{"id":655,"date":"2015-05-11T06:47:25","date_gmt":"2015-05-11T06:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/?p=655"},"modified":"2015-05-11T07:56:26","modified_gmt":"2015-05-11T07:56:26","slug":"passion-for-piste-a-first-time-skier-takes-to-the-slopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2015\/05\/passion-for-piste-a-first-time-skier-takes-to-the-slopes\/","title":{"rendered":"Passion for piste: A first-time skier takes to the slopes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Coming from the sunny South African climate where snow is something that makes the evening news, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to tick \u201cski trip\u201d off my travel wishlist.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>By: Tatum Alexander<\/p>\n<p>Nothing quite takes your breath away like snowy mountain caps covered in white fluffy snow with crystal clear streams running as the last of the winter\u2019s snow melts away into spring.<\/p>\n<p>The change in season however did not hamper the exhilarating ski experience that awaited our group of intrepid skiers. Breuil-Cervinia in the Italian Alps, which shares its slopes with Zermatt in Switzerland, is one of Europe\u2019s highest ski resorts. Cervinia has a remarkable mountain view, and from what I\u2019ve heard from regular skiers, it offers some of the best skiing in the world as most Europeans prefer the piste here over other areas.<\/p>\n<p>You can definitely expect a challenging first day as skiing is completely different to anything you might have done before. On day one we were split into groups and introduced to our ski instructors, who quickly taught us the techniques we needed to take on the slopes.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of the week, nothing beat the feeling of skiing down the blue (easy) and red (medium) slopes with a cold breeze rushing against your face and the sense of accomplishment that comes with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here are a few essentials you will need for your ski trip:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ski equipment \u2013 you will be able to hire the equipment from the resort or a ski shop in the village.<\/li>\n<li>Ski jacket &amp; pants \u2013 Ski clothing is very expensive so you may want to borrow or hire a ski jacket and pants for your trip. Thermal underwear to wear underneath your ski clothing helps to keep you dry and warm in the cold, wet conditions.<\/li>\n<li>Waterproof gloves<\/li>\n<li>Ski socks \u2013 not too thick as the boots may be too tight.<\/li>\n<li>Beanie \u2013 a decent woolly hat, to keep your head and ears warm as it could get very cold.<\/li>\n<li>Goggles or sunglasses \u2013 Goggles are recommended on windy and snowfall days, however sunglasses will do for the finer days<\/li>\n<li>Sunscreen \u2013 Although it\u2019s cold the sun is very strong and you will catch a tan! Use a high factor sunscreen every day and apply frequently<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the wise words of Jim Bowden, \u201cSkiing is a dance, and the mountain always leads.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-655 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2015\/05\/passion-for-piste-a-first-time-skier-takes-to-the-slopes\/20150420_105353\/#main'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/20150420_105353-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/20150420_105353-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/20150420_105353-179x179.jpg 179w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2015\/05\/passion-for-piste-a-first-time-skier-takes-to-the-slopes\/20150424_084210\/#main'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/20150424_084210-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/20150424_084210-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/20150424_084210-179x179.jpg 179w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/2015\/05\/passion-for-piste-a-first-time-skier-takes-to-the-slopes\/img-20150425-wa0051\/#main'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/IMG-20150425-WA0051-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/IMG-20150425-WA0051-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thebe.co.za\/thebeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/IMG-20150425-WA0051-179x179.jpg 179w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coming from the sunny South African climate where snow is something that makes the evening news, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to tick \u201cski trip\u201d off my travel wishlist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","post_format-post-format-image"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.3 - 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