Bit of beginner’s pluck and you’ll be up and away!
HOW beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news! I first learned to ski with the Catholic Chaplaincy of Aberdeen University (and, no it wasn’t in the days of wooden skis).
Appropriate really as I spent most of those days up in Glenshee in the Cairngorms on my knees.
Forward fast a few years and I was back, working in those parts and availing of the slopes again – when the roads weren’t blocked by the snow!
These days, I go skiing on the Continent where the snow is much better and I don’t have to negotiate around white-covered rock.
Topflight offers a handy beginner’s guide for those setting off on their first trip to the slopes.
Of course it’s always a good idea to get some basic practice in before your holiday and here we are well served in Ireland with the Ski Club of Ireland, Kilternan and the Glen Resource & Sports Centre, Cork.
Now while you won’t be the best skier on the slopes you should make sure you look like a skier. That doesn’t necessarily mean you shelling out a small fortune. Ask around for a borrow.
It’s wise to hit the ground running... no, the black run is probably for a few holidays’ time and you’ll start on the green or nursery slopes. No, hitting the ground running means picking up your ski gear the evening of your arrival to save time the next day.
Those red and black runs do intersect the blues, your first stop after you’ve mastered the nursery slopes so be careful which gondola you take.
I know this from personal experience having veered onto a black run by mistake in Soll in Austria. Believe me, the gondola operators don’t take kindly to you asking to go back down on the lift and you’ll be told in no uncertain terms to ski back down the mountain.
So now we’re sorted, where to go? Ireland’s multi-award winning ski writer Catherine Murphy has run us through what to expect for the season but no beginner her! For the wannabe skier Topfllght suggests Les Arcs, Meribel Valley and Val Thorens in France; Saalbach, Soll, St Johann and Westendorf in Austria and Arinsal in Andorra. Call 01 240 1700, see www.topflight.ie