Your significant other
Pro: Them teaching you to ski? It’s a movie montage waiting to happen. The romance is palpable, and there’s no better way to make memories than spending your holiday practicing your sport with the person you love.
Con: You’ll pick up their bad habits. However experienced they might be, they’ll have developed personal quirks. Plus, the movie montage can quickly turn sour when you’re cold, wet, and frustrated, and they’re keen to move on to more challenging slopes.
Cost: £0
Family
Pros: Spending time with the people you love, and passing on knowledge through generations of experience. It can be one of the best ways to make memories, and truly get the most out of your family holiday.
Cons: Similar to learning with a significant other, being taught to ski by a family member carries a high risk of frustration and unnecessarily high tensions. Consider carefully how well you can work together before you commit to a related teacher.
Cost: £0
Ski School
Pro: This is skiing, not mini golf; it’s dangerous, and if you do it wrong or attempt too much too soon, you could seriously injure yourself or someone else. Group ski school lessons are the most common way to learn to ski in an environment that promotes safety, progress, and the development of good habits.
Con: If you’re not the spring chicken you once were, you might find yourself feeling self-conscious about the relative age of your peers. Children are almost always in separate classes, but at peak times you might find yourself in the company or excited throngs of students. Being taught in a group also sets the risk of you feeling left behind or held back, depending on the success of the other members.
Cost: starts at around £40 a day/pp
Private Ski Instructor
Pro: Any certified ski instructor should be patient and professional, getting you in to good habits to move on quickly. Having a private lesson puts their sole focus on you, so you’re guaranteed to get the most you can from their expertise.
Con: Expense, for one. Private lessons don’t come cheap, and the time will go by faster than you think. You’re also giving up the experience of learning alongside whoever you came with, assuming they don’t come along too.
Cost: start at around £40 an hour/pp
