Top 10: Tips for First-Time Skiers at Whistler

Even though Fall has just begun, it's not too early to start planning a trip to Whistler!  The ski season typically starts in a few weeks!

For our first trip to Whistler, we wanted the boys to experience skiing, and after a lot of research, we decided ski lessons would be the best option.

For someone who has never been to Whistler and never skied before, it was quite a learning experience.  Thankfully we were traveling with another family, and our friend also did a lot of research and provided me with some great tips for first-time-skiers.

So if you're a first time Whistler visitor and/or first-time skier, here are a few helpful tips:

1. Seriously consider ski lessons if you/your kids have not skied before. The instructors at Whistler are so amazing, and they have the knowledge and patience needed to teach you/your kids the necessary skills. 
2. Family lessons are great for a group of four with similar ability, and it's a fun bonding experience!
3. Get fitted for skis and boots the evening before your ski lesson to avoid the morning rush. Allow plenty of time for rental fitting (for four of us it took almost an hour).
4. If the fitter asks if you want to rent helmets, don't hesitate to say yes.  My kids fell a lot during their ski lessons, and even I fell backwards during our lesson, but luckily we all had helmets on. 
5. Find the closest rental facility near your hotel, so you don't need to lug around all that gear for a long distance.
6. If your hotel doesn't have a ski valet (our hotel, the Crystal Lodge and Suites, has a ski valet), check with the rental facility for a storage locker (most hotels will prohibit you from storing skis in your room).
7. Don't forget to bring water and snacks, or money for hot chocolate and BeaverTails for apres-ski!
8. If you plan to eat at the restaurants on the mountains or just take in the views during a break in or after your ski lesson, make sure you have a ski lock to lock up your skis on the available racks to prevent someone from walking off with them.
9. Consider taking your regular boots in a backpack with you to your ski lesson.  Because you'll most likely use ski boot rentals, which are not specifically molded to your feet, it's very possible that for your feet, ankles, and shins will hurt - and I mean HURT!  The boots didn't seem to affect my kids much, but my feet were killing me (and my friends couldn't wait to rip off their boots either!). If I had known ahead of time how much they'd hurt, I would've taken my regular snow boots up to the mountain with me just so I could wear them after the ski lesson as we explored the mountains.
10. If you feel your ski instructor did a great job, don't hesitate to tip (tipping isn't required, but it's a welcome gesture).

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Visit Whistler: Whistler Blackcomb Family Private Ski Lessons

Planning our family's trip to Whistler was really fun, and I was extremely excited once we arrived in Whistler, but one thing on my mind kept me a little nervous - ski lessons!

I arranged for half-day Family Private Ski Lessons at Whistler Blackcomb for myself and my three sons.

None of us had skied before, and for me personally - the thought of falling and getting hurt, or simply making a fool of myself, was constantly on my mind.

However, after meeting our instructor, Ben, who is one of over 1,000 instructors at Whistler Blackcomb collectively teaching as many as 250,000 lessons a season (including lessons in 26 different languages), I was immediately put at ease.

His enthusiasm for the sport and the priority on safety was immediately apparent.  After a quick chat, he checked to make sure all of our ski boots and helmets were on properly, and attached Flaik GPS trackers to the boys, just in case one of them wandered off somewhere during the lesson.

We then rode in the Whistler Village Gondola and got out at the first stop.

We picked a spot as our base, and began our lesson.

The area quickly filled with others taking lessons.

During our lesson we pretty much learned the basics - how to put on our skis, how to glide on one ski, how to slide, how to go up a hill, and how to stop by placing our skis in the shape of a pizza.

For the kids, Ben used a lot of visual cues and terms that were engaging and easy for them to understand - "get small like a mouse," "walk like a duck!" - the visual cues really helped me as well! We also came up with a saying to yell whenever someone fell - "Man Down!"

Bend your knees!

Small like a mouse!

Man down!

I admit - being in a private group with my kids, I couldn't resist telling my kids "Listen to Ben!" and "Be respectful!" while repeating his instructions.  But after a while, I realized I was probably impeding the lesson more than helping, so eventually I backed off and let Ben do his magic.

There were periods where my kids were crying or not listening, which made me feel bad for Ben, but he said it's normal - patience is key!

And some treats never hurt!  He would give my boys Fuzzy Peach gummy candies whenever he felt they needed them.

Time and treats are exactly what my youngest needed!

My youngest was ready to give up

At one point he took off his skis and was just not willing to try anything.

He kept seeing my other kids fall, and he didn't want to fall himself.  For a while he just sat on the side and watched, while my kids and I continued with the lesson.

Fortunately, midway through the lesson we took a hot chocolate break.

Hot chocolate break

After sipping hot chocolate, and with a little encouragement, my youngest son later got on his skis, and worked with Ben.  Ben used a special clip attached to the front of his skis to help with the pizza stop.

I was very happy that everyone in our group participated.

There were quite a few falls (I probably had the worst fall - but thank goodness for helmets!), but there were also a lot of laughs, and even though we only had a half day lesson, we all accomplished something.

Ben commented how I was doing well and I needed to work on equally balancing my legs when it came time to stop, and I really just needed to get the fear of falling out of my head.

My oldest son did wonderfully.  He could easily glide down the hill on his own - he just had to work on how to stop as well.

If we had a full day lesson, perhaps we would have made it to the bunny hill with the magic carpet, but because of the vast age, learning, and ability differences, Ben had to work with the kids individually to get them to focus.

I was simply impressed with how wonderful Ben was with each of us, adapting the lesson to each person.

Speaking of adapting - Whistler Blackcomb offers adaptive lessons for those with physical and cognitive disabilities, allowing all guests to enjoy winter recreation.  I had considered adaptive lessons for my oldest son, who has an autism spectrum disorder, but ultimately decided we should experience the family private lesson together.  

I am so glad our family took ski lessons.

Even though we still have a lot to learn, we had a great experience, and that's simply because of Ben!

He was supportive, encouraging, patient, kind, and simply an awesome instructor!

For more information on the types of lessons Whistler Blackcomb offers, click here.

A big mahalo to Whistler Blackcomb for hosting our ski lessons, and to our amazing (and patient!) instructor, Ben. Gratuity was paid on my own.

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