Being an Aussie, my opportunities to go skiing have been extremely rare.
With winters like a UK summer and temperatures hitting heights of 40+ degrees between December and February, it's safe to say there isn't much snow in Australia.
Even since I moved to the UK eight years ago, the opportunity to go skiiing has never presented itself. Until now.
Thanks to leading ski tour operator Sunweb, I travelled to Les Arcs in the French Alps last month to try my hand at skiing.
Learning to ski for the first time...at 33 years-old
I have to admit, when I first arrived at Les Arcs it was all a little overwhelming.
Snow everywhere, people zipping down slopes on skis and snowboards. All a far cry from what I grew up with in Australia.
But after a walk around to get our baring's and a good nights sleep, tackling the slopes and hanging out for a few days in the French Alps didn't seem so daunting.
I know what you're saying - "hard life" right!? But someone's got to do it.
@uktoday_ I’ve never been skiing before…until now. And learning how to ski isn’t as scary as you think. I headed to @Les Arcs in the French Alps to learn how to ski and this is how it went… #ski #skiing #skiingtiktok #skitok #learningtoski #lesarcs #frenchalps ♬ Asking Twice - BLVKSHP
Having never skied before, and not knowing many people that have, I wasn't really sure what to expect.
A colleague and I had three private lessons booked in, spread out over three days.
Safe to say I was fairly excited, and a little nervous heading into the first session.
Clicking into the skis for the first time, I thought I would end up falling over straight away, but they are surprisingly easy to control and get around in. Just like having an extension on your feet.
We started off fairly simple, on a tiny practice slope for beginners where we were able to learn the basics - the positions to have our feet in, how to turn and how to stop.
That was all fairly straight forward and at the end of the lesson we got our first taste of tackling a run.
It was a little scary but was a good opportunity to put our newly learnt skills to the test.
It was a gentle decline to start with before opening out to a slightly steeper decent, that was the difficult bit.
In my head I was worried I was going to loose control, not be able to stop and just go sliding off down the slope.
The other thing to keep in mind is that while you are trying to learn, there are more experienced skiers/snowboarders zipping past you.
So you also have to keep your wits about you as to not crash in to anyone.
The first day was a relative success, it seemed like we had picked up some of the basics and we were excited for day two.
The second lesson didn't go as well.
We spent the second day on the same slope we finished the first lesson on, doing run after run, in an attempt to further develop our skiing.
I quickly learnt that skiing is a very good leveller. Just as you think you've figured it out, you lose control and end up on the ground. Realising, "ahh perhaps I don't got it".
Despite it being just my second lesson, my competitive juices started flowing and I began getting frustrated with myself (which probably didn't help things).
If you had of asked me at the end of the second session whether I enjoyed skiing and would try it again, I would have very quickly said "no".
However, day three was a completely different story and everything seemed to just click.
We began to tackle some slightly longer and more challenging runs, and despite still going slow to start with by the end of the lesson I felt really comfortable skiing as was really enjoying it.
I think the longer runs and having less stopping and starting really helped. And I worked out a few tricks to help slow myself down and stop easier, which really helped calm me when out on the slopes.
Like anything, the more you practice, the more confidence you build in your ability and you back yourself to perform those skills.
Some people laughed at me when I told them I was learning to ski for the first time at 33, and it's easy to see why.
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When you're out on the slopes there's kids, who look like they are about 2, flying down steep hills with ease.
But it shouldn't matter how old you are, it's never too late to pick up skiing and I would highly recommend anyone who is considering it to do so.
This trip was thanks to Sunweb. The leading ski tour operator offers package deals to France which include ski hire and lift passes in the price.
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