Starting kids skiing

marznc wrote

If you don't know how to ski backwards, start practicing.

No dont do that.  It was my major pet peeve as a staff trainer when I saw instructors doing it.  Kids are visual learners and skiing backwards is not the image they need to see.  

Z wrote

marznc wrote

If you don't know how to ski backwards, start practicing.

No dont do that.  It was my major pet peeve as a staff trainer when I saw instructors doing it.  Kids are visual learners and skiing backwards is not the image they need to see.

When skiing with a 4yo or 5yo beginner, I didn't want to ski backwards to teach my daughter.  I wanted to be able to see that she was following without having to come to a stop.  Or look over my shoulder, which occasionally meant I caught an edge and fell.  Back then I was an intermediate just getting back into skiing.  So may not apply to Cunning.

Haha - I don't do a lot of resort skiing and I've switched to Tele, so I'm pretty sure Intermediate is a generous description.

Good thing is, given a free heel, I can ski green terrain all day and have a great time, and never get bored.  And if I get cocky I'll just put on my leather boots.

With young kids, try to pick your days carefully. Don't go in the bitter cold or rain - they will hate it and won't want to go again.

tom

get a hula-hoop, it will save your back! (I found this out too late)

they can hold onto the bottom for support and you can control their speed and direction from the top, and make up some fun games!

Thanks for the tips TC and G.

I was riding a chair onetime with an instructor who saw someone skiing with a small child between their legs. He mentioned that that is a terrible idea. He said a 200+ pound man falling on 30 pound child even at 5 mph could end up seriously injuring the child. He mentioned a harness with a long tether is a better idea.
That seemed to make a lot of sense to me. Any instructors care to comment?

I wouldn't do it.  No real control over the kid if he gets away.  Would kill my back.

PS How'd you know I was that fat?

Using a harness to control your child is creating a puppet that gets yarned left, right and totally dependent on the puppeteer.  Which leads to the parent throwing in the towel, booking a lesson and starting from scratch.  If you must ski with a prop, a bamboo pole can be a useful aid to guide beginners in their first turns.  I prefer a hula-hoop to guide and guard against runaway scuds, given the right beginner terrain-as gentle a pitch as possible.  Any aids/props used should be discarded ASAP when the child begins to make turns and stop safely, that is indepence.  We learn best by doing, feeling and kids best by watching, give a good demo and coach the adventure.


64ER

Can’t help with the triplet aspect......that complicates things, but obviously you know that.  My kids were 3 years apart.

But teaching little kids of your own boils down to this: are you fun? Do your kids think of you that way?  Because it needs to be fun for their desire to ski to take hold so early. And really at any age.

If they just turned 2 you are probably only in the yard this year. My suggestion: is there a playground they like to go to, where you could do a little skiing interspersed with some swinging and a slide or whatever they like?

I’m not a homeschooler, but when it came to transferring my love of skiing to my kids, I didn’t  trust the professionals (sorry guys),  and didn’t want other kids who haven’t been provided the baseline of fun that I gave them in a lesson with my kids. Did not want to risk exposing them to a disinterested instructor or kids crying and complaining. YMMV

My kids have become very good skiers who are on their high school teams, but would rather be skiing the glades or goofing off and having fun on the mountain with their friends.  Sorta like their dad.

The key to successfully using a racer chaser is keeping slack on the lines except for a slight tug at the hip opposite to the turn.  This allows for some rotation and shortening in that leg that then creates the natural tendency to then have the turning leg get longer.  The racer chaser must be fit very tight on the child for it to work properly.  The other harnesses are junk.  This is really only for very young kids 3 or 4 and below.  My son was 20 months.  No ski school will likely use this method but I found it highly effective with my own kid and some friends of mine kids.  

For older kids I prefer a bamboo pole to make them reach out forward.

Thanks - interesting perspective.

We have some play equipment in your yard and it is fenced, so that makes it easier when dealing with all three myself.  Playgrounds have to be one-on-one at this point.

ATM, my kids think I'm the funniest guy on the planet.  I'm also strict with them when I need to be.  It's kind of my nature, goofy but strict.  Kind of like a HS physics/math teacher if you want to put me in a box.

wait 'til they can carry their own shit.




or not...



a friend stopped by that had come across this pic from about 15 years ago

gorgonzola wrote

Dude you are pretty good at that! A smile too.

64ER wrote

Using a harness to control your child is creating a puppet that gets yarned left, right and totally dependent on the puppeteer.......Any aids/props used should be discarded ASAP when the child begins to make turns and stop safely, that is indepence......We learn best by doing, feeling and kids best by watching, give a good demo and coach the adventure.


64ER

To which I say.....you know what they say about opinions, right?  They are like arseholes, everyone’s got one.......YES......and I generally agree, but!

Everyone has a method they think is best.  I’m with Z.  Be it KidSki, edgie-wedgie, or whatever, I (and many others) have found the tether system to be very effective for introducing two year olds to skiing.  Yes, the less support (puppeteering) the better, and off the system as soon as possible......but for a two year old ski school is not an option, nor do I think letting them fumble and fall around on their own is effective.  From a super early age, to give them (let them fall in love with) a semi-independent feeling of flying down the mountain, while introducong their bodies to positions they will use as they progress to ski school......it just works.  Proof is in the pudding.  Z has a high level racer, I’ve had kids skiing Slide 4 in beautiful, technical control at 15.  So us Gepettos didn’t f’ them up!  Much to the contrary.  My kids were off the tether well before ski school.  The idea that two year old is going to independently navigate a slope while visually emulating pops....that just ain’t realistic.  

As they say, to each his own!

Not a problem G - they've been training me early.

I’ve seen 5 or 6 yr olds on harnesses on Mt Run and I feel like smacking the idiot parent in the head.  Like JT said it’s just for very little kids and no tension on the reins

   All my children learned to ski at a very young age. Started youngest son Derek  out at  2 years old.  Started at home flat back yard brothers, sister pushing him around , pulling him around just like sledding.   After a while took him to our local community ski area . Bunny slope for three trips to the mountain . The slope there is super flat with nice magic carpet.Put the edgie wedge on his skis and turned him loose one New Years eve,  right after he turned 3 years old.
   All three of my older children only ski once or twice a season all in their 20s too busy. Derek has retained his passion for skiing after 12 seasons of skiing at age 14.  He in no longer in any race program, but those years on instruction turned him into our families best skier .
   So my advise is make your small kids outings short at first , never force them down trails(don't be a ski Nazi Dad)they think are too difficult. Teach them speed control and how to stop before pushing them too hard for too long out in the cold.
 Come January his skills will be on display at Gore mountain ,we have the Orda  pass this year. Looking to buy a Cabin in the woods Harvey!  Thanks Harv And ADK Jeff for sharing your incredible mountain on the blog.

   

I had my 3 daughters learn.  I had never skied before we all went out.  I took a couple of lessons and then basically taught myself when the older 2 (ages 5 and 7?) were in lessons at Catamount and the youngest (3) would be in their daycare room.  I taught the younger one myself when she was 5 because she refused to go in the group class.  For a couple years it was kind of hairy trying to get all 3 down the mountain together with me, as they were all at different speeds/skill levels.

I think the key things are:  (1) Be patient.  Be extremely patient.  (2) If they are not having a good time, get them off the mountain.  (3) Take the long view.  [See item 1.]  (4) Get them out consistently over a couple of seasons.  [The girls only really started progressing once we were going out 6-8 times a season rather than 2 or 3.]  (5) Consider a season pass at a local mountain.  [See item 4, incents you to get out a lot, and lets you leave the mountain early [see item 2] without feeling like you just wasted money.]

Petronio