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  1. #1
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    Making your kid a grom

    Pretty much the title, with a kid coming soon what are some tips you all have learned for getting your kids to like skiing? I am worried if I push it too hard on them they will become disinterested.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by toastybroski View Post
    Pretty much the title, with a kid coming soon what are some tips you all have learned for getting your kids to like skiing? I am worried if I push it too hard on them they will become disinterested.
    That's the exact line you will walk. You can make it more relaxed and fun for them, but that can be hard on a powder day when you want to get out there and everybody else wants to take their time at the hotel breakfast. Or you want to ski something fun for you that they may or may not be ready for. It's tough and you'll make some mistakes, don't worry about it. Both my girls learned at age 3/4 on the backyard rope tow at Great Divide, and the magic carpet at Showdown. Two great places for kids to learn how to ski. Now my kids are teens, and I've brought them to the point where they both have skied the Big Couloir at Big Sky, and I'm proud of that, but after that goal was achieved I noticed how they both seem less interested in skiing now. Jobs, boys, school sports, etc., but also I wonder if maybe I did make them ski too much when they were young. I don't know. Whatever. You give them a lifelong gift when you teach them to ski. It will always be there for them if they want it. It's a journey man, enjoy it! And congrats.

  3. #3
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    When they get frustrated and overwhelmed, stop, take them inside, get some hot chocolate and treats

  4. #4
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    The kid stoke thread has lots of advice on this. But always make it fun. Lots of candy on the slopes, hot chocolate every day you play in snow. One tip I got, and think it worked well, is (try to) always leave before they're ready. Much better to have the kid crying about how they want to keep skiing than crying from a melt-down because they're done with skiing and you're halfway up the mountain.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Danno View Post
    The kid stoke thread has lots of advice on this. But always make it fun. Lots of candy on the slopes, hot chocolate every day you play in snow. One tip I got, and think it worked well, is (try to) always leave before they're ready. Much better to have the kid crying about how they want to keep skiing than crying from a melt-down because they're done with skiing and you're halfway up the mountain.
    This and just go, go with them they feed off your excitement. Ski a lot with them, never complain, ski in the rain, ski crap conditions, small local mountains if thats what you have and just say isnt this awesome.
    Lessons yearly help, especially if you can get them someplace good ( lucky my inlaws have gone to Beaver Creek every year the last 6 years and we pay way too much for very good lessons there)

    thats all I know. My 8 year old loves it and can ski well in almost all conditions. He also stays out digging & building in the snow long after his friends go in. Understands there is no bad weather, just bad clothing choices.....

  6. #6
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    Lessons definitely help. We did 3-5 lessons a season at Winter Park starting from age 3 or 4, and it was worth every penny. Kiddo is now almost 11 and on the race team (her choice, I never pushed her to race).
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by yeahman View Post
    Now my kids are teens, and I've brought them to the point where they both have skied the Big Couloir at Big Sky, and I'm proud of that, but after that goal was achieved I noticed how they both seem less interested in skiing now.
    If my kids are hiking and skiing scary lines at Big Sky when they are early teenagers like your kids have done, I will consider that a resounding success regardless of whether they lose interest for a while later. I can especially see losing interest as a teenager when you are already a better skier than 99% of the people out there.

  8. #8
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    Use this thread for all your kid stoke needs: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...ke-2011-and-on

    And use the pinned thread in gear swap for all your kid gear needs.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by yeahman View Post
    That's the exact line you will walk. You can make it more relaxed and fun for them, but that can be hard on a powder day when you want to get out there and everybody else wants to take their time at the hotel breakfast. Or you want to ski something fun for you that they may or may not be ready for. It's tough and you'll make some mistakes, don't worry about it. Both my girls learned at age 3/4 on the backyard rope tow at Great Divide, and the magic carpet at Showdown. Two great places for kids to learn how to ski. Now my kids are teens, and I've brought them to the point where they both have skied the Big Couloir at Big Sky, and I'm proud of that, but after that goal was achieved I noticed how they both seem less interested in skiing now. Jobs, boys, school sports, etc., but also I wonder if maybe I did make them ski too much when they were young. I don't know. Whatever. You give them a lifelong gift when you teach them to ski. It will always be there for them if they want it. It's a journey man, enjoy it! And congrats.
    Quote Originally Posted by steviewonder View Post
    When they get frustrated and overwhelmed, stop, take them inside, get some hot chocolate and treats
    I endorse both these answers. Bottom line is that you can’t push too hard. Every kid is different. When you’re skiing with them, you need to make sure they have fun.

  10. #10
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    Aug 2006
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    My kiddo is just starting out, like edgie wedgies in the backyard starting out, but I think so far its been more of a challenge for me to realize I'm not going to be getting first chair anytime remotely soon.

    Let the sport come to them. It is hard to have a bad time if they get to do it their way. Fast or slow, ski or board, race or freestyle, let em make it what they want it to be and they'll dig it. Trying to force any of those options sounds like a recipe for disaster.

    I'm still hoping the kiddo decides snowboarding is better. There's like a 50 50 chance!
    Live Free or Die

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Danno View Post
    Use this thread for all your kid stoke needs: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...ke-2011-and-on

    And use the pinned thread in gear swap for all your kid gear needs.
    Awesome, thanks for all the tips.

  12. #12
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    Apr 2017
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    A couple of thoughts

    Ski passes are your friend. Don’t worry if you only ski a couple of runs in a day. You won’t feel like you spent $150 for one run if you bought a single ticket. When you define success on stoke level, not vertical skied or laps things tend to turn out well. Ending each day with smiles is key. Mittens keep little fingers warm better than gloves. Hot pockets work well in jackets and gloves. You can get pretty small boot covers too if your home resort is cold. Good gear for kids makes a difference. I have amassed a good quiver of Moment, Praxis and On3p skis for the kids, all used from gear swap or eBay. When they switched from mass production foam core skis to skis I believe are better, their skiing progress jumped. Case in point, my 10 year old starting skis some Praxis GPO’s I picked up for $175 last year. He skied the last big storm Mammoth had with 4 of us that cat ski every year and led most laps in knee to thigh deep powder and we had to chase.

    One of the best pieces of advice I received was from some Eastern European grandma that was a ski instructor at Mammoth. She yelled at me in her thick accent when I had my 3 year old son between my legs and his was body was as a good as a sack of potatoes. She told me I was going to kill my back and to go get my poles and get my son on my side. Here is my wife with our 2 1/2 year old daughter at the time doing what she said. My kids skied several years like this. My daughter and I got to a point it was a dance and often exceeded 25 mph for fun. Our daughter never learned snow plow, and instead went directly to parallel. The kids learn to be in the front of their boots, hands out front and in good body position. They have to stand up. You get to build strong leg muscles.






    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  13. #13
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    Feb 2021
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    45
    Warm congrats to you guys on the little one; how awesome. Lots of great advice, which rings true with my experience.

    - Passes help with parent stress about cost. They let you feel good about driving up for a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.
    - Kids like treats and they also get hungry between leaving home and arriving at the mountain. We end up taking 1-3 runs and then heading to the lodge for our lodge break; and then heading back out.
    - As they get older, consider getting them better and better gear. Part of the fun for myself is trying out new gear and/or feeling like my gear is more than up to the conditions. New gear at the beginning of the season (or Christmas) can help build anticipation for the kiddos too.
    - Warm and dry.
    - Pivot as their moods pivot (chair lift treats, passes, and lodge time help here). They're irrational for sure so just be ready.
    - Lessons are great for them and give you a little solo time.
    - Skiing/Lessons with family friends are great and helps with the day-to-day skiing fun; it also builds great community memories.
    - I think I ended up starting each of our kids (four in all) around age 4-5, but folks definitely start earlier.

    Congrats again.

  14. #14
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    Dec 2004
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    Best family time ever as they'll go all day. No other activity keeps them engaged this long...maybe camping close second
    Couple extra thoughts here:
    Completely reset your expectations and just enjoy watching them progress. Don't worry about yourself for 4 or 5 years.
    If you have the chance, bring their friends. Will either be confidence building (they're better), or they'll ski their butt off trying to keep up and push their own learning/limits.
    I like the share excitement comment. Tell them stories at home, tell them about your ski friends, then introduce and ski with them.
    Share the comaraderie that you love about skiing--clicking poles, pushing a friend over in lift line, laughing when you yard sale, knocking snow off a tree to catch your buddy behind you on a traverse, aprés, hot tubs, ski movies, high fiving at the bottom, sitting on the tailgate.
    Always do the whoop-de-dos in the trees
    Layering is for kids too.
    Carry a pack with constant snacks and extra clothes
    Buy good gear. especially goggles and gloves. I bought adult s/XS gloves as soon as I could as kid versions generally low quality

  15. #15
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    Dec 2011
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    PNW
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    Fun, it must be fun. Skiing can only be part of the fun, but not always the main focus. Go sledding or have snowball fights. Visit their favorite restaurants. Play games while skiing

    After a few trips you'll figure out If they want to charge hard, or maybe play in the park

    As long as it's fun, they'll be hooked for life

  16. #16
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    Agree with everything said above. We had our daughter out 2 yrs ago before the 'vid at 3yrs and she did ok but we didn't do formal lessons. 2 weeks ago we did 1 half day and then 3 fulls at Mammoth. Day 1.5 was slow going, I kept my expectations in check and in reality she did amazing. Day 3 she was on rope tow after lunch, turning, stopping, weight forward. Day 4 she went straight to lift with 3 other kiddos. I picked her up and took a bunch of laps of 7/17 and she was dominating!!!

    Good gear, positive vibes and a great existing relationship are all strong foundations. Final day was one of the best days of my life, hands down.

  17. #17
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    Apr 2016
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    Good advice so far.

    Nthing snacks, warm gear (made by good manufacturers) and leaving "too early."

    Handwarmers are cheap insurance.

    We've taken the approach of "I'll take my kid skiing as much as she wants to ski but I'm not going to teach her how to ski." We've relied on lessons for that. Expensive, yeah, but instructors generally know how to teach a 3-6 year-old skiing and I sure don't. Multi-lesson setups where they have the same instructor and classmates help progression, since they can pick up where they left off the following week.

    For our more extroverted kid, getting into lessons with one of her friends was a game-changer. She's super fired up to ski if she can ski with her friends. Failing that, she's more fired up to ski with anyone who is not her parents.

    Don't be afraid of "only" spending an hour on the hill if the kid wants to leave after an hour.

    Little rituals help. One that we have is that skiers get chocolate on the way home (in addition to lift snacks).

    Enjoy!

  18. #18
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    Sep 2018
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    Making your kid a grom

    As background: My two kids are older now. My son chose his college specifically to ski and he’s on the slopes maybe 60-70 times a year. My daughter is choosing her college right now and making sure there is skiing close. Same with mtn biking. And backpacking. They love it. And they got great at those things because they love those things. There are very, very few people who can ski with them when they drop the hammer. Very few. I sure as hell can’t anymore.

    In terms of what we did to foster this, I think there is great advice in this thread. Keep them warm, make it fun, make them feel like part of the tribe, be willing to wait and be patient, etc. All great stuff. One other concept was maybe the most key thing for us. It’s this:

    As a family, in winter, we skied. Period. No discussion. We just did it. My son had one lesson ever. Started at age 3. My daughter was on little plastic things age 2, and she had no lessons. We skied as a family. All the damn time. By the time they were 5 and 7 we were skiing as a family maybe 30-35 times a year. We had a minimum of 5 runs. Cold, tired, shit snow: 5 runs. No one argued after a year or two. We all knew the rules. We skied, and always at least 5 runs.

    We went on trips as a family, overnight in one hotel room, day trips, half days, whatever. 30-35 days a year as a family. Kids sometimes went with friends, sometimes we brought their friends (seldom) but 30-35 times as a group of 4. Always, no question.

    At the beginning it sucked for my wife and I. 30 days on green and blue groomers. Damn. That’s a big percentage of your days to be tooling around. But gravity is amazing, and when they approach double digit age it changes. Now you can ski more stuff and don’t have to be behind them all the time. By the time they were 9 and 11 or so we were skiing anything we wanted, any run on any mountain, as long as we took our time and watched their backs. At 11 and 13 we skied anything we wanted anywhere without thinking of them at all.

    And then seemingly the next year they started waiting for us. Warren Miller was right. Damn it happens fast.

    Your mileage may vary, and all kids are different, but I think that’s the key. Do it together. It should be like eating, or bedtime, or chores, or school. It’s what you do, every weekend, all winter, as a family.

    We were just in Jackson Hole. As I said, my kids are older now. And there we were for a week, skiing as a group of four, things reversed. I think I still rip but good god when those two crank it up it’s insane. Just crazy lines, stupid speeds and huge airs. I don’t have 50 foot cliffs in the bag anymore. Well, I never did tbh. That’s huge. But there they are at the end of each run. Bottom of feature, slope or run, shooting the shit and waiting for their mom and me.

    Cause that’s what we do. We ski together. All winter, whenever we can.

    And good god I wouldn’t trade that for almost anything in the world. It was, and is, worth every single second trying to get them to carve their skis into a bunny slope, every treat pulled out of a pocket, every cramped cheap hotel room, every traffic jam and lift line and powder day missed cause you are teaching your kid. Every time one of them thought they outgrew this 30 days together thing, softly but firmly explaining that it wasn’t changed.

    I’m absolutely grateful for it. Stay with it, and good luck. And I hope that when I slow down, maybe they’ll still be patiently waiting for me down at the bottom by the lift with a grin and a pole tap.

    Do it. It’s worth it.
    Last edited by EWG; 01-11-2022 at 03:29 PM.

  19. #19
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    Most of what everyone is saying is dead on. I have 5 kids and all of them ski and enjoy it with me. To answer your question, though, nothing you do will "make" your kid a grom (assuming you mean a young ripping skier who wants to ski as much as you). Your job is to create the environment where they fall in love with it the way you (and hopefully your spouse) love it.

    I grew up skiing with my whole family. We went every weekend, had passes (shout out Hoodoo!) and took an annual trip to Sun Valley for spring break. I enjoyed skiing but didn't love it until I was on my own in college. Of my family (4 kids), only my brother and I still ski and we both have our full families skiing.

    As much as you want, you won't be able to control whether they become a "grom" or just a kid who skis. Every kid is different.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by phatty View Post

    . I enjoyed skiing but didn't love it until I was on my own in college. Of my family (4 kids), only my brother and I still ski and we both have our full families skiing.

    As much as you want, you won't be able to control whether they become a "grom" or just a kid who skis. Every kid is different.
    this ^^ you give up the control when you get in the relationship/ married / kids

    I went out with a marathoner/ tele-wanker/ climber/ hiker with a kid who was into art/ theatre

    you don't really get to chose
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

  21. #21
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    Jan 2005
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    ALWAYS have candy in pocket and Costco box of hand warmers. Ski but chill inside when they are over it. My 10 and 6 skied the last storm cycle in temps well below zero but they were having fun. At all cost figure out how to make it cool and fun.

    Lost a lot of pow days skiing with the girls, but now they have the skills to ski 90 % of our local hill (except deep pow).

    The 10 yr old has some bent chetlers to help this cause.

    COngrats and enjoy

  22. #22
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    Sep 2011
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    Congratulations! Skiing with your kids is super fun, and one of my all time favorite things to do. I started my first at 4, second at 2 and now they are both teenagers and my ski buddies. They have never had a lesson, they ski the whole mountain and are starting to push me. Lots of great recs above, but I'll add/re-iterate a few:

    - Number one rule: Make it fun. Do not worry about getting your money's worth. This is an investment that will pay off more than you can imagine if you are patient.
    - 4 is a great age to start. That's when they have the leg strength to ski on their own. Before 4 its just a lot of work for the parent. If you have a 2nd kiddo, chances are they will want to do what the big sibling is doing and you'll likely get out earlier.
    - Pack lots of snacks. My kids used to call me the human vending machine. It is non-stop snacks on the chairlift and on the car ride home.
    - Keep em warm. Handwarmers, footwarmers. Go in when they are cold.
    - Stoke: My kids picked up early on the stoke. I would ski with them between my legs through untracked pow on the side of the green runs or in trees. They loved it and it started a lifelong passion.
    - Consider tele. It makes it easier to pick them up, adjust boots, help them get into bindings - plus it makes those green runs more fun (esp on a pow day).
    - Harness: A lucky bums harness won't help them ski, but it will allow you to take them on more challenging terrain if need be. We parked at MJ, skied the WP side and there was no easy way down back to the car and this really helped. Plus, they can carry your sandwiches
    - Lessons: I am not knocking lessons, but have many friends who just wanted to throw their kids in a lesson so they could ski on their own. I truly believe these friends missed out on an amazing experience. Not saying don't do lessons, but don't skimp on the experience of skiing with your kids when they are young.

  23. #23
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    Mar 2012
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    Got one on college and one who is a senior in high school now. All good advice. Here's some you probably don't want to hear.

    Be fully prepared and all in to call it a day and leave the resort if it's not going well for the little ones.. like up to about age 5 or 6. Your ski day has to be totally expendable if it's clear they'd rather be someplace else. After they're in grade school you can leave them at a table in the lodge with mom or with siblings of they're not feeling it.

    DO NOT try to convince them to keep trying when they're really little. If you can't deal with throwing your own ski day in the garbage find a place with toddler care facilities.. even a Ski Wee can end early with them calling you to come get the kid. Never happened to me but I've been with others many times who had to bail for that reason.

    WHEN they're getting hooked, THEN get them on the snow as much as fucking possible. 10 times a year, even really good days will make them a solid intermediate but they'll never be GOOD until they can ski 50 plus day seasons.. 100 day seasons to be core.

    I ended up with one who never turns down a day trip and another who only goes if we have a ski house.. she may ski she may not while there.

    Good luck.. and be open to other activities. We did lots if different things while they were growing up. Priceless memories!
    Go that way really REALLY fast. If something gets in your way, TURN!

  24. #24
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    Sep 2006
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    One more, once they are old enough to deal with the craziness, take them to ski movie premiers (TGR/Matchstick etc.) in the fall to get them stoked for the season. The excitement and energy at those premiers is infectious. My son is 15 and still cherishes each and every signed ski poster on his wall from those premiers when he was little.

  25. #25
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    Oct 2005
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    great thread - Thank you !

    it's threads like this, Why I love the tgr forum community -

    Thank you ! skiJ

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