Can you learn to ski before you hit the slopes? I spent a day on a dry slope to get mountain-ready
I've always liked the idea of a ski holiday, but since I've only skied once nearly 10 years ago, I've put off booking one because it's a lot of money to spend the first few days falling over and dodging the more advanced people on the slopes.
This Christmas, a few friends had their hearts set on a ski holiday in Chamonix, and they made it sound like such a good time that I decided to tag along. I quickly realised this was a fairly advanced group, with years of ski holidays under their belts, and I was going to have to take action if I didn't want to spend the entire holiday on my own.
When the opportunity came up to do a day of lessons at The Snow Centre, a dry slope in Hemel Hempstead, I was slightly sceptical that the lessons could be translated onto an actual ski slope, but I was desperate enough to up my skills that I would have tried anything.
Now that I've gone on a proper ski trip a few weeks after my trial run, I'm able to answer the question so many beginner skiers have asked themselves: can you actually learn to ski on a dry slope?
Can you learn to ski on a dry slope?
As I mentioned earlier, I was essentially a complete beginner when I visited the dry slope. The last time I had gone skiing was nearly a decade ago, and I had little to no confidence in my skiing ability. I'm extremely uncoordinated and not naturally athletic.
I had a few hours of group lessons with Warren Smith, one of Britain's leading professional freeskiers, an internationally qualified performance instructor, and a Helly Hansen ambassador. I arrived expecting to hit the slope immediately, but before that, we had a session focused on the biomechanics of skiing
We were given instructions on how to best prepare our bodies for skiing – Pilates, strength training and stretching are all great – as well as practising some of the key movements of skiing to make sure we had that down pat before we started on the slope.
After an hour or so of some skiing theory, it was time for the practical lesson: the dry slope. I was in a group with eight to ten other people with varying levels of skill. Some people had never skied and some people were just looking to fine-tune their technique ahead of an upcoming holiday.
After being so nervous that I wouldn’t be able to pick it up, I found that by going slowly and being patient with myself I was able to pick it up fairly quickly. I found that I was able to turn and conquer the dry slope (very slowly, keep in mind) by the end of the day. I felt confident and ready to take on the challenge of skiing on an actual mountain.
When I went skiing in Val-d'Isère a few weeks later, I had a couple of lessons with an instructor who said she wouldn’t have described my proficiency as beginner, but more intermediate. I still have a lot of room for improvement and tonnes left to learn, but I have enough basic skills to be able to enjoy a ski holiday - which was my only goal anyway.
If you’re like me and want to build your skiing skillset before you head on your trip, I’d highly recommend booking a day of ski lessons on a dry slope before you head over. Having the most basic skills locked down (I didn’t even know how to take skis on and off) before I left meant I had a far more enjoyable skiing experience.
What to wear on a dry ski slope
The dry ski slope I did my lessons on was freezing cold, so I wore all the same bits I wore when I went skiing. I wore head-to-toe Helly Hansen and found the apparel kept me nice and warm but never felt stifling.
These are the products I wore on the dry slope and for my first proper ski holiday if you’re looking to invest in some high-quality skiwear.
Helly Hansen Women's St. Moritz Insulated 2.0 Jacket
Helly Hansen Women's Motionista 3L Shell Pants
Helly Hansen Women's Sorrento 2 Winter Boots
Helly Hansen Women’s LIFA® Merino Wool Midlayer Half Zip
Helly Hansen Rib Beanie
Women's Freeride Mix Gloves
Is it harder to ski on a dry slope?
In my experience, no. The dry slope I practised on was far easier to ski on than a mountain. While the ‘snow’ on the dry slope was icier and slippier, there were fewer people and more instructors, so I wasn’t worried about running into anyone or having them run into me.
I’m sure for more advanced skiers the dry slope is harder to navigate because they’re so used to real snow and longer routes, but for a beginner like myself, it was perfect.
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