development of a little ripper

[~mikey b]

a few folks have been asking me about young Owen, so I thought I'd consolidate 6 years of kid stoke posts into one thread

his mama deserves more credit then I do - she hauled him around in her belly while she was patrolling at Eaglecrest - she said he'd do flips when she threw bombs and skied powder

here she is patrolling and at National Avalanche School with Owen in her belly









don't be afraid to let pregnant ladies ski - Krystal Kartwright patrolled up up until about 7 months - threw bombs - skied hard - finally got too hudge to ski - she wore my pants and we had to help her buckle her boots

~~~~~~~~~~

at 4 months we got a chance to take him out skiing for his first turns







he was not impressed - he slept the whole way down



~~~~~~~~~~~

he spent a lot of time in the sled







and a lot of time in the pack










Gear: Wilderness Experience sled. Chariot looks nice, but Cono Este hooked me up with a sweet deal on the tub. My buddy's kid uses it now. Might be for sale again soon. Kelty and Deuter make great kid carriers. The Kelty Transit was awesome! More of a daypack with a pocket for the baby. No external frame. Keeps the kid low and close to your back for easier skiing. Lower profile on the chairlift.

I can't say enough about the value of getting him out in the backpack. I carried his little ass up just about every ski area within driving range of Vail. Mommy would ski while we hiked a run or two. I carried him up and down the Minturn Mile several times to meet up with mommy at the end of the day when she was skiing home. I think the vestibular stimulation he got in the pack helped him when he finally got on skis, because he knew what it was supposed to feel like. He seemed to have his feet well under him right off the bat and he was stoked to be doing it himself.


~~~~~~~~~~~

as soon as it snowed after Owen could walk we got him on skis. Here he is a 16 months. Ready for action. He wanted to drop the table and jib the slide.













he stole Uncle Maker's Maker's


all they really need at that age is some way to get out and play in the snow and get used to the idea of skis on their - strap-on plastic xc skis fit the bill


then you can start to try going downhill - with a bit of help from mommy








-12 no pants

[hopelesslyadolescent]

Nice, Mike, looking forward to the updates.

[Binky]

Sweet! 1234

[powder11]

cool thread. my boys are turning 2 and I'm wondering if I should bother trying to get them on skis this season. I probably will, but just not too much. I've got to get some more pow days in before I sink the needle too deep in their veins!

[Canada1]

cool thread. my boys are turning 2 and I'm wondering if I should bother trying to get them on skis this season. I probably will, but just not too much. I've got to get some more pow days in before I sink the needle too deep in their veins!

Get a pair of skis. Have them put them on on the carpet and see if they can walk around. If they can do that, then they are okay for some excursions on snow. With mine 2 started in their 2's and one at 3.

Also, I liked the edgie wedgie thing. At that young age they didn't have the muscle control for a good pizza without it. Others are strongly against this as it creates bad habbits. This is probably true, but getting out was more important to me than breaking some bad habbits.

Good luck. Skiing with my kids is the best thing in my life.

[shera]

Cool pics!

I've taught several two year olds and used the edgie wedgie, but I would frequently check to see if they could wedge without it so I got it off after just few days. It will hinder their ability to shape and finish their turns, obviously.

What you don't want is what we call a "power wedger" - a kid that has been skiing on steeper terrain with no concept or ability to turn up the hill to control speed. When we get those at ski school we're put in the uncomfortable position of undoing what well intentioned dads have ingrained. Getting parallel as soon as possible makes life so much better for everyone.

We know a ton of drills to make the change to parallel but it's just less painful to learn the right habits in the first place. Part of it is pschological too, when you are in a wedge you have a double edged grip on the mountain and putting your feet together makes everything so slippery! Getting used to buttery parallel turns right away reduces the fear factor. I've had a number of 3 and 4 year olds skiing very nicely so it is a reasonable expectation.

Oooh, I'm excited to be skiing w kids again. Thanksgiving holiday was a good warmup. My Breck Bombers starts this Saturday, so if you see me out there with a pack of 7 year olds, give a wave.

[Buster Highmen]

The awesome compass points to all ways.
Kids are the best.
P11: yashureyoubetcha, get 'em going at age 2.

FWIW: tried using one of those harness and it sucked for our kids, so initially just held them up between the skis (and retore my acl doing so). Eventually by age 4 we worked out a method where I held my poles horizontally out to the side and they grabbed on so I could hold them up and kind of steer them while they were close enough to get the feel of what I was doing to turn. It took some time to break them of holding onto us, but by age 6 they were ripping around. Never used any other ski gadgets in getting them to ski.

Never really taught the wedge, went directly to "parallel". Similarly teaching them mappings, set theory, topology and number theory right off the bat.

[sb]

Awesome!

[robgoose]

Instead of ski poles, I used a broomstick with my daughter (when she was 4). I'd hold one end, shed hold the other. It was an easy transition to her skiing independently and I did not break my back.

[~mikey b]

at 18 months he was clearly ready to go with real gear - Nordica Nordy boots and 65cm Rossi skis with a waxless pattern - the pattern is great for helping them scooth along and not slip back




carried him up to a mid mtn lodge at Beaver Creek for some beers and turns on Fat Tuesday for some family funz with DaHeel










we never used the edgie-wedgie - we never used them as kids, and we thought he'd do better being able to actually move his skis independently - it works great for some kids - there are a million different ways to do it - bamboo pole, broomstick, hula hoop, etc - we quickly became fond of the harness and leash system

and I still carried him around a lot






cheesy rider




he thought he was pretty cool when he got to start riding the lift - still makes me nervous - when he was tiny he needed a bit of assistance unloading - way easier to just pick him up and haul him outta the way







we did a lot of this - even with harness it gets tough on the back

it wasn't always easy - throwing a hudge fit


ski cooper don't mind if you double up on the poma



starting to figure it out






total disregard for conditions - I like that - he'll make a good patroller some day








but he values the benefit of a good wax



















the point!

[Sinecure]

Have you reserved "Throwin Owen" as a screen name for him?

When we get too old to create our own stoke, we get stoked by our kids. I'm in the same boat.

[Trackhead]

Nice, I'm in the same spot. 17 mos old who skis 3-4 days per week on my back. That's my only option these days, until he goes to school.

[skier666]

For our current 4year old....at age 3 is when he really got going. From 2.5 to 3.5 it was mainly magic carpet, a few beginner chairlifts, using a ski pole or ski bar for him to hold on, and lots of junk food at the resort. At 3.5 we hammered group ski lessons at Northstar, Telluride, and Kirkwood. He made massive strides being forced to ski with older kids. Expensive? Hell yeah. But he now can ski with me down any green run without any help.

Our 18mo old is going for her first day on skis next week, mainly for photos but she seems a bit more coordinated than our boy at the same age.

[whyturn]

very cool

[vinzclortho]

The force is strong with this one (the kid).

beyond stoked to get my little girl on skis and get some family ski vacations going!!!!

[PowerWhore7]

Damn dude, that is some inspiring shit! It makes me almost want to give up my selfish, self indulgent life and procreate, almost...

Seriously though, nice work.

[gimpy]

all those days of missing mittens, long slow walks across the parking lot w/ 3 pairs of skis and poles, cold fingers and toes, out of control crashes ending in tears, hours upon hours on flat beginner hills, dependency issues w/ harnesses and edgy-wedgies, parkas drenched w/ cocoa, gloves w/ the finger linings impossibly imploded, feelings of absolute panic when you lose one of your kids for an hour on the hill, feelings of absolute panic and terror when you lose one of your kids and your friends kids for an hour, and constant arm twisting to get em out will all be more then paid off by year 6-7.

[teletripper]

Very nice, my kid and I were at Cooper every weekend being that I lived across the street and we would ski home from there. Great place for a kid.

[criscam]

nice stoke! interesting to hear peoples views and methods about how they're getting them on snow. last time out w my 2.5 yr old was a combo of me carrying him (down the steeper sections), to me holding him btwn my legs while skiing fwd and bkwd, to me just holding his hand on mellow stuff to keep him from freaking out. been wondering about using a pole or someting to help ease the lower back pain. oh and been using the edgie wedgie just so when he skis fast betwn my legs his don't get tangled.

[Ottime]

Excellent. We were able to get out twice this past weekend with our 18mo old. Just a short lift, ski with harness (really, just lifting him off the ground) to a break and snack half way down off to the side. Good times. But I think he really preferred the hike on my back. When we got to the top of where we were going, he kept signing more. Luckily, they were early season testing the chairlift, and that kept us entertained while we ripped skins and ate granola bares. Now I am looking for a small hot cocoa thermus to carry in my pack. Keep 'em coming

[auvgeek]

Never really taught the wedge, went directly to "parallel". Similarly teaching them mappings, set theory, topology and number theory right off the bat.

This is awesome. I've always been envious of kids who grew up with mathematicians for parents. (Not that my parents aren't amazing, though.)

Awesome kiddie stoke too. Almost makes me want to have one someday.

[~mikey b]

we're up to age 2 - this is helping me go through and edit/delete photos

[lrjcrj]

Love it! My daughter is not far off 2, had hoped to get her out this winter but she still falls over a fair bit walking/running so not too sure about skiing just yet. Like the idea of getting some cheap plastic skis and walking round the house/garden.

[Micol]

Very awesome thread and pics!!

btw: that beard of yours will fit nicely in the collar of that mailed jacket once it gets colder

[flatNshallow]

the point!

Bonus points for Island steez!