Skiing for beginners: Tips from certified ski instructor Kevin Maderegger
Taking your first steps into the world of skiing can feel a little intimidating. So we checked in with Kevin Maderegger, a MONTEC rider and certified Austrian guide and instructor, for the ultimate guide to skiing for beginners. Ready to drop in? Let's go.
When you start learning to ski, you most likely have a fair few questions: How do I stop? What gear do I actually need? And why do ski boots feel so weird? That first day can feel awkward: ski boots are clunky to walk in, falling happens, your legs might ache, and you’ll probably warm up faster than expected once you start moving. But with the right advice, you can take it step by step and start making cleaner turns with more confidence.
To help you get going, we spent the day picking Kevin Maderegger’s brains to get the answers you need. Kevin is a MONTEC rider and certified ski instructor, sharing his insider secrets to make your first turns on snow as smooth as possible.
Tips for first-time skiers from Kevin Maderegger
Choisis le bon équipement
Prends un cours
Choisis la piste la plus facile
Fais confiance à tes chaussures et penche-toi en avant
Travaille ton équilibre
Apprends à t'arrêter et à tourner
Garde le haut du corps immobile
Les erreurs classiques des débutants
FAQ
1. Get the right gear
If you ask me, the single most important piece of gear is your boots. It’s totally okay for ski boots to be stiff and uncomfortable sometimes, but they should never hurt or be too big. If your boots hurt, it's worth the money to have them fitted properly at the rental shop.
When it comes to clothing, layering is everything, and a ski trip packing list can help you cover the essentials before day one. Stick to moisture-wicking base layers, a warm fleece midlayer, and waterproof/breathable outerwear, ideally around 20k/20k, to keep out snow and wind. For a fuller breakdown, see what to wear skiing. For socks, wear just one pair of actual ski socks. Doubling up can cut off blood flow and make your feet colder!
2. Take a lesson
It’s tempting to grab rental gear, head straight up the mountain with friends, and figure it out on the fly. But self-teaching almost always leads to bad habits that are super tough to break later on. Trust me.
Booking a lesson with a certified ski instructor is the absolute best investment you can make on day one when you plan a ski trip. Instructors teach you correct body position and technique, ski etiquette, how to ride lifts safely, and how to manage your speed without burning out your legs.
3. Choose the easiest slope
Always start on the gentlest terrain available, usually marked as green-circle runs, the nursery, or the “bunny” slope. And yeah, I get it: the term “nursery” or “bunny slope” feels kind of silly. Yet too many riders hop on a chair without even knowing how to stop. So, hit the learner areas first, work out the basics, and then level up.
Remember that resorts color-code their trails: Green is the easiest and flattest, Blue is intermediate, and Black Diamond is for advanced riders. In Europe, beginner-friendly slopes are usually Green or Blue, Red runs are intermediate, and Black runs are advanced. Sticking to the easiest marked slopes gives you the right environment to focus on balance and technique without panicking about speed.
4. Trust your boots and lean forward
If I can teach a beginner one main thing, it’s this: trust your ski boots and lean into them. It’ll feel weird at first, but always try to rest your shins against the tongue of your ski boots.
The biggest mistake beginners make is leaning back out of fear. But when you lean back, you lose all control over the front of your skis and essentially become a passenger. Instead, flex your ankles, relax, and lean into your boots. And keep your body centered over your skis!
5. Focus on balance
Before worrying about speed, lock in your balance on flat ground. Finding controlled stability takes a little practice, but it's the foundation of everything on snow.
To focus on balance:
- Tiens-toi droit, les pieds écartés à la largeur des épaules
- Garde les genoux légèrement fléchis
- Répartis ton poids de façon égale sur les deux pieds
- Essaie de garder le haut du corps et les bras aussi immobiles que possible, en te penchant légèrement vers l'avant
- Fais de petits mouvements avec les hanches, les genoux et les chevilles pour contrôler tes skis
6. Learn how to stop and turn
Before taking any chairlifts, you really need to know how to reliably control your speed. The foundation of beginner skiing is the snowplow (or wedge). This is where you push the tails of your skis outward to form a triangle, edging against the snow to stop.
Once you have that down, you can learn to turn. Just make sure to keep your inside edges down and manage your balance. To start, shift your weight so it’s slightly more dominant on one side (on the outside ski), and feel out the progression from there.
7. Keep your upper body still
A common mistake beginners make is using too much upper-body movement. Swinging your arms and rotating your shoulders to force turns will feel really unstable and definitely throw off your balance.
Instead, bring stability to your movement. Keep your upper body and arms still, hold your hands in front of you, engage your core, and let your hips, knees, and ankles do all the turning. Your arms are there to work the poles, not swing in circles.
Common beginner mistakes
Making mistakes on your first day is a completely normal part of learning to ski, so don’t be too hard on yourself! Catching bad habits early keeps you in control and speeds up your progress.
Se mettre en arrière
On se met généralement en arrière parce qu'on a peur d'aller vite. Mais dès que ton poids passe sur les talons, les spatules se soulèvent et tu perds tout contrôle de ta direction. Pour retrouver équilibre et confiance, pousse fermement les tibias vers l'avant contre la languette de tes chaussures.
Aller trop vite
Skier vite avant de savoir maîtriser tes carres ou t'arrêter, c'est la chute assurée. En montagne, la vitesse vient toute seule, alors que la stabilité demande de l'entraînement. Prends d'abord confiance sur des pentes douces en t'exerçant à de petits virages en chasse-neige bien contrôlés et à des arrêts complets. Ensuite seulement, pense à accélérer sur des pistes plus raides.
Skier trop tôt dans des conditions difficiles
Tenter dès le début de skier sur une piste glacée et creusée par les passages, dans une neige lourde et soupe ou par jour blanc rend l'équilibre très difficile à garder, parce que tes pieds n'arrivent pas à anticiper les changements de texture de la neige. Ces conditions demandent de l'expérience et des heures sur la neige, alors commence doucement et garde le contrôle. Par mauvaise visibilité, sers-toi du bord de la piste, des arbres ou des skieurs devant toi comme repères.
FAQs
Getting answers to your biggest questions before heading out on the mountain is a smart choice for any beginner.
Faut-il prendre des cours de ski ?
Idéalement, oui ! Un cours avec un moniteur diplômé dès le premier jour t'aide à apprendre la bonne technique, à skier en sécurité et à prendre confiance bien plus vite qu'en apprenant seul.
Comment rendre mon premier jour de ski plus facile ?
Fais confiance à tes chaussures en poussant les tibias vers l'avant, garde le haut du corps immobile et reste sur les pistes faciles pour débutants jusqu'à ce que t'arrêter et tourner deviennent des automatismes.
Que prévoir pour mon premier jour de ski ?
Pour ton premier jour de ski, prévois ton forfait, des chaussures bien ajustées, de vraies chaussettes de ski, une première couche, une couche intermédiaire, une veste et un pantalon imperméables (idéalement 20 000 mm/20 000 g), un casque, un masque, des gants, un cache-cou, de la crème solaire et un en-cas dans la poche.
Final thoughts
Learning to ski is super fun, but it’s not easy. So don’t worry if day one feels a bit weird! Just take your time, keep your upper body calm, trust those boots, and enjoy being out on the mountain.
With a little patience and a proper lesson, everything clicks way faster than you think, and then you can move on to ski tips for intermediate skiers. Good luck out there. You’ve got this! Need any more tips or info? Hit up the MONTEC team at crew@montecwear.com!