How to Ski
Ski your first day as a complete beginner. Put your boots on right, stop and steer with the pizza wedge, link turns down a green run, and ride the chairlift.
You will end up in boots that fit, stopping and steering with the pizza wedge, linking turns down a green run, and getting on and off the chairlift.
Skiing gives you speed control from your first run. Point your ski tips together into a wedge and you slow down, which keeps you in charge on a gentle slope while you learn everything else. Putting the boots on is harder than it sounds, so step 1 starts there.
Skis, boots, poles, and bindings. Rent all of these at the resort for your first few trips. The rental shop will size everything to your height, weight, and boot size. You also need a helmet. Wear it on every run, because a 2015 meta-analysis of recreational snow-sport injuries found that helmets lowered the odds of a head injury (odds ratio 0.58) and that beginners are hurt mainly by falls. You also need a waterproof jacket and pants, warm mid layers, waterproof gloves, goggles, and ski socks. Ski socks are thin and tall. They go up to your knee and wick moisture. Do not wear thick cotton socks. They bunch up inside the boot and give you blisters.
Get your boots on properly
Ski boots feel stiff and tight the first time you wear them. That is normal. Loosen all the buckles and pull the tongue of the boot forward. Slide your foot in and push your heel down to the back. Buckle from the bottom up, starting with the buckles closest to your toes and working up to the top cuff buckles, snug but not painfully tight. You want your heel locked in with no lift. Your toes should lightly touch the front of the boot when you stand straight, but pull back slightly when you bend your knees into a ski stance. Walk around for 5 minutes to check for pressure points. The rental shop can adjust buckles and add padding if something hurts.
Good to know: Lean forward in your boots so your shins press against the front of the boot. This is your skiing stance. Get used to the forward lean before you clip into your skis.
Clip in and get comfortable on flat ground
Find a flat area near the base of the slope. Point your ski flat on the snow and step your toe into the front of the binding. Press your heel down firmly until you hear a click. Do the same with the other ski. Stand with your skis parallel, shoulder-width apart. Practice shifting your weight from one foot to the other. Slide forward and backward a few inches. Get used to how the skis feel on your feet. Pick up each ski and set it down. Walk in a small circle by lifting and stepping your skis in a star pattern. None of this is glamorous, but it teaches your legs how skis behave before you add speed.
Learn the pizza wedge to control speed
Before your first slide, learn the basics of the Responsibility Code from the National Ski Areas Association, which US ski areas post. Always stay in control, so you can stop or avoid people and objects. People ahead of you or downhill of you have the right of way, so it is your job to avoid them. Stop only where you are visible from above, and look uphill before you start downhill or enter a trail. Point your ski tips together and push your heels apart so your skis form a wedge shape, like a slice of pizza. This is the snowplow or pizza wedge, and it is your primary speed control tool for day one. The wider the wedge, the slower you go. A narrow wedge lets you pick up speed. Find the gentlest slope available and practice sliding in a pizza wedge. Push your heels out wider to slow down. Bring them slightly closer to speed up. Keep your weight centered and your hands in front of you. Your poles should point backward, not planted in the snow. Practice until you can stop completely from a slow glide.
Turn by shifting your weight
From your pizza wedge, press more weight onto your right ski to turn left. Press more weight onto your left ski to turn right. It feels counterintuitive at first, but the weighted ski grips the snow and carves an arc, pulling you in the opposite direction. Start with gentle turns across a wide slope. Point your body where you want to go and let your skis follow. Keep the pizza wedge the entire time for speed control. You are not trying to go fast. You are trying to steer. Do not borrow the instinct from riding a bike here, because on skis the pressure goes on the ski away from the turn, not into it.
Heads up: Do not lean back. Sitting back is what fear does to your stance. This actually removes your control because your weight is behind the skis. Push your shins forward into the boots and keep your hands in front of you. It feels aggressive, but it is the correct and safer position.
Link turns down the slope
Combine your left and right turns into a continuous S-pattern down the run. Shift weight right, turn left. Flatten out briefly. Shift weight left, turn right. Maintain your pizza wedge between turns for speed control. Start with wide sweeping turns that cross the full width of the slope. Wider turns mean slower speed and more control. As you gain confidence, tighten the turns slightly. Your goal for day one is smooth, controlled S-turns down a green run. Do not worry about speed.
Ride the chairlift
Before your first ride, watch a few chairs load. The Responsibility Code says you must know how to load, ride, and unload a lift safely, and to ask the lift attendant if you need help, so tell the attendant it is your first time. Shuffle into the lift line with your skis on and your poles in one hand. When it is your turn, move to the loading line and look over your shoulder for the approaching chair. Sit down as the chair arrives, pull the safety bar down, and rest your skis on the footrest. At the top, raise the safety bar as you approach the unloading ramp. Stand up, point your skis straight, and glide down the ramp. Keep your weight forward and let gravity do the work. If you need to turn at the bottom of the ramp, make a gentle pizza wedge turn to one side. Getting off the lift smoothly takes a few tries. If you fall, move to the side quickly so the next chair can unload.
Know when to call it a day
Stop while your legs still have something left, because tired legs are what push you into the back seat that step 4 warns about. When your legs feel shaky during turns or you catch yourself leaning back more than forward, take a break or call it. Expect to wake up sore the next day, mostly in your thighs.
When you can link S-turns down a green run and stop on command, move up to a blue run, as the FAQs below explain. The next skill after that is narrowing your wedge through each turn until your skis finish the turn parallel, and a lesson is where to learn it. Wear sunscreen and goggles on every run, because the World Health Organization notes that fresh snow almost doubles a person's UV exposure. To try the other way down the same mountain, our guide on how to snowboard covers the first day on a board.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
Day one is easier on skis, because the pizza wedge gives you speed control from your first run and each foot moves on its own ski. If you want quick wins on day one, start with skiing. Otherwise pick whichever looks more fun to you, since that is what decides whether you come back for day two.
There is no national figure worth quoting. Day tickets are priced dynamically now, so a weekend or holiday day can cost far more than a midweek day at the same mountain, and at resorts that price this way, a ticket bought at the window on the day costs more than one bought online in advance. Price your specific trip from the resort's own site rather than from any published range, and buy the ticket in advance. Three things bring the number down: going midweek, asking about a beginner package (lift ticket, rental, and lesson in one), and renting rather than buying.
Green circles are beginner runs with gentle slopes and wide paths. Blue squares are intermediate with steeper terrain and sometimes narrower trails. Black diamonds are advanced with steep grades, moguls, or tight trees. Double black diamonds are expert only. Stay on green runs until you can link turns confidently and stop quickly on command, then move to blue. There is no rush to progress.
You can, but take a lesson. Leaning back and mishandling the poles are easy habits to build alone and awkward to unlearn later, because nobody is watching your stance but you. A single 2-hour group lesson gets the fundamentals in place first. Ask whether the resort sells a first-timer package that bundles the lesson with a lift ticket and rental.
Widen your pizza wedge as much as possible and press your edges into the snow. If that is not slowing you enough, turn sharply to one side and aim your skis across the slope rather than down it. In an emergency, sit down. It is not elegant but it works and it is safer than crashing into something at speed. Never aim for trees, fences, or other people as a stopping strategy.
Winter Sports
How to Snowboard
How to Ski
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