Best toddler setup

[funkendrenchman]

I just started this year with our 2yr4mo kid. 4 days in and she had learned pizza and french fry and how to control her speed on that 4th day. She loves it and it's about as good as any powder day for me. Probably depends on the kid, I'd walk away and wait longer if she didn't take to it like she did. We use the Fischer boots just to remove that from the whole equation. Just between my legs or on leash depending how tired she is. We do full chairlifts cuz she insists, so I usually end up with her between my legs and somewhat holding her for part of it (middle third of the run) cuz she's so gassed. We use candy canes as motivation and recharge. She lasts about half a day and then asks for 1-2 more runs after lunch even though she's about to collapse from exhaustion. It so much fun. Don't push it and train her to hard - just have fun with it.

Fischer boots
65cm skis with boots from gear swap
Helmet that fits from Craigslist
Snowsuit and gloves from Costco
Whatever clothes we already had under it
We're working on Goggles - didn't find any quick enough so we did sunglasses cuz the weather was nice

I have some cheap Smiths I can send you for the cost of shipping.

[RowB1]

Such great info here! Thanks everyone for the generous tips and insights.

[old goat]

Best advice I got a few years back was to start putting their gear on at home to wear around the house. It gets them used to it, especially boots, in a comfortable environment. Then the 1st day you go it's not a new activity AND all new clothes/boots. My daughter would clomp around the house in her boots, put her helmet on, even walk around with boots and skis some times. All good advice above, keep lots pocket snacks, stretch your back out for all the bending down, and the rechargable hand warmers are a day saver

Ditto about the back. My kid worked at Sugar Bowl teaching the youngest kids and then on pro patrol at Palisades. He said teaching the little kids was more physically demanding because of the picking up.

At 3 were put our kids in the ski area day care/snow play groups which was reasonable back then. I don't know if anyone still does that.We started them skiing at 4 , gear from the ski swaps, handed down from the elder to the younger. We didn't carry their skis or pick them up and didn't use a harness or leash. We did help them on the lift. Palisades used to have a free rope tow with handles which is where my kids learned to control themselves well enough to go on regular beginner runs and then on from there. Then $5 lift tickets. Just another amenity that has gone by the wayside. If you can afford it lessons are worth it--not so much for the teaching skill of the instructor (which is minimal) but because they do so much better with other kids and with a teacher that isn't their parent. I have never seen a kid in a lesson whining or crying.

I don't think there's much to be gained by starting skiing at two--there are other things to do together in the snow that are fun. At that age they don't have the strength and coordination to learn technique they can build on. I figure that when they can walk like a normal human being they're ready to ski.

[XXX-er]

If you can afford it lessons are worth it--not so much for the teaching skill of the instructor (which is minimal) but because they do so much better with other kids and with a teacher that isn't their parent. I have never seen a kid in a lesson whining or crying.

Definatley this ^^

When I taught my kids to ski there was no money for lessons, so fast forward a bunch of years and I have 3 grand children so just pull out the visa and get an instructor who knows how to get kids on skis and has done it a bunch of times, I would argue he had better teaching skills at least for little people and IMO a way better experience for all of us

they really arent going to last very long so 2 hrs is a pretty long time, so time the lessons for when they will be fresh and at their peak like right after lunch

[mrkbrnblm]

I don't even have a kid yet, but this got me excited enough about the thought that I bought a pair of Fischer Ones (on sale for $100 atm on Level9)...

[turnfarmer]

Under 3 they barely have the leg strength to stand up
I did holding my daughter up with poles. Hard on the back, wish I had known the hula hoop trick.
Even if you don’t use the straps, the harness is awesome for picking them up from a fall or to lift onto the chair
Straps on the boots scares me,
Pull too hard and you yank the kids feet out from under.
I used straps attached to the harness. It probably limited development of speed control At first but I believe doing the braking for her eliminated fear of speed.

[SchralphMacchio]

One thing not yet mentioned that has really helped with both of our kids at the 2-3 age was a toddler skibike.

With our daughter, she was really interested in her strap skis from 18 mos, and then we would put them on in the snow and she would just cry. At the age of 3 she tried on alpine gear and just did not get it. She wanted to be out there but nothing clicked. My buddy gave us a Firstbike balance bike that has a ski kit. We are allowed on the carpet at our local ski hill with it, and she immediately understood how the skis worked and worked on her gliding motions and turning. The ski bike got her excited about her alpine gear and then suddenly everything made sense for her. She would ask to alternate between alpine skis and bike.

Our son is now 2.5 and does not get his (formerly big sister’s) alpine gear at all. However he loves the ski bike and is totally cool sending small inclines on it. Both kids loved putting snacks and random toys in the basket and ringing the bell … it’s just a lot more engaging for them than the alpine skis at that age. He also loves the XC strap skis. So we are just gonna stick with those two things until he asks to try his alpine gear.






On the harness thing, we have one for lift loading and I make sure when using the leash that it’s completely slack. I’m planning on replacing the leash with a 10’ segment of 3/4” pex pipe connected with a 90 degree elbow coupler, this makes a sort of teardrop hoop. The parent can easily hold the hoop at the elbow and the kid can hold on. Our hill’s bigger chair stepping up from the bunny unfortunately has some narrow steep pitches that the little kids can’t manage without some kind of restraint (holding a parent’s ski pole, holding parents hands, leash, hula hoop, whatever).

Finally, while it’s of course nice for a parent to have short park or other noodle skis, I happen to enjoy using my waxless 3-pin skis for skiing with my daughter. They are Rossignol BC110s with 3 pin cable bindings, about 80mm underfoot. I can use the scales to get my daughter past flat parts without needing a lot of room to skate full size skis, I can go uphill back up to grab a dropped item, they are stupidly light to carry, I don’t need ski poles, I can get low to help my daughter by dropping a knee. So nice!

[singlesline]

That balance ski bike is a cool idea!

[SnowMachine]

Ditto about the back. My kid worked at Sugar Bowl teaching the youngest kids and then on pro patrol at Palisades. He said teaching the little kids was more physically demanding because of the picking up.

At 3 were put our kids in the ski area day care/snow play groups which was reasonable back then. I don't know if anyone still does that.We started them skiing at 4 , gear from the ski swaps, handed down from the elder to the younger. We didn't carry their skis or pick them up and didn't use a harness or leash. We did help them on the lift. Palisades used to have a free rope tow with handles which is where my kids learned to control themselves well enough to go on regular beginner runs and then on from there. Then $5 lift tickets. Just another amenity that has gone by the wayside. If you can afford it lessons are worth it--not so much for the teaching skill of the instructor (which is minimal) but because they do so much better with other kids and with a teacher that isn't their parent. I have never seen a kid in a lesson whining or crying.

I don't think there's much to be gained by starting skiing at two--there are other things to do together in the snow that are fun. At that age they don't have the strength and coordination to learn technique they can build on. I figure that when they can walk like a normal human being they're ready to ski.

Tahoe Donner still has that old school vibe about it. Both of my kids started skiing there. If you are a member or have a friend with a guest pass you can borrow its really pretty reasonable. Double bonus if you can do weekdays since the mountain is empty. My kids did weds afternoon lessons when they were 4. It was a perfect kick start.

[SnowMachine]

I should also add: ski movies in the evenings are really helpful for building the hype. I've been running through my collection of older matchstick and tgr movies (along with some of the new ones). The kids love them, and I'd personally much rather watch those than Cars 3 for the bazillionth time.

Shane's old sections are perfect for the kids. Who doesn't love Saucerboy?

[Lindahl]

Good call about using a slack harness, I try to keep it slack during the times she has enough energy to do her pizza and french fries. Can't really do that when she starts getting gassed though, so pick your moments if your kid is like mine and insists on the longer runs.