development of a little ripper

[calisnow]

Best thread I've seen on TGR. Actually makes me want to have a kid. Keep it coming - you said we're getting to watch 6 years of development. I assume he's throwing down in the park or racing some kind of kiddie alpine league, or DPS is building him some custom tiny-guy Lotus 138's or something. Let's see more!

[chaka]

this is great thanks! entertaining, inspiring and informative all in one. Love the shots where he's calling out his line "wild thing" style. Our 5 yr old boys appeared to get the hang of it a bit and start enjoying themselves end of last season after 4 days back to back lessons, we have our fingers crossed this season will be a breakthrough one!

[Bird Blaster]

Very cool thread! My little guy is due in Feb. I am looking forward to the day I can take him to the hill.

[~mikey b]

ok, so

when he was about 2.5 I started working at Bear Valley - he and mom came to visit a lot

major step up in strength, stamina and skill - he started actually doing it - I don't have many pics from this season





EDIT: found more pics from the season - these are good - we used the Lucky Bums harness and leash - it worked quite well for all of us - it does not work for everyone - we liked it because we could let him run and still help him out when he was bout to kill himself or murder someone else - way easier for me than just using the harness - at this point, he actually making turns and skiing properly















he did so well that we got him new skis - bumped him up from 65cm to 80cm Rossis - these use the same Kid Comp binding, and are pre-drilled for easy mounting - he still has a pair of 95cm's - oh, and he got climbing skins, too







in May we took him out touring on skins for the first time at Ebbetts Pass - he did fantastic! mommy and I were very proud and very happy to get our boy out in the backcountry - we kept it short and sweet and fun - he just used his regular ski gear with climbing skins and shuffled along with us - we had no expectations, but at (almost) 3, he seemed to enjoy it

he's so tiny - just looking at these pics again brings tears to my eyes














and Sonora Pass -he'd climb about 250-300 in an hour - slow but fun














he does not mind the spring/summer foolishness


about this time we scored him some new boots - Roces IDEA adjustable boots - they can adjust through 3 full sizes - 2 buckles, plenty of boots for a little kid and for $90 on sale, a great value - we got 2 years out of them and they are now on the 3rd kid - he did not like them at first - he wanted his softer, comfier boots








































































































































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[Huckwheat]

Cool thread Mike.....we all love watching Owen learning and getting good. He really is shredding for his age.

We have a pretty simple objective, make sure our kids love the mountains and snow. We are intentionally not pushing, and just trying to see where it leads. Our 5 year old has refused to join any lessons....so my wife just skis with him. We have heard friends say, "he/she cried the first 5 times we dropped them off, but look how good they got"......not our style. I am sure friends will progress faster, but if/when he wants to improve, he can ask for

Life Ski Story for Wilson (5 now, bday in Sept):
Year 0-1 - 20 days base of Squaw
Year 1-2 - 20ish days at Tahoe Donner XC in Chariot. Started getting used to walking on strap on skis.
Year 2-3 - mix of XC and ended up with about 8 lift days (he loved the Funitel at Squaw and "skiing" between legs.
Year 3-4 - About 10 days DH (we had baby then)
Year 4-5 - 20 days DH at Rose, all with just Mom and Dad (Mom every Tuesday, both on weekends).

Life ski story on Calvin (2 now, bday in July)
Year 1-2: 7 lift served days at Rose (full DH gear).
----Mostly just so we could see Wil ski. Cal did great though, wore hard boots, helmet, goggles, and was psyched to ride chairlifts. Actually skiing, he was ok with, sometimes between legs, and sometimes I carried. Success for 18 months.

18 Months


2 years, 4 months




2 years, 8 months


3 years, 6 months


4 yrs / 6 months and 1 yr / 7 months (respectively)






HINT: All about the pack. I can hold 3 pairs of skis, and still carry the 80lbs of kids.


Last SUNDAY: 5 / 3 months and 2 / 4 months.
--Day 1 went great. Boys put all gear on, rode lifts and picked up right where we left off.



If you focus on making it fun, kids love skiing. Treats, songs, jokes, tickles.....it is fun, not about "making them good."

[~mikey b]

We haz teh funz!



Huckwheat - I love the shot of the kid with the binky and the blanket!

[Creeker]

Huckwheat - just realized that I've seen you around Squaw a number of times. Always liked the fact that some Dad figured out how to strap skis all over his pack while handling at least one kid!

Jess

[Cabinfever]

You guys are making me misty. Ive got the other end of the spectrum, three kids. 14,16,18. They all started around 3yrs and have been on snow 50 to 100 days a year. The skiing has been great but it's the long car rides, roadside diners and general family bonding that I will remember the most.

I know, sweet blog and GFY but..... you will be there before you know it. Carry on.

[BassBone]

This thread is wonderful. All kinds of feels; owe my parents some thanks. My mom loves skiing, and she taught my dad, my brother and myself. My older brother didn't like skiing much, so my family didn't go as often as I would've liked (probably for money reasons too). We got out 3-10 days a year. Doesn't seem like a lot compared to most people here, but it was a highlight of my winters and I'm still so grateful. I can't imagine trying to learn now, and I can't imagine my life without the snow.

[~mikey b]

at 3.5 he figured it out - no more leash - no lessons yet, just mom and dad











transitioning from power wedge to parallel







powder can be a bit tpugh when you are only 30#, but he's all about it










he thinks he's cool because he gets to boot up in the patrol room with me and hang out at the shack with us, but sometimes the boys mess with him




grumpus face






he had his first taste of competition in a ski cross comp - he was pretty stoked! (can't find the best pics)














he did not want to do an interview

EDIT: almost forgot the Big Air comp








lots of touring in the spring - Lassen , Sonora Pass and elsewhere - he's a trooper - I still had to carry him to get very far, though - he's still just shuffling with his alpine boots and bindings, as I had not figured out an AT system for him yet
















I'm a sucker.

[Huckwheat]

I'm a sucker.

Those skinning pictures are awesome......little dude just looks super comfortable/natural on skis, that is the goal. I look up to you guys.

[skier666]

Haha....my body recalls this position very well.

Here's the little guy at 3.5 headed down to Chair 1 in Telluride last March.

[Buster Highmen]

Haha....my body recalls this position very well.



Here's the little guy at 3.5 headed down to Chair 1 in Telluride last March.

Doing just that at that precise location circa March 2006 caused me to retear my acl.

Memory bits here:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...rely-Pictorial





But that was all 5+ years ago. They're not so little now and my voice is already tired from yelling "wait" at the elder.

[~mikey b]

he's totally down with the summer skiing thing - he loves Mammoth - new poles - BD kid's adjustable flick-lock












a week before his 4th birthday I took him to Sonora Pass for a tour - that's our objective behind us - he got carried a bit - digging it



















BIG THANKS to sftc for acting as his personal photaggot

[Cayuse]

Great stuff. Wish I had started my daughter touring at a younger age but at least she is getting out a bit now, just hope it continues.

[Micol]

this thread is all win! what a good long skiing path they have ahead of them. So great!

[~mikey b]

so the winter before last was awesome - tons of snow, and Owen simply killed it - we had him in the Kid's Club, so he could get unlimited all-day lessons - when we went back and counted his days, he ended up with 57 days of ski school plus a ton of others when he just skied with us - our motto "more ski school, less pre-school - he could come to work with me and get ready with me then get bumped over to ski school when we went out on the mtn


heading for "school"

I can't say enough about the value of lessons for Owen - he really enjoyed it and really improved a lot - many of his days were spent one-on-one with Chris Anderson, who now works with dookie at Northstar - if you want the best damned kid's ski instructor around, take yer kids to Northstar and hook them up with Chris - he's the best - he's a good friend, and we hook up a lot these days at Squaw, Mammoth, AM, etc - he and I got to take Owen on KT-22 in May 2011, which was one of the highlights of my season

Owen and Chris








this is one of those places the harness comes in handy - 6 footer to hot tub - there's a DEEP hole right behind him he somehow missed - we learned pretty early on that it takes a couple of us at least to ski powder with him - you need to send someone ahead to show him good, safe lines, as well as have someone skiing behind him to help him out when he craters











you should be careful of throwing snowballs at your dad when he's working under the chair

























a couple of my favorite shots







a little help, Dad?



Dad = Poma lift


he's better than you at GNAR - he found the gnome

[~mikey b]

pond skim











ski bum - I chucked my sign but kept my change cup - didn't lose a dime



there was another ski cross comp - he was the only one under 10 - he raced a 16 year old in his head-to-head run

checking out the start and warming up with another competitor - he thinks he's a big-leaguer (and he's right!)




the start of his timed run for seeding














best shot of the race right here


once the ski area closed it was time for touring - I scored some Silvretta Pure Kidz AT bindings, and using info from here and a tutorial on Wild Snow I cut them down 4cm to fit his tiny boots - mounted on Head Mojo Jr 100cm I picked up CHEEP at the Sports Exchange in Truckee - they work very well, and he has skied on them a bunch at the area and in the backcountry




pretty badass setup for a 5 year old













when Sonora Pass opened we went up and met some of our sledneck friends - Owen got to ride up front while I towed - we did a lap then hiked up and did it again






for some reason this shot makes me think of a Trackhead thread

[~mikey b]

[fat yeti]

this gets me stoked to teach my kids

[~mikey b]

my laptop is buggered so I can't find some of my pics from last season

Last season was amazing! Not the best as far as snow goes, but we got to enjoy Owen's (and our) first season on the race team. At 5, he was the youngest competitor in Far West last year. I think the next older kids were all 7 and had a year or of race experience.

We were a little unsure if he was ready for the race team, but he quickly proved that he was. It took a lot of help from coaches and parents and older kids, but he was 100% able to hang with training and racing and being part of a team. His coaches have told us that he is very coachable and actually listens to and understands what they are saying. He's helping kids twice his age during course inspection. He has excellent vision for such a little guy. He never missed a single gate and really seemed to know how to run a course properly.

Freeskiing, too, he can really read the mountain well. When he's skied a run a few times he starts to get into a groove where he'll ski the same line every time. At our mountain, you can almost predict exactly where he'll turn and where he'll point 'em in places he's skied a million times.

It's amazing to watch him pick a line through steeper, rocky terrain. And he doesn't mind hiking to get to it either. He walked the High T and out to Beaver at AM a few times with us in the spring when it was a bit spicy. We don't push him. We don't want to scare him or get him hurt. But we also aren't all paranoid about it either. We take it easy, ski in stages, and make sure we have a few folks in the entourage to show him the safe way to go and to follow up behind him. He loves it.

Not just because I am his exceedingly proud dad, but I have never seen a kid that is so comfortable on skis as Owen He can do stuff with his body naturally that a lot of adult skiers can't do. His balance and angulation are amazing. He's just starting to spend more time in the park, so I know we have some flippy, spinny airtime in our future.

We still used the harness quite a bit for chairlift loading and safety mostly. Bumped up to a 4 buckle Technica Race Pro 70 boot and some 1oocm Atomic race skis - he still used his lighter and softer Rossi boots and 95cm cruiser skis a lot - he's a small kid, so sometimes the beefier gear is too much for him - at the end of the season we scored him some 110cm K2 Juvy with demo Marker bindings (big thanks to Mike Schwartz at The Backcountry for the smokin' deal and letting me pick them up at his house) - I thought they might be a bit much since they are heavier and longer than anything he'd had, but he rocked them in the corn at Alpine - no worries

anyway - here are a few pics from last season

1st race was at China Peak - he did well - beat a few kids twice his age - can't find my race pics

a little nervous at the awards - he'd never been to anything like this


first medal


posing for Rossi and Hestra



carving boy - pics by sftc












jumping boy - pics by sftc











Dodge Ridge race











Far West Championships at Northstar






calling his sponsor - Mommy

Alpine
high t






expert shortcut











new boards! 6th birthday present

[~mikey b]

spring backcountry - Sonora Pass with another maniac dad like me carrying his future little ripper - young Avery gets a lot of our hand-me-downs - he just turned 2 and he's on the same path as Owen - it must be fun having ski bums for parents



























we are really lucky - he'll carry a backpack and does not mind skiing shit like this - very fun
















































































he's my little Summer Solstice boy

eclpise

[oldbastard]

I am fortunate I have a daughter who I started her at 2 when I was Pro Ski Patrol director at a smallish Midwest ski area. She is my ski buddy....she is a grown woman now of 22, still my dawdar...but now a good friend...a graceful snowboarder and wonderful person.

teach him well, keep him safe....precious things these children are.

[~mikey b]

again - big thanks to sftc












































































































FKNA! You rock Sean!


















oh, and I almost forgot




























































































this is for advres

[PowerWhore7]

Dude, this is my favorite picture of all time.

Telemike FTW, creating better humans beings...