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  1. #101
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    the LCC
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    Edgy wedgy for the win. No harness or hula. Let them control themselves from day one.
    Graduate in slope angle.
    When a 2 1/2 yr old gets going too fast in a snowplow they cannot shut it down.
    Pick a soft landing for that lesson.
    Once is enough and they don't get out of control again...
    Ski school? The mountain is their school. Increase difficulty to increase ability.
    Our kids grew up in employee housing at the hill.
    Sometimes at 2 1/2 one run was too long, well a 3k vert one, and I would carry them home.
    I'd turn around from taking boots off and they'd be passed out, face down, bent over the couch.
    Really felt for folks that put so much into getting to the hill that one and done would be a bummer.
    By four they'd skied all lift accessed runs, and by 7 and 5 were on their own, lifties scooping the five year old on.
    The steeper the hill, the less height between their ass and the hill when in a snowplow. Sitting down to rest is inches, and they can push themselves back up with one hand to go again.
    Obviously softer grippy snow is requisite at higher slope angles; select slopes according to conditions.
    Only real lessons and emphasis were about safety.
    1) On the groomers for them to always know when and how fast others are coming up behind you, get out of the way if necessary, sometimes having to ski or even stop on the side of a trail when a pack is coming down hot. Kids need to look uphill constantly; everyone else is going so much faster.
    2) Knowing where merges are and looking uphill.
    One is in back of them running defense on groomers always looking uphill, and below on the steeps.
    Just carry them across flats. We called it free ride and when I said it at the same place on certain runs, they would brace themselves and I would scoop them up at speed, not making them walk.
    Poles don't come until they can skate on the flats pretty well.
    Race team isn't recommended until 8 or so, let the mountain teach until then.
    Have them control their own destiny from day one...
    Time spent skiing cannot be deducted from one's life.

  2. #102
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    SLC, Utah
    Posts
    4,281
    Quote Originally Posted by telefreewasatch View Post
    Edgy wedgy for the win. No harness or hula. Let them control themselves from day one.
    Graduate in slope angle.
    When a 2 1/2 yr old gets going too fast in a snowplow they cannot shut it down.
    Pick a soft landing for that lesson.
    Once is enough and they don't get out of control again...
    Ski school? The mountain is their school. Increase difficulty to increase ability.
    Our kids grew up in employee housing at the hill.
    Sometimes at 2 1/2 one run was too long, well a 3k vert one, and I would carry them home.
    I'd turn around from taking boots off and they'd be passed out, face down, bent over the couch.
    Really felt for folks that put so much into getting to the hill that one and done would be a bummer.
    By four they'd skied all lift accessed runs, and by 7 and 5 were on their own, lifties scooping the five year old on.
    The steeper the hill, the less height between their ass and the hill when in a snowplow. Sitting down to rest is inches, and they can push themselves back up with one hand to go again.
    Obviously softer grippy snow is requisite at higher slope angles; select slopes according to conditions.
    Only real lessons and emphasis were about safety.
    1) On the groomers for them to always know when and how fast others are coming up behind you, get out of the way if necessary, sometimes having to ski or even stop on the side of a trail when a pack is coming down hot. Kids need to look uphill constantly; everyone else is going so much faster.
    2) Knowing where merges are and looking uphill.
    One is in back of them running defense on groomers always looking uphill, and below on the steeps.
    Just carry them across flats. We called it free ride and when I said it at same place on certain runs, they would brace themselves and I would scoop them up at speed, not making them walk.
    Poles don't come until they can skate on the flats pretty well.
    Race team isn't recommended until 8 or so, let the mountain teach until then.
    Have them control their own destiny from day one...
    ^^gonna save this advice on a Google doc until I can refer to it in a few years. thanks TFW!!

    Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

  3. #103
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Posts
    6,643

    Making your kid a grom

    Quote Originally Posted by telefreewasatch View Post
    Edgy wedgy for the win. No harness or hula. Let them control themselves from day one.
    Graduate in slope angle.
    When a 2 1/2 yr old gets going too fast in a snowplow they cannot shut it down.
    Pick a soft landing for that lesson.
    Once is enough and they don't get out of control again...
    Ski school? The mountain is their school. Increase difficulty to increase ability.
    Our kids grew up in employee housing at the hill.
    Sometimes at 2 1/2 one run was too long, well a 3k vert one, and I would carry them home.
    I'd turn around from taking boots off and they'd be passed out, face down, bent over the couch.
    Really felt for folks that put so much into getting to the hill that one and done would be a bummer.
    By four they'd skied all lift accessed runs, and by 7 and 5 were on their own, lifties scooping the five year old on.
    The steeper the hill, the less height between their ass and the hill when in a snowplow. Sitting down to rest is inches, and they can push themselves back up with one hand to go again.
    Obviously softer grippy snow is requisite at higher slope angles; select slopes according to conditions.
    Only real lessons and emphasis were about safety.
    1) On the groomers for them to always know when and how fast others are coming up behind you, get out of the way if necessary, sometimes having to ski or even stop on the side of a trail when a pack is coming down hot. Kids need to look uphill constantly; everyone else is going so much faster.
    2) Knowing where merges are and looking uphill.
    One is in back of them running defense on groomers always looking uphill, and below on the steeps.
    Just carry them across flats. We called it free ride and when I said it at the same place on certain runs, they would brace themselves and I would scoop them up at speed, not making them walk.
    Poles don't come until they can skate on the flats pretty well.
    Race team isn't recommended until 8 or so, let the mountain teach until then.
    Have them control their own destiny from day one...
    This is almost exactly how we did it as well, though we used a harness for a bit and not a wedgie. Great blueprint - that needs to be modified some if you don’t literally live on the mtn. Course, TFW’s kids may not be human. Still waiting on that test in the lab…
    Last edited by EWG; 01-15-2022 at 06:58 PM.

  4. #104
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    1,241
    We weren’t a fan of the edgy wedgy though somehow ended up with two of them. The harness works great. Someone told me to wrap the ends around the torso so the left “rein” comes around the body to my right hand and vice versa. I’m sure everyone’s mileage and kid is different but we really liked the harness and reins. Two milestones today. He rode his first chair without a parent then things got really crazy when he insisted on riding as a single.

  5. #105
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Last Best City in the Last Best Place
    Posts
    7,268
    We did use the edgy wedgy the very first times and it did help them learn to pizza.

    TFW has good advice. Only thing I did different is I stopped skiing right behind them as defense against people bombing groomers because I realized I was putting my kid in a "blind spot." People will come up fast behind you and think they can turn once they pass you and boom there's your kid. After seeing this happen a couple times I just started skiing next to them on groomers, fairly close and both of us clearly visible. I found people gave us a wider berth that way.

  6. #106
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Impossible to knowl--I use an iPhone
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    13,142
    My theory was always that the harness things tend to delay actual skiing--I've seen a lot of kids just being roped down without any speed/turning input on their own. Very first day of lift served with my older daughter (she was about 2.5 YO) I realized, holding her between my legs as we skied, that I was supporting most of her weight--when I let go she basically collapsed. I told her she needed to support herself, and after a minor tantrum she skied the rest of the run standing on her own--I wedged backwards in front of her helping to guide, which I did a lot of for some time. We developed a few games with me skiing backwards which usually involved me pretending to be upset whenever she would ski onto my skis, which of course quickly became her goal (every time we stopped--which was probably a few dozen times every run--she would often end up falling the 8" to the snow after running over my skis and laughing hysterically).

    One kind of funny thing we did with her younger sister was when she was almost four and desperately wanted poles, because her sister had them. So we told her that if she loaded the chair correctly 100 times in a row she could have poles. Listening to her keep track, and ask for help, was very funny, and more quickly than I anticipated number 100 came up so she got poles (which were fairly useless for a year or so, but she enjoyed skiing with them).

    One other note I'm not sure I've seen addressed is to be really aware of going to the bathroom and getting cold. So many times I'd interrogate my daughter at the bottom of a five minute lift asking if she had to go to the bathroom, with repeated, forceful negative responses, and by the time we got off the lift I'd have to pick her up and straight line to the bottom (we didn't arrive in time more than once). And it's tough for adults to realize how quickly small hands and fingers start to get completely frozen, regardless of how warmly they're dressed (it seems). That can turn a great day into at least temporary misery pretty quickly.
    [quote][//quote]

  7. #107
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    Encinitas CA
    Posts
    274
    Quote Originally Posted by Dexter Rutecki View Post
    My theory was always that the harness things tend to delay actual skiing--I've seen a lot of kids just being roped down without any speed/turning input on their own. Very first day of lift served with my older daughter (she was about 2.5 YO) I realized, holding her between my legs as we skied, that I was supporting most of her weight--when I let go she basically collapsed. I told her she needed to support herself, and after a minor tantrum she skied the rest of the run standing on her own--I wedged backwards in front of her helping to guide, which I did a lot of for some time. We developed a few games with me skiing backwards which usually involved me pretending to be upset whenever she would ski onto my skis, which of course quickly became her goal (every time we stopped--which was probably a few dozen times every run--she would often end up falling the 8" to the snow after running over my skis and laughing hysterically).

    One kind of funny thing we did with her younger sister was when she was almost four and desperately wanted poles, because her sister had them. So we told her that if she loaded the chair correctly 100 times in a row she could have poles. Listening to her keep track, and ask for help, was very funny, and more quickly than I anticipated number 100 came up so she got poles (which were fairly useless for a year or so, but she enjoyed skiing with them).

    One other note I'm not sure I've seen addressed is to be really aware of going to the bathroom and getting cold. So many times I'd interrogate my daughter at the bottom of a five minute lift asking if she had to go to the bathroom, with repeated, forceful negative responses, and by the time we got off the lift I'd have to pick her up and straight line to the bottom (we didn't arrive in time more than once). And it's tough for adults to realize how quickly small hands and fingers start to get completely frozen, regardless of how warmly they're dressed (it seems). That can turn a great day into at least temporary misery pretty quickly.
    Good point on the bathroom - if blessed with a girl, buy one of these

    pStyle | Stand to Pee with Ease While Fully Clothed | for Women, Non Binary, & Trans Men | Made in The USA | Reusable Pee Funnel is a Game Changer for Camping, Music Festivals, and More! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KRHH3BG...ing=UTF8&psc=1.

    They are a godsend.

    I also remember the first time our kids went up the lift together. It was at Alta on Sunnyside and it was a proud parents moment.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  8. #108
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Boulder
    Posts
    1,351

    Making your kid a grom

    1) Candy every lift ride
    2) Handwarmers for any temp below 35F
    3) Kids pick jacket, pants, helmet, goggles. Parents pick skis, boots, gloves
    4) Huge hula hoop (Pex, <$10 at hardware store) is great. They hold in front in the right position, I can hold and drop at will, and if they’re not holding, I can catch up and lasso if needed.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  9. #109
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Impossible to knowl--I use an iPhone
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    13,142
    I also realized that until kids are six or seven they don't have the same perception of objects ahead of them (people, trees) that are more than five or ten feet away. It's like they don't actually see them, although of course they do. They just don't act like they're there until they get really close to them, which is why you'll see little kids skiing directly towards other people like they're aiming for them and then do crazy swerves away at the last second. This kind of thing resulted in our younger one skiing directly into a large hole that had opened up in the snow in the spring. It was well marked and incredibly obvious, but all of a sudden she was at the bottom of it, surrounded by 20" of snow (she was probably 36"). She landed it, so she was standing upright on her skis (I have no idea how she did this), and was unhurt but very upset at the attention she received from us and other passerby skiers.
    [quote][//quote]

  10. #110
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    3,724
    Quote Originally Posted by telefreewasatch View Post
    Edgy wedgy for the win. No harness or hula. Let them control themselves from day one.
    Graduate in slope angle.
    When a 2 1/2 yr old gets going too fast in a snowplow they cannot shut it down.
    Pick a soft landing for that lesson.
    Once is enough and they don't get out of control again...
    Ski school? The mountain is their school. Increase difficulty to increase ability.
    Our kids grew up in employee housing at the hill.
    Sometimes at 2 1/2 one run was too long, well a 3k vert one, and I would carry them home.
    I'd turn around from taking boots off and they'd be passed out, face down, bent over the couch.
    Really felt for folks that put so much into getting to the hill that one and done would be a bummer.
    By four they'd skied all lift accessed runs, and by 7 and 5 were on their own, lifties scooping the five year old on.
    The steeper the hill, the less height between their ass and the hill when in a snowplow. Sitting down to rest is inches, and they can push themselves back up with one hand to go again.
    Obviously softer grippy snow is requisite at higher slope angles; select slopes according to conditions.
    Only real lessons and emphasis were about safety.
    1) On the groomers for them to always know when and how fast others are coming up behind you, get out of the way if necessary, sometimes having to ski or even stop on the side of a trail when a pack is coming down hot. Kids need to look uphill constantly; everyone else is going so much faster.
    2) Knowing where merges are and looking uphill.
    One is in back of them running defense on groomers always looking uphill, and below on the steeps.
    Just carry them across flats. We called it free ride and when I said it at the same place on certain runs, they would brace themselves and I would scoop them up at speed, not making them walk.
    Poles don't come until they can skate on the flats pretty well.
    Race team isn't recommended until 8 or so, let the mountain teach until then.
    Have them control their own destiny from day one...
    Here's a video on some of the results (which many of us have been watching in ski videos for years). Plus we even get a guest appearance from TFW himself.

    https://www.instagram.com/tv/CYy-ZDapwq1

  11. #111
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    The Bull City
    Posts
    14,003
    Edgy Wedge got my oldest skiing on his own faster for sure. Downside, I didn't get them on snow enough over the years 5-7 times a year and rarely two days in a row as they matured. As a result, the power plow was the defense mechanism of choice for way too long. It wasn't until he had the need to show off for the scout troop kids that he finally learned to carve better.

    Reminds me of another point.. Make sure they get to ski with other kids their own age, and not just siblings. That motivates them to go beyond the minimum required to keep up with you..
    Go that way really REALLY fast. If something gets in your way, TURN!

  12. #112
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    Sep 2016
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    ID
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    If you can guarantee them time on snow, your job is done. Gradually increase the terrain difficulty. Get them off the hill before they're too tired. Don't overthink it.

  13. #113
    Join Date
    Apr 2021
    Posts
    2,839
    All these candy tips and peeing tips and "keep it fun" and more still haven't gotten my 7 year old out of a wedge and my 5 year old to wedge by herself. Part of it is we haven't taken them skiing enough - which is a very big part of it - and also I suck at teaching. I show how them to do a wedge, then they don't do it. Then I have no idea what to do.

    7 year old is in classes now, which I avoided before because they are a fucking fortune. Her improvement has been instant. I still don't know what to do with the 5 year old, her age group of classes is sold out for the season so no classes for her. Anyone know a good youtube channel on teaching kids to ski?

  14. #114
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    the LCC
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    Quote Originally Posted by muted reborn View Post
    Part of it is we haven't taken them skiing enough - which is a very big part of it
    You've answered yourself.
    Time spent skiing cannot be deducted from one's life.

  15. #115
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
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    6,643
    Quote Originally Posted by telefreewasatch View Post
    You've answered yourself.
    Ironically, as I read this my wife is watching one of your kids share opinions on cereal on the ‘gram right now…

  16. #116
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    northern BC
    Posts
    30,881
    no pizza, i taught them french fry only
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

  17. #117
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    355
    Take your time and don’t push too early. A huge part of skiing is leg strength. Some have it at 3, some at 5 or 6. Once they have it, you are away to the races.

    Keep it fun. Have fun. It is magical.

    Once they are ready, a regular program is a great way to get them going. They develop new friends and ski with peers. So important. It is also their measuring stick. For themselves.

    Have fun and congrats on the new grommet!
    Using Tapatalk

  18. #118
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Was UT, AK, now MT
    Posts
    13,499
    I don't have much to add, other than when they are about 7yrs old, it gets really fun to ski with them....the last couple years skiing with my kid has been a blast. It has completely obliterated ski touring for me, but I'll never get to redo these years and am embracing skiing with the kiddo. Plus, like Yeahman said, give them something they can choose to do their entire life....

  19. #119
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Babylon
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    13,450
    Quote Originally Posted by wickstad View Post
    Attachment 400938Stickers for the helmet.
    Helmet Stickers are indeed key
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Just retired this helmet ( his first ages 3-7) grabbed a sticker from everywhere he got to ski , tis is 2 years ago, maybe?

  20. #120
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
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    The Bull City
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    Quote Originally Posted by Woodsy View Post
    Helmet Stickers are indeed key
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Just retired this helmet ( his first ages 3-7) grabbed a sticker from everywhere he got to ski , tis is 2 years ago, maybe?
    I'd say they should collect trial maps and stickers from each new place they ski.. we did.. But ya, stickers are really all that's left, maybe hats..
    Go that way really REALLY fast. If something gets in your way, TURN!

  21. #121
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    Before
    Posts
    27,908
    At ages 7 and 9, 11 years ago
    Both good skiers now, not world class, but they still like it.
    They're each world class now, but in different ways.





    One day, the little one got tired on the boot pack. She's tough, so I told her to give me her skis and sit down. I carried her skis and mine up to the top of Waterfall, set our skis down, asked the guide to wait, walked back down the boot pack and gave her a piggy back ride up to the start. I was later admonished by the owners who didn't want to give the other clients ideas about what the guides should do.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by Buster Highmen; 01-17-2022 at 02:49 PM.
    Merde De Glace On the Freak When Ski
    >>>200 cm Black Bamboo Sidewalled DPS Lotus 120 : Best Skis Ever <<<

  22. #122
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Aspen
    Posts
    9,421
    Great thread. 2.5 and 5 year old here. Gets better every year!

    Some of our key tips.

    1. Don't expect your 2-3 year old to last more than 1-1.5 hours.
    2. Use the harness sparingly. Don't hold on to it for too long.
    3. Make sure your kid has control before skiing faster. Way too many kids out there with almost no control.
    4. Bunny slopes are great at the beginning, but kids need a bit more pitch to learn how to actually turn.
    5. As your kid progresses and grows, don't wait too long to upsize skis. Every time our 5 year old gets a ski that's 10 cm longer, her ability/confidence jumps up.
    6. Teach your kid to be safe while skiing. Looking around for others, being able to stop quickly, speed checking, looking uphill, etc.

  23. #123
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    Sep 2001
    Location
    Babylon
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    13,450
    Quote Originally Posted by funkendrenchman View Post
    Great thread. 2.5 and 5 year old here. Gets better every year!

    Some of our key tips.

    3. Make sure your kid has control before skiing faster. Way too many kids out there with almost no control. .
    My man had a great instructor named Keith in Beaver Creek that would ask every day " whats better speed or COntrol" C would answer " Control"

    We actually apply it to a lot of things, baseball, soccer ( dribbling,) bikes.... but always on skis

  24. #124
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    Quote Originally Posted by muted reborn View Post
    Anyone know a good youtube channel on teaching kids to ski?
    With all due respect to the internet, such a video likely doesn't exist. Get her on snow as many days as possible (8 days of 1 hour on snow each is better than 1 day with 8 hours on snow.) Have her ski with friends or her older sister. It takes time. They get better. Don't worry about keeping up with the Joneseseses.

  25. #125
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
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    The Bull City
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    I haven't seen this one yet.. You don't have to wait to take them to the resort for them to become familiar with the gear. You can let them stomp around in the yard with skis on. You don't even really need snow either. Let them play with the gear and practice shuffling around.. falling down and getting back up. Putting the skis on and taking them off. If they already have some familiarity with those the first day on the carpet run will be more productive. Just make sure they have gloves so they don't cut their hands on the ski edges.



    Go that way really REALLY fast. If something gets in your way, TURN!

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