Updated August 22, 2025
I have been skiing and snowboarding for over twenty years, and in that time one thing has never changed: resorts still treat beginners like an afterthought. Which is ridiculous, because beginners are literally the future of this sport. Without them, lift lines shrink, sales dry up and the whole industry collapses.
Yet if you show up on day one ready to learn, most resorts make it feel like you are crashing a private club you were never invited to.
The Money Problem
Let’s start with money. A first-time skier shows up, rents boots that feel like cinder blocks, grabs a pair of skis that look like they were retired ten years ago, and pays $200+ for the privilege of wobbling down the bunny slope. Imagine dropping that much cash only to spend the whole day falling over and hating life. Resorts talk endlessly about “growing the sport” but then make the price of entry absurd.
When I was instructing, I lost count of how many families showed up, dropped thousands in a single day and never came back. Why would they? If your first impression is debt and bruises, you will find another hobby.
Beginner Zones Are an Afterthought
Most resorts shove beginners into some forgotten corner of the mountain. A tiny rope tow. A patch of snow smaller than the lodge deck. Often icy, often crowded, always uninspiring. Then you look across and see acres of beautiful terrain roped off for “advanced riders only.”
As an instructor, I used to walk beginners up the hill by hand because the so-called learning area was so poorly designed it felt like a punishment. There is no flow, no natural progression, no sense of fun. You cannot expect someone to fall in love with skiing if their only view is a gravel parking lot and a lift tower.
Instructors With Their Hands Tied
I say this as someone who taught for years: ski schools are broken. Most instructors are incredible people who love the sport, but the system sets them up to fail. Classes are overcrowded. Pay is garbage. Resorts stick brand-new hires with six-year-olds on their second day of work. And guess what happens? The kids are terrified, the parents are furious and the instructor burns out.
I used to have eight or nine complete beginners in a single group, all at different levels, all falling over at once. It was like herding cats in ski boots. You can imagine how much progress those students made in a two-hour block.
The Culture Gap
This one might sting, but it is true: mountain culture can be cold. Beginners feel judged the moment they step into a lift line. They know they look awkward. They know they are holding people up. Too often, instead of encouragement, they get eye rolls from locals who were beginners themselves once.
I still remember being a teenager, terrified on my first black run and some guy yelling “get out of the way” as he sprayed me with snow. It stuck with me. Years later, I saw the same thing happen to one of my students. If that is your introduction to ski culture, no wonder people quit.
So How Do We Fix It?
Resorts love to pour money into high-speed lifts, luxury hotels and terrain parks. Cool. But none of that matters if you cannot get new people hooked. Here is where to start:
Affordable first-timer packages. Rentals, lessons and lift tickets bundled for a reasonable price. Stop trying to squeeze every dollar out of someone on day one.
Real learning terrain. Wide, gentle slopes with carpets or easy lifts. Not the steepest, iciest pitch at the bottom of the mountain.
Smaller class sizes. Pay instructors properly, give them support and cap lessons at a number where people can actually learn.
Mentorship and culture. Encourage locals to help, not haze. A smile and a tip in the lift line goes a long way.
The Bottom Line
Skiing and snowboarding are incredible. They change lives. But the way resorts treat beginners right now is embarrassing. I have watched too many people leave after their first day because it was too expensive, too frustrating and too unfriendly.
If resorts really want to grow the sport, they need to stop chasing luxury tourists and start investing in the people who are strapping in for the very first time. Because every single expert rider bombing down a chute started out the same way wobbling, falling and hoping someone would show them the ropes.
Agreed?
