My family and I have been skiing in Blue Mountain since we were kids, and it’s amazing how much things have evolved. We used to go up with just a deck of cards and a fireplace, no internet, plenty of snacks, and we’d have fun all weekend. Now, it’s remarkable how the Blue Mountain Village has developed to offer a wide range of retail, restaurants, and activities for kids, and all ages. It’s especially a great thing for new skiers, since there’s so much to do separate from skiing.
Back in the day, if you had a rough morning on the hill, your only choice was to stay inside the lodge with a bowl of chili and a book. Now, you can sit in your own private hot tub in your ski chalet, go for a skate, or do the spa circuit at Le Scandinave Spa – just around the corner from us at Blue View Chalets, about a 2 minute drive.
Learning how to ski can be tough. But it’s extremely rewarding and worth it. There is a lot you can do to make learning how to ski more comfortable. Also, as immigrants, we learned certain things the hard way 🙂
Here’s our guide to learning how to ski for beginners, at all costs and budgets, so that you get the most out of your vacation in Blue Mountain Ontario Canada.
The younger you are, the easier it is to learn. But most ages can learn if you’re healthy. Check with your doctor first if your bones and muscles are strong enough – as long as you can hike, walk and jog, you should be strong enough to ski.
Before you book your first ski lesson at Blue Mountain, do the following prep on a shoestring:
GEAR
Buy a used pair of skis, poles, and boots from Play it Again Sports and put them on in your backyard first to see how it feels.
The reason why you buy used is because new gear is so expensive. Renting for the day is fine but you’ll get more value by using it repeatedly all winter and then trading it in for a cash credit at the end of the season. You can put the credit towards other sports equipment or pocket it.
Part of the awkwardness of learning to ski is getting used to the bulky equipment on your body. Walking in rigid ski boots or heavy skis.
FREE PRACTICE
Go to a local park and for zero dollars, yes, $0.00, you can try a gentle slope on your skis without committing to a big lesson. You can side step up the slope until your legs get the muscle memory of going down a hill.
Visit a local smaller hill the very first time you put on skis. There are so many small hills in the GTA where you can learn, and many kids are learning also. Why is this a better place to learn than Blue Mountain?
Smaller crowds. You’ll be less anxious about running into someone.
Yes the chair lifts are smaller and slower, but you might only have the stamina to do an hour or a few runs, so it won’t even matter. Plus more time on the chair lift means more time to chat with friends, family or friendly strangers.
LEARN
The best ones close to the greater Toronto area would be Glen Eden (Mississauga), Earl Bales park or Uplands Ski Hill.
Splurge on a professional instructor. Don’t have a friend teach you. Just trust me on this one 🙂
PLAN
Plan your ski trip plenty of time in advance to get the best spot, best date and early bird discount.
Buy your tickets in advance or get a ski pass. The 5×7 ski pass is of great value to avoid crowds.
SPLURGE
If you want to splurge, get a ski rental delivery service, book a shuttle or an Uber XL to pick you up. While Blue View Chalets is walking distance to the Blue Mountain Village, it’s a 10 minute walk and you might want to skip it when carrying ski gear. Or, splurge on a Trukii, sled, or wagon with wheels to haul your gear.
Book a private ski lesson either with the local resort or check out local Collingwood / Blue Mountain Facebook marketplace. Use Instacart to get your fridge stocked up before you arrive.
PREVENT INJURIES
ALWAYS wear a helmet.
Don’t go out more than 4 hours if you’re a beginner. Injuries often happen in the last hour when you’re tired but push yourself to get the most out of your lift ticket investment.
Stretch before & after.
Build up your muscles before you go to prevent injuries. Work on your core, legs, and cardio.
THE REWARD
Here is the big question – WHY do people even ski? Is it worth it? Why do people DO this?
When I was growing up, I had no idea why we were being forced to ski. Heavy equipment, cold weather, risk of injury…
Until I was invited to ski on one of the ‘real mountains’, the Canadian Rockies, and I finally understood why people ski.
- FUN – It’s a phenomenal way to build relationships both in the gondola on the chair lift, on the hill and apres ski. The time you spend on the chair lift or gondola is time to chat with whoever is beside you. Skiing culture is such that strangers don’t mind having a chat for a few minutes.
- KIDS – Parents will enjoy the fact that every minute your family is skiing together is a minute you are not on screens.
- SOCIALIZING – People and genders of all ages can spend time together in nature. This is unique from other sports that might be segregated by age or gender. This way, all siblings and parents can do an activity together vs watching one sibling play.
- SCENERY – Choosing runs that are easy enough for you to do that it doesn’t feel like effort – it feels like you are going for a walk in the beautiful forest, but on skiis you get to cover more ground, faster, and therefore experience a vast amount of beautiful mountainous outdoors in a short period of time. Imagine how much time it would take you to hike up Whistler. Now imagine you can view the entire stunning mountain and view in a couple hours.
- FRESH POWDER – Experiencing powder on a mountain feels truly like floating on air. There’s no other feeling of freedom.
- THE FOOD – skiing in the cold burns lots of calories. The feeling of being able to indulge after a long ski day in a lot of carbs, protein & treats is like that post workout meal.
- HOT TUB – Getting into a hot tub at the end of the day will give you a natural dopamine lift.
- GREAT SLEEP – the activity, food, and hot tub will make your eyes naturally close by 8-9pm. You will have some of the best sleep in your life.
- Getting ahead in business. You’d be amazed at what opportunities and deals can take place in a gondola. Like the golf course, fishing boat, airplane or other.
When you’re ready to book your group ski trip with Blue View Chalets, the beginner friendly ski runs we love most are:
- Explorer
- Little Ripper
- Enchanted Forest
- Big Baby
- Mary Jane’s Lane
- Gord’s Grove
- Southern Cross
- Graduate
- Undergrad
- Happy Valley
Happy Valley is often marked as the most beginner friendly long run – that said, since it’s so popular, it might be so crowded on peak days (holidays and winter weekends) that you might want to avoid it. Instead opt for the south base lodge’s group of green runs. It’s a little bit of a walk or drive away from the central village but you might enjoy a quieter run…with less witnesses.
Let us know how it goes!