Skiing Levels

We want you to love skiing as much as we do and believe the most fun you can have on snow is when you’re learning and achieving a higher performance level. Thankfully, no matter how good we get, there’s always room for progression.

Every winter we have the satisfaction of witnessing both novice, sometimes timid, skiers transform into confident all-mountain skiers, and experienced experts fine tune their technique and push themselves to a level they previously only dreamed off.

Who’s it for?

If you want to progress, we have a course for you.

That said, some ski courses don’t suit all ability levels so on each course page you’ll find a “Who’s it For” banner indicating which ability levels the course is suitable for.

Working out your level

Read through the Nonstop ability levels below and decide which level best suits you. When you complete our booking form you’ll need to state what your level is.

If you have any questions or are unsure about which course is most suitable for you, please get in touch.

Ski Groups

At Nonstop we don’t believe in using a “ski-off” (where skiers are judged in front of one another as they each ski down a slope).  We organise our ski groups in advance of your arrival using information you’ve provided us about your previous ski experience in our pre-trip questionnaire. Adjustments can easily be made in the first few coaching days if beneficial to your progression.

Not only do we have small group sizes, but we are fortunate that our courses are popular so we have plenty of groups covering many ability and confidence levels; we can ensure you’ll be skiing with others of a similar level who want to ski similar terrain.

never too good

As you become a better skier it can become harder to find friends who want the same ski experiences as you. Nonstop attracts plenty of extremely accomplished skiers so by joining us not only will our ski coaches get you performing at a higher level, you’ll also meet like-minded skiers who share your passion for being, and challenging themselves, in the mountains.

Beginners

Travelling with a beginner? Although we don’t take beginner skiers we can arrange alternative lessons for them, through a local snowsport school. We can arrange an amazing ski experience for both of you. Get in touch and we can chat through your options.

ABILITY LEVELS

NOVICE

• Skiing is a new hobby of yours but you’re hooked and want to learn more
• You are more than comfortable with snow plough turns and are progressing into parallel turns, but at times you find it difficult to turn when you want to
• At the start of the turn you use a little snowplough to begin the direction change and then finish with parallel ski
• You are prepared to ski outside your comfort zone (within reason) in order to ski steeper terrain and develop your skills
• You have skied easier blue runs but steep blues and black runs are still intimidating.

INTERMEDIATE

• You are becoming more confident on your skis and can turn when you want to and if you need to
• You are skiing increasingly steeper terrain (steeper blue runs, some easy blacks or the equivalent European Reds)
• The snowplough at the start of your turn is only evident when the terrain is particularly difficult or steep, but in easier terrain you are almost always parallel
• You are beginning to understand the concept of carving and are starting to ski at speed with both skis running on an edge
• You are happy to explore easier off-piste and un-groomed terrain.
  
  

ADVANCED

• You are a confident skier who enjoys skiing a variety of terrain (including powder), but needs coaching to iron out bad habits
• You enjoy skiing black runs and fast on groomed runs
• You can adapt your turns to suit the terrain and vary between steered shorter turns and longer carved turns
• You are willing to push your skiing in moguls and trees but need practice and coaching to really feel comfortable
• Steep un-groomed black runs and challenging off-piste cause bad habits to return.
  
  

EXPERT

• You have been skiing for years and are comfortable when asked to ski almost any terrain
• You can make adjustments in your skiing to allow for changing conditions whilst moving e.g. when skiing from groomed to un-groomed or from a shallow pitch to a steeper pitch
• You have experience skiing trees, moguls, powder, choppy snow, ice and any other condition the mountain can throw up, even if you cannot always ski it with style
• You feel like you can ski anything but would like to be able to refine your technique and improve your control
• You can carve at speed down black runs.