Zakopane 2023: Snowboarding Lesson
As we were going to be surrounded by snow, we thought we may as well make the most of it. Therefore we decided a snowboarding lesson was on our holiday bucket list!
There are many ski schools in and around Zakopane. After some research, we decided on NOSAL Ski Training Centre. It is family friendly, great for beginners and the location being close to our hotel.
As we were all complete beginners we decided to book a 1 hour private lesson. We were able to book this via email in advance of our holiday. I had an instructor for myself whilst my parents had an instructor between them.
There is an on-site chargeable Car park which can get busy, so make sure you give yourself time to find alternative parking if it is full.
We arrived 1 hour before our lesson as we were hiring boots, board and a helmet. Make sure you take ID (either passport or driving licence) as this will need to be left with the hire shop as a deposit. There are lockers available for 2 Zloty (non-refundable) which we used, but most people just left their shoes under the benches.
We each had to purchased a 1 hour ski pass. These cost 45 Zloty per pass, which included a 10 Zloty refundable deposit.
Both of our instructors spoke good English. After initial introductions we proceeded onto one of the slopes for a quick warm-up. They then checked that our boots fitted properly and were securely fastened before before introducing us to our boards and talking us through how to strap ourselves into the bindings.
I then split off with my instructor leaving my parents with theirs. We walked a bit further up the slope before running through a few key skills. My dominant foot was strapped into the board and I used my other foot to help me manoeuvre. I was then fully strapped into the board and shown how to fall safely both forwards and backwards. It was then time for my first descent!!!
With my instructor directly in front of me I had to edge sideways down the slope. The back edge of the snowboard was used a brake to control my speed. This felt very unnatural at first but with encouragement from my instructor I was able to make it all the way down and by the end of the run. With the success of my first run, I was feeling a lot more comfortable.
I was then introduced to the button lift, which we rode to the top of the slope. On this run we started to develop the “falling leaf” technique to make zig-zag turns on my way down. The rest of the lesson continued in the same format, riding the lift to the top and then making a controlled descent with turns, building my technique an confidence. I think I made six runs in total!
I was able to pick up the snowboarding quickly due to skateboarding at surfing at home. On the other hand, I think my parents found the lesson a lot more challenging. They both spent a lot more of their time sat in the snow🤣🤣🤣
Our instructors were patient and encouraging when our confidence was low and this gave us the motivation to carry on. The hour lesson flew by too quickly, and I think a two hour lesson would have been a better option.
After the lesson we visited the onsite bar for an apres-ski drink. There is also a restaurant and shop onsite.
I am looking forward to snowboarding again in the future!
