New to SLC. Learning to Ski

[katzenbach]

Just to keep you all up to date ... I'm set to ski Brighton tomorrow. They seem to have a pretty good beginner's lesson deal. $95 gets you a lift ticket, rental & 4 hours of group instruction. I'll let you know how it turns out. Right now I'm stoked!!!

Based on how things go, I plan to start looking for equipment right away. It turns out that one of the guys I work with is a weekend instructor at the Park City resort. He recommended looking on KSL.com for used beginner skis. His thought is that, whatever ski I start out with, I'll probably want to trade in pretty quickly, so used makes more sense. Also, he recommends investing my $$$ in properly fitted, quality ski boots. Any recommendations?

Thanks for all the help!

[easternerDC]

Originally Posted by katzenbach

Just to keep you all up to date ... I'm set to ski Brighton tomorrow. They seem to have a pretty good beginner's lesson deal. $95 gets you a lift ticket, rental & 4 hours of group instruction. I'll let you know how it turns out. Right now I'm stoked!!!

Based on how things go, I plan to start looking for equipment right away. It turns out that one of the guys I work with is a weekend instructor at the Park City resort. He recommended looking on KSL.com for used beginner skis. His thought is that, whatever ski I start out with, I'll probably want to trade in pretty quickly, so used makes more sense. Also, he recommends investing my $$$ in properly fitted, quality ski boots. Any recommendations?

Thanks for all the help!

Have fun. I second what your friend is and a properly fitting boot is the most important thing you can buy. Make sure you go to a good boot fitter. You definitely do not want to go to one of the box stores and just get what looks like it would be a good boot. I went to Christy Sports at Snowbird at the beginning of this season and they did a really good job and I know have really well-fitting boots. I know there are some other places in SLC that people have raved about, just have to look up the names.

[cinnabon]

Originally Posted by katzenbach

Just to keep you all up to date ... I'm set to ski Brighton tomorrow. They seem to have a pretty good beginner's lesson deal. $95 gets you a lift ticket, rental & 4 hours of group instruction. I'll let you know how it turns out. Right now I'm stoked!!!

Based on how things go, I plan to start looking for equipment right away. It turns out that one of the guys I work with is a weekend instructor at the Park City resort. He recommended looking on KSL.com for used beginner skis. His thought is that, whatever ski I start out with, I'll probably want to trade in pretty quickly, so used makes more sense. Also, he recommends investing my $$$ in properly fitted, quality ski boots. Any recommendations?

Thanks for all the help!

You could go used, but the way they make the skis these days you will likely progress very quickly to a lower-mid intermediate level, depending on how athletic you are. I would just buy an intermediate ski after maybe renting the first 3 or 4 times you go. With a forgiving intermediate ski, you shouldn't outgrow it too quickly.
I also agree about good fitting boots - very important!

[Maggie McGuire]

You have chosen the best place in the world to enjoy skiing. My suggestion: rent your gear to be sure you like the sport. Take a group lesson or two. You will learn how to fall, get on and off the lift and the rules of the slopes. Very Important!

Skiing can be expensive so stick to the Cottonwood canyons in the beginning. They cost a little less. You can buy discount lift tickets at the ski shops located in the valley. And remember it will take time. Don't expect too much of yourself on day one. Once you get the hang of it, you will be so delighted. Nothing is quite as nice as a good day on the slopes. Maggie

[SLCPUNK]

I learned to ski at Brighton on my 29th bday and have been hooked ever since. The best part about living in SLC is sneaking off to ski in the middle of the week.

[katzenbach]

Thanks for all of the feedback & ideas.

Here's my report from my first ski lesson at Brighton.

First of all, I think I picked the best day of the whole season. Tons of fresh snow, warmer temperatures & even a little sunshine. The whole weekend was perfect.

I started off with the very basic class, getting on & off the lifts, snowplow, etc. It was a little basic, as I have skiied a couple of times, although nowhere as great as the SLC resorts. But it was a good refresh & kept me from being a hindrance to my fellow skiiers. Parker, one of the ski instructors there, did a great job & was a really nice guy.

I then spent about 4 hours on the green run off of the Majestic lift. The one problem for a beginner at Brighton is that is really only 1 fairly long green run. I also skiied a couple of the blue runs, which is the point where I began to wipe. Nothing serious, but I obviously need to keep taking lessons.

I'm going to try Alta this weekend, based on Alex's comments. Hopefully, Alta will have a little greater variety of runs that I can stay vertical on!

Thanks.