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GayWolf420
June, 2025

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How long does it take to not be terrible at skiing?

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Mingg
Posts: 14052 - Karma: 51,017
Asking for a friend.
9 years ago
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snowfinder
Posts: 2941 - Karma: 34,924
is your friend hot? Because then it doesnt matter.
9 years ago
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rsvp
Posts: 1516 - Karma: 2,611
took me about 20 yrs
9 years ago
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eheath
Posts: 61964 - Karma: 126,875
Just keep skiing, skill comes with repetition and experience.
9 years ago
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pootein
Posts: 7 - Karma: 26
It really depends on the person. For me, I'm guessing it was after my 3rd or 4th day. Yesterday was my 8th day skiing ever (no prior experience) and by now I'm doing double black when the snow's good and blacks because they're the most fun (bombing blues and greens are hella fun tho). I'm still shitty on parks but I'm learning (popping onto rails and starting grabs on jumps and stuff). Supposedly based on a couple dudes that were following behind on me, I'm "smooth AF" but that's pretty debatable since I got no vid. But basically, fuck the shit I just said. It depends on your friend's mindset and possibly athletic talent. Put in good time, be in shape, and stay optimistic and determined. I'm 15 so age might play in a bit but don't let that determine your shit. // checking in from The Hood (Mt. Hood, Or).
9 years ago
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chicknfriedsteak
Posts: 984 - Karma: 4,693
I think a lot of that comes down to confidence, I've been skiing around 5-6 years now and the first several I didn't progress much since I wasn't brave enough to send new tricks. If you don't have the guts to send them in the first place you can't progress. The last couple years however I've progressed a lot since I mastered the basics I got the confidence to actually start trying stuff.
9 years ago
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oxiclean
Posts: 615 - Karma: 693
However long it takes you to start snowboarding.
9 years ago
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cory.iyoob
Posts: 737 - Karma: 5,372
Depends on a few factors. 3 of these being dedication, time on hill and balls. You could easily become a great park skier in a year or two if you have these. If all you do is go up once a weekend and do the same tricks every time you will never get good. Also, summer setups. :)
9 years ago
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brotherdad
Posts: 2076 - Karma: 13,068
I'll trade you school skills for ski skills
9 years ago
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OregonDead
Posts: 7089 - Karma: 26,779
Might take her a while to catch up to you. Everyone is different. The whole point is learning to have fun so once she's having fun she's good at skiing. It just gets better from there.
9 years ago
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Mingg
Posts: 14052 - Karma: 51,017
jakelewiskiI'll trade you school skills for ski skills


Yo fuckin deal.

/thread
9 years ago
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T-Van
Posts: 388 - Karma: 2,575
Progression comes with time. As long as you are patient you are going to progress. Speaking for myself, I didn't really progress much in the beginning, but as soon as I started skiing more frequently I really started to progress fast.
9 years ago
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tfsh
Posts: 190 - Karma: 554
Skiing is easy to learn but hard to master.
9 years ago
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FluidMotion
Posts: 65 - Karma: 31
I think it really depends on your athletic ability and confidence. In the beginning it's always a good idea to get some lessons to stop you from getting into bad habits. I don't think there really is a catch all timeframe so people pick it up right away others take quite a bit longer.
9 years ago
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Dddsz
Posts: 3042 - Karma: 7,323
I spent my first two full years of skiing just screwing around in the park and straight lining every run. Then I started skiing moguls two years ago... and they changed everything.

If your hill has some nice mogul runs, get your ass over there and rip some bumps. Practice good form and ski them until your legs are jelly. I found my center of gravity and my balance was suddenly incredible. They taught me how to carve and made spinning easier. Also gets your core ripped. It will change the way you ski in weeks.
9 years ago
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Rice
Posts: 311 - Karma: 2,230
100 days of skiing should be sufficient enough to make a novice into a really comfortable all-mtn skier but as everyone else mentioned factors such as balls, age and what your home mtn u go to will affect progression
9 years ago
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SKRockies
Posts: 606 - Karma: 1,690
found out this season commitment and willfulness to take a fall or two will go a long way. 20 days in and i went from 10 foot jumps landing backseat and never sliding a rail to now sliding down rails and hitting larges (25ish feet from lip to knuckle) comfortably.
9 years ago
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hemlockjibber8
Posts: 6004 - Karma: 3,698
I've been skiing for 26 years and have been progressively getting worse so I think it happens the other way around. How long does it take to be terrible at skiing?
9 years ago
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Lonely
Posts: 7173 - Karma: 69,994
It happens completely at random. I'm still a fairly trash park skier, but in the past two weeks I feel like I have improve a ton. I can grease almost any rail feature at my hill which is nothing impressive...but it is progression for me. This is after over a year of skiing park. It takes time.

I think the fear factor is a big part of it. Most things you are able to do physically but your mind can't get your body to do it. I had one nasty crash at the end of last season and I came to the realization that I was probably not going to ever bail as hard as that again. And if I did everything turned out fine in the end.

After that it was relative smooth sailing.
9 years ago
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skippy_
Posts: 66 - Karma: 124
jontrvnIt really depends on the person. For me, I'm guessing it was after my 3rd or 4th day. Yesterday was my 8th day skiing ever (no prior experience) and by now I'm doing double black when the snow's good and blacks because they're the most fun (bombing blues and greens are hella fun tho). I'm still shitty on parks but I'm learning (popping onto rails and starting grabs on jumps and stuff). Supposedly based on a couple dudes that were following behind on me, I'm "smooth AF" but that's pretty debatable since I got no vid. But basically, fuck the shit I just said. It depends on your friend's mindset and possibly athletic talent. Put in good time, be in shape, and stay optimistic and determined. I'm 15 so age might play in a bit but don't let that determine your shit. // checking in from The Hood (Mt. Hood, Or).


tops hahaha, "smooth af" is really how we all want to be skerping. B3nchmark right here.
9 years ago
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.frenchy
Posts: 18232 - Karma: 12,411
hemlockjibber8I've been skiing for 26 years and have been progressively getting worse so I think it happens the other way around. How long does it take to be terrible at skiing?


hahahaha yeah, I think I peaked freshman year of college
9 years ago
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TACO-DOG.exe
Posts: 11990 - Karma: 12,273
set a goal for yourself; every time you go skiing you have to try something new. like a new grab, adding a shifty to a spin, hitting a different rail switch or whatever else you can think of. it all adds up in the end and it really helps with confidence.
9 years ago
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Crispy.
Posts: 6127 - Karma: 7,764
As you know, I'm not so hot at skiing so I couldn't tell you how long it takes to become "good". One thing I've learned this year is I always have underestimated by ability to just go full send and actually have a somewhat successful result. I'd say it takes as long as it takes you to realizing going big and sending is the answer to life.

(Ps those switch ons are dope)
9 years ago
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rballs_
Posts: 709 - Karma: 2,992
step 1. Be a boy
9 years ago
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casual
Posts: 6712 - Karma: 6,753
it depends on what you're trying to be good at.

I thought I saw a post the other day from you where you said something about how you picked up poles and had no idea what they were for or how to use them.

You're probably not going to get very good at skiing bumps, variable terrain/snow, etc. if you don't pick up poles. I'm not saying that you then couldn't decide to drop them down the road, but I think people like yourself who came into skiing exclusively from a park angle fail to realize that the overwhelming majority of people you see in edits and films slaying without poles have an incredibly solid skiing foundation in the form of racing, bump skiing, freestyle training, etc. It takes the vast majority of people YEARS to truly get good at skiing the whole mountain. Obviously athletic talent, balls, and the ability to ski everyday can shorten the time frame, but I'd venture that most people you see truly killing it skiing have put a decade in. In a lot of cases, more like 2 decades.

That's my first bit of advice: don't worry about the trends and what the top level skiers are doing. Build a foundation from which you can grow your skiing, or your skiing will likely cap out. If you want to ski in mountains, skin, etc., your poles will help immensely in timing, promoting upper/lower body separation, keeping your upper body committed to the fall line, etc.

I'd also say that people who honestly want to make skiing the focus of their lives have to relocate to an area where skiing is truly embedded in the fabric of everyday life and the culture. Sure, you can be good at skiing living in NY, there's a lot of examples, but for most people of average athletic ability, you're going to get way better if you relocate somewhere in the mountains.

If on the other hand you're exclusively interested in progressing in the park, you can stay on the EC. How long will it take to get "good"? Well, what's good? I've seen you do some stuff that I'd say is good already. It's all relative. If you're talking about good enough to where other people would actually choose to watch you ski, I don't know.....5 years of honest work? minimum?

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. If you're having fun, trying new things, pushing yourself beyond your comfort level from time to time, you'll constantly improve and love skiing. So, are you skiing for you and the love, or are you skiing for attention and approval of others? If it's the former, then fuck it, who cares "how long it takes".
9 years ago
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Breaking_Rad
Posts: 478 - Karma: 1,095
I just watched Rogue One.

Use the force like that asian guy that wasn't supposed to be using the force. Then you will be good.
9 years ago
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Mingg
Posts: 14052 - Karma: 51,017
My homie snowboards(really well actually) but most of her friends ski and she wants to learn how to too. I guess, how long does it take to hold your own on the hill? I would say about a couple weeks to a month till you can ski confidently(especially since she can snowboard) but I learned as a child so I couldn't really give a good time estimate.
9 years ago
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Casey
Posts: 8025 - Karma: 27,011
I rode the chair up with two guys that were hitting blue runs on their first day ever. That was pretty awesome in my opinion. For me, I as good as my fitness level will allow. If I hit the gym and built up leg strength and lost ten or twenty pounds I would be way better at skiing.
9 years ago
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PeppermillReno
Posts: 4884 - Karma: -717
MinggMy homie snowboards(really well actually) but most of her friends ski and she wants to learn how to too. I guess, how long does it take to hold your own on the hill? I would say about a couple weeks to a month till you can ski confidently(especially since she can snowboard) but I learned as a child so I couldn't really give a good time estimate.


I think it will only take 1-2 times to ski well on relatively easy terrain. Being a good boarder means you can count on her to push herself and commit to turns.

Form should improve very quickly as well if she buys the correct ski gear the technology is so good right now but being in boots that are way too big or skis way too long won't help. She'll obviously have to ski harder terrain a lot to improve on it.

She will be very happy she learned to ski when she is older boarding hurts like fuck when you go fast a bad fall is never far away.
9 years ago
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Slush
Posts: 1916 - Karma: 12,961
MinggMy homie snowboards(really well actually) but most of her friends ski and she wants to learn how to too. I guess, how long does it take to hold your own on the hill? I would say about a couple weeks to a month till you can ski confidently(especially since she can snowboard) but I learned as a child so I couldn't really give a good time estimate.


It really depends on the skills of the person. I've had friends hit RAILS their first time skiing and shred blacks with me, as well as have friends who couldn't even get up after they fell. If she's coordinated, she won't take all that long to be good enough/confident enough. Probably 3-4 days
9 years ago
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Scotty_B
Posts: 287 - Karma: 423
define "not terrible"
9 years ago
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lilgapaboi
Posts: 260 - Karma: 580
comes down to KNOWING HOW to throw a trick and ACTUALLY TRYING that trick. Think of a trick you want to learn and practice it over and over and over and over. I ski at a hill with a tow rope and sometimes I hit one feature many times in a row until I get it. It also helps to ski with friends that can motivate you.
9 years ago
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Mingg
Posts: 14052 - Karma: 51,017
Scotty_Bdefine "not terrible"


Like being able to carve decently down the hill in a reasonable amount of time and capable of riding through park with people and maaaaybe hitting small features. I don't know what her exact goals were when we discussed this, but I think she really just wants to be able to ski with us haha.
9 years ago
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notJacobJohnson
Posts: 105 - Karma: 344
Saw a dude blasting down, looking steazy af when I was 11. I'd say my riding was solid within 3 seasons. Its all a mental game really. After your friend sees someone who's out there absolutely killing it who she can look up to(ik you slay but being close friends can sometimes skew the mindset a bit), its just gonna click one day, and the progression should speed up exponentially.
9 years ago
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Zennan
Posts: 222 - Karma: 165
Just work at it and if you have someone better skiing with you, I know people that tried as hard as they could and went from skiing double greens to skiing blacks in about 20 full ski days... He can keep up with us now and also has some of the biggest balls out of any of us to send some nice hits! Can't really put a number on it, but just when skiing focus as much as possible on the techniques and form of your skiing and it will come faster than you think!
9 years ago
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SSteezle
Posts: 9458 - Karma: 2,342
jontrvnIt really depends on the person. For me, I'm guessing it was after my 3rd or 4th day. Yesterday was my 8th day skiing ever (no prior experience) and by now I'm doing double black when the snow's good and blacks because they're the most fun (bombing blues and greens are hella fun tho). I'm still shitty on parks but I'm learning (popping onto rails and starting grabs on jumps and stuff). Supposedly based on a couple dudes that were following behind on me, I'm "smooth AF" but that's pretty debatable since I got no vid. But basically, fuck the shit I just said. It depends on your friend's mindset and possibly athletic talent. Put in good time, be in shape, and stay optimistic and determined. I'm 15 so age might play in a bit but don't let that determine your shit. // checking in from The Hood (Mt. Hood, Or).


Trying not to call BS on this because it's possible, but if you're no able to pop onto rails or do a grab I'd be surprised if you're doing double backflips and landing them. Have a video of this? If so-- super impressed but you got some serious balls if you're hucking those without the comfort of popping onto rails
9 years ago
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pootein
Posts: 7 - Karma: 26
SourSteezleTrying not to call BS on this because it's possible, but if you're no able to pop onto rails or do a grab I'd be surprised if you're doing double backflips and landing them. Have a video of this? If so-- super impressed but you got some serious balls if you're hucking those without the comfort of popping onto rails



I won't be heading back to the mountain until this weekend because of school but when I'm up I'll get a couple of my buddies to get some vid for me.
9 years ago
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Ranch
Posts: 742 - Karma: 1,030
The referenced post has been removed.


Claim of the day
9 years ago
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SSteezle
Posts: 9458 - Karma: 2,342
The referenced post has been removed.


lolol
9 years ago
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Belch
Posts: 212 - Karma: 219
The amount of time it takes to get good at park skiing is the amount of time it takes for these items to ship:
1. J skis
2. FKS or Pivot bindings
3. 5xl saga gear or a flannel and a vest
4. beanie and goggles under helmet or straw hat and sunglasses
9 years ago
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Jesse_
Posts: 1498 - Karma: 3,643
MinggLike being able to carve decently down the hill in a reasonable amount of time and capable of riding through park with people and maaaaybe hitting small features. I don't know what her exact goals were when we discussed this, but I think she really just wants to be able to ski with us haha.


Erm 30 days? Thats about how long it took one of my buddies after we taught him the basics.
9 years ago
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profa_212
Posts: 9273 - Karma: 41,145
MinggLike being able to carve decently down the hill in a reasonable amount of time and capable of riding through park with people and maaaaybe hitting small features. I don't know what her exact goals were when we discussed this, but I think she really just wants to be able to ski with us haha.


Depends on knowledge...desire...and time.

Snowboarding gives her a one up. Learn the perfect stance and get her skiing. Don't over-terrain...and give her time. It will come
9 years ago
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Scotty_B
Posts: 287 - Karma: 423
MinggLike being able to carve decently down the hill in a reasonable amount of time and capable of riding through park with people and maaaaybe hitting small features. I don't know what her exact goals were when we discussed this, but I think she really just wants to be able to ski with us haha.


Honestly depends on balance and natural talent but I would say like two seasons.
It's the carving that's the hardest part to learn and teach.
9 years ago
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profa_212
Posts: 9273 - Karma: 41,145
Scotty_BHonestly depends on balance and natural talent but I would say like two seasons.
It's the carving that's the hardest part to learn and teach.


There is such an unbelievable amount that goes into skiing. You are absolutely never done learning and improving. Even the top racers. Always something more to tweak/change
9 years ago
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Scotty_B
Posts: 287 - Karma: 423
Profahoben_212There is such an unbelievable amount that goes into skiing. You are absolutely never done learning and improving. Even the top racers. Always something more to tweak/change


Straight up man. Even a dozen seasons in and I'm still adjusting my technique.
9 years ago
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theabortionator
Posts: 52707 - Karma: 175,289
MinggAsking for a friend.


NANS


OP SUX

:)
9 years ago
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cinnabonconn
Posts: 250 - Karma: 460
It's all about sending for tricks and progressing before you try them. This is my second year of skiing and i can dub/trip swap, 6 out, 4 out easy both ways, sw/regular 2 on, and jumps backy, underflip, cork 7, cork 5, and any spin up to 9 and up to sw 5, but my point of that is saying it's possible to learn tricks fast and it doesn't take too long if you keep trying the tricks. You just can't be scared to get hurt because youre gonna fall a lot, so you might as well fall and learn from your mistakes than not trying it at all.
9 years ago
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Mingg
Posts: 14052 - Karma: 51,017
theabortionatorNANS


OP SUX

:)


I may suck at skiing, but I make one hell of a pong partner and you know it hahaha (:
9 years ago
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theabortionator
Posts: 52707 - Karma: 175,289
MinggI may suck at skiing, but I make one hell of a pong partner and you know it hahaha (:


You didnt even want to play with me at r2r this year
9 years ago
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Mingg
Posts: 14052 - Karma: 51,017
theabortionatorYou didnt even want to play with me at r2r this year


I was taking a test, I'm sorry! Haha
9 years ago
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