Can you go skiing alone as a beginner?
By The Solo Ski People
Have you ever wanted to go skiing but didn’t have anyone to go with? Don’t let that stop you! As a beginner, skiing alone might seem daunting at first, but it’s absolutely possible. In fact, there are many options available to solo skiers who are just starting out.
Dedicated Solo Ski Holidays for Beginners
If you’re worried about being alone on the slopes, you can actually join a dedicated ski holiday for solo beginners. These trips provide the perfect combination of socialising and learning, in your own little bubble of people in the same shoes as you.
Often hosted in a chalet, these weeks have everything organised for you. All you will need to do is organise your travel, the hire, passes, lessons, accommodation and food is all sorted.
Your typical day will look like this:
Get up - head downstairs to a lovely continental and cooked breakfast prepared by your chalet hosts.
Get your gear on and head out to the ski school meeting point. Depending on your chalet, you'll either be shuttled off in a mini bus or walk/ take the ski bus.
Learn under the watchful eyes of the instructor for half a day.
Take a lunch break with your new friends then spend the afternoon practicing before you head to apres.
Apres ski! Some people like to hit the bars, some like to head back to the chalet to grab the prepared afternoon tea, relax in a hot tub and take some time alone. There will always be someone who fits the same vibe as you.
In the evenings you'll sit down to dinner together, enjoy 3-4 courses of freshly prepared food, and generally free flowing house wine and beer.
Get up, rinse and repeat.
Head to our collection of Social Holidays - filter by Beginner abilitiy
Social Solo Ski Trips +Lessons
Dedicated beginners holidays are quite scarse, so you might not fit the dates. However, there are still plenty of options available to you. You can go on a generic solo trip and book your own lessons for during the day. Social solo ski trips are open to skiers and snowboarders of all abilities, there's always a mix.
That way you have skiers you can socialise with, some may even still be learning too. Often, group ski lessons are in the morning, so in the afternoon you'll have a group of people to meet up with and practice. Even if you don't - you will meet for apres and spend your evenings together.
Just like the dedicated beginners weeks, a lot will be sorted for you (Hire, lift pass etc.) and you'll just need to add lessons.
Don't know where to start booking lessons?
Every ski resort has a ski school!
Head to Maison Sport and select your resort, from there you can pick private lessons or group lessons.
In the unlikely event that they don't cover your resort - your holiday provider will be more than happy to reccomend you a local ski school, so drop them a message when you enquire.
What ski lessons should you pick?
Private and group lessons both have their pros and cons.
Private lessons will have you skiing much quicker than group ones, as they're tailored to you.
Group lessons are cheaper, and for the extroverts amongst you, will provide a ready social group you can practice with after the lessons are done.
Want to find a solo holiday...
Head to our collection of Social Holidays - filter by "Any" abilitiy
Club Med Ski Holidays
If you’re looking for a more inclusive ski experience, consider going on a holiday with Club Med.
They offer all-inclusive ski holidays with ski school.
This means that you won’t have to worry about booking your own ski lessons or finding other skiers to ski with. You’ll be able to focus on enjoying your holiday and improving your skills without any added stress.
Learn to Ski in the UK
Hear me out, I'm in no way suggesting you DON'T go on a ski holiday, what I am saying is consider getting lessons locally before you go. The learning curve to ski is exponential, meaning, the first few hours are steep but once you're semi-confidently on your feet, you can progress really quick. So a few hours in a snowdome or dryslope before the season begins (when its cheaper by the way) will go a long way.
That way - you can still go on a beginners and improvers week, or a normal solos holiday, but when you get there you'll be able to see a lot more of the mountain and keep up with a lot more of your chalet peers.
Build your own solo ski holiday
We have built a whole section to talk you through this - head to the menu to check it out.
Building your own solo ski holiday is not a daunting as it seems, you'll know all the tips and tricks usually associated with DIYing your own holiday.
The biggest overwhelm is picking where, knowing when to go and choosing what type of accommodation you stay in.
Guess what, we've got it all covered in our planning pages.
In conclusion
Going skiing alone as a beginner might seem scary, but it’s completely doable. There are plenty of options available, from dedicated solo ski holidays to joining a ski school group lesson. Just remember to take your time, be patient with yourself, and most importantly, have fun! Skiing is a wonderful sport that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of whether or not you have someone to go with.