skiing with kids

Skiing with kids can be exhausting, even before you get on the actual ski hill. Here are a few tips from a ski instructor and a mom that will make the day a bit easier.

1. Layer the clothing so that small changes can be made and not leave the wearer burning hot or freezing cold.
2. Bring treats and/or plan snack & hot chocolate breaks. This is essential to making the day a memorable experience that kids will look back on and decide they either want to repeat or never do again.
3. Look for jumps and hit ’em as a family.  I’m talking about the small bumps and lumps on the side of trails that will mix up the braking wedge (often called pizza) and give you a reprieve from yelling “slow down!” over and over. Most kids will self regulate speed when they realize they like being in control and can have fun at medium speeds- hitting jumps and catching little bits of air.
4. A neck gator for everyone. The essentials on the head are helmet, goggles and a neck gator. A neck gator can be defined as any piece of fabric that can be pulled up over the chin, mouth or nose for sun or wind or cold protection. (see photo above)  Having a cold face or feeling the wind rip up your cheeks can be especially uncomfortable and make for a miserable day. It is amazing what a stretchy piece of cloth can do for your attitude and resilience while skiing… for all ages. Neck gators come in all shapes, sizes and thicknesses and are easy to make if you’re so inclined!
5. Mittens are exponentially warmer that gloves. My tribe and myself always wear mittens and we keeps hand warmer packets in our pockets- just in case.
6. Ski lessons are always the best idea for painlessly teaching your kids how to ski. Check your local community events for ski school discounts and groups that run lessons for 4-6 weeks (on Saturday or Sunday) in the winter.  I especially love the price and convenience of the local group lessons and some communities even have a bus that pick up and drop off the kids. After 4-6 weeks of lessons and afternoon ‘free time’, your kids might be skiing better than you!

Getting organized and ready to ski takes some serious organization and skill- it’s kind of like herding cats- but you can do it, it’s totally worth it!

Observations on a super duper fun ski day.
My kids are:
1. Getting big and growing up faster than I ever could imagine.
2. S’dang cute.
3. Rockin’ little skiers and boarders, little C (4 years old) has been wearing his skis around the backyard since it started seriously snowing a week or so ago, begging to go skiing and ride the chairlift so he can jump and do tricks.
4. So cute together. We were all cracking up when F, who usually boards- gave skis a go again today. He used a pair of his sisters skis and poles. He grudgingly brought it to our attention that the pink and silver ski poles he was using had ‘fun girl’ printed on them. That was his nickname for the rest of the day.

Relaxing in the lift line. It was freezing cold today, but we all bundled up and skied it up anyway. I was wishing I had a puffy coat like M’s pictured here. I think I need to do a little post- Christmas shopping for something really puffy.

Sundance– looking so beautiful all buried in piles of snow.