The ski season is at it’s peak right now. Unfortunately, there are still winter sports myths that are believed by many. Let me, a certified ski-instructor, debunk them for you!
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Since 2014 I’ve been on skis and in 2020 I got my instructor license. I’ve been teaching hundreds of people how to ski (or at least how to get down the mountain safely). A decade of practicing the sport and 4 years of hundreds of hours a year teaching gave me plenty of insight in what winter sports are really like.
I believed some of these myself as well!
Winter sports myths debunked
You need the most expensive gear
When it comes to hobbies, winter sports are some of the more expensive ones. This can deter many people from even trying. The ski passes, the accommodation, the transportation… and then you don’t even have gear yet!
While good gear usually is quite expensive, let me tell you where to save your money.
Thermal clothes are easily at the top of the list! A lot of ski brands offer slick looking, crazy fabric, nice colored thermal clothing… at a price! Trust me when I say dollar store/supermarket thermal clothes work perfectly fine! I bought most of my thermal clothes for around 10-15 euro.
Now a personal one: ski socks. While I absolutely recommend wearing ski socks, not just normal socks, I refuse to buy expensive ones anymore. I tried everything between €3.50 and €35 and I honestly don’t feel a difference.
Some socks claim to have better compression, so you avoid cold feet or have certain fabrics that don’t get wet as easily from sweat, but in my personal experience, I still get cold feet! Better get yourself some heating pads for your feet if cold feet is something you struggle with.
Ski’s and poles are next. Especially if you’re a beginner. If you’re not sure what to buy or if you will even continue skiing, just rent! The top skis will come later when you have more experience and knowledge. And trust me, the cheap poles work just fine, as long as you don’t let them get stuck under the ski lift.
A few things you shouldn’t save too much on are ski goggles, helmets, boots and the ski suit itself. This doesn’t mean you have to break the bank, but the real budget ones might just ruin your experience!
You don’t need lessons, you can easily teach yourself!
Okay, I hear you thinking: “Of course she is going to say this, that’s how she makes money!” Well, it’s partly true, I do make money as a ski-instructor. Duhh, it’s a job. But seriously, take a few lessons.
Obviously not everyone can afford the extra lessons, but in my 4 years experience I can confidently say people need 4 hours on average to be confident and skilled enough to go down all blue slopes comfortably. In my opinion, it’s a great investment.
You wouldn’t want to rock up to the slopes, only to struggle down your first run and call it a day, would you?
The amount of times I have personally felt unsafe on the slopes when working, just because some idiots think they are wayyy better than they actually are, is absolutely mind-blowing. Some of my colleagues actually got injured by people who just heavily overestimated themselves. It’s not just very unsafe for yourself, but it even puts your fellow winter sporters at risk!
No, your 2 youtube videos didn’t work. No, your friends can’t teach you. Just take a damn lesson!
You can teach your kids yourself.
I have several reasons why I very much disagree, and no, it’s not just to sell you a course.
First of all, you might know how to ski, but you don’t know how to teach. I thought I could teach my friends how to ski before I took the instructor course… Well, I didn’t. I didn’t know how to explain why what they did was wrong and I also couldn’t recognize their mistakes either.
Something I see happening a lot is parents looking at our lessons, only for them to copy it exactly wrong for their kid. Take the airplane exercise for example. Or the harnesses the parent holds to prevent the kid from going too fast. You’re pulling your kid all the way back! You’re essentially teaching your kids the wrong things, which will be very hard to correct in the future.
Your kid is more likely to take a stranger’s (an instructor) word. Avoid frustration outbursts and leave it to the professionals!
And lastly, you get to enjoy all the slopes you desire! Trust me, your kid will thank you.
You need ski poles, it’s much easier.
I’d say at least half the people who use poles really don’t need them. For most it’s actually distracting them from learning how to use their skis properly. Don’t even get me started on pole sizes!
As a beginner, you’re doing nothing that needs poles. No, not even your walking. Learn how to walk/push yourself forward without your poles. It will save you so much arm pain!
The only exception is to pull a snowboarder on a flat part… or just leave them, haha!
Snowboarding is harder than skiing
This is obviously different for everyone, but generally skiing is easier to learn. It is, however, harder to perfect. There are more ski instructor courses than snowboard instructor courses!
Snowboarding is (and I personally agree) is harder to learn, but once you get the hang of it, it’s easier to perfect. For some reason I manage to save many more ‘almost-falls’ on a snowboard than on ski’s, even though I have been skiing for 7 more years!
There is an entire feud between skiers and snowboarders anyway. While I don’t see a reason to ‘hate’ on either of the sports itself, I do have some opinions on the practitioners… but that’s a story for another time!
I asked you on my Instagram what winter sports myths you used to believe and I used some of them in this list! If you want to participate in future blog posts, make sure to give me a follow over there!
Now these winter sports myths are debunked, you can go on your ski trip without making yourself look or feel like a fool!
