Skiing Destination for Beginners NSW

mtb1611

mtb1611

Seymour
Greetings. Thought I'd pick the collective brains of the skiiers here. I haven't been skiing since 1999 and have only skiied NSW snowfields. My sons (both 15) have never seen snow and as such have never skiied, so I'd like to take them in 2021. Any recommendations on the most suitable place to take absolute beginners? Any traps to avoid, things to keep mind etc? Any advice would be mush appreciated. Cheers.
 
Tubbsy

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Selwyn used to be the go to for beginners, but a lot of their buildings were ruined by bushfires. Not sure if they will be ready to go for 2021.

So I’d pick Smiggins which is part of the bigger Perisher operation. Good progression from magic carpets, to easy pommas and t-bars and a slow chair lift.

You can get lessons at Smiggins which is a good start, however if they’re confident or fast learners stepping them up to lessons at Front Valley Perisher at some point would be good.

The all-day kids programme (drop off at 10, pick up at three) wasn’t offered this year, but your kids may be too old for that anyway. That was good because lunch was included and you could head off with your partner and friends and have a decent ski.

If you stay up at Smiggins you can leave your car there overnight, most accom at Perisher requires you to leave it at the Skitube long-term parking. Or you can of course commute up from Jindy every morning, but traffic is heavy and getting teenagers out of bed....

Hiring a locker up the hill is a great idea if you’re not staying on snow, lugging all the shit around is a real time pit.

August is best for snow cover generally, and you need to book early.
 
T

tubby74

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Id suggest blue cow over smiggins for the presence of lifts over tows. Pleasant valket for instance is a nice long beginners run. Lift up is both a rest and one less place to wipe out compared to tow lifts.

Its on the same lift oass as smigginsamd you can get ski tube over included. Or just ski easily off the hidden valley lift after a couple of hours
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
mtb1611 said:
Greetings. Thought I'd pick the collective brains of the skiiers here. I haven't been skiing since 1999 and have only skiied NSW snowfields. My sons (both 15) have never seen snow and as such have never skiied, so I'd like to take them in 2021. Any recommendations on the most suitable place to take absolute beginners? Any traps to avoid, things to keep mind etc? Any advice would be mush appreciated. Cheers.
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Traps? The entire Australian ski industry is a trap.. .

Save your money and come to Japan when it reopens. Why? Less crowds, better instructor to student ratio, probably cheaper in he right circumstances, softer snow to fall over on, Japanese food, Japanese whisky...I'm not even asking the piss, it is a significantly better option with offerings over Jan+Feb or Easter to suit the busy school schedules you 3 have.

In Australia my favourite location is Hotham. But if you're all beginners and so on, hit up perisher blew. Easier access than Hotham from Sydney for you, most terrain in Australia on 1 pass, depending how quick the boys pick things up there is some fun piste on offer at the lower end of the blue scale (like roller coaster).

Don't do any f those pissy little beginner fields. Your boys will feel like loosers when their friends who have skied before make fun of them for going to a baby ski field. Plus the very limited terrain will get boring for all within a day or two, even if they aren't very good. Blue cow is on the same pass as perisher, as is guthager. You'll not run out of space very fast there.

You had the ski vs snowboard discussion with them?
 
Tubbsy

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Just to clarify, Smiggins is part of Perisher. Same ticket. You can ski over into the rest of the resort no issues.
 
Nerf Herder

Nerf Herder

Wheel size expert
Sign up for a 1 or 2 hour lesson ... they just need to learn how to slow down enough not to hurt themselves or others ... let them loose after that.

Blue Cow is actually really awesome for fast learning teens ...

Japan is best in Feb ... still got COVID action over there so I reckon 2022.
 
mtb1611

mtb1611

Seymour
pink poodle said:
Traps? The entire Australian ski industry is a trap.. .

Save your money and come to Japan when it reopens. Why? Less crowds, better instructor to student ratio, probably cheaper in he right circumstances, softer snow to fall over on, Japanese food, Japanese whisky...I'm not even asking the piss, it is a significantly better option with offerings over Jan+Feb or Easter to suit the busy school schedules you 3 have.

In Australia my favourite location is Hotham. But if you're all beginners and so on, hit up perisher blew. Easier access than Hotham from Sydney for you, most terrain in Australia on 1 pass, depending how quick the boys pick things up there is some fun piste on offer at the lower end of the blue scale (like roller coaster).

Don't do any f those pissy little beginner fields. Your boys will feel like loosers when their friends who have skied before make fun of them for going to a baby ski field. Plus the very limited terrain will get boring for all within a day or two, even if they aren't very good. Blue cow is on the same pass as perisher, as is guthager. You'll not run out of space very fast there.

You had the ski vs snowboard discussion with them?
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Thanks PP. They pick up things pretty quick and aren't afraid to get stuck in (both ride mtb). As for snowboards vs skis, not yet....what's your take in this regard? Definitely would dig a trip to Japan, it's on the radar at some point.
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
mtb1611 said:
Thanks PP. They pick up things pretty quick and aren't afraid to get stuck in (both ride mtb). As for snowboards vs skis, not yet....what's your take in this regard? Definitely would dig a trip to Japan, it's on the radar at some point.
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Pull Japan to the fore! It is a little addictive and well worth it.

As for your actual question, if the boys ride a skateboard or surf, put them on a snowboard. If not...well generally people will have more fun on a snowboard faster than they do on skis, as in the basics are generally picked up quicker. Skis on the other hand offer the nervous beginner a more comfortable start to things because you are generally always facing the direction you are going. A significant hang up for a lot of beginner snowboarders is turning onto their toe edge, thus turning their back to the direction they're heading. Long term both are as fun as each other. If I was a teenager learning all over again I'd choose skiing. When I learnt to board I was a skater boy and I wanted to slam rails and send jumps etc, but on snow. Now I want to launch rocks and carve up waist deep pow. It hurts the body a lot less! For that style of snow skis have a distinct advantage.

IMG_20200719_153748_572~2.jpg


That very lazy grab is mid morning, peak season, on a marked course, on a fairly deep powder day...crowds much?
 
tobbogonist

tobbogonist

a registered member
In 1999 my parents took me to the snow, they hired snow gear from a place in sydney (this is important), we arrived at wherever the snow place was, dad put his hired snow gear on, mum began to put on her gear and as she pushed her leg through the pants discovered an obstruction. I watched my pantsless mother Squeal and hurl the snow trousers across the room. Dad jumped into action with a pair of tongs and slowly lifted the snow trousers up off the ground leg first. A wad of rubber banded money notes rolled out the waist area and onto the ground. $5000. We stayed an extra night and got to hire ski's.
All I can suggest is maybe look at hiring snow gear in Sydney.
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
tobbogonist said:
In 1999 my parents took me to the snow, they hired snow gear from a place in sydney (this is important), we arrived at wherever the snow place was, dad put his hired snow gear on, mum began to put on her gear and as she pushed her leg through the pants discovered an obstruction. I watched my pantsless mother Squeal and hurl the snow trousers across the room. Dad jumped into action with a pair of tongs and slowly lifted the snow trousers up off the ground leg first. A wad of rubber banded money notes rolled out the waist area and onto the ground. $5000. We stayed an extra night and got to hire ski's.
All I can suggest is maybe look at hiring snow gear in Sydney.
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So they took you to the snow, with snow clothing, but originally had no intention of skiing? I'm so confused right now...

I once fell through the snow into a river. The water wasn't deep enough for my feet to get wet while standing on the pile of snow that had fallen in under me, but...the surface was about 3m up. I managed to climb out and back to safety even though my pants were weighed down by the very large amount of shitting myself I had done. Don't back country alone boys and girls! I hadn't intended to, but I became disoriented and took a wrong turn in a white out and relied on a route I'd ridden plenty of times to get me back around to where I needed to be.
 
gippyz

gippyz

Likes Dirt
I'm a beginner boarder and found blue cow very nice for beginner. Not too many people, perfect for learning.

Btw, I've been told many many times to go Japow by some peeps who ski/board season in season out, and you lot have just further convinced me to book Japan when the border re-opens! whisky, onsen, powder snow, ramen, sushi, sashimi, gyoza... oh heavens above!
 
pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
gippyz said:
I'm a beginner boarder and found blue cow very nice for beginner. Not too many people, perfect for learning.

Btw, I've been told many many times to go Japow by some peeps who ski/board season in season out, and you lot have just further convinced me to book Japan when the border re-opens! whisky, onsen, powder snow, ramen, sushi, sashimi, gyoza... oh heavens above!
Click to expand...
Japan life is the good life. Just make sure you do it right! Don't forget the basashi!!!
 
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