Evergreen Ski Lesson - A Typical Day
We here at Evergreen pride ourselves in providing quality ski instruction in Hakuba that is equivalent to international standards of ski teaching methodologies. Our instructors all hold certification and regularly receive training to further their skills and teaching strategies. As professionals in the ski industry our aim is to introduce proper skiing techniques in a safe environment where our clients can increase their ability, feel satisfied with their achievements and have fun out on the slopes.
A typical day begins at 9:00AM where you will be greeted at our ski school, sign in, finalize payments and meet your instructor for the day. Once you have signed in, you can relax in the rest area in Kokusai Lodge or wait outside for your lesson to begin. At 9:30AM your instructor will have gathered all the students together (in the case of group lessons) or will call you by name and will start your lesson. For PM lessons the sign-in procedure is the same, with both morning and afternoon lessons running for two and a half hours. A full day lessons is five hours with a one hour lunch break from 12:00PM-1:00PM. We begin all lessons with a brief stretch to work out the kinks and limber up before hitting the hill.
For kids ski lessons, helmets are not mandatory but are highly recommended. For adult lessons we leave the choice up to you whether to wear a helmet or not.
›› Click here to see Evergreen's ski level classifications and take a moment to think about your goals.
What to expect:
First Time Skiers (Level 0)
For our clients that are new to skiing, we want you to feel comfortable and confident right off the bat. This lesson is a fun and instructive introduction to the sport of skiing. Since you are our guest, we think it's important that we focus on you and your progress. We want you to have a good time, so that you will want to continue to develop a lifelong passion for skiing just as we all have.
We'll help you develop the skills you need to be a great skier. Since balancing and being able to move easily and freely are important skills in skiing, our ski pro's will focus on these in the first lesson while teaching you the "how to's" of skiing. We start by making sure that your equipment is adjusted properly and then show you how to use it. After that we'll start moving around so you get used to sliding while we explain about falling down safely and getting back up easily. We'll take you through the steps needed to glide, stop and turn. We want you to experience this as soon and as often as you can during your lesson. Once you can turn both ways and stop consistently, you'll be ready to ride the chair and take some longer runs with your instructor. To get you safely down the hill we will introduce the idea of speed control.
Novice Skiers (Levels 1-2)
For those of you who have skied before and are looking to take their skiing up a notch, these lessons are focused on developing towards an intermediate level. Skiing fluidly and smoothly on all slopes and in all types of snow conditions does not come overnight but with our instruction and training practices you will see yourself making progress.
We’ll teach you the steps you'll need to know to make the move towards parallel skiing. We'll expose you to different types of runs and terrain so that you can comfortably move around. At this stage we will also teach you more about the "Skiers Responsibility Code" and how to be safe while having fun skiing anywhere you decide to go. As your experience increases we'll introduce you to more challenging terrain, instructing and encouraging you along the way Intermediate Skiers (3-4).You'll be carving before you can say "lickity split".
Intermediate Skiers (Levels 3-4)
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Advanced Skiers (Levels 5-6)
Skiers we see at this level have plenty of experience in various terrain and snow conditions and know the concepts of advanced skiing but may still have minor habits or tendencies that keep them from reaching their full potential. We encourage all of our customers to join us and enjoy the benefits of the exciting training offered. An advanced lesson with our professional ski instructors will allow you to fine tune your existing technique.
We can also teach you how to ski a line in the moguls, how to ride powder, how to ride in the trees and how to manage difficult snow conditions. For those looking to catch some air, we can teach freestyle too. Kids looking for ski racing techniques can also learn how to rip a slalom course and how to ski fast but in control. What we teach is up to you. Twin-tips and fat powder skis are more than welcome!
