Skiing is a lifelong sport that families can share. After I graduated from college, I spent 3 years teaching kids skiing. I saw it all, including the kid who wore his sneakers INSIDE his ski boots. So if you want your kids to enjoy skiing with you for a lifetime, here are a few tips to get them off on the right foot.
Start slow.
If you travel far for your ski trip and the journey is long and stressful, take it easy the first day. I taught the kids of a family who drove all night from Oklahoma to Colorado, pulled into the ski resort at 8 a.m. and delivered the kids to ski school. Needless to say, the kids did not have a great day. By the time we were up the lifts, they had gained over 10,000 feet of elevation in 12 hours and were suffering from AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness).
AMS can be a headache (literally) for many visiting Western US ski areas and affects almost everyone to varying degrees when traveling from sea level to 8,000 feet or above, the altitude of most Rocky Mountain ski resorts. To minimize the effects, take it easy the first day and encourage your kids to drink plenty of fluids.
Gear Up.
Assuming your child is acclimated and rested, it’s time to get them dressed for skiing. They will be outside in a cold windy environment for 7 hours: how they dress will make all the difference.
Layers! If I had a nickel for every kid who showed up in a t-shirt and huge puffy jacket . . . these kids were either sweating or freezing, but never “just right”. Your kid’s layering system should consist of a base layer (long underwear top and bottom), a wool or fleece sweater, an insulated vest, an outer ski jacket and waterproof pants. Avoid cotton, which will hold moisture and will make your child cold if they get at all wet (either from sweat or snow).
Gloves should be warm and waterproof. We always kept spare mittens at the ski school office for those kids whose parents brought them to ski school in knit mittens that let the wind blow through and immediately became soaked and froze.
Ski socks are no place to skimp. Kids should wear one pair of high-quality, mid-weight wool ski socks. No need to go overboard with 2 pairs of socks (or the aforementioned sneakers). When putting on ski boots, I used to say “The only thing that goes in your ski boot is your foot, your sock and a banana.” That means pull up the long johns and don’t tuck in the ski pants. Just buckle the boot with the sock nice and smooth in it and the pants pulled over the top of the boot.
Speaking of a food, tuck a Cliff Bar or granola bar (that your kid likes) into their jacket where they can get to it if they get hungry. They’ll use a lot more energy on the hill than they do in the classroom.
All children (and adults for that matter) should kid wear a helmet. Accidents are rare, but why take the risk? Plus, most ski helmets are nice and warm.
Label everything, kids gear all looks alike.
Speaking of labeling, we label our son’s helmet with a sticker that has our cell phone numbers on it to contact us in case of emergency or any issue. We haven’t been called yet, but you never know.
With me so far?
Ski School
Your kid is rested, dressed and ready to go.
If it is within your means, ski school is your best option. And even if your means allow, skip the private lesson with Hans. Kids will have more fun with other kids and kids’ ski instructors are generally a pretty fun bunch who are specially trained to teach children. This will go a long way towards building your kid’s love of skiing. My son is eight and a pretty good skier but still goes to ski school more than half the time. He learns more, has fun with other kids and is still improving.
If you want to teach your child yourself, again, take it easy. Even if you are sure she could ski the black diamond “Jaws of Death,” take her to the green circle “mellow meadow” instead and build her confidence slowly.
While the tricks of teaching skiing to kids are too detailed to get into here, here are the key elements: starts slow, expect nothing and praise everything (even falling).
Any questions? Need advice? Email us! Eric@macaronikid.com
