Is it safe for fat people to ski?

Now this is a rather unusual question but one that made me want to reply in full, hence the post here to do this issue justice. A reader posted this question on a post I did last year on winter wear. 

Hey! This is a really active comment page and I just want to ask if a person is weighing 100kg and 160cm tall [quite obese], is it advisable to take up skiing? My family is visiting Seoul in Jan and my sister has a weight prob. We are thinking of signing up for a 1 day ski trip to Jisan or Yongpyong and getting the package that includes the ski rentals etc. But, I am just afraid that it's not a suitable activity for my sister. This is the only thing that is stopping us from booking the ski trip. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Well, I am going to talk more generally about the issue of skiing for people who may not fit your image of an Olympic gold medalist - this includes fat people, older people and simply people who are not fit. I think there is just so much misinformation out there on the issue of sports in general and it does frustrate the hell out of me when I hear someone talk rubbish. There are people like my parents who are paranoid about any kind of sports, like anything and everything is dangerous to them. Please do not take advice from people who have no clue what the hell they are talking about. Then you have the other extreme, those who are plain foolhardy. I see a lot of freerunners try tricks that they are completely incapable of doing, they have no technique whatsoever and often hurt themselves - there are plenty of such videos on Youtube. Like, do these people have no basic common sense at all?

For the record, I am a qualified gymnastics coach and have spent many years in gymnastics - being a coach puts me in the position of responsibility. That means that I have to make sure that any gymnast under my care is never put in a position of danger, I would never let them try anything dangerous where they may hurt themselves. A coach who allows his students to fall and hurt themselves badly is a bad coach, because no student should ever be in that position in the first place. We have to do a risk assessment for each student - we have to evaluate the ability of the student against the task we are asking of them: is the student likely to be able to rise to the challenge and do it effortlessly? What is the likelihood of the student falling and getting it wrong? Can I as the coach protect my student if s/he falls? Am I taking my student too far out of his/her comfort zone?

You see, if you've not skied before, there's no way you can just rent a pair of skis and go down the mountain on your own. You will need lessons and your instructor will take full responsibility for teaching your sister whatever she needs to know in order to ski confidently. Maybe she can learn a lot in a day, maybe she won't - but a lot of it doesn't depend on her physical condition! The most important aspect of learning how to ski is being able to listen to instruction and respond to it (rather than giving in to blind panic).

Are you prepared to be a good student?

Let me give you an example. A key part of learning how to ski is balance. The weight is rarely spread evenly on both skis (unless you're going straight down a very gentle slope), any kind of turning will involve learning how to transfer your weight from one ski to the other when you turn. There's nothing dramatic about it, both skis are still in contact with the snow. You just need to subtly lean your body weight over to the downhill side of your body, so that your centre of gravity is over the lower ski. Experienced skiers do this instinctively without having to think, but you'll be amazed how many beginners struggle with this simple aspect of balance. Some people get it, others don't - some figure it out immediately, others take weeks and weeks of lessons and still fall.

This has nothing to do with fitness or obesity. The ski instructor will always explain clearly to the students what they must do in order to shift their weight from one ski to another - what happens next is up to you. Some students listen carefully and are able to process that information: they need to take the words of the instruction and translate them into actual physical movements that correspond with that instruction. So if your brain says, "lean downhill now" - will your legs and body respond with the correct motion? Or will you go into a blind panic and do the complete opposite?

Skiing is a wonderful way to enjoy winter!

How fast someone learns how to ski and how good they become depends on their brains being able to process these instructions from the instructor. A lot of this doesn't depend on talent or fitness per se, but something far more basic. A good learner must be prepared to listen to instructions and take the lesson seriously - a student who is daydreaming and forgetful will not remember what s/he is supposed to do and simply not make any progress. There is another kind of student who is his own worst enemy: the negative student. The negative student just keeps telling himself, "I can't do this, it is too hard, I am going to give up." If you keep telling yourself crap like that, then it turns into a self-fulfilling prophesy. It is so important to feed yourself positive messages when accepting a challenge like that!

A good student will pay attention and listen very carefully to the instructor; he will ask the instructor further questions if he hasn't completely understood the instructions. A good student will believe in himself and motivate himself as well as those around him. This makes such a big difference and the attitude of the student will determine whether he is prepared to learn - if you have the right mindset for learning, then that is half the better won. So as for your overweight sister, I would be far less concerned about her weight and far more interested in her attitude. Is she a positive and optimistic person? What is she like in school as a student - does she pay attention in class and respond well to instructions? How does she respond to the challenges of coping under pressure?

That's me snow blading in Kravaec in Slovenia.

As for her weight, let's not dance around the issue. Yes it is going to work against her, she is fat - there's no denying that. But let's look at where this may be a problem whilst skiing. Skiing lessons are tiring - once you strap on those skis, you're likely to be out there from 9 am till lunchtime, then from 1:30 pm till at least 4:30 pm. If you're in a class, you can't really say to the rest of them, "you guys go ahead, I need to sit down and rest." The instructor will of course, give you plenty of designated breaks during the lesson (for toilet breaks, a cup of coffee or simply to rest your legs). Such is the nature of skiing, you tend to move up and down the slope rather than stay at the same spot.

So if the rest of the class has gone down the hill, you may have problems locating them especially if you are a beginner skier (and damn those mobile phone calls are going to be expensive when you're roaming abroad). The ski instructor is responsible for herding you along as a class and whilst he will make sure that he doesn't push everyone too hard (especially in a beginner's class, you will tend to take things easy to start with), everyone should make some effort to keep up with the rest of the class as you don't want to be the one who holds back the rest of the class. You need a certain level of stamina and endurance, to be able to do sports for that many hours in a day. It is tiring, so it would help if you already are used to doing sports regularly. Mind you, skiing is quite a leisurely sport - it is not as intensive as say, swimming or sprinting which tires you out quickly. You are after all going downhill, propelled by gravity - compare that to say, rock climbing where you're working against gravity, now that's hard work.

Sometimes we just need to lie down for a few minutes

If you wish to prepare yourselves, why not try having an activity day in Singapore - where you spend a whole day doing sports: maybe go to a water theme park (Adventure Cove in Sentosa is great), go cycling, canoeing or do something fun and make sure you spend at least 5 or 6 hours doing something very active. That would be the equivalent of a day of skiing - can you put up with that? Or would you be exhausted by lunchtime? If you're really exhausted after just 2 hours of skiing, the skiing instructor will arrange for you to be taken back to the hotel and rest. That would be a shame and a waste of money, but please note that this is a problem that faces anyone who is unfit and has no stamina (whether they are fat or thin is totally irrelevant, it is just how quickly they become exhausted).

Skiing, like a number of other sports (jogging, tennis, badminton, volleyball, basketball , football etc), also puts quite a lot of stress on your ankles and knees. This really shouldn't be a problem for most people who do sports regularly and their ankles and knees are quite used to taking the stress of hours and hours of physical activity. However, if you spend most of your days sitting down in front of a computer and rarely ever do any exercise, then even just running a minute to catch the bus is going to cause your ankles and knees to ache. Your sister may be overweight, but is she used to exercising regularly? As long as she does some exercise regularly, this shouldn't be a problem.

Thiat's me at the Harakiri piste - strictly for experts!

I say, if your sister is willing to be a good student, has a positive attitude towards learning (and you can be there for her and encourage her!) and if she does some exercise regularly in Singapore, then I don't see any reason why she cannot join you for a day of skiing. I have seen plenty of fat and old people ski over the years - please read my guide to skiing here. Skiing is great exercise for all since it is a lot of fun (compared to more boring options).

An analogy I like to use is that of cycling. Anyone can cycle - even little old ladies in their 80s can get on their bicycles and get themselves around town. Fat people can cycle, little children can cycle - it is mostly down to balance (hey, just like skiing) and as long as you can balance, you'll be fine on a bicycle. However, the key factor is the risk to danger ratio - a little old lady riding her bicycle in the park is very low risk because she is in full control of the bicycle and she is not attempting anything that is not clearly within her capabilities. A teenager on a BMX trying new tricks is clearly high risk because he is taking himself out of his comfort zone.

That's me skiing in Scotland.

There is a huge difference between the two - it is not the fitness or the weight of the individual that matters in both cases, but rather, how ratio of the difficulty vs the ability of the cyclist. The little old lady may not be fit or strong, but she is not attempting anything difficult whilst riding in the park. The teenager may be in top physical shape, but he is putting himself in a lot of danger if he is trying difficult tricks without proper instruction and guidance. The same principle applies in skiing. There are the basics and there is the difficult stuff - as long as your sister sticks to the basics, there is really no danger of her injuring herself badly.

The level of difficulty is determined by two key factors: the steepness of the piste and the width of it. Obviously, a gentle slope is far easier to go down than a steep one, but the width of the piste is also makes a difference. A wider piste means it is far more forgiving when it comes to making turns, only competent skiers can make a series of very tight turns down a steep piste. So as long as your sister sticks to the pistes marked out for beginners (usually marked green or blue, as opposed to red or black) - then you should be fine as these green/blue pistes are all very gentle and wide. I see plenty of fatter, older people on these green/blue pistes and really only the more experienced, better skiers will tackle the reds and blacks. Needless to say, your ski instructor will accompany you through the day and will make sure you do not stray down a black piste accidentally.

That's me in Cervinia, Italy

What about falls, I hear you ask. Well, fat or thin - everyone falls when they learn how to ski. Whether it hurts or not depends on two factors: the condition of the snow and how you fall. Usually fresh snow is soft and fluffy (think ice kachang), so it is not light falling onto a hard surface - it does cushion your fall. However, sometimes you can encounter ice - this occurs when the temperature rises just above freezing by the late afternoon. The snow starts to melt as it gets churned by many skiers over the course of the day, however, by night time, the temperature falls well below freezing, freezing this churned up soup of snow and meltwater into solid ice by early morning. Now that ice is quite unpleasant to ski on because it is very hard and if you fall on it, there is no cushioning effect. Don't worry, your instructor will always guide you away from any treacherous stretches of ice during the lesson!

Beginners tend to fall because they lose their balance, for example, if they lean backwards instead of forwards, or if they lean uphill instead of downhill. Another common error is when they try to stop but lose their balance - as long as you're not falling when you're going at high speed, it is very hard to hurt yourself. Injuries really only happen to those who fall at very high speed, for example, if a skier is going down a steep slope and misjudges the tightness of a turn, loses his balance at high speed and that is when you may have a potentially dangerous situation. This begs the question, shouldn't the skier have slowed down in anticipation of a sharp turn, rather than go into it at full speed? You see, a little bit of common sense is often all it takes to prevent a fall. People who fall usually fall into three categories: complacent skiers who overestimate their ability, careless skiers who are simply not paying attention to what is going on around them and skiers who go into 'blind panic' mode rather than stay calm. As long as your sister can avoid being in any of those three categories, she should be safe.

Everyone falls - even me!

I am irked by the people who think that older people or fatter people should not exercise because they are afraid they will be injured in the process. That is just sheer paranoia - anyone and everyone should be able to enjoy exercise and reap the benefits of it. There are plenty of older people, fatter people and even young children who participate in skiing - they may not have the same level of physical ability of expert skiers, but there is still plenty for them to do. Have a look at the ski maps for Jisan Forest (a very small resort) and Yongpyong (a bit bigger): in Jisan, out of 7 pistes, 3 are for beginners, 1 for intermediate and only 3 are for experienced/experts. Yongpyong is somewhat bigger but the lower slopes all cater for beginners - the difficult pistes are all found nearer the summit. Thus both resorts do cater for beginners and I would pick the one that is nearest and most convenient. If you only have one day of skiing, you don't want to spend 4 or 5 hours in a bus getting to a resort!

So in conclusion, yes your sister should definitely do this day of skiing. There are a few points you need to note in preparation for this ski trip. Allow me to summarize:

Skiing is amazing fun.

1. Do it together with her and be as supportive, optimistic and encouraging as possible - this is so important because having a positive attitude is vital when learning anything new. If she is nervous, you need to be there and hold her hand, telling her that she can do this and believe in her!

2. Do get your fitness up to where it should be - make sure you and your sister exercise regularly between now and your trip to Korea, so that you will be better able to cope with the physical challenges of skiing.

3. Do realize that the most important part of skiing is keeping your balance, that involves subtle movements of the body (leaning one way or the other) to shift your center of gravity to where it needs to be - you're going downhill, gravity takes care of your movement, you just have to stay in balance. By that token, it is less physically demanding than you think. You will have plenty of chances to rest throughout the day.

4. Fat or thin, you're going to fall but you're unlikely to hurt yourself as long as it is not too icy.

Trying to find a bench to sit down and rest!

5. Do have fun - a major reason why people ski is because there is no better way to enjoy being in the mountains, the Korean mountains in winter are stunning and this is will be an amazing experience that both you and your sister will enjoy so much. Like, what is the alternative? Spend the day at a Korean shopping mall?

6. Be a good student - pay attention to your ski instructor. Ask questions if you are unsure.

7. Trust your ski instructor - s/he knows what s/he is doing and has taught many people to ski before, it is not his/her first day on the job. Do not ask stupid questions like, "is this safe or not? Will I get injured or not?" You will only insult and offend your instructor should you ask a dumb ass question like that - as if your instructor will deliberately make you do something that will put you in a hospital. (Sorry if this is blunt, but you'll be amazed how many people make this mistake.) All South Korean ski instructors working in South Korean resorts are very highly trained and understand risk assessment. Perhaps you do not have faith in your own ability (ref: point 1 above) - that is fine, but do always trust the instructor's ability to teach even if you do not trust yourself. You will turn yourself into the student from hell if you start doubting the instructor and not following his instructions - you will become impossible to teach. Again, sorry if this is blunt but I've seen enough bad students over the years at ski resorts - if you want to learn, then be prepared to be a good student who will always trust the teacher.

8. The first hour will be difficult and frustrating - you must persevere and realize that everyone goes through the same process when they start. It gets better very quickly once you get past that initial stage.

Isn't this just heaven? That's me in Innsbruck, Austria.

9. Skiing is for everyone - remember, you will notice plenty of older people (like in their 70s!) when you get to the resort and see how much fun they are having.

10. Relax, remain calm and pretty soon, you will be having so much fun. Remember, you're on holiday!

So there you go, that's it from me on this issue. If you have any other questions on this issue or in skiing in general, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you and I wish you a pleasant trip to Korea!