Where and When Did You Learn to Ski?

[Jerez]

I was almost 30. My mother had taken my son to ski over Christmas break the year before and he begged me to come this time. My first experience downhill skiing was a disaster (below if you're interested) so I wasn't too keen on freezing while throwing myself off a mountain. But I loved my little boy, so I went. My Mom did the best thing. She borrowed a friend's condo and enrolled us all in a ski-week at Vail. I was hooked by day 2. My son won all the "ankle biter cup" races he skied in that year, and we have been sliding on snow together every since. (he's 42 now!)

Disaster
In my yoot, we used to cross-country in the Russian pine and birch forests. On old wooden skis with spring heel bindings in our regular felt and rubber snow-boots. One winter my parents let my sister and me accompany them on their ski outing to Gstaad, Switzerland, where my godmother lived. They went off to shush and left us with a friend of theirs who said he could teach us how to ski. His idea of this was to take us to the top of the mountain (probably not the top, but sure seemed that way to me) on the lift. He pointed down the run (couldn't see the bottom) and said "ski down there." My dutiful older sister obliged and proceeded to flail and crash and fall repeatedly until out of sight, crying all the while. I refused, and had to be taken down in a toboggan. Didn't downhill again until I took my son to Ski Roundtop in PA for a day on the bunny slope prior to his trip West with Grandma.

 

[Jerez]

My Dad and the said "friend" (on the right) five or so years prior in Lech...

 

[scott43]

Mount St. Louis, 1974-ish? I never really "learned", we just "did". I wish I'd had lessons..

 

[pais alto]

A long time ago, on a mountain far, far away...

 

[bbinder]

Gym class at Cornell U --- Greek Peak.

 

[skibob]

A long time ago, on a mountain far, far away...

Darth Klammer? Han Slalom? Luke Snowalker?

 

[Norther1]

Tremblant--2006

 

[pais alto]

Darth Klammer? Han Slalom? Luke Snowalker?

R2Ski2, Ski3PO. I am the droid you are looking for.

Oski-wan Kenoski?

 

[spackler]

Laurentian Ski Hill in North Bay Ontario, in the winter of 1974/5. I was 3 and my first ski instructor was Mike Harris who later went on to become Premier (think Governor) of Ontario. The only part I remember is that you could walk into our backyard at the bottom of the hill.

 

[Philpug]

A long time ago, on a mountain far, far away...

A Long Time ago
On a mountain far,
Far Away....
​

Fixed it for you.

 

[pais alto]

A Long Time ago
On a mountain far,
Far Away....
​

Fixed it for you.

 

[Uncle Louie]

I just went over to Epic and found my post from 2005 posted in the "Do you remember your first day on skis" thread. This was my post;

"Heck Yeah. In the front yard, 5 yrs old, dad gave a push

: and down I went.

Straight line

: .........just missed the Dogwood tree

: .......over the bank made by the snowplow

: (that would be the truck kind) and use the pavement to stop

.......quite quickly.

Dad said I did good. (He had no idea what he had just done)"

The year was 1959

Then a few years later we found out there were places (ski areas) where you didn't have to walk up the hill to ski down......WOW....way cool.

Three years later we found Powder Hill (now Powder Ridge)

Powder Ridge, Middlefield Ct (Powder Hill then)---500' vertical and NIGHT SKIING---wheeeeeeee. Think it was all rope tows then, maybe a T-bar. Loved Dinosaurus to the right---they showed it as a bunch of different trails, It was a glade !

 

[Jersey Skier]

1975 of 76. Davos at Big Vanilla in the Catskills. No lessons, just hockey stopped our way down the mountain.

 

[green26]

I wonder what got into my parents. They started the whole family skiing when I was nine. 3 younger brothers too. Lessons at 90 Acres, a hill that was a driving range in the summer - central NY near Syracuse. That must have been 1963 or so. Rope Toe run on a tractor wheel or something. From there, all the central NY ski areas - Labrador, Greek Peak, Toggenberg, Snow Ridge, Song Mountain.

 

[Bigtinnie]

I learnt on my first day skiing at Thredbo Australia in 1993 (I was 21). I took one two hour lesson that day and embarrassingly haven't had a lesson since.
I've only skied about 50 days since then - with the vast majority in the last 5 years.
I'm now a confident intermediate - happily take on a few black trails at Snowbird.
Looking forward to testing myself at Jackson Hole this coming winter - might even have a lesson!

 

[Posaune]

Christmas 1963 at Stevens Pass, WA. My dad had just built our cabin at nearby Skykomish (which is now mine) and my parents got us all skis for Christmas. We were taken to the hill and basically dropped off. I was the baby in the family (10) and I ended up trying to figure it out on my own since my older brothers took to it more quickly and left me in the dust. I HATED to ski at that point, but my mom wouldn't let me quit. Now I'm the last in my family to be skiing and I won't stop until they pry the skis off my cold, dead legs.

Thanks mom.

 

[Rich McP]

Mt Hood Meadows in '76. My uncle taught my sister and me over three days. I think I was hooked by lunch on day one.

 

[west or bust]

4th grade, I think that was 2003

who can name it?

 

[Jellybeans1000]

Mt Buller, Australia from age 3.

 

[Bob Simpson]

Bridger Bowl, 1967. Northland Skilarks wood skis with edges, Dolomite lace up boots, cable bindings with Marker Simplex toe and a huge smile! Broke the skis by Thanksgiving! Replaced them with Kastle Olympic wood skis with edges. 50th year of sliding down the mountain, and in honor of the recent demise of another well respected ski website, skiing is and always will be EPIC!!