Navigating a Slippery Slope: Learning to Ski as an Adult

These resorts offer lessons for older adults just starting out

An older adult learning to ski may have more fear and trepidation than someone learning as a child, but that shouldn’t stop older adults from learning.

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Susan B. Barnes,

AARP

Published November 14, 2024

Butterflies flitting about my stomach, my hands start sweating inside my gloves as I glance at the chairlift passing overhead taking skiers to wherever their next exhilarating run begins. Refocusing on the task at hand, I take a few deep breaths to try and psych myself up to tackle the slope of the beginner’s hill — without falling.

Pushing off, I find my 52-year-old-self gaining speed and panic setting in. Incorporating more yoga-like breathing, I slide my skis from “French fries” (parallel) into “a slice of pizza” (triangular), the fast food-themed shapes I learned in beginner skier lessons over the years in New York, Colorado, Utah and Northern California. Slowing down, I replay my instructors’ words in my mind; my nerves start to calm, and I settle into my run. It isn’t fast, it isn’t necessarily pretty, but I make it to the bottom of the hill without falling. I take the win with a grin on my face and swish, swish, swish myself into the lift line for another run.

Growing up, my family never lived anyplace where skiing was an accessible activity save Southern California, where I gave cross-country skiing a try when I was in elementary school. In early adulthood, the thought of bundling up to spend time out in the snow wasn’t appealing. As I’ve grown older, though, I find myself seeking new ways to challenge myself and am always up for an adventure. That’s how I found myself taking my first ski lesson about a decade ago.

Embracing fearlessness

On my very first bunny hill, I remember watching toddlers speed past on their tiny skis without fear as I nervously rode the magic carpet, desperately trying to not topple over. It’s then that I learn my first lesson when it comes to skiing: not to compare myself to others. As an adult, I know that I have more trepidation and fear than those kids, understanding the risk of injury. But rather than letting that fear hold me back, I instead try to embrace the fearlessness of my inner child.

“When I think about older adults … there’s more of a fear factor,” says Tom Stevenson, a retired transportation executive turned ski instructor at Snowbasin Resort in Utah. I took a beginner’s lesson with him last winter.

“As you get older, you’re not as strong, you’re not as flexible as you were when you were younger, so you’re … a little bit more cautious,” he adds. “But that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to ski.”

Which brings me back to lessons, and why I take a beginner’s lesson each time I can get myself back out onto the slopes.

Living in Florida is not conducive to wintertime sports, so skiing isn’t something I do often during the season. When I am back on the slopes, though, it’s like riding a bike. With a beginner’s lesson, the skills I’ve learned over the years come flooding back. That said, I know myself, and I know I feel more confident with an instructor alongside to guide me.

I also depend on an instructor to let me know when they think I’m ready to progress to the next level. During my more recent beginner’s lessons, after seeing what I have in my very shallow ski toolbox, my instructors quickly advance me from bunny hills to green (beginner) runs, with the occasional blue (intermediate) thrown in. I gleefully embrace the sense of pride I feel running those greens and blues.

Over the years since my first ski lesson, I’ve come to realize that’s where I’m happiest, skiing at the levels at which I feel most comfortable. I don’t foresee myself advancing to black diamond (expert) runs, and I am fine with that. I’m having fun and staying healthy, and quite honestly that’s what it’s all about for me.

50-plus active in snowsports

“Skiing is something that adults, even those over 50, can absolutely learn and enjoy for years to come,” says Kim Casey, director of mountain sports at Copper Mountain in Colorado.

Richard Lambert, president of the 70+ Ski Club, agrees. With more than 3,000 members around the U.S., the club’s members are at least 70 years old, all skiers or snowboarders.

a skier showing shapes she learned at beginner lessons

Susan B. Barnes demonstrates the “slice of pizza” — or triangular — shape she learned in beginner skier lessons.

Courtesy Susan B. Barnes

“I’ve known plenty of people who have taken up skiing in their 50s and beyond,” Lambert says. “Sometimes they tried it a few times when they were younger, but never had the time to stick with it. Others found themselves in a new relationship with a partner who skis. Whether they took it up recently or have skied for decades, skiing can be a lifetime sport.”

According to the National Ski Areas Association, 22 percent of skier visits were attributed to skiers 55 and older during the 2023-24 season, and skiers between the ages of 60 and 78 reached a five-year high of 15 percent. I’m not alone in learning to ski as an older adult, either — 2 percent of people who tried snowsports for the first time last season were ages 45 and older.

I’m feeling a bit more confident on my next run. As I gain speed, and instead of sliding my skis into the fast-food shapes of my previous attempt, I instead alternate my weight onto each of my legs, gently turning into the slope each time to slow myself, just as my instructors had taught me. This time, my smile spreads across my face from the top of the hill as I glide my skis to parallel and welcome the speed.