One of the questions we ask our guests when they book in with us is – how well can you ski or snowboard?
We do this so that we can choose appropriate terrain to start the lesson from, and so we can keep you comfortable and safe though the lesson while still providing some challenges!
1 – Complete Beginner (Never ever skied or snowboarded before) 
Pretty self explanatory, is it your absolute first time on snow? Cool! There aren’t many places in the world better to start learning your first turns than here in Niseko. We have some great beginner friendly slopes that are nice and gentle to ease you into the sport safely and get you up and running.
Getting all the gear sorted can be overwhelming! We strongly recommend renting a helmet, as well as the necessary winter weather clothing. Poles are not needed for younger children learning to ski. If you have any questions please feel free to get in touch with us when you book!
2 – Beginner
So you’ve tried skiing or snowboarding before, maybe it was last year, maybe it was yesterday, or maybe it was a few decades ago… You have done a bit of sliding, and are practicing stopping and trying to make some turns. Maybe you haven’t been up a chairlift yet, or only ridden on a magic carpet before.
You’re after a few pointers to get you back up and going again, looking to tackle a few gentle green slopes to begin with and see where it goes from there.
3 – Intermediate
Okay, so you’ve got the hang of strapping into a snowboard, or clipping into skis. You are comfortable making turns on green slopes, and you can vary the size and speed of your turns when needed, but you still maybe get a bit wobbly on the slightly steeper bits. You’ve ridden on chairlifts and gondolas before and are confident in managing your equipment.
Looking to practice on some harder greens or easy red slopes and consolidate your knowledge of skiing/snowboarding.
4 – Advanced
You’ve had a few ski or snowboard holidays at this point and you are comfortable tackling most red slopes across the mountain. You’ve got the hang of parallel skiing, or can link turns at a good speed on a snowboard. You’ve started to explore a little bit off the side of groomed trails, and easy bumps runs. You’ve maybe started to experiment a bit with pole planting, small jumps/boxes, or switch riding.
You are wanting to explore the mountain and find some challenging terrain to practice on. Maybe looking to tackle some easier black runs, or get your first real powder runs in Japan.
5 – Expert
You are comfortable and happy to ski almost anywhere on the mountain, you can ski parallel down black slopes, or perform dynamic turns on a snowboard. You are skiing between trees, dealing with varied terrain, controlled turns down steep slopes, and flowing through powder runs. Working on a variety of tactics and techniques to help you get to the next level.
You are looking to challenge yourself on steep terrain and moguls, maybe thinking about hiking up to the peak and charging down from the top.
