I have now finished 8 hours of my 20 hours: ski challenge, so I thought this would be a good time to fill you in on how it’s all going and what I’m finding more difficult.

20 hours: Ski Challenge with Protest - hours 1 to 8

I can:

  • ski from the top of the slope;
  • get down a hill without falling over;
  • get down a hill with control;
  • do turns and snow ploughs; and,
  • fall over…

Pretty sweet huh? And all whilst looking pretty darn good in my Protest clobber (you can see outfit 1 in How to Ski and outfit 2 in Winter Fashion!)

20 hours: Ski Challenge with Protest - hours 1 to 8

But, it’s all VERY slow. In short, I am still in the chicken phase and the big question now is breaking that barrier to a bit more speed!

20 hours: Ski Challenge – hours 1 to 7

I have had 7 hours of lessons with the lovely Lesley at the Everyone Active Silksworth Sports Complex in Sunderland before she had to leave me to go to Austria (how rude!).

20 hours: Ski Challenge with Protest - hours 1 to 8

I found the lessons have been such a confidence boost. Being out with Lesley has enabled me to feel comfortable, even when there are lots of people around. It is also much easier to progress with a teacher as she has given me exercises that, for example, make sure that I’m putting my weight on the right leg, or stop me thinking so much about turning so I relax. All of that has meant I could concentrate on improving whist feeling proud of myself and what I’ve achieved in the lesson.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced so far was after my first fall! We went to the top of the slope during hour 4 and what a view! However, I quickly lost control and pretty much threw myself on the floor. It didn’t hurt and in fact I felt elated afterwards, like I was a proper skier, and even rang Mike to jubilantly tell him.

Reuben also watched the clip of me falling for about 20 minutes, which was nice…and you can see it here (plus more shaky footage!).

BUT, that was on Thursday and my next lesson wasn’t until the following Monday. By then my elation had turned into fear! For nearly the whole lesson I felt really nervous but Lesley snapped me back out of it.

By lessons 6 and 7 I was back into the swing of things and I even fell over again but this time because I was going so slowly!!

20 hours: Ski Challenge – Hour 8

Hour 8 was my first solo ski… 10 days ago and I haven’t managed to go again since! Mike surprised me with a trip to the Xscape Centre in Leeds on our way back from a family visit to Lincolnshire but I chickened out. In my defence it was super busy and I was a day away from being wiped out by a virus for 3 days.

20 hours: Ski Challenge with Protest - hours 1 to 8

But my solo ski, although a bit nerve-wracking and not as much fun without Lesley, was really good.

It is such a nice way to spend an hour, I’d highly recommend it! The views are spectacular, it’s definitely good exercise (phew!) and it allows you to switch your head off and focus on what you’re doing while getting some fresh air and vitamin D. What’s not to love?

Speaking of which…

Would you like to give Skiing a go?

If you fancy having a go at skiing, Everyone Active have an exclusive offer for you as a Mums’ Days Reader!

1. Ski foundation 1 course

– 1 hour taster session for beginners aged 7 and above. Use code MUMSKI5 to get the course for £5 instead of £22.

2. Kinder Ski course

– 10 week beginners course for children between 4 and 6. 1 hour per week of 10 weeks. Use code MUMSKI45 to get the course for £45 instead of £68. 

All you need to do is

Let me know if you do decide to give it a go, I’d love to hear how you get on! They also do snow tubing which is suitable for all ages, so I’m thinking about it for Reuben’s birthday next year…!

20 hours: Ski Challenge

So, that’s it so far…I have 12 hours left of my 20 hours. I think the plan is to get 1 or 2 more hours practise at the Silksworth Sports Complex before we jet off to France where I will have another set of lessons. So my final update will be at the start of January after my 20th hour!!!