Learning to Ski as an Adult: Yes, You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

I tried something new during our family vacation. I learned to ski. And I have to say, it was a lot of fun learning something new.  As a kid growing up in southern California, I did not have many opportunities to play in the snow, let alone ski. I have always wanted to learn, which is why I signed up for skiing lessons during our family’s winter escape to Park City, Utah.

I felt like a fish out of water preparing for the trip. I didn’t even know what to wear. But after a few Google searches, I learned the importance of a dressing in layers and had a suitcase stuffed to the brim with ski clothes. The thing that surprised me most was that it isn’t always cold on the mountains. When the sun was out or when I was on a lower elevation ski slope, I didn’t really notice the cold.

I didn’t own ski gear (and quite frankly wouldn’t even know what to buy) which is why I rented my equipment from Aloha Ski Rental. This turned out to be a smart choice because I received equipment that was the right size (instead of a hand me down), was in new condition, and I didn’t have to pay airline baggage fees to get my equipment there. My ski instructor even commented on the type of skis I received. Apparently, they were a newer model than what he had.

Walking in ski boots ended up being more challenging than learning to ski. I felt like I had feet made of lead while clomping around in those things. But I learned that you can leave the boots unbuckled when not skiing, which makes it a little easier to move around. My ski instructor was also nice enough to teach me the basics, like how to attach your boots to the skis, the right way to put your hand through the loops on the poles, and even how to hook my skis together for easy carrying. It was really nice having someone to teach me the basics so that I didn’t have to figure it all out on my own.

William (Bill) Goldberg was my instructor at the Deer Valley Resort and I can’t say enough good things about him. Bill has been skiing for over 48 years and was patient, funny, and a great teacher during my half day private lesson. I probably learned more in that private lesson than I did over the next two days (when taking group lessons at other resorts). Deer Valley’s seasoned staff are what make the resort stand apart from the competition and you can tell that the employees enjoy their jobs. Then again, who could be unhappy about getting to spend all day in such a beautiful place.

I spent most of my first day learning the basics on the beginner hills. As an adult, it was a bit humbling to see children my son’s age zip right by me. But by the end of the day, I was feeling pretty good about things. It was interesting to see how the children approached skiing compared with the adults. The children were excited and seemed fearless. In contrast, most of the adults were timid or downright scared when trying to ski for the first time. But as soon as the adults calmed down a little, they were skiing like champs in no time. It is funny how fearless our children can be when learning something new.

The beginner hills had a neat conveyor belt system (that they called the magic carpet) that would bring you to the top. The actual ski lifts can be intimidating to a first timer, so it was nice to have this simple system on the beginner slopes. We started off by learning to snowplow (so I knew how to stop) and then moved on to turning. Soon enough, Bill took me over to a ski lift and showed me how to board without making a fool of myself. I’m proud to say that I never fell while getting on and off the chair lifts.

At the end of my lesson, I was exhausted but happy. I learned a lot in a short period of time and had a lot of fun along the way. That night, I soaked in the hot tub in our room, which did wonders for my sore muscles. But the short lived pain was well worth getting to try something new. Taking a private ski lesson is the way to go if you have never skied but want to learn in a comfortable environment. It was much easier to learn the basics one on one because your instructor can tailor the lesson to how quickly you are catching on.

I was really impressed with the friendliness of everyone I met at Deer Valley, but my instructor, Bill, was a scholar and a gentleman. I am glad that I had a chance to spend the day on the slopes with him. Learning something new isn’t always easy, but with a good instructor learning can be a lot of fun.