© OT 2 Alpes Yoann Pesin
Top 5 tips for first time skiers in Les Deux Alpes 2019
How to have the best possible first ski holiday
Your first time on skis can be daunting. There is a whole new, snowy world to get to know and some awkward techniques to master before you are flying around the slopes. If you persevere, the rewards are breathtaking. Whether you are swooping down the mountain at high speed, cruising through stunning scenery, or just enjoying the Alpine atmosphere between cosy chalet-restaurants, this is a sport that you will come back to year after year.
The tips below will help you to get the maximum enjoyment from the first week. The first and last suggestions are specific to Les Deux Alpes, while the rest apply to learning to ski anywhere.
See the glacier
Head up to the highest part of the ski area and you really do feel like you are on top of the world. You don’t even need to ski there to appreciate it. Take the Jandri and Funicular lifts up to the top at some point during the first week, ideally on a clear sunny day, and enjoy stupendous views from the Belvedere and viewing platform. If you are not ready to ski back down, you can return to the town on the ski lifts as well.
This area of the resort is part of the reason Les Deux Alpes is often called an upside-down resort. The runs are wide, relatively easy blue pistes. With luck, perseverance and a little natural aptitude, it is possible to be cruising on these runs at over 3000 metres altitude after only a week of skiing, although the majority of people need two weeks to get to this point.
Take lessons
If this is your first time skiing or snowboarding, lessons are essential. They do not cost that much compared to the cost of the holiday, ski pass and equipment hire, but they make a huge difference to your safety and enjoyment. These are difficult sports to learn unaided, and the vast majority of people will never progress beyond the simplest slopes without a few lessons.
Once you have mastered the basics, you will find it hard to remember how difficult those first steps were. Within a week you will be flying around the green and blue pistes. This is one reason why friends who are good skiers are often not the best people to teach you – they might struggle to put themselves in the shoes of a beginner. By the same token, be wary of well-meaning friends taking you on to runs you are not ready for.
Practice
The skiers who learn the fastest are those who practice after their lessons. It might be tempting to head straight back to the hotel, but even an extra hour or less each day will make a difference. Practice time is when you consolidate the skills you have learnt in the lesson and start to get some more mileage under the skis.
Practising is more fun with other people. If you are on holiday with other beginners, you can ski together after lessons from day one. If you have to ski with more experienced skiers, make sure you are choosing the easiest terrain to practice on. Often, you can find other beginners from your ski lesson group to ski with.
Have a break
Practice is good but over-tiring yourself can slow your progress as well. Remember that the idea is to enjoy yourself. Take some time to relax, enjoy the sunshine, and watch the world go by. There are plenty of bars, restaurants and cafés along the foot of the slopes where you can get a nice lunch or do some après ski partying.
Don’t ski down
After a few days, once you have ventured beyond the beginner slopes, you can start to tick off the greens and easier blue runs around Les Deux Alpes. The fun of skiing is multiplied a hundredfold once you start to travel around the mountain. At the end of the day, it is very tempting to attempt the long ski back to the hotel. However, in Les Deux Alpes this is not a good idea until you are getting confident on red runs – usually after several weeks of skiing.
Looking at the piste map, you will see a green and a blue run descending from Les Crêtes to the resort centre, the Demoiselles and Jandri 1 respectively. Both of these are difficult for their colour. Demoiselles is long, narrow and often icy, while the Jandri 1 is steep for a blue and usually very busy. Tackling either of these can ruin an otherwise good day, so take our advice and descend on the ski lifts. You can take the Jandri Express, Diable, White Eggs, Belle Etoile or Village lifts to get down from either Les Crêtes or La Toura. This way you can enjoy the excellent, friendly runs higher up the mountain and avoid the busy lower slopes until much later in your skiing career.
Read more from our reporter Ian on his website.
More inspiration...
Hopefully, the first time on skis will be the start of an annual trip to the snow. Before long, you will be happily skiing all over the mountain and well on the way to becoming an expert. Remember to book your ski hire before getting to resort, you'll save a few euros.
