If you are new to skiing, it may be helpful to learn from a professional instructor; however, I never took lessons and I do not regret that. Whether or not you choose to take professional lessons, this should help you get comfortable on your skis more quickly.

The first thing to consider is ski equipment. Initially, you are probably best off renting equipment. The people at the rental shop will know what sizes of everything to give you, so don't worry about that. However, you may want to get your own helmet and goggles early on. Ski areas will oftentimes offer rental helmets, but rarely if ever will they offer rental goggles. It is important to get good quality goggles to ensure that they will not fog. Good brands of goggles include Giro, Oakley, Smith, Anon, and Spy. If you have issues with depth perception in flat light, the best lenses are Smith Sensor Mirror and Oakley HI Yellow. My favourite helmet manufacturer is Giro, but with helmets the primary concern is what is most comfortable for you. Go to a ski shop and try some on. Remember to bring your goggles to make sure they are compatible; not all goggles will fit well with all helmets.

I strongly recommend learning to ski without poles. I didn't start using poles until eight years after I started skiing. If you learn to ski with poles, they will become a crutch. You will rely on them for balance. If you learn without them, you will learn to rely on your own skill (position and movement) for balance, and when you do start using poles when you become advanced, they will be a tool rather than a crutch. The only time a beginner would have any real use for poles is in lift lines, and it's not worth using poles just to make lift lines easier.

When you go skiing for the first time, you should start by going to the bunny hill (beginner area), putting on your skis, side-stepping a short ways up the hill, and skiing down in a straight line. Keep your skis parallel, keep your feet approximately shoulder-width apart, and keep your weight forward. It might feel unnatural to lean forward as you are facing down a hill, but it will give you more control. Your position should be similar to an athletic stance. If you are not sure how far forward to be, watch good skiers on difficult terrain. You might think that you don't have to be as far forward as them because you are not skiing as aggressively as them, which is true to some extent, but even for a beginner, having your weight at least a little bit forward will give you more control.

When you want to stop, some ski instructors would suggest that you point your ski tips together in a V shape, and that is how many beginners learn to stop. You can practice this as an emergency slowing/stopping technique, and even expert skiers will occasionally use this technique to control their speed in lift lines, but it is important to not become too reliant on this technique. Instead, you should turn across the hill. Keep turning until you are facing straight across the hill, or even very slightly uphill, and then just go straight until you come to a stop. Because turning allows you to not only steer, but also control your speed and stop, it is one of the most important things for you to learn when you start skiing.

When attempting to turn, many beginners will simply attempt to turn their feet in the direction they want to go, look in the direction they want to go, and other such techniques, and some ski instructors even teach beginners to turn this way. However, you will have a much easier time turning if you focus on your weight rather than on steering. This is important even when you are just learning to ski. Most of the people who I have taught to ski told me that turning became much easier for them after I told them to focus on their weight rather than on steering. These were mostly people who had never skied before in their lives.

Focusing on your weight does not mean throughout your entire body, nor does it mean leaning in the direction you want to go. You should keep your upper body as still as possible. It is also important to keep your arms still. Some beginners will twist their upper body, flail their arms, move their arms in the direction they want to go, and other such things. This does not accomplish anything aside from taking focus away from the methods that will actually allow you to turn and preventing you from keeping balanced. Instead, you should focus on which foot the majority of your weight is on, and what part of the foot. If you want to turn left, put most of your weight on your right foot. If you want to turn right, put most of your weight on your left foot. You can also think about the edges of your skis, but as a beginner, the main thing to focus on is which foot the majority of your weight is on. However, at some point you will want to focus on edging as well. If you want to turn left, tilt your skis slightly onto their left edges. If you want to turn right, tilt your skis slightly onto their right edges. Some advanced skiers will have their skis nearly perpendicular to the snow when turning sharp, meaning that they are almost entirely on their edges. However, as a beginner, the bases of your skis should still be on the snow; only tilt your skis a little bit. To sum up turning:

If you want to turn right: Put weight on your left ski and have it tilted slightly on its right edge. Because most of your weight is on your left ski, that is the ski that is really powering you through the turn. The right ski is just kind of guiding the turn.

If you want to turn left: Put weight on your right ski and have it tilted slightly on its left edge. Because most of your weight is on your right ski, that is the ski that is really powering you through the turn. The left ski is just kind of guiding the turn.

When you get the basics down and want to improve your turning technique, the most important things are to ensure that you are maintaing a forward, balanced stance throughout the turn, that you are keeping your skis parallel and your feet about shoulder width apart, and that you are making smooth, arcing turns (like an S as opposed to a Z). When you are attempting to improve your technique, do it on terrain that you are comfortable on. If you want to make your turns smoother or your stance better, don't go to the steepest terrain you are skilled enough or brave enough to attempt; instead, go to something shallower to practice your technique on, then when your technique is good, try more challenging terrain.

It is also important to know how to use a chairlift. When you are in the lift line, watch what other people are doing. There will generally be a plastic strip on the ground and/or a sign that will tell you where to stop while you wait for the chair. As soon as a chair passes, follow it up to the boarding area. There should again be a plastic strip on the ground and/or a sign that tells you where to board the chair. Stop at that line or sign, look over your shoulder, and sit down as the chair approaches. Some chairs are variable speed chairs, so the lift operator might be able to slow down the chair for you the first time if you ask, but this varies from lift to lift. When you approach the top of the lift, make sure to keep your ski tips pointed upward to ensure that the tips don't get hooked on the ground when you get to the unloading ramp. Stay seated until your skis touch down, with your hands on the seat of the chair ready to push off to help stand up. When your skis touch down, stand up, keep a forward balanced stance, and glide straight down the unloading ramp. Move out of the way so that you are not in the way of the people on the chair behind you. If you use poles, remove the pole straps from your wrists while riding the chair and make sure that your poles don't get hooked on the ground or the lift towers.

Before skiing for the first time, you should also familiarize yourself with the Skiers' Responsibility Code:
-Always stay in control, and be able to stop or avoid other people or objects.
-People ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them.
-You must not stop where you obstruct a trail, or are not visible from above.
-Whenever starting downhill or merging onto a trail, look uphill and yield to others.
-Always use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.
-Observe all posted signs and warnings. Keep off closed trails and out of closed areas.
-Prior to using any lift, you must have the knowledge and ability to load, ride and unload safely.

When you choose to purchase your own equipment, the most important thing is boots. Go to a good bootfitter. It is important to try boots on in person. Not all brands are exactly the same, and some boots are designed for different foot shapes. For example, Salomon boots are ideal for people with wide feet, while Full Tilt boots are ideal for people with narrow feet. Boot fitters will also heat mould the boot to your feet to further accodomate your foot shape and size. You can also get custom footbeds; however, they are more important for advanced and expert skiers. When you get your first pair of skis, it largely comes down to personal preference. If you have skied on rental equipment enough times that you are an intermediate skier, I would suggest all-mountain twin tips. All-mountain twin tips are similar to park skis in that they are twin tips and generally a little bit wider than a carving ski making them better for off-piste and terrain parks, but the bindings will typically be be mounted further back and the sidecut will be more traditional, which makes them fairly similar to carving skis. This results in a perfect intermediate-level all-around ski that can handle pretty much everything from the groomers to the terrain park to the trees and powder. However, twin tips are harder to control for beginners, and if you prefer to just carve groomed runs and not ski off-piste or in the terrain park at all, you might prefer more traditional carving skis that are narrower and have more sidecut.