Im overweight weigh about 22 stone which is about 300 pounds and im jst 6ft I have been invited to go on a ski holiday can fat people ski or are there weight restrictions?

Answer 1

well, as far as i can see there are two aspects to this question a) the capability of the lifts and b) physical fitness. Most lifts in Western Europe and Northern America are either telecabins or chair lifts. Telecabins generally have a built in mechanism which measures the weight of its passenger load as people embark and when that's reached then the doors are shut so you have no worries on that score. The smallest chair lift I've come accross is a 2 man so am guessing that if a liftie was worried they would ask you to travel solo. That said a lot of French resorts now have lifts capable of transporting 6 or even 8 people so, again you should have no worries there.

I think that maybe your main consideration should be your physical fitness level. This may be stating the obvious but most ski resorts are at high altitude where the levels of oxygen in the air are lower meaning that any physical activity places a greater toll on the body than at sea level. Then of course you will be practicing a sport for a good proportion of the day (even a relaxed skier out at 11am, lunching for an hour and returning at 3pm will be exercising for a good couple of hours). on top of this you are a beginner which means that unless you are a natural (which the very great majority of the population are not) you will be spending quite a lot of your time on your backside and then getting back up again (plus beginners exert a great deal more energy in executing turns than more experienced skiers). So, basically it depends on your level of fitness - the basic tenet is that the fitter you are the better as being fit will enable up to execute the movements required for skiing without quickly getting absolutely exhausted.

Having said all that skiing is a fantastic sport undertaken in stunning scenary and, perhaps more importantly, you only live once! but if you do go and find its not for you then you can always find a beautiful sunny terrace and install yourself in the most comfortable spot with a good book and a bevarage of your choice (or if its snowing find a bar with a great big fireplace and/or skysport tv - unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) there's not much else to do in ski resorts apart from ski and eat and drink. Then you can meet your friends after they've finished skiing cos after all apres ski (particularly in Europe) is as much a part of the holiday as is the actual skiing!