We are hoping to plan a ';learn to ski/snowboard'; trip for the week after Christmas. Which has the better conditions, typically, for that time of year? Many have recommended Showshoe but we are driving from Nashville and that seems a bit too far with kids. Thanks!
Sugar Mountain or Winterplace at Christmas?First off, Ober Gatlinburg in Tennessee would be a lot closer to you. I%26#39;ve never skied there, but I have been on their concrete Alpine Slide (which is a bit like a bobsledding experience). It seems like it would be okay for a beginner, although perhaps a little small. But hey, it%26#39;s close.
I would definitely go with Winterplace of the others you have mentioned. Winterplace has much better snow making equipment and they%26#39;re not afraid to use it. That will be very important at Christmas. Most importantly though, they have plenty of nice wide beginner slopes. Every time I have ever taught a new skier, I have always favored Winterplace.
Undoubtedly, Snowshoe would have better weather for snowmaking and would be a great choice for skiing in general, but beginners won%26#39;t need all of those extra trails that Snowshoe offers.
Sugar Mountain or Winterplace at Christmas?thanks so much. It looks like we are on our way to WVA!
Keep in mind that even Snowshoe won%26#39;t have all their slopes open during that time of year. I estimate that you%26#39;ll have between 25% to 75% of the slopes open depending on how mother nature behaves, if you go to Winterplace. Sugar and Beech in NC were actually closed at Christmas time semi-recently due to warm weather.
Since you%26#39;re driving, you could use Snowshoe as your backup plan. I don%26#39;t think waiting another month or so before booking hotel reservations would hurt much as far as availability since they won%26#39;t be at capacity for Christmas skiing. Of course, with enough notice, you can just cancel your reservation and rebook with most places.
Oh, and beginner slopes will be the priority to open first for Winterplace, so don%26#39;t worry about them having enough of those. :)
If you have people that haven%26#39;t skied before and can afford it, personal lessons would be better than group lessons. Also, I%26#39;m NOT a big fan of teaching beginners something called the ';snowplow';. Snowplowing slows the skier down, but it also wears you out super fast. Sure, it%26#39;s easier for a beginner to turn using a snowplow, but I%26#39;ve seen way too many people that are reluctant to stop using it as a crutch and start to learn real skiing. The faster you can learn a standard turn, and to ski under control, the more fun you%26#39;ll have across your skiing ';career';. The only time I ever use a snow plow is if I want to slow down just a touch as I approach the ski lift line.
I usually start a beginner on a real gentle, real wide slope. Their goal is to go down the slope as slow as possible by making hairpin turns on the left and right sides of the slope. They should traverse left to right as slow as possible on the first run down, actually going uphill a little if necessary to stop before making the next hairpin turn. If you have beginning children, please note that the edge of the trail on the very very right as you look up the slopes called ';Highland Run'; has a nasty drop off on one side where the woods are at the top half. I have taught a beginning adult on that slope before due to it being less crowded, and was never worried due to the ultra slow speed I had him going, plus I was there with him and it was one on one training.
If a beginner can master this left to right traversing of the slope with hairpin turns at the end, even if it takes them an hour or two (literally), their 2nd and subsequent runs down the slopes will be SO MUCH more enjoyable because they%26#39;ll be in control and feel a lot more comfortable. Especially when compared to the snowplowing beginner, who%26#39;ll probably never get the hang of it on the first day. Also, by practicing hairpin turns, they%26#39;ll be that much closer to being able to do a normal stop, which is merely a quick turn of the skis to do sort of a half hairpin turn in order to orient the skis so that they%26#39;re perpendicular to the downhill direction, then sliding to a stop using the uphill edges of the skis a bit to dig in.
Well, that lesson was a freebie. I%26#39;ll have to charge you next time. ;%26gt;
Speaking of doing the hairpin turns, you turn by putting your weight on the outer foot and angling your ski inward. You gently lift up on the inner foot, actually lifting the ski up a little off the snow if it feels helpful. So if you were making a left turn, you%26#39;d put your weight on your right ski while angling it so the left edge of your right ski is downward and the right edge of your right ski is upward. Then you%26#39;d do the same with your left ski, but you%26#39;d be more interested in simply lifting it up and pointing it in the correct direction. A right turn would be just the opposite. I think all the rental skis these days have the newer hour glass shaped skis, but if they give you a choice of paying a little bit more for a ski that is more hour glass shaped and they claim it helps you to turn better, I%26#39;d spend the extra money on it. It%26#39;s easier on beginners, and it%26#39;s easier on folks trying to teach beginners, since you probably won%26#39;t be going straight down ';Nose Dive'; in a tuck or racing your brother down ';Plunge'; like I%26#39;ve been known to do on occasion when the slopes weren%26#39;t crowded. :) BTW, I REALLY REALLY don%26#39;t recommend anyone going straight down those slopes. Unless you%26#39;re a major expert, you could suffer life threatening injuries really easily, or crash into someone else and cause injuries to them.
Remember, always ski in control and don%26#39;t take on a slope that stretches your abilities past your skill level. If you can ignore the drop off, ';Highland Run'; would be the best beginner slope, followed by ';Panorama/Glades';, then ';Country Roads/Wanderer'; (which will have slightly higher traffic and be skinnier). Later, for added scenery, you could try ';Ridge Runner/Buttermilk'; followed by one of the two I just mentioned. You%26#39;ll have to ski down ';Milkshake to get to ';Ridge Runner%26#39;s'; lift and you should have good control on your turns before heading down that slope. ';Snow Field'; is mainly a blue diamond because it is very very narrow with no opportunity to turn at all. It is slightly uphill at the bottom though, so many people go straight down it in hopes of not traipsing up the uphill part.
Okay, mail your ski lesson payment to... just kidding. Have fun! :)
Snowshoe is wonderful but too far a drive from Nashville. We drove from HSV without kids and it was tough.
Do not go to Gatlinburg...not good for beginners. Only one slope, too narrow and too crowded.
Appalachian is the best for true beginners. SkiSugar and SkiBeech are great too. Both OK for beginners. All 3 are in Boone/Banner Elk and only about 4.5 hours from Nashville.
We%26#39;ve been to them all. We%26#39;ll be at Sugar the week after Christmas this year.
How is Wolf Ridge? We are heading out for Friday, but there isn%26#39;t much open yet. I%26#39;m bringing 2 beginners and 2 average skiers.
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