Skiing wasn’t an activity that had crossed my mind or that I was even remotely interested in. Growing up in a small town, I didn’t know it even existed – it simply wasn’t a thing. I don’t recall watching the Winter Olympics either, so no exposure there. It wasn’t until I went to university, meeting new friends, where some went on annual ski holidays – they’re the skiing family. Even then, I still wasn’t interested until now, when the opportunity came my way.

Fast forwarding to my 30s, it wasn’t until a group of friends invited two others and me (the three beginner musketeers) to join their next ski trip, keeping in mind they have been skiing every year for the past 10+ years and have also learnt to ski as adults. If they could do it, maybe we could too? I wanted to try new things whilst I’m in my 30s, so this definitely tickled my interest.

Rather than jumping in the deep end and waiting until the actual trip itself to learn, we decided to start taking ski lessons at The Snow Centre to build our foundations and to know whether we will enjoy it or not. It’s better to know early before committing to the trip. After the first lesson, we said yes, let’s book that flight to France. Three more lessons later, we were on that flight. All the instructors we had at The Snow Centre recommended booking a lesson when we were out there, and that is exactly what we did. Booking a private group lesson was the best decision and I would 100% recommend.

Day 1 – Arrival

We flew from London Gatwick to Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport, and picking up our car hire was the first thing on the to-do list. For 7 days, the total was £225, excluding the snow chains, which would cost an extra £70-80 per day. It is cheaper to buy them once you’re there if it’s a necessity.

Next on the agenda was the hypermarket run to do a big food shop (as long as it can fit in the car). It is cheaper than the smaller supermarkets within the resort and will make the trip cheaper overall. We stopped off at Carrefour Grenoble Meylan, and I felt like a kid again, walking around looking for my parents after wandering off. Looking at what the supermarkets abroad stock brings joy to my life (mainly because of the snacks).

It was another two hour drive to our accommodation, La Cour aux Ecureuils, in Paradiski and we arrived after the Intersport closing time, so we weren’t able to get our ski boots fitted, ready for the next day.

Day 2 – Private lesson

My first full day, and it was a rush getting my boots and skis then to head straight to the Esf Peisey-Vallandry ski school for our private lesson. The excitement was real, plus a sprinkle of nerves too. There’s something so valuable about having a fresh set of expert eyes and getting feedback on my technique – his explanations, demonstrations, analogies and recommendations were out of this world. He also helped us to become familiar with the mountain, how to navigate it safely and the routes we should take or try out. Thank you, Jean Pierre, for your institutional knowledge and the laughs during the 2 hour lesson.

A 2 hour lesson was a good introduction and start to the week. It may not sound long but as beginners, we wanted to ease ourselves in and not tire out. It can be taxing on the body which I realised over the next couple of days. We decided to explore the resort without a planned route and see where our feet took us.

We came across the open-air standing gondola, Lonzagne, at Peisey-Vallandry, taking you to Le Villaret (Peisey village). It’s free and you don’t need a ski pass to use so we thought, why not? Stunning views as you traverse but I did get the jelly legs every time we went through a support tower. After exploring the village, we headed back up and headed to the Vallandry side of the resort.

Day 3 – Bumps and Bruises

We listened to our instructor and ditched the poles to get a feel of the skis and refine the foundations needed to start parallel skiing. Our intermediate level friends joined us that morning, showing us around and giving us tips which is always appreciated. I’ve learnt how to do a hockey stop because of them. In our eyes, one run looked like a nice, wide blue run, but turned out to be a red run. The morning quickly became a mix of falling, frustration and fear which unfortunately led to a panic attack on the slope. It wasn’t ideal but I was able to recover mentally and continue skiing – get up and try again. I’m not an adrenaline junkie or a thrill seeker, so skiing at 15kph felt like 80; I was scared for my life.

I wish I could say I came out unscathered but my right knee told a different story – heavily bruised after falling and hitting the side of my ski several times. It was one of the painful souvenirs. In hindsight, we should have kindly told them we’ll be doing runs based on our current level. At the time, it felt like we were wasting their time, slowing them down with our countless falls. They meant well and were encouraging but it was too soon. Lesson learnt.

Day 4 – Not the Greatest Days

Red Bull, call me.

Another day, another fall. This time, an advanced-level friend joined us on our runs so he could test out his newly swapped boots, as well as to see our progress and shared a few tips. Positive intentions but it was a repeat of the previous day – plenty of falls. After a morning of blue runs, my legs started to feel tired and this is where I should have listened to my body. Instead, I convinced myself I was able to power through with more – blue runs to La Folie Douce in Arc 1800 for lunch and blue runs back down to our accommodation. Big mistake.

As the afternoon went on, there were parts of the run where my legs didn’t listen to what I wanted to do. My mind was saying one thing whilst my legs were doing another. Still, I was able to navigate safely until the very last run of the day. Ironically, I’ve done this run plenty of times without issues but that’s where my body had passed its limit. I fell and landed awkwardly, felt a pull on the inside of my left knee and heard something. Fortunately, I was able to stand up and finish the run back to the accomodation adrenaline carried me through. Once it wore off, it was a different story.

Day 5 – Scan

I visited the doctors to understand the condition of my left knee. After an x-ray and a knee examination, luckily, it was a sprain. I suspected it would be a sprain based on previous knee sprains I’ve had in the past, but the fear of a tear has always lingered at the back of my mind. I was prescribed a knee support brace and continued with the RICE method. Even though it meant I wouldn’t be able to ski for the rest of the week but I was grateful that it wasn’t anything more serious. It was a day in.

Day 6 – FOMO

This was, without a doubt, the toughest day for me mentally. I thought I would be ok staying indoors for a second day but cabin fever and fomo hit me by late morning. Introverted me wouldn’t mind staying in but the thought of staying indoors whilst on holiday took a toll on me mentally.

I’m the type who is out all day, exploring, doing something at least and comes back in the evening after making the most out of the day. I don’t like wasting away doing nothing and would have considered a day like this to be a waste of precious time and money. I was alone in the morning and my thoughts took over, circling through the same thoughts and emotions. Distractions didn’t help. I’m lucky to have my partner to help me through it when he came back for lunch.

Day 7 – Après Ski

After the emotional weight of the previous day, I felt much lighter and there’s no internal battle with my own thoughts as I’ve accepted the situation. I was able to join everyone for lunch and was persuaded to head to après afterwards to let my hair down. I am thankful my friend gave me that nudge. She wanted me to experience it and to end my last day here on a high note.

Honestly, I never would have thought it would be something I’d enjoy as I left the partying lifestyle behind in my 20s. I thoroughly enjoyed it as it was a different vibe and not like clubbing. We ended the day with a trip to the spa and raclette for dinner.

If I had to describe the trip in three words, it would be fun, painful and emotional.

• Fun – I enjoyed my time despite the next two points. I would definitely go again to continue to refine my technique and build up more confidence. More lessons at The Snow Centre are needed.
• Painful – As a beginner, my body took a battering. I left France with my legs covered in bruises and a sprained knee strapped in a knee brace support.
• Emotional – A lot of negative emotions came into play: fear, sadness, vulnerability, tiredness and disappointment.

My first ski trip to Paradiski as a beginner left an impression on me and I want to return to this resort. Despite the mixed emotions, I’ll be back on the slopes with vengeance, with the possibility of switching to snowboarding instead. There were lessons learnt which I’ll write up – a few dos and don’ts.