This time last year I was getting ready to go on my first ever ski trip. How I had made it to nearly 29 and never been I have no idea. Though I was pretty terrible at it, I really enjoyed the trip. So if you haven’t been before, I would really recommend going. The views are stunning, the atmosphere is relaxed and it is fab trying out something new and using up lots of energy.

If you are planning a trip before the season is up, or want to get ready for next seasons skiing, then here are some of the things that I think we got right for my first time, as well as the things that I would avoid. I would definitely want to get some practice on an indoor slop like Chill Factore back at home before leaving!

Do Check How Far Away The Resort Is

This might sound like a bit of an obvious one. But when you go skiing, you need mountains. You aren’t going to find many of them too close by to cities and airports. When were were choosing where to go in Colorado, we opted for Breckenridge. There were other resorts like Vail and Aspen but they would be a good three hours drive from the airport. After a long haul flight it isn’t what you want. So do check how fast the airport transfers to the resort are. If you’re going to be renting a car, you don’t want to have to drive for miles and miles trying to stay awake!

Don’t Forget Lip Balm with SPF

In the cooler temperatures and at altitude, your lips can really dry out much quicker than normal. Plus, with the sunshine on the bright white snow, it does reflect and you can catch sunburn on the part of your face that is exposed. Which is pretty much your mouth and nose! So if like me, and you get dry or cracked lips white easily, then make sure that you take a good lip balm with you. It needs to have an sunscreen in it ideally, as something like vaseline wouldn’t cut it.

Do Book Your Equipment & Lift Passes Ahead of Time

When we were planning our trip we weren’t sure if we should book our equipment ahead of time or just hire some at the resort. So unless you’re taking your own, then it is a good idea to book ahead. Luckily we did so and it made the process much quicker, as well as cheaper. The same went for lift passes. So check your resort and what is available beforehand.

Don’t Plan Too Much

We had all sorts of ideas when we were originally planning the trip. We thought we might head down into Denver one evening for a baseball game. Then one night we could go to the cinema and one night we’d go workout at the gym. But at the end of a day’s skiing, you are exhausted! So most nights it was going for swim or hot tub, dinner and movies. Even then half of us feel asleep watching them! So don’t stuff your schedule full of stuff. It will be exhausting to fit it all in.

Do Take a Day Off Skiing

If you are on your trip for about a week, then having a full six or seven days worth of skiing is pretty intense. So my advice would be to have at least one day off. We took a day out in the middle of our trip (that did also happen to be my birthday). We still went out and did something but it was just a little less physical. We went snowmobiling up some mountains 13,000ft mountains and to be honest, was one of my most memorable things from the trip. So see if there is snowmobiling, sledding or something like husky dog rides near to where you are staying.

Have you ever been skiing before? What would your tips and advice be?

*collaborative post