What Level Skier Are You?

Often, one of the first questions you will be asked when booking a ski lesson is, "What level skier are you?". A lot of people cannot tell you directly their level, but tend to describe the run/trails and/or the frequency they skier each season.

Around the world and as happens in Japan, most ski schools use a similar classification system for describing your skiing ability and grouping skiers into one of several categories normally referred to as beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert. NOASC is no different. Although at NOASC, unlike most other ski schools, we continue to instruct and educate you off-piste; beyond the boundaries of the ski resort, into the backcountry.

The following guide will provide you information about how to evaluate your own skiing ability and help you to choose the right NOASC Ski lesson.

• Level 0 - You have never skied before
• Level 1 - You have skied once before, but you cannot stop.
• Level 2 - You have skied before and you can stop on beginner slopes with a wedge (snow plough) stop.
• Level 3 - You can stop and are comfortable turning on beginner green ski runs. You can ride the beginner lifts.
• Level 4 - You are starting to bring your skis together at the end of each turn, and you are comfortable skiing green runs.
• Level 5 - Your skis are parallel earlier in your turns. You ski green and easy red (referred to as blue runs in Australia, North America and New Zealand) ski runs.
• Level 6 - You are improving your parallel turns and skiing mostly red ski runs.
• Level 7 - You are confident making various types of turns, on and off-piste (off the groomed ski runs) with good pole planting on all red runs, and some black runs.
• Level 8 - You can ski with controlled, consistent parallel turns on piste, on red runs, and your are improving on black runs. You are developing your off-piste powder and tree skiing.
• Level 9 - You can make strong, linked and dynamic turns, on and off-piste in a variety of conditions, in and outside the resort boundaries.
• Level 10 - You ski off-piste confidently and outside the resort boundaries regularly. You are a confident powder skier in all terrain.
• Level 11 - You ski all terrain, in all conditions, confidently. You regularly ski in the backcountry.

For a more detailed explanation of our skiing skill levels, please click here.