Is it your first time on the snow and do you want to learn to ski? Fantastic idea. Skiing is a sport that is good for body and mind, and represents the opportunity to spend a magical mountain holiday.
Get in direct contact with nature, breathe fresh mountain air and enjoy freedom, fun.
Learning to Ski – There’s Always a First Time
If moving on the snow is a completely new situation for you and maybe skiing scares you a little, the best way to approach alpine skiing is to rely on a ski instructor which – with a few lessons – will gently and progressively make you slide (and stop!) on the snowy slopes.
The ski instructor will be your reference figure in the ski area. It will teach you to move on the snow and the correct technique of alpine skiing with its essential movements. But not only that, the ski instructor will teach you the rules of conduct and safety to be adopted on the track, how to face the slopes but also how to climb a ski lift. Finally, a ski instructor will be your tour guide: he will show you the panoramic points (and more instagrammable) of the area, will tell you the history of the area and recommend the best mountain lodges.
Remember that ski schools receive many requests every day and you may not find the immediate availability of a teacher. Our advice is to book online your first ski lesson.
The Right Age to Learn to Ski – It’s Never Too Late
You can start skiing at any age – whether you’re 30, 40, 50, or beyond. It’s never too late to try something new and have fun on the snow. As long as you’re in good physical shape and determined to learn, you have nothing to fear.
Children may often learn faster due to their natural flexibility and fearlessness, but adults can achieve fantastic results with perseverance and a little patience. Skiing is an activity that, with the right guidance and some practice, can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of age!
The learning process itself is relatively short. With a ski instructor, you’ll pick up the tricks of the trade within a few lessons. Many skiing resorts and destinations offer beginner-friendly slopes where more than 100 instructors are ready to help you start from scratch and gradually progress to even the most challenging runs, some of them will host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Techniques to Learn to Ski – Master the Basics
First of all, it is important to have suitable equipment for your first approach on the snow.
We suggest you rent it for your first few times. The best solution if skiing scares you is to try out a little the equipment. You will need skis, boots, poles and we recommend the use of the helmet.
For your first approach to alpine skiing, pay attention to choose the right skis for you, for example the ski all mountain of reduced length, not necessarily related to your stature. Likewise, choose a comfortable and easy fit boot.
Obviously you will have to wear suitable clothing to protect you from the cold, snow and wind. Layered clothes: a breathable inner layer with an underwear made of mesh and thermal gaiters; an intermediate layer to keep you warm with a fleece or a light jacket and, finally, an external layer with windproof, water-repellent and padded ski jacket and trousers.
Arrive well in advance at your first ski lesson for a good motor / muscle warm-up and to familiarize yourself with the tools: your boots lock your ankles and do not worry if your walk will be awkward. Get familiar with the environment and start moving on the snow with your ski boots on your feet.
Learn to Ski – Move on the Snow with Confidence
Once you feel safe, wear skis and – with the help of the instructor – start your first movements like walking on skis, with one, walking backwards on skis, opening and closing “in snowplow ”, doing “the ladder”, falling and getting up, small jumps on the spot with skis, etc.
Gliding on the Snow – Achieve Smooth Motion
The time has come to acquire the first fundamental skill, namely that of learn to slide on the snow on skis on very light slope. Various exercises will be done that allow you to acquire awareness of your body and the automatisms of the technical gesture. For example, the master will slide you across the track, with torso rotations, back and forth, with different body inclinations, etc.
How to Brake – Control Your Speed on the Slopes
Once you have acquired the ability to slide on the snow on an imperceptible slope, you will have to learn to brake on skis. You will learn to control your speed and stop independently on a slightly inclined slope.
Again there are numerous exercises. You will learn to slide and then brake by doing lo snowplow, or by spreading the ski tails and keeping the tips close together. Gradually, you will learn to brake intermittently, then with your hands on your knees, backwards, with one foot.
Those just stated are the very first movements of alpine skiing. When you have learned to move on the snow, to slide and brake, you will already have a solid foundation for moving to subsequent learning levels.
Going in order, the next steps (to even get to perfection) will be:
- Learn to bend in snowplows
- Bend reducing the opening to snowplow
- Curved with parallel skis
- Bend with stick support
- Curve in defined trajectories (short, medium, wide and in different environments)
- Curve by searching for conduction in defined trajectories
- Curve in conduction using deformation in defined trajectories
- Improvement of competition and free ski
How Long Will It Take to Learn to Ski Properly
How long do you learn to ski? It is difficult to indicate a general timing because learning the skiing technique is very subjective, in which factors such as fitness and motivation affect.
Our advice is to book lessons with a ski instructor and try, as far as possible, that these take place in fairly close times, perhaps within the same week. If we wanted to try to guess the time to learn to ski correctly we would say that it takes 1-2 days of ski lessons to fully understand the technique and after 5-6 days of lessons you are able to face the blue slopes (easy level) alone, safely and having fun.
Learn to Ski Alone – Helpful Tips for Beginners
The question is valid: is learning to ski alone possible? The answer is: no, absolutely.
No, because skiing is a sport that requires the knowledge of some technical fundamentals as well as compliance with some safety standards, such as the behavior to be kept on the track.
An alternative to the ski instructor may be the luck of having a very experienced skier friend who has the patience and knowledge that can transmit the fundamentals to you.
Certainly, however, the initial investment to purchase a package of ski lessons is amply rewarded by the fact that you will really and definitively learn to ski properly, safely and in no time.
So what are you waiting for? You will never know if skiing is for you if you don’t try it. Maybe you will be so good that in time you’ll want to try something more extreme like heli-snowboarding or snowcat skiing, who knows..