Blue Mountain Resort Ski Tips

Blue Mountain Resort Beginner's Tips

2009 / 2010 Ski Season

1. Once I arrive at Blue Mountain….where do I go?

South Base Lodge area is the best place to park during Prime Season. It gives you access to all facilities you will need to start your on-hill experience, as well as access to more beginner terrain. South Base Lodge provides rental equipment, snowboard/ski school and a warm lodge to have your meals. There is also a guest services desk right inside the front doors. If you have any questions or need any assistance, they can help.

2. What should I wear?

The most important thing to remember while dressing for a day on the slopes on Blue Mountain Canada is layering! This way, you can add or subtract items as necessary. Make sure your ‘outerwear’ is wind and water resistant. Jeans or jogging pants are not recommended. Staying dry is the key to staying warm. A ski hat is a must! Did you know that 50% of your body heat escapes through your head? Goggles are helpful on days that are especially cold or windy. Ski accessories and clothing are available at many of our stores on the resort if you have forgotten an item.

3. What’s easier to learn, skiing or snowboarding?

Hardly anything is easy the first time you try it. If it was, there would be a whole lot of experts running around. Like most things, there are easy and difficult aspects of both skiing and snowboarding. You may find you have a natural aptitude for one or the other, but that is what our ski/snowboard pros are for.

4. What equipment will I need?

If you are going to learn how to ski you will require skis, ski boots and poles. Snowboarders will require a snowboard and snowboard boots. If you don’t have your own already, we have two rental outlets that will help you get started with the right equipment for your size and ability level.

5. Do I need to get snowboard or ski lessons?

We feel that all beginner skiers or snowboarders will benefit from a lesson. Not only to get you acquainted with your equipment, but to give you some tips that will help make your experience more enjoyable. The Blue Mountain Snow School employs hundreds of pros to ensure you get the support and encouragement you need. Lessons can be booked at any base lodge or ticket outlet at the mountain. Look in the snow school section of this website to find out about lesson times.

6. Are there beginner ski and snowboard packages?

Blue Mountain has attractively priced packages for both beginner skiers and snowboarders. Discover Skiing and Snowboarding Packages include your beginner lift ticket, rental equipment and a lesson – all for one low price to make things easier for you. You can find information on these packages in the snow school section of this website.

Where to Ski?

We have two beginner areas—one at the Village and one at the South Base of Blue Mountain.

Village

At the Village beginner area you’ll find two runs with two chair lifts for skiers and snowboarders. The Easy Street run offers a long gentle slope and is great place to start. Easy Street is serviced by a two-person chair lift. We recommend that new skiers and snowboarders take a number of runs on Easy Street to become comfortable turning and stopping before moving on to the Graduate.

The Graduate run is slightly steeper than Easy Street and allows skiers and boarders to build a little more speed and feel the thrill of sliding! It is serviced by a three-person chair lift. In all, the Village Beginner area is an ideal place to start skiing. It is conveniently located next to the Village Lodge and Village Rentals, as well as accommodations and shopping.

South

Blue Mountain’s new South Base beginner area is great for young children and offers more ski terrain than the Village area. South’s three runs are serviced by two “magic carpet” surface lifts and the Voyageur Quad chair lift. Beginners should start at the magic carpet located at the south end of the South Base Lodge.

The magic carpet lift is so easy to use, so this small, gently sloped area is ideal for young children. (It is also next to the “Kids at Blue” child-care centre.) Once you have mastered stopping and turning you can venture to the Voyageur Quad chair lift for the trip up to the Enchanted Forest. There you will find an easy slope serviced by another magic carpet lift. This is a great place to master turning skills before you move on to Big Baby.

Big Baby offers some of the best terrain at Blue for novice skiers and snowboarders; it is a wide open run with lots of room to turn and have fun. Big Baby is an excellent place to practice before upgrading your lift ticket.

South Base Lodge Offers Many Advantages

Magic carpet lifts are easy for kids.
Kids’ Camp runs out of South seven days a week (for kids ages 7-12)
The Children’s Activity Centre offers childcare service for kids ages 18 months to 6 years. A childcare with skiing program is also available for children aged 3 to 6 years.

How do I Ride the Chair?

With a few simple tips, taking your first ride up a chair lift is fun and easy. If you have any questions—just ask! The lift attendant will be more than happy to help you. Tell the attendant it’s your first time, and remember, it’s always safer and more fun to ride with a buddy.

Getting on the Chair.

Remove ski pole straps from your hands.
Advance forward as soon as the chair in front of you passes.
Stand with your skis or snowboard directly over the "load here” sign on the ground.
Look behind you for the chair. If you are on the left side, look left; right side, look right. Bend your knees and prepare to sit down.
Once you are sitting on the chair, lower the safety bar. Firmly hold your poles or any other equipment on your lap.

Getting off the Chair

SKIERS:

Raise the bar when you see the “raise safety bar” sign.
Keep ski tips up so you don’t catch them in the snow.
Hold poles up; don’t let them touch the ground.
When your skis are on the snow, bend your knees, keep your weight forward and glide off and away from the unloading zone.

SNOWBOARDERS:

Raise the bar when you see the “raise safety bar” sign.
Straighten your board so the front tip is facing forward.
Keep your weight on your front foot.
Place your free foot on the stomp pad in the centre of your board.
Glide off and away from the unloading zone.

Advanced Ski & Snowboard Tips

Bumps 101: Skiing Moguls

As the season progresses and you quench your thirst for mountainous exploration you may find yourself at the top of a moderately steep mogul run. This abundant terrain is frightening to most, familiar to only some and comfortable to even less. Because of this, our first goal as aspiring bump skiers is spend as much time as we can in, around and on top of the bumps.

To ease into the bump world we should begin by traversing straight across the run, making a turn outside of the bumps and then traversing back across the other way. Your goal when traversing across bumps should be to keep your shoulders the same height above the snow by allowing your legs to lengthen and compress underneath you. Think of your legs as shocks and your upper body like the chaise of your car. As your car encounters bumps on the road your shocks work vertically to maintain contact with the road and to ensure that the passengers have a smooth ride. So as you slide over a bump let it push your feet up under you while staying balanced by keeping your shoulders over your toes. Then as you slide down the backside of the bump extend your legs and maintain this “tall” position until the next bump pushes your feet back up.

Varied terrain, like bumps, requires us to increase our range of motion in our legs in order to stay balanced. So give this a shot and don’t worry about the people watching you from the chair! Bumps can be very enjoyable once you allow yourself to get out of your comfort zone and make the commitment to ski them more often.

Tips on how to ski powder:

What a great start to the ski season! And fingers crossed, the long term forecast for this winter says we'll have lots of precipitation (i.e. snow). Here are a few tips about how to ski IN the snow rather that just ON it.

In powder, keep your feet a bit closer together than if you were skiing the groomed stuff.
Stay closer to the fall line. Avoid big wide turns that take you across the hill. Go DOWN the hill instead.
Flex and extend your legs a LOT. As you do so you will notice the snow acts like a mini trampoline. Get the timing right and it's super easy to start a new turn just as the snow gives you a little "lift."
Stay centered. Don't believe anyone who tells you to sit back in powder!

So if Mother Nature continues to be on our side this season, I'll see you rippin' up the pow at Blue Mountain!