Skiing on the slope, sounds interesting, doesn’t it? as you know Skiing is one of the popular winter sports that people enjoy every year. This is something that people want to experience if they haven’t. But it requires skills to perform at a high level. Just like many other activities, this one also takes a long time to master. With patience and a lot of practice, you’d be able to skate on the ice well.
If you’re wondering whether learning to ski is hard or not, then this article is for you. I will be posting every detail that is required to start learning ice skating. Ice skating might look difficult at first, but it is not impossible to learn for the average person. Read on the article to find out your queries on ice skiing.
Skiing is not that much hard but it seems difficult in the first few laps but once you get comfortable on it, it becomes very easy and a lot of fun skiing. Balancing on skis is the main problem many skiers face but you can overcome it with a little practice. With the help of a good trainer, one can learn skiing pretty easily.
There are a lot of variables in answer to this question, skiing will be much easier for some people and might take a far long time. I will be talking about these factors in the article.
Further, In the article, I am going to share a case study of the toughest sports and which sports are easier and harder than skiing. Also, at last, I am going to share some tips I learned from my experience and by calling many ski instructors.
So, Stay Tuned!
Is Skiing hard?
Yes, learning skiing is a little hard and might be difficult for you, if you’re new to it. However, many of us face a difficult time learning new sports and over time, we can make them look easy. Skiing mainly requires balancing which you tend to maintain while learning to drive a bicycle.
I guess that you all would know how to ride a bicycle and how hard it was in the beginning when you first tried to bicycle. The same is the case with Skiing, the first few laps are the most difficult and boring but after doing 2-3 laps, it will become easier for you to pick up the speed and it actually becomes a lot of fun.
Seeing an expert skier can make it looks effortless skiing down a steep slope at high speed, but every skier once was a beginner.
As with any new skill, you must learn to walk before you fly. To try this sports activity, you might experience sore legs, frustration, and exhaustion. But by facing these parts, you will experience a great feeling of performing an adventurous sport.
Case Study
According to a study done by ESPN.com – comparing 60 of the most popular sports to find the toughest sports, Boxing was found to be the toughest sports with Alpine skiing being at the 11th position, Freestyle skiing at 25th, and Nordic skiing at the 30th position.
According to that study, Skiing is much easier than Ice hockey (Rank 2), Football (Rank 3), Basketball (Rank 4), Tennis (Rank 7), and harder than Lacrosse (Rank 13), Speed Skating (Rank 17), Cycling (Rank 20), Surfing (Rank 23).
The sports were ranked based on polling a large number of people, as you can see skiing is easier than many sports played very commonly in the United States. So, you don’t need to worry about it that much. It is easy, although it takes some time to get better at it just like any other sports.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Skiing?
On average, it takes around 2-3 laps for an average person to get comfortable on the skis and learn the very basics, it will take 3 to 5 days to pick up the skills and reach the intermediate level, and about more than 30 days to actually master skiing.
The process of learning skiing is subjective, but people who do not grow up experiencing snow, often find a battle with learning to ski.
For some people, it may look like a scary and daunting task to learn skiing, but if you want to feel the fun of skiing, don’t let your fears overcome you. Everyone has their own pace of learning, and this learning period depends on different factors. The exact time of learning will depend on these factors.
Factors affecting the pace & ease of learning to ski
To ease your fear of going skiing, I have mentioned some factors below that influence the pace as well as ease of learning to ski:
Friend Coach or Professional Trainer
Whether it’s your friend, a professional trainer, or a member of your family, with these people you will learn ice skating fast and easily. I’m telling this with surety because I once learned skiing from one of my friends, and it was more comfortable to learn it.
Time You Spend On Practice
Spending more time on any new skill will make it faster to learn. If you eagerly want to learn ice skating, you will spend more time learning it. This varies from person to person, some will take more time in learning, some will less. But in any way, you’ll end up enjoying the snow while doing ice skating.
Prior Sports Experience
If you’ve ever tried any other balancing sports earlier in your life, then you will find ice skating easier to learn. You’ll improve the pace of learning as you already know the difficult part i.e. balancing. Prior experience with sports like roller skating or rollerblades will make you able to learn ice skating pretty quickly.
Is Skiing Harder Than Snowboarding?
Skiing is initially easier than snowboarding because in skiing, you can move your both legs independently and you travel with your body facing the same way as your feet. But in snowboarding, having both feet attached to a single board can be difficult and unsettling, this takes more time in getting used to.
Controlling skis is easier than snowboarding while balancing is where most people face problems. It is easy to learn the basics of skiing but it is much harder to actually master it.
Ski poles are very beneficial when trying to traverse flat terrain or when getting on and off lifts. But snowboarders can only rely on gravity and will need to unclip a foot from bindings to move on flat ground. People’s thinking will differ but I think both are equal in learning in my opinion while snowboarding is a little harder according to me.
Tips to Learn Skiing Quicker
Here are some cool tips or you can say tricks to learn skiing even quicker.
Do Some Research Before You Depart
Do some research for the particular sport you’re thinking to learn. As every sport comes with some safety rules and other things that you need to remember before stepping into one. Search the things about skiing that you need to know and remember them before starting to learn.
At the bottom, I have attached some great videos on skiing that almost every person going skiing should watch.
Get Properly Sized Skis
With buying ill-sized skis, you will find difficulty in learning skiing. Besides that, it will be uncomfortable for you. I suggest renting skis rather than buying if you just want to do it for entertainment and don’t have any plans to do it every Winters.
Consider watching this video to choose the perfect size for your skis:
Avoid the fear of falling
With the willingness to learn, you need to avoid your fear of falling on the hard surface. Fears will eventually come to your mind at that time but think of it as the floor is made up of wool and nothing will happen if you fall. So, go slow, take time, keep your mind positive, and fearless.
Walk with your Skis for Few Minutes
In the beginning, just do a normal walk with your skis. Make yourself comfortable with them, this will help you balance them. Do it for at least 10 minutes before starting to ski.
Skiing Instructors
I highly recommend getting instructions from a Ski Instructor, it might cost some money but trust me it is worth it. Skiing Instructors are highly experienced in teaching skiing to complete newbies and they will teach you the basic stuff and will tell you the mistakes you’re doing very quickly. It will be really hard for you to learn skiing completely by yourself.
Getting Started With Skiing
While you wear your skis, you’ll start to experience a different feeling. That feeling would be of starting something new. Skiing is not that much tough a sport, you can get the hang of it within just a few days of practice.
Getting started with skiing will make you feel daring and fearless, as soon as you avoid your fear. With all the practice, you will become perfect at skiing. And eventually, you’ll go to do skiing every winter and enjoy skiing every year.
Here are some helpful videos that I suggest every person thinking of ski should watch.
