night skiing with her brother this winter.
