Learning to ski with YTC!

Some people say they will not go skiing because they do not know how to ski. An appropriate reply would be that not knowing how to ski is all the more reason to go on a skiing holiday. That way one can experience first hand the joy of skiing, following which one would wish to get better and better.

Learning to ski is fun. Everybody has to learn some time, and in YTC’s case, it is Mariano Galas who is entrusted with the instruction. Mariano has been teaching Maltese clients for the last 15 years, and has worked exclusively with YTC clients for the past 10 years. He has been an instructor for over 30 years, and loves skiing so much that he still participates regularly in competitive races in his age category all over Italy, which he invariably wins.

Mariano’s dedication is rewarded by the end of the skiing week, when he would have transformed whole groups of persons who never wore skis, to acceptable skiers capable of skiing down blue slopes.

What constitutes tuition with YTC? Tuition lasts 2 hours per day for 5 days (one hour of skiing is internationally 55 minutes). The 6th day consists of organised races for groups.  During the initial lessons, Mariano will teach how to stop, turn and slow down on a very small flat slope, and the beginner enjoys the skiing sensation from Day 1. 

After a day or two, the lessons are on a slightly longer slope, where beginners learn to catch a button lift. The gradient of the slope is easy, ideal for a beginner. Mariano first starts on the lower half of this slope, and slowly progresses to the full slope.

Being in one of our classes also helps create ski buddies, so that after the lessons, while practising without an instructor, the beginners can enjoy skiing together, seeing as they are all at the same level. Remember – skiing is a group activity, and the fun is to be in a group.

YTC’s set-up is geared to teach you to ski, and achieves a very high success rate. 100% success is unrealistic to expect, but 95% would be a fair average from past experience. As long as the skier is prepared to make the effort and persevere through the first two days, the rest just follows naturally. This high success rate is unmatched elsewhere, since few have YTC’s motivation to teach you to ski. 

And once you return to Malta, you will have solid proof of your skiing achievements. Towards the end of the holiday, Mariano will videotape your skiing prowess, and convert it to DVD which is available at a small charge (group lessons only). During the races, a photographer will take several professional photos of you skiing to remember your holiday by and to show to your friends. After the event, participants will be handed a personalised certificate, and a medal or trophy for those who get to stand on the podium. These extras are all exclusive to YTC’s Ski & Snowboard Club Malta.  

Lessons are essential for beginners and highly recommended for intermediate and advanced skiers. The techniques taught during these lessons will allow the skier to approach more difficult slopes with greater confidence, including the beautiful red and black slopes available in Livigno. It will be possible to ski faster and safer under all types of conditions and on all sorts of slopes, giving that satisfying feeling at the end of each difficult slope.

Begin a lifelong enjoyment of winter holidays, begin with a YTC’s course of instruction