I am thankful for my ski goggles. Hopefully I'll be the only one recognising myself if I pop up on YouTube.

Eventually someone stops and suggests that I try walking down the mountain. I pick up my skis and begin the long walk of shame.

Despite reading all the advice for first time skiers I successfully managed to tick all the 'what not to do' boxes.

I turned up with a snow-bunny friend who convinced me there was no beginner's slope.

I believed her when she said I didn't need lessons.

I took her word for it that that everyone started out at the top of the mountain. By the time I got there it was too late for second thoughts.

I sped down the slope, completely out of control, praying that everyone else was experienced enough to stay out of my way, ending up in a crumpled heap of limbs and skis a few metres from my inglorious start.

 Top Tips: Ski Guide 2010

Fortunately, only my pride was injured. But it could have been worse, according to Dr David Bolzonello from the Alphington Sports Medicine Clinic in Victoria.

"If you are a beginner, the problem of tackling difficult slopes is you are so focussed on your own performance that you forget other people," he says.

"It's like anything, a lesson or two or three or four is a good investment in mastering the skills of the sport which increases your own enjoyment of it and minimises your chances of injury.

"You are taught how to stop, you are taught how to get out of a difficult situation and the risk to others is minimised."

He also suggests dressing comfortably and hiring or buying ski gear from a reputable dealer.

"If you go up in jeans and a rain jacket you will get cold, you will get hypothermic. That will affect your muscle performance and pre-dispose you to injury," he says.

"Be patient and start off on the beginner slopes ... don't go straight up the mountain, you will hurt yourself and most likely someone else."

And lastly, save the schnapps for night time.

"Because it is social and because it is cold, you might be tempted to have an alcoholic drink with lunch," Bolzonello says.

But the myth that a shot of rum will warm you up, is just that - a myth.

"Alcohol can pre-dispose you to hypothermia, lowering your body temperature."

Beer goggles also make it easier to ski off track or get lost.

After my long crawl down the mountain I found a bunch of snow-virgins wobbling down a tiny slope and decided to stay there. By the end of the day I started to find my snow legs - and my confidence - and began to understand what brings people back to the powder year after year.

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