by Lisa Mercer An Uphill Battle As the proverbial New York City girl, learning to ski was not one of my top priorities. However, when I married a ski fanatic, I decided that I should at least try to ski by my man. Much to my dismay, my first attempt at learning to ski was a disaster. Ironically, at the time, I was a super-fit, weight-training, marathon-running, aerobics instructor. Unfortunately, there was one aspect of my fitness training that had been neglected: balance. First time out, I careened into a ski school class and knocked them down. Funny, I never had that much success when I tried bowling.

For my next trick, I fell face down across the skis of a group of handsome instructors. I just lay there, like a sacrifice to the snow gods. Nobody was interested. I decided that snow sliding was not for me. Fit to Ski Ten years later, fool that I am, I was coerced into trying again. This time, I had begun to teach Pilates and stability ball classes. The difference was amazing. I didn’t fall once! Three years later, I moved to Colorado to open my sport conditioning studio, Mountain Sport Pilates & Fitness. One year later, Dreamtime Publishing published my ski-fitness book, Open Your Heart with Winter Fitness: Mastering Life through Love of the Slopes. The moral of the story: if you are considering ski lessons this season, get thee to a balance training program! Many of the best ski training exercises do not even involve any financial investment. You can practice one-legged squats, and progress to one legged squats with you eyes closed. Stability balls are inexpensive, and they provide great off-slope training. Lesson Plan Keep in mind that it is never a good idea to allow your significant other, friends or family members to teach you to ski. As such, your first task is to find a resort that has the best terrain, as well as the best ski school for beginners. Take a look at the resort trail map. The trails marked “green” are the easiest. A resort that has a significant number of green trails is a good choice. Even better: are these beginner trails isolated from the rest of the mountain? At some resorts, the green trails are also the “exit” trails to the base area. This means that advanced skiers and riders will come rushing past you. At Copper Mountain, Colorado, the Union Creek section is strictly green trails. Since it does not connect to the other sections of the mountain, you need not worry about zooming snow sliders. Most Copper Mountain instructors live for their ski season. Their three-day level buster lessons guarantee that by day three, you will ski green runs with confidence. If not, you get an extra day for free. Many new skiers are more comfortable taking lessons around snow boarders. For these novices, Alta in Utah offers a spectacular learning experience. Ski Magazine voted Alta’s Alf Engen School as one of the top 10 ski schools in the country. The Albion area of Alta consists of predominately green trails. It’s a great place to learn to ski! In addition to finding the best ski school for beginners, you should also keep in mind that certain instructors are more in tuned to working with adult beginners than others. In the appendix to my book, Open Your Heart with Winter Fitness, I list instructors from all over North America who have stated a preference for working with adult newbies. These instructors are participants of the Epicski.com message forum, which consists of over 14,000 ski enthusiasts from all parts of the globe. Epicski is an extremely supportive community. They’ve recently added a Beginner Zone, which contains valuable information about learning to ski. For women, TheSkiDiva.com is another supportive forum. Ski Camp Once you have become hooked on the sport, you might consider enrolling in a three or four day ski camp. The Epicski Academy is a four-day ski clinic that was the brainchild of Epicski’s forum members. The organizers gather the top ski pros in the country, and put together a spectacular event. If you are looking for a women’s clinic, the Okemo Women’s Spree is one of the best in the country. The price of these three-day clinics include breakfast and lunch, making them a great value as well as a wonderful clinic. Finally, an aspiring skier should know how to dress for success. Visit Ski Clothes and click on the clothing guide. Here, you will find detailed information about every type of garment you will need for skiing. Happy sliding! Check out our section on skiing gear for more info on how to prepare yourself for downhill fun!