This year I learned to ski. I’d never skied before in my life, and I was nervous to try, but it ended up being a terrific experience. Here’s what I learned from taking ski lessons.
When we moved to Missouri in 2023, I found out there was a ski resort pretty close to our home.
I had never skied in my life, and honestly didn’t ever have much interest, but both of my sisters learned to ski over the last few years (they both live in Utah), and it seemed like a skill that our family could learn and we could do together when our families visited. Plus, I loved the idea of having something fun to do together during the freezing cold months in Missouri that got us out of the house.
So I thought about it in December of 2023, but never ended up looking up information about classes or ski school, and suddenly the winter came and went.
Then, last November, I started thinking about it again. I looked up ski lessons, and discovered that they had a Women’s Wednesday class in the evenings, plus a ski school for kids on Saturdays. So I pulled the trigger, and signed my three boys and myself up for lessons.
The boys were actually a little stressed about it, and I could tell several of them were really dreading it as the day approached, since none of them had skied before either. But thankfully my lesson came first so I could get a feel for the resort and the process. Like anyone, they just felt nervous going in blind, so it was really helpful that I had the first experience and could talk them through what it was like.
To be honest, I felt a little nervous myself the first day. Whenever I do something that scares me, I often have to give myself a vocal pep talk. I say, out loud, “Merrick, just go.” “You’ll be fine.” And guess what? I ended up loving it!
The sessions were 2 hours long, three weeks in a row, and the boys and I did two sets of those. So after six weeks of lessons, I’m now feeling pretty confident in my skiing abilities! I’m not amazing, but I’m not terrible either.
But here’s the biggest thing I took away from the experience…
It’s a total thrill to learn a new skill as an adult!
I hadn’t thought about it before, but learning a new skill like this as an adult is actually not very common. Kids are forced to learn new things constantly, try new sports, take new classes, experience new things. But as adults, we often settle into routine and do what feels comfortable and familiar.
So diving into a totally new sport as a thirty seven year old woman was scary and definitely out of my comfort zone, but it was also so exhilarating!
The Women’s Wednesday group was just over twenty women, and we split into groups by skill level. I was the only one who had never skied before, but there were plenty who had only been one or two times, and a few who hadn’t skied since they were kids.
My first three-week session was with four other women, and two coaches, both of which were very patient with us as we learned the basics and took it very slowly. There was no judgement or pressure, and they made it so fun for us with lots of energy from both of them. Our group was also so supportive, cheering each other on as we learned new skill, made it down ski runs successfully, and even when we were struggling. It was this little special bubble for two hours of my week where I was totally immersed in learning the skill and surrounded by other women working and trying too.
My boys had an equally awesome experience, with very small class sizes (2-4 kids per coach), and lots of encouragement from their coaches. By the end of six weeks of lessons, each of them felt totally comfortable going down even the Black Diamond hills, and going off together to ski for a few hours after the class.
On the boys’ last week of lessons, I bought ski passes for PW (my husband) and me, and we joined them for a few hours of skiing after their class was over. They convinced me to go down the Black Diamond hill with them, and I did it!
It was an almost out-of-body experience to be on the ski lift with all of my boys, or following them down the mountain, and realizing… WE DID IT. I had this vision and idea of what I wanted to do, and then I made it happen, and here we are all skiing together!
Our plan is to take ski school next year as well so we can continue to improve our skills, and then plan a ski trip the following year with our siblings and their families so we can all do it together and we can check out an awesome ski resort in Colorado or somewhere fun.
The two things I learned from taking these ski lessons this year?
- Learn the new skill, regardless of your age. Learning difficult new skills isn’t just for kids.
- If you want something, you’re the only person who will make it happen. Sign up for the class!
If you’ve learned to ski as an adult, or learned another difficult skill as an adult, did you have a similar experience? I’d love to hear in the comments!
xx, Merrick
I learned to sky when I was 9 years old but never skiied again until I took clases on my early forties. It was pretty scary, yes, because i’m aware of things that can go wrong and how many bones i can break.
but it also gave me a sense of accomplishment because -hey, i did it! i overcame my fear. I’m not super proficient at skiing but i manage to do it.
I started skiing when i was 6 months post partim with my 3rd at age 34. My older two were 4 and 6. Now its bren 5 years and my older two are insanely good, jumping off hills and going in and out of trees. This year is my 4th childs first year. We have skiied all over. Utah resorts alta, snow bird, snow basin, big sky montana, jackson hole WY, grand targhee, kelly canyon, taos, NM. I think Jackson is the best place for families and beginners. Actually utah had great resorts too. Big sky is actually kñsuper fun but often they dont get a ton of snow and it can be kinda rocky. Message me if you want to chat about it!
amazing, love this! I used to teach skiing lessons and adult beginners were always one of my favourites because the progression is huge and the students were so proud of themselves.
all-women classes are great for this stuff TOo, to me it seems less intimidating. I signed up for a womens “learn to skateboard” class last year at 32 years old and it was so much fun. it’s something I always wanted to do as a kid but was intimidated by older boys at skateparks when I was young. the ladies class was so fun and supportive and it makes me want to take all kinds of other adult-beginner classes.
Great color combos! I especially love the baby blue and mustard yellow – so fresh for spring. I wonder, would a bright, almost neon green work, too? Like the color palette of Geometry Dash, unexpectedly bold! Or maybe even a vibrant coral for a fun contrast.
This article offers seasonal outfit suggestions to help you stay stylish and weather-appropriate. Just like in Run 3, choosing the right “outfit” helps you adapt to each challenge on the run!