How can you make your ski holiday as pleasant as possible? The following 10 lifehacks provide you with clever solutions, from planning your holidays to the hangover breakfast after après ski.
1. Finding the right ski area quickly
Indecisive winter sports fans who have not yet found the perfect ski area for themselves or who just want to try out something new usually have to face a time-consuming online research. Finding just the right ski area that matches personal wishes and skills is usually not an easy thing to do.
However, SnowTrex, the tour operator specialised in winter sports, now has a smart tool for everyone who’s still searching. The ski resort finder (see https://www.snowtrex.co.uk/ski-resort-finder.html) is the first of its kind and offers precise filters that help find the best fitting holiday destination from a large selection of the best national and international ski areas.
2. The best diet for a powerful day on skis
There is a German saying that goes “Have breakfast like an emperor, lunch like a king, and dine like a beggar” that many follow. However, this motto is not recommendable for the diet during your ski holiday.
In order to be able to start into the day full of energy, ambitious winter sports fans should start the day with a breakfast high in carbohydrates. Depending on your taste, whole-grain muesli with fresh fruits and (low-fat) yoghurt, or a whole-grain bread roll with low-fat cheese or lean ham are good alternatives.
Especially on a ski holiday in beautiful Austria, it is easy to be tempted by local delicacies like Spätzle, Backhendl and more when taking a break in the ski hut. However, a large, fatty lunch only makes you feel tired and you may end up preferring to get back to the valley rolling rather than on your skis.
Dinner after a successful day on skis is a good time to fill up the storage of carbohydrates that was emptied when practising sports, so that you can feel free to indulge in the local chef’s treats.
It’s also important to pay attention to your water balance. Drinking enough water is essential when doing winter sports. When doing après ski, it’s surely allowed to have one or another mulled wine or Jäger tea after having had enough water. In case you did have too much to drink after all, life hack #10 helps getting rid of that annoying hangover.
3. Taking a break with a view
A good diet is important in order to be able to enjoy an exhausting day on the piste. Nevertheless, all visitors of the ski area want to take a break sooner or later, so that the huts can get rather crowded. Here it is advisable to plan your break in the time shortly before or after rush hour. Like this, you’ll have shorter waiting times and sometimes you even get a chance to find a table with a wonderful view of the mountain.
4. How to avoid long waiting times at the ski lift
Every year the ski areas build new and larger lifts, and yet annoying waiting times occur again and again. If you want to avoid those and spend as much time on the piste as possible instead, there are some expedient codes of conduct.
It is important to quickly get an overview of the situation and then decide for the right or the left queue. Never queue in the middle, and avoid large groups who slow down the queue because they want to go together. You can still chat to the rest of your group when you’re taking the break that was mentioned before. When queueing for the lift, it’s important to stay focused on gaps that are opening up, and fill them up while the other waiting people are still undecided.
Insider’s tip: the single line! Even when you’re skiing as a group you can still queue in the single line. There is usually a smaller crowd, and everybody can get up the mountain faster.
5. Stylish and safe: how to still be a snow bunny when wearing a helmet
You can’t imagine the pistes without them anymore – ski helmets! This important part of your winter sports equipment is a challenge especially for female skiers: How do you fit the hair you used to cram into your cap under the tightly fitting helmet?
It is recommended to braid your hair into French or fishbone braids close to your head – practically, this also underlines the stylish “snow bunny” look that is a must in every ski holiday. A low ponytail or bun can also help taming your hair. In any case, a women should always bring a spare hairband and a few bobby pins (no pinching hairpins), so that you can keep every little strand of hair in its place.
6. Don’t forget about sunscreen
Sunscreen is a must in the mountains! Sun lotion does not only protect, the skin also feels better when it’s treated with preferably high-fat sun cream. Furthermore, the annoying imprint of your sunglasses or ski goggles is kept in check.
Even with a cloudy ski, UV radiation is still high and an SPF of at least 20 should be applied. With sensitive skin, SPF 50 is a good alternative. The lips are especially sensitive and often chap due to the constant strain of sun, sweat and coldness. A combination of suncream and lip balm can help.
7. Smartphone-friendly gloves
You just quickly want to check the lift status- or weather apps for new information, send your friends a picture of the view or snap a short video – and you immediately end up with ice-cold fingers you are barely able to warm up again. Luckily, other fans of winter already realised the problem that you cannot operate your smartphone with gloves, and they have also found a solution. Smartphone-friendly ski gloves are available online and in sports retails from € 20. Those who have recently invested in new ski gloves or for whom the special models are simply too expensive should look for help online. Numerous DIY-tutorials show a step-by-step instruction how to revamp your gloves. You could sew electrically conducting yarn into the gloves fingertips, put on stickers with which you can operate your touch screen, or dip your gloves in liquid rubber mixed with graphite powder – there’s one option for everyone.
8. Alternative techniques for how to carry your skis
The way between your hotel and the ski area can drag on, especially on the way back from the piste. You switch the skis from shoulder to shoulder in shorter and shorter intervals and start wondering whether disposing of the pesky baggage could not be a reasonable alternative. Rather than getting rid of the skis haphazardly or further temper tantrums, you better find out about alternative carrying techniques before your ski holiday.
For example you can carry the skis like a carry-on bag and use the ski poles as handles. Just pull the two poles’ loops over one end of each ski and then stick the poles’ tops into the opposite loops. – All done!
9. Staying fit thanks to regeneration after skiing
Time in the mountains is always too short and you want to fully enjoy every valuable minute. In order to help your body getting through these strains, it is recommendable to practise not only do preventive ski gymnastics, but also do active regeneration in the evening. Both can help avoiding injuries. Even a few stretching exercises and 2-3 short and relaxing sauna sessions at 60-70°C works wonders. This short programme can be absolved every evening without getting in the way of the regular après ski activities. Every one of your muscles will thank you!
10. The best hangover cure after après ski
The best remedy for a hangover is drinking as little alcohol as possible. In case you did have a drink too much after all, there’s no reason to miss out on a valuable day on skis.
In order to prevent a hangover, make sure to follow two important basic roles:
- Never drink on an empty stomach. Dinner first, then après ski!
- Order a glass of water with every alcoholic drink.
If you wake up hungover despite all your good intentions, you should not lose any time and get active. There is a large selection of possibilities to cure your hangover, and you can use them one by one, but also one after the other.
- Breakfast that’s salty and rich in vitamins kicks your nutrient balance back in shape and helps detoxing your liver
- A slow walk or a little run in fresh air kickstart your circulatory system and your body is supplied with the necessary oxygen
- Of course the day gets a little more bearable with painkillers, however it is also possible to choose the plant-based alternative. For example, dragées made from willow bark help ease the pain, and they are available in pharmacies or drugstores. A cup of espresso with a shot of lemon juice is another option.
