Venting on DH's poor ski instruction

[ski diva]

I think this is very instructive: as women, we're taught from an early age to be nice and not complain and not come on too strong. So we sugar coat things so much that a complaint isn't even recognized.

Instead, we need to stand up and make our feelings known. This doesn't have to be done by ranting and raving or being obnoxious. There are ways to make your point clear while coming across as a reasonable person. I hope you contact them again.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Is snowshoe done for the year? Is that where your season passes are? Is there anywhere else you can play in snow in your area? Maybe its not too late for that snowboarding lesson.

 

[Lellandra]

They are done. All Pennsylvania is done also. We'd have to catch a plane for something now.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Or drive to Vermont, Maine or Canada but I'm not sure I'd recommend it at this point as that's quite a drive. Next season will be here soon enough. In the meantime there's end of season, summer and fall deals on stuff to focus on.

 

[marzNC]

Based on what I know of the ski schools in the Mid-Atlantic, I would not rank Snowshoe as one of the best by a long shot. There are better ones in PA and VA.

Was the lesson at Silver Creek or at the main Basin? I do not consider the Basin learning terrain and greens that newbie friendly.

If your DH is willing to start fresh next season, do some research about the ski schools nearer to you. Beginners do not need much terrain, but they do better if there is good separation and progression. For instance, Massanutten is better than Wintergreen when it comes to progression of terrain, as well as the number of very experienced instructors (10+ years) available for private lessons who also teach group lessons for adults as needed. That's true for skiing and snowboarding. Snowtime ski areas have good ski schools (Whitetail, Liberty, Roundtop).

An ideal way to get started is during early season, meaning before Christmas. Of course that requires that the slopes are open. Hopefully that will be the case next Dec.

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

There is NO excuse for an instructor to make what's supposed to be a fun activity into pure h_ll, as is apparant in this case. Call and say you feel that the lesson should be reimbursed or at very least a comp replacement in next season!

 

[Lellandra]

Aaaaand this is what I got.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Learning to snowboard usually does include a few more spills than learning to ski. That being said, some people simply do better learning to manage one device instead of four. I am surprised that he still feels like he is over skiing if the second day was so much better. Maybe find some mellow articles that talk about learning to snowboard. I definitely have had great luck with skiers keeping them upright. I almost never see newbies on a board upright for more than a few hundred feet on day one. I love both sports, and as an instructor am sorry to hear that this particular instructor did not seem to learn very fast.

 

[ski diva]

I took a snowboard lesson last year at Killington using their Terrain Based Learning system, and didn't fall once. If your husband is interested in learning, that might be a good option.

Here's a blog post I did about it.

BTW, they use TBL for skiing, too.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

I took a snowboard lesson last year at Killington using their Terrain Based Learning system, and didn't fall once. If your husband is interested in learning, that might be a good option.

Here's a blog post I did about it.

BTW, they use TBL for skiing, too.

I am impressed! Maybe it is your time gliding on boards over snow. Either way, bravo!

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Terrain based learning is pretty spectacular. We use it at my home mountain for boarding and skiing. It makes learning easier and more fun

 

[marzNC]

Last season when there was plenty of snow, Massanutten set up terrain based instruction for skiing and snowboarding. Having watch boarding lessons for years, it was pretty clear that the never-evers did much better using the specially set up terrain features before going out on the slopes.

 

[JaneB]

Just to weigh in on the skiing/snowboarding issue: most people do fall alot in the beginning on a board. At least I did. Another factor is that it is much more difficult to fall on hard pack if you're on the east coast.

However, if your DH has skateboarding/surfing experience, it's possible he'll pick it up quickly

I wore hockey pant padding and knee/elbow pads/wrist guards after my first disastrous snowboard lesson, where I almost broke my tailbone. Padding helps alot. It took me about 5 days to be able to link turns reliably and without falling much at all.