So you want to learn to ski or snowboard huh! That's great! Snowsports are incredible fun and hook people of all ages for life.
Unfortunately you are also in Australia, and just started looking at the prices for everything, and the rather pitiful amount of actual snow shown on the webcams. Seriously!?! And you thought your $700 surfboard or rack of climbing gear was an expensive investment!
Skiing is often, and often rightly, seen as an elitist sport. Well, let's be honest, it's traditionally the sport for rich white people. These days, with increasing participation from people of Asian descent, it's expanding to become the sport of all kinds of rich people.
Many people who have been skiing or boarding for a long time (such as myself) were lucky enough to be born into a family that enjoys snowsports. What with hand-me-down gear, family contacts and friends, being born into the "mountain world", and learning to strap in as soon as they start preschool, these people have a huge advantage, and often in turn pass the sport on to their kids. Breaking in to snowsports as an adult is difficult compared to that!
Ok first things first, what's the absolute best value deal I can get?
Cross-country skiing. In Perisher they have a free day-use building and groom the trails for you for free. Ski resorts never do anything for free. Hire is generally cheaper as well. And your balance will be excellent if you do later try downhill skiing.
Oh but I wanted to dance with gravity and shred the gnar-gnar and feel the wind in my helmet.
Well then. Get a Thredbo earlybird season pass and National Parks yearly pass. Scour the internet to beg borrow or steal secondhand or ex-rental gear (snowboard gear is probably cheaper). Buy Aldi ski gear or use existing clothing (eg sunglasses instead of goggles, nylon hiking pants, rainshell, climbing helmet). Then sleep in your car/van at the Ngarigo or Thredbo Diggings national parks campsites, shower at the Thredbo gym (your season pass comes with gym membership) and go skiing for as much of the season as you can bear. Don't dine out or drink in bars. This could get your resort skiing down to $30 a day.
Do this for a year or two, then you could look at investing in backcountry gear, and leave the resorts behind.
That's crazy. Any more general tips?
Yep. The old saying goes "It's not that I can afford to ski so much - it's that I can't afford to ski any less!" Amortization of costs is the name of the game. A weekend trip is expensive. Once you have your own gear and a season pass (or backcountry or nordic gear) every day you ski it gets cheaper.
Also, check the weather, check the weather, check the weather. Sunny calm days are always fun. If the weather looks bad (wind and rain are the main deterrants) just stay in and save your money. Blizzards can be fun too if you're into that - it helps to stay on the lower slopes, avoid the windy upper ones, and take indoor breaks to defrost. Flexibility and time help to ensure good weather (see the next question) Check multiple sources and reports, if possible from neutral weather websites. "Offical" resort snow reports always lie. They are bare-faced lies!
And for those sunny days - buckets of sunscreen everywhere. The sun reflects off the snow and you get twice as much radiation as you would at the beach. You might get sunburnt in weird places like your temples, sides of your neck, nostrils, roof of your mouth, etc.
How do I get good quickly?
Do a proper long ski trip. Two weeks minimum, a month is ideal. After a month straight of skiing you'll be better than many people who have been skiing for years, but for only a few days each year.
Do I need lessons?
Yes. You need to get away from snowplows as soon as possible. Your lack of technique is tiring you out, using huge amounts of energy, and holding you back.
Wow lessons are expensive.
Yep. Fun fact, the resorts have a legal monopoly, and the ski/board instructors are getting ripped off as hard as you. Many of them will loose money working a season.
Can't I self-teach? I teach myself to do heaps of other stuff
Well, heaven knows there's a lifetime of information and videos out there on the internet. Most people don't have the self-discipline and confidence to research and do drills over and over, video and analyze themselves etc. If you do, go for it.
Also: check out a phone app called Powow.
What's the number one bad habit beginner skiers have?
Lack of upper-lower body separation. That is, people can't seem to twist at the waist, to keep their shoulders and torso facing downhill while their legs turn under them. This might be because they're initiating turns from the top down by throwing their shoulders, instead of from the bottom up by twisting with their ankles and knees. It's like watching a climber tackle a roof by doing pull-ups instead of twist-locks and drop-knees!
What's the number one bad habit beginner snowboarders have?
Sitting on their arse in dumbfuck places in the middle of the runs. Whoops, I mean, sorry I'm a skier, I can't answer that.
What's an idea for a cheap beginner snow holiday that I haven't thought of?
In Australia: skip the madness of Thredbo, Perisher and Jindy, and stay in Cooma and check out Selwyn Snowfields up north.
In New Zealand: skip Queenstown. Get a cheap flight to Christchurch and hitchhike to Mt Cheeseman. Also check out Roundhill and Mt Dobson near Lake Tekapo, or if you'd like to ski later in the year, the two ski areas on the North Island on Mt Ruapehu, which has a very long spring season almost into November.
In Japan: go in March. Everything's cheaper and uncrowded, and you'll have an opportunity to see the famous cherry blossums (sakura). In early April in Hakuba I essentially had the whole lodge to myself. On the downside, getting around is harder, as shuttle bus services begin to shut down.
Actually to expand on that, if you'd like to go to the premier destinations like Perisher or Queenstown, go in early spring. In spring you are guaranteed snow on the ground, in fact the deepest snow depth is statistically most likely to be recorded on the first weekend in spring. The price of many things drops instantly on the first day of spring. Yes, the snow has started to melt, and it might rain instead of snow, but these are not nearly as big a deal as people think they are. If you're the sort of person that hates the cold, spring skiing is an even better idea.
Ok so I want to buy my own gear. Is the Aldi ski & snow clothing any good?
Yes. Mark the sale date, get up and get in line. If crusty old ski patrollers are using it, it's decent. See also: Kincos lined work gloves.
Are the shell jacket and pants I use for bushwalking/climbing good for skiing?
For sure. In fact they're probably better than most ski gear.
Can I really use sunglasses instead of goggles?
On a sunny day, yep. In a blizzard the $10 Aldi goggles would be preferable.
Where should I rent skiing and boarding gear from?
The further away from the snow, the cheaper it is. Renting from the ski resort shop next to the bottom of the lifts is the most expensive. Rhythm Snowsports in Cooma is often recommended, as they are large but still generally provide good service - and, famously, they are open 24 hours a day in winter!
How do I care for skis and boards?
Store them standing upright, not lying flat. Get a tune once a season. Adi's at Perisher is recommended, or STM Bondi Junction in Sydney.
Or, DIY wax evey few days. Borrow a mate's stuff, or start putting together your own ski toolkit. A starter tuning kit would be an old clothes iron, a block of universal wax ($10-$20), bottle opener (vital), wax scraper, optionally a nylon wax brush, and a blue diamond stone (NOT a file) to freehand touch up the edges. Check out Tognar or Racewax to purchase. Plenty of instructional stuff online. (warning: that article is not serious, it's satirical and humorous)
Driving to the Snow
What's the deal with chains?
You really don't need them often in this state. Especially in Thredbo, my dad has needed them once - ONCE - in an entire lifetime of skiing there. (Helpful hint - they're NOT legally required to drive to Thredbo village)
Get Aldi chains if you want to buy them for your car, or the cheapest ones. Check the fit BEFORE you leave home or the hire place. When required, do them up tight, drive forward for 50m, stop and tighten them. Have a pair of cheap leather gloves and a piece of old plastic or tarpaulin in the car for when you're lying on the ground fiddling around in the wheel wells in the cold mud.
But it's best to car pool with a mate who has an AWD or 4WD, you just save the hassle of dealing with them.
Can I strap skis and boards to the roof of my car?
Yes. Strapped on the roof racks, inside a ski or board bag, is the best practices way to transport your gear.
You can also strap them onto the roof directly, without a bag. However, they'll get covered in salt from the roads and get rusty. Obviously this doesn't matter for rental gear but for your own gear it's important - either get a bag or hose them off with fresh water after a trip.
Can I just fold the car seat forward and throw them in the back?
Yes, but in case of a crash you'll have heavy sharp metal-edged objects flying around. At the least, put them on the bottom and pile all your other bags on top. I've been in a car where skis and boards were wedged on top of the headrests, and going around a corner one slide off and smacked into the neck of the driver.
Do you seriously do weekend trips to the snow from Sydney!?
Yeah I often have. However experience has found taking the monday or friday off and going for three days is a MUCH better (and safer) quick trip.
The drive takes 5 hours if you don't stop. Breaks add 1-2 hours. If you're organised and leave straight from work at 5pm friday you'll be in bed before midnight. Leave at 7pm and you'll arrive at 2 in the morning and it will suck.
Snowboard Specific Questions
Sorry, I can't help much here. Someone should step in, hint hint.
Ski Specific Questions
What skis should I buy?
Skis!? Forget about skis, forget about poles! Spend all your money on ski boots. Spend all of your money on boots.
Oh. Can I buy these on-sale ski boots online?
You probably shouldn't. Unless you've really really done your research, you'll have fit problems. The advantage of buying in a store, is any time you buy ski boots from a ski shop you get a fit guarantee. A ski boot fit guarantee is one of the last great value-added services in existance. Ski boots are seriously seriously customisable, and ski shops and professional boot fitters will do anything to get you a good fit, up to even giving you a new pair of different boots. Walk in two months later with a bit of a sore spot just here and they will agonize for an hour shaping a custom bit of foam to fix it, or grind something or "punch" (custom-remould) the shell.
The one exception - is certain backcountry touring boots, which you may actually want to buy for the features over the fit (and they will be difficult and very expensive to get here).
Speaking of which - should I get Dynafit-compatible boots with the toe and heel inserts?
If you're reading this and you're a member of the Outdoors Club who bushwalks/canyons/climbs etc, and interested in journeying away from commercial ski resorts at all, I reckon chances are that you do want to go that way. Modern Dynafit (strictly speak, "Tech") boots and bindings are good for everything except freestyle/terrain park skiing. And the crossover boots like the K2 Pinnacle or Dynafit Titan are good for that too - you'll just need a different pair of park skis with alpine bindings.
Oh god Dynafit boots are so expensive and hard to find
Yeah, it sucks. But it's slowly getting better.
The boot fitter guy's trying to up-sell me custom foot beds/inner soles
Yeah you should get a pair unless you're very strapped for cash. Only one though - you can put them in other boots. Alternately look for some generic boot insoles with a strong arch that fit your feet. And of course you can try the generic ones that came with the boots. But some kind of personalised inner sole is usually needed for a good fit.
What about second-hand boots?
To be honest, these can work as a budget option, if you can find some and try them on first and be very honest to youself. Especially for backcountry touring boots, the person selling them probably knows their stuff and will be helpful, and reluctant to sell if they can see they're obviously not a good fit for you.
Remember to always take the liner out and fit the shell. You want to be able to fit 1 to 2 fingers between your heel and the heel of the boot shell.
You can buy new liners and footbeds separately - new liners and a new set of custom footbeds are a great option to rejuvenate old boots.
How do I care for boots?
After they've dried, store them with all the buckles done up to the same settings you ski them in.
It's fine to take the liner out to dry them. It's a bit of a toss up which reduces the life of the liner more, taking them in and out of the shell a lot, or leaving them wet and slow to dry by keeping them in. On some boots getting the liner in and out is hard. You could look at boot drying gadgets or experiment with boot horns to help get the liner back in, like those thin flexible plastic chopping mats.
Seriously, what skis should I buy?
Anything made in the last 15 years is ok if they're cheap. They should be between your chin height and your height. Longer (approaching your height) will be slightly more awkward to deal with at first.
One thing to avoid is huge powder skis - these will be long (180cm-190cm+), very wide (110mm+ at the narrowest part) and be severly or fully rockered (that is, "banana" shaped) and are generally specialist skis - unless you are going to Hokkaido or British Columbia for a season, in which case, think about specialising.
However, wider skis are generally the trend. I wouldn't blink at using 90-100mm underfoot in Australia these days.
Don't forget the traditional ski characteristics of flex and stiffness - these are still important, although no-one seems to explain why as well as they explain rocker and sidecut. Used to in a shop you'd check out the skis by planting the tail on the ground, grabbing the nose with one hand, and giving them a bit of a flex with the other. These days people are obsessed with width and rocker, but if you want to pretend you know what you're talking about, try a flex test.
What should I look for in a second-hand ski?
The edges. Check how much of the metal edges are left, if they're very thin, rounded, or peeling off (delaminating) it's a bad sign.
What about poles?
What about poles? They're just aluminium poles. Look in a dumpster or a thrift shop. My dad got mine from the unclaimed lost-and-found in Thredbo at the end of a season, twenty years ago or more. I had to replace the powder baskets ($5) but they're still going.
People who regularly break poles (honestly, I have no idea how!) seem to eventually upgrade to carbon fibre poles. Bamboo poles are hilariously overpriced, but maybe a good option for making your own.
If you wanna be a serious new schooler, ski without poles...Jimmy Sery does and he rips.
Do I need to buy bindings? What DIN release setting range do I need?
Often new skis will come without bindings, or with the option for generic alpine bindings to be included. Check. Yes you'll need bindings. If you're buying skis and bindings from the same shop, mounting should be FREE. If you're asking about DIN, the answer is you want the low range bindings.
Alternately if you buy separately, there is a long-running meme/PSA on ski forums that you should mount your own f-ing bindings. If you're an engineering type you should do this - I guarantee you'll put more care into it than the stoned kid working in the ski shop. Otherwise the fee should be less than $50, preferably much less. Even for Dynafit.
Hitting Booters and Getting Inverted: Freestyle riding and the New School
Or "tricks, flips, rails and stuff" if you had no idea what the hell that header was about.
Not super qualified to answer questions about this. Here's one I can
Which resort has the best terrain parks?
The consensus seems to be Perisher. Get an Epic Pass and a newschoolers.com forum account.
What's with the cotton tall T's and hoodies?
Well they're comfy, make the landings look good, and in the northern hemisphere it's cold enough that they don't actually get wet, you can just brush the snow off.
The Big Bad Backcountry
Do I need to do an avalanche course and get avalanche gear?
For mainland Australia: No not really. Just keep well clear of cornices (never trust a cornice), and don't venture on to steep slopes in the middle of blizzards. And don't camp under either cornices or steep slopes. Get an inclinometer app on your phone so you can spot 30+ degree slopes, and a snow shovel because they're handy.
(TO NORTH AMERICANS ABOUT TO RESPOND ANGRILY: you don't know what you're talking about with respsect to our local conditions.)
Literally anywhere else: Oh sweet flying sphagetti monster god please yes.
What's the difference between cross-country and backcountry?
Cross-country, Nordic skiing, or Nordic touring is a style of skiing that evolved out of traditional Scandinavian skiing, using small, skinny skis, and soft leather or synthetic boots, for travelling long distances on relatively flat snow-covered terrain. For hunting reindeer and Russians and smuggling baby princes etc. These skis are featherweight, and attached only with a small bar or fixture at the toe. They are very fast on the flat, but become awkward and scary on anything more than a slight incline up or down, or with a heavy overnight pack. There is a "classic" style where you slide the skis forward in a straight line, and "skate" style where you use an ice-skating or rollerblading motion.
These days, ironically, it's not usually done "cross-country" but in a ski resort, on prepared and groomed loop trails, for fitness and for racing. Most ski resorts in Australia have a network of cross-country trails they maintain. However, in the right conditions, the skate skiing guys can cover awe-inspiring distances and traverse across the high country national parks entirely in a short time.
Backcountry skiing is also called "touring", "alpine touring", or "radonee" or "rando" if you want to pretentiously use the French term. It evolved more from the alpine tradition of continental Europe, for tackling crossings and passes in the Alps from chalet to chalet. The gear is much more heavy-duty, with stiff plastic boots and wide metal-edged downhill skis (or splitboards), and deals with deep challenging snow, icey traverses, and steep slopes infinitely better. However, it's slower and heavier (and more expensive).
These days backcountry and touring gear is often used for doing downhill runs outside of ski resorts - "earning your turns". However, it's the gear of choice these days for multi-day hut-to-hut and cross-country tours. There's also a zealous rando racing culture, where crazy fit people climb and ski mountains as fast as possible.
Ok then what the hell is "backcountry cross-country gear"
Obsolete. Well, seriously, it's slightly heavier Nordic or cross-country gear. It got heavier, as alpine touring gear got lighter, the technology in the middle and alpine touring gear has pretty much won.
Where on earth does Telemark fit in to this?
Telemark or "tele" is an alternative style of skiing (some might say alternative lifestyle or religion) that branched off from Nordic skiing. These days it's essentially a style of downhill skiing. It comes from the Telemark region of Norway, hence the name. It's distinguished from Alpine skiing, in that the heel of the boot is left free so you do these squat turns with one raised heel, which are at their best extremely elegant, and at their worst, injury causing.
At first glance it's the same as cross country gear, but there's a different. In a telemark binding, although the heel is free there's a stiff resistance to lifting it, that increases the more you bend the boot. This enables the telemark turn (or plain old parallel downhill skiing as well, interestingly).
These days Telemark is realistically a style of downhill skiing. Before Dynafit alpine touring bindings were invented, it was arguably a better option for touring, but it's since reversed and the Tele guys are borrowing technology from Dynafit to improve their tourability.
Why tele? Well, telemark enthusiasts claim - and I quote:
"...Since I started on teles 5 days ago,
- I am happier and more positive
- Life has a new meaning and vigour
- My fitness is off the charts,and I have become aware of tele immortality
- I am thinner, but my thighs (and everything else in-between) have grown MASSIVE
- I am getting more
- I have become wealthier, but care even less about money than before
- I have become aware that my previous atheist ways are breaking down... but that if a chief spiritual entity exists, then he/she/it definitely has free heals [sic].
- I have started to feel sorry for conventional skiers like I used to feel sorry for snowboarders
- It has become important for me to start converting and saving the souls of the above
Is this all normal?"
Well, your mileage may vary. To AT skiers, Tele skiers are just lunatic hippies with broken bindings. Fix the heel, fix the problem I say.
Do I need extendable poles?
Backcountry snowboarders: yes. Everyone else: no.
What about Dynafit/Tech bindings?
Oh god. A rabbit hole. If you want to tour you want Dynafit or Dynafit compatible. Every other touring binding technology is second best - even CAST and the Marker Kingpin use a Dynafit toe. Start reading articles on Wild Snow.
I'm a snowboarder. What's the deal with splitboarding?
It works and it's better than snowshoeing and carrying your board. Full stop. Check it out.
Are Sparks or Karakorams better splitboard bindings?
As a skier I'm not qualified to answer this.
I need skins to tour right? What skins do I need?
Yep. Even if you have specialised touring skis with a fishscale pattern, you'll need skins eventually (ask Nick Tang). Get full-lengths with a tail attachment, cut them straight-sided not curved, and then if you're careful you can save the side offcuts to make a second set of skinny skins. I keep coming back to Climbing Skins Direct. Best price, shipping to Australia, and good enough. Also the prettiest patterns!
What about snow camping?
Well to start, how about doing a camping trip in late September or on the October long weekend and using your summer camping gear to camp on a grassy patch. It's the best plan. Your sleeping mat and sleeping bag are probably the first things you want to upgrade.
Ozbc.net has a good introduction.
Final Questions
OMG I am literally in pain because I am not able to ski/board right f-ing now. Is there a name for this feeling?
Yes. It's called Snow Deprivation Syndrome, or SDS for short.