Convincing a SO to ski

[michpc]

Anyone have advice on convincing a SO to try skiing?? My BF claims to love winter, but doesn't do any winter sports!

Problems: he says it's "too expensive", and in addition to the expense of rentals and lessons, he has no appropriate snow gear (I've been scouring Tramdock, but I think he might get pissed if I give him ski gear for xmas!).

But we live in different cities and I want to spend a lot of weekends skiing this season, so I'm hoping to convince him to at least give it a shot...

Any experiences??

 

[Christy]

If expense if one of the biggest factors can you look for an especially great beginners package deal? I am actually not sure I would have started when I did except that I read a newspaper article about a local resort that offered 3 3-hour lessons, 3 lift tickets, and 3 days of gear rental for $99. The fact that I paid for the package of 3 up front kept me coming back for the second and third lesson, even though I was worst in my group on the first day.

 

[SkiNurse]

Erm, wouldn't be an issue for me cuz one of the criterias I have is that they have to ski AND at least as good as me!:ROTF:

 

[michpc]

Erm, wouldn't be an issue for me cuz one of the criterias I have is that they have to ski AND at least as good as me!:ROTF:

haha! We met before I got back into skiing...

 

[jaydog]

Guys love a challenge...maybe you could tell him you think he's scared he won't be able to ski as well as you can?

 

[playoutside]

There are lots of cheap learn to ski programs in NE. One going on this month at Okemo is pretty appealing; learn for free Dec 1-19. Drag him there and see what he thinks.

https://www.okemo.com/okemowinter/ratesandrentals/specialdeals/stealsanddeals.asp

Many other mountains have 3-day intro programs for reasonable rates that include tix, lessons and rentals. Why not give something like that instead of skis?

Mt Snow has a 3 day program for $210 that can be used consecutively or on several weekends.

https://www.mountsnow.com/learntoski.html

Mt Sunapee has a one-day plan for $80 that if you like it you can add 2 more days for another $80.

https://www.mtsunapee.com/mtsunapeewinter/learningcenter/adult/getinto.asp

 

[Swamp Dog]

yeah....good luck with that. My husband doesn't ski either but claims that he will learn. His first time out ended with a torn MCL. He's been out of work for 4 months now due to a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery, and itching to get to the mountain.

I can just imagine the damage he can do to his newly repaired shoulder the first time he falls on it.

Anyhow, my advice if you can get your BF to the mountain is to get him some private lessons, don't try to teach him yourself. At least I knew that much so I wasn't blamed for his inability to stop.

Good luck and let us know how it works out!

 

[Monkeygirl]

Try a "romantic" ski weekend. Book a room at a B&B. See if you can score some borrowed ski clothes for him. If not some inexpensive stuff as a gift. Treat him for all these costs and let him know he's doing it for you. Guys don't learn well from their girlfriends- he may be different but if he's not don't assume. Sign him up for lessons- if a private is in your price range go for that for both of you. Make sure you have foot and glove warmers and take plenty of hot cocoa breaks. Make it as pleasant as humanly possible and go at it with a fun attitude. Something like this is a fantastic relationship test. You'll get to see how he responds to challenges and new situations. Talk about a golden opportunity!

 

[michpc]

Thanks for all the tips guys!

jaydog, I like the challenge idea haha. He is athletic (we both played rugby in college) and competitive.

playoutside, thanks for the links. I wonder if we can make it to Okemo sometime before the 19th (though he's in Vegas with a friend this week, so perhaps I should wait till his wallet recovers a little first!)

All, I'm definitely planning on encouraging lessons. I certainly don't think I'm qualified to teach him to ski. And after semi-coaching my mom (who HAS skied before) at Smuggs last winter, it was pretty much miserable for all and lesson learned!

monkeygirl, you read my mind! I was actually thinking about this today...maybe as a Christmas present. Romantic getaway to the mountains disguised as learning to ski!

ps: do resorts do age-specific group lessons? (I haven't taken lessons since I was a kid myself).

 

[SnowflakeADK]

OoOohhhh, I had just this situation with my SO. Take heart, there is hope. Great suggestions above for learn to ski packages and/or romantic mountain (ie: learn to ski) getaway. Do you/have you ever participated in/learned a new activity that "he" enjoys, because it was important to him? Relationships are a give and take. Maybe if you have, you could gently remind him of this. I'm not saying that someone should do something they are absolutely opposed to just to humor their partner....but sometimes people just need to be reminded.

My tactics were to badger my SO (for 2 years) to "please try just once or twice and I you truely hate it, I'll never ask you to do it again"
In my situation, it really wasn't that he was opposed to skiing....he was afraid....not that most men will admit that. He really had this idea that skiing was just about bombing down the mountain at mach speed....trying to get from top to bottom in one piece as fast as you could. It took a whole lot of convincing that he could learn (fairly quickly) how to control his speed, direction of decent, and stop whenever he wanted as long as he stayed on a skill appropriate slope. He FINALLY agreed to this....BUT would not take any lessons....macho guy mentality....soooooo I taught him the basics. Fortunately that turned out better than expected. I am only maybe an advanced intermediate skiier myself and probably have no business teaching anyone anything, but the end result is now he skies....and really enjoys it. He goes everywhere I go....sometimes faster.
Bottom line is he is a wonderfully caring and selfless partner who saw how important skiing is to me, and understood how much I wanted him to share in my passion. He only did it to make me happy but in the end found a past time that he looks forward to participating in. I am so blessed

Sooo, don't give up on it....keep "nudging". You will probably be suprised.
Good Luck!!

 

[michpc]

My tactics were to badger my SO (for 2 years) to "please try just once or twice and I you truely hate it, I'll never ask you to do it again"

Since I've only been back to skiing for one season, I've only been badgering him for one...I won't give up hope yet!

 

[volklgirl]

Try a "romantic" ski weekend. Book a room at a B&B.

This one worked for me. We did a hot tub room in Petoskey for Valentine's weekend. While we were there, I took him out to see my favorite ski areas. He watched a few people come down, decided it looked like fun, and tried it. I tried to book him a lesson, but he wanted me to teach him since I am an instructor. After fighting about this for a couple of weeks, I broke down and gave in. We've now been married for 10 years, he's been skiing for 9, and he gave up all intentions of moving back to Hawaii because they don't have great skiing there .

Good luck!

 

[michpc]

Update: I seem to have convinced him to give skiing a try...now another tricky thing: getting him outfitted in proper clothes! I figure I could convince him to buy a 3 in 1 jacket due to the whole utility factor. Will have to figure out pants and such as well..

 

[itri]

You could just get a pair of cheap shell pants that he could wear over something he already has, just to cut the wind and keep most of the wet off. Then if he decides he likes it, you could get a pair of "real" ski pants.

 

[Monkeygirl]

Usually you can find a second hand sporting goods store and pick up cheap gear there. Wal-mart or Target often has inexpensive winter gear. (BTW- snow pants are good for sledding, snowshoeing, X-country- any other winter sports as well as changing tires on snowy days)

 

[Bumblebee]

I expressed to my OH very early on that skiing and associated holidays were part of the deal.

I booked him in for a lesson last weekend knowing that he'd love it (he's sporty) and of course he did. I'd booked us a ski holiday in January and I'd checked that there was stuff to do at the hotel if he really hated it.

He too had always thought it was really expensive, however he got himself kitted out at TK Maxx and got board/boots/bindings combo on ebay germany for 150 euros - because it's '06 gear. He also now realises that if he's "home", his home mountain will have special deals out - he'd just never looked before.

He got a Shaun White Xbox 360 game and I barely get a look-in, he's got another private lesson thursday evening and saturday we're out with friends. It's all been VERY easy to get him on the slopes!

 

[abc]

Well, I learned to ski in "regular" clothing. Jeans and sweater under a jacket! I didn't buy any "ski specific" clothing until 3-4 years later, and only gradually.

Granted, NE mountains CAN BE cold. On the other hand, I don't picture a guy to be deterred by cold and wet hand/feets if he likes the skiing part of it. There's some positive to that macho gene that's present in every male! ;-)

 

[michpc]

Well, I learned to ski in "regular" clothing. Jeans and sweater under a jacket! I didn't buy any "ski specific" clothing until 3-4 years later, and only gradually.

Granted, NE mountains CAN BE cold. On the other hand, I don't picture a guy to be deterred by cold and wet hand/feets if he likes the skiing part of it. There's some positive to that macho gene that's present in every male! ;-)

Well since most of the winter he walks around in a hooded sweatshirt, you're probably right! I'm sure we can find some cheap snow pants, and I think I could convince him of the utility of having a 3 in 1 jacket regardless of whether he ends up enjoying himself or not.

 

[skimomma24]

OoOohhhh, I had just this situation with my SO. Take heart, there is hope. Great suggestions above for learn to ski packages and/or romantic mountain (ie: learn to ski) getaway. Do you/have you ever participated in/learned a new activity that "he" enjoys, because it was important to him? Relationships are a give and take. Maybe if you have, you could gently remind him of this. I'm not saying that someone should do something they are absolutely opposed to just to humor their partner....but sometimes people just need to be reminded.

My tactics were to badger my SO (for 2 years) to "please try just once or twice and I you truely hate it, I'll never ask you to do it again"
In my situation, it really wasn't that he was opposed to skiing....he was afraid....not that most men will admit that. He really had this idea that skiing was just about bombing down the mountain at mach speed....trying to get from top to bottom in one piece as fast as you could. It took a whole lot of convincing that he could learn (fairly quickly) how to control his speed, direction of decent, and stop whenever he wanted as long as he stayed on a skill appropriate slope. He FINALLY agreed to this....BUT would not take any lessons....macho guy mentality....soooooo I taught him the basics. Fortunately that turned out better than expected. I am only maybe an advanced intermediate skiier myself and probably have no business teaching anyone anything, but the end result is now he skies....and really enjoys it. He goes everywhere I go....sometimes faster.
Bottom line is he is a wonderfully caring and selfless partner who saw how important skiing is to me, and understood how much I wanted him to share in my passion. He only did it to make me happy but in the end found a past time that he looks forward to participating in. I am so blessed

Sooo, don't give up on it....keep "nudging". You will probably be suprised.
Good Luck!!

That was very much my DH, except it took about 8years to get him out. He is a hockey player as well, so I convinced him that since he is so good on skates, skiing should be fairly easy for him. And sure enough, after about 6-8 trips to the hill, he was quite confident inhis abilities.

Good luck!!

 

[LilaBear]

Update: I seem to have convinced him to give skiing a try.....

Congratulations!

Volkgirl - like the new Avatar, it has a slightly surreal quality to it.