Skiing with a baby in your backpack?

[yerdun4]

At 18 months, it won't be long before they start walking. My question is, when is a good age to first start them on skis? If it isn't much longer than 18 months, like at two years old, maybe it is better to be safe and just wait. Why take the risk?

4 years old is most appropriate
never younger than 3 years old, and only less than 4 if you have an athletically gifted child and expert help to train them

[~mikey b]

Bump!

Ski the babies!

[blender]

4 years old is most appropriate
never younger than 3 years old, and only less than 4 if you have an athletically gifted child and expert help to train them

Why not younger than four? My oldest girl just turned 4 and is enjoying her second season on skis.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

My buddy Jed got on the lift on the last day of the season last year with his baby in the backpack and holding a beer. He and the baby made it down fine, he even threw in a little switch skiing. I would never attempt this but he started playing hockey when he was three and is one of the most natural skiers I've ever seen.

[yerdun4]

I have some skiing experience and I think I do have something to add to this blog. I won’t bore you with any credentials.

• To start, this is an “experts only” issue. In other words the issue really only involves a very small subset of the skiing population: Persons who are expert skiers or claim to be expert skiers who also want to ski with their young child on their back.

• Consider: Everything about skiing revolves around balance. If you’re not in balance you’re in trouble, and everything you do is focused on ‘balance checks’ until you either recover or fall. [Note: A ‘balance check’ is what a gymnast does on a balance beam when she loses her balance to save herself from falling off. Judges take points away for a gymnast’s balance checks.] A skier can’t do much of anything else while they attempt to recover their balance, but they do have a much better chance of going off piste into the trees completely out of control.

Now consider the exact same skier in the exact same circumstance: He is less likely to recover his balance with a baby strapped to his back than not. Here’s where science takes over (e.g., physics): Your center of mass moves when you strap anything onto your back. In other words, it throws your balance off. If it’s a baby in the backpack, the bigger the child, the more your balance is thrown off, and the less likely it is you’ll recover when you need to check your balance.

It is true we may occasionally see a racer wearing a backpack while (s)he is skiing. However, it is highly unlikely we would see the same racer in the starting gate for his / her race with that backpack still on his / her back.

• It follows that an expert skier should not “push the envelope” skiing with a backpack on, especially one with a baby in it. Racers don’t do it when it’s their turn to race. If you must ski with a baby in a backpack, be very careful, and do it only because you have no other choice.

• Now consider the legality of the following situation: A soon to be ex-couple has a young child. The expert skier in this couple takes the young child skiing in a baby backpack. The expert skier is involved in a skiing accident and the child has a significant injury. That expert skier did expose the child to needless risk of injury. In a court of law, that expert skier’s mental health would be called into question and (s)he would be compelled to have his/her head examined and shrunk. It would be quite easy to win a child abuse argument, and (s)he would lose any parenting time / responsibilities (s)he was hoping for in an ensuing dissolution case. This expert skier would have very few expert witnesses to draw from that are willing to defend his actions, but his/her opponent would likely find many who would willingly cooperate. The only good news for this expert skier is they would no longer have the ‘need’ to ski with their child on their back anymore but (s)he could ski without this child if s(he) could still afford it.

Furthermore this expert skier would should anxiously await the next time a state election is held. This expert skier will likely have a law passed with his or her name branding it that prohibits people from skiing with babies on their backs. Stranger things have happened and stranger laws have been made.

In short, if you’re this expert skier, you’ll do what you do regardless. Just know that if you turn out to be the hypothetical expert skier in my example, the legal risks and human life risks you take are both utterly unnecessary and potentially catastrophic.

[robgoose]

4 years old is most appropriate
never younger than 3 years old, and only less than 4 if you have an athletically gifted child and expert help to train them

http://youtu.be/lRceXv9kFgE

She was close to four when this was taken (her first season but not her first day)

[k2skier112]

I have some skiing experience and I think I do have something to add to this blog. I won’t bore you with any credentials.

• To start, this is an “experts only” issue. In other words the issue really only involves a very small subset of the skiing population: Persons who are expert skiers or claim to be expert skiers who also want to ski with their young child on their back.

• Consider: Everything about skiing revolves around balance. If you’re not in balance you’re in trouble, and everything you do is focused on ‘balance checks’ until you either recover or fall. [Note: A ‘balance check’ is what a gymnast does on a balance beam when she loses her balance to save herself from falling off. Judges take points away for a gymnast’s balance checks.] A skier can’t do much of anything else while they attempt to recover their balance, but they do have a much better chance of going off piste into the trees completely out of control.

Now consider the exact same skier in the exact same circumstance: He is less likely to recover his balance with a baby strapped to his back than not. Here’s where science takes over (e.g., physics): Your center of mass moves when you strap anything onto your back. In other words, it throws your balance off. If it’s a baby in the backpack, the bigger the child, the more your balance is thrown off, and the less likely it is you’ll recover when you need to check your balance.

It is true we may occasionally see a racer wearing a backpack while (s)he is skiing. However, it is highly unlikely we would see the same racer in the starting gate for his / her race with that backpack still on his / her back.

• It follows that an expert skier should not “push the envelope” skiing with a backpack on, especially one with a baby in it. Racers don’t do it when it’s their turn to race. If you must ski with a baby in a backpack, be very careful, and do it only because you have no other choice.

• Now consider the legality of the following situation: A soon to be ex-couple has a young child. The expert skier in this couple takes the young child skiing in a baby backpack. The expert skier is involved in a skiing accident and the child has a significant injury. That expert skier did expose the child to needless risk of injury. In a court of law, that expert skier’s mental health would be called into question and (s)he would be compelled to have his/her head examined and shrunk. It would be quite easy to win a child abuse argument, and (s)he would lose any parenting time / responsibilities (s)he was hoping for in an ensuing dissolution case. This expert skier would have very few expert witnesses to draw from that are willing to defend his actions, but his/her opponent would likely find many who would willingly cooperate. The only good news for this expert skier is they would no longer have the ‘need’ to ski with their child on their back anymore but (s)he could ski without this child if s(he) could still afford it.

Furthermore this expert skier would should anxiously await the next time a state election is held. This expert skier will likely have a law passed with his or her name branding it that prohibits people from skiing with babies on their backs. Stranger things have happened and stranger laws have been made.

In short, if you’re this expert skier, you’ll do what you do regardless. Just know that if you turn out to be the hypothetical expert skier in my example, the legal risks and human life risks you take are both utterly unnecessary and potentially catastrophic.

go back to gapic

[userA]

10 years ago,my lil champ rode switch, out the womb, into my bjorn and up the first snow covered hill the cascades offered. today he's the boys 11 under Alpental freeride champ
we have a 13 mo. old young lady that will be spring skiing the parking lot slopes like a classy drunk.
b

[detrusor]

Started em both just before 2. 4 yr old skied her first black last month and the 3 yr old is skiing the upper mountain. I always like the "when they can balance in the grocery cart they are ready" philosophy.

[yerdun4]

most children do not develop the strength and coordination necessary to ski before age four. if your oldest girl has, consider yourself blessed and consider your girl gifted. There aren't many resorts in this world willing to accept children in their ski schools younger than four. If they say they do it is more about day care than it is about learning to ski. it is reasonably safe to say every child should wait until they are least three years old to start skiing. the risks of injury and having a less than good experience go way up if you try to start them younger than that.

enjoy

[GPP33]

most children do not develop the strength and coordination necessary to ski before age four. if your oldest girl has, consider yourself blessed and consider your girl gifted. There aren't many resorts in this world willing to accept children in their ski schools younger than four. If they say they do it is more about day care than it is about learning to ski. it is reasonably safe to say every child should wait until they are least three years old to start skiing. the risks of injury and having a less than good experience go way up if you try to start them younger than that.

enjoy

What a load of shit. My brother and I both started at 2. Both of by daughters started at 2 ( one 2 weeks before her second b-day, the other a couple months past) and I guarantee you EVERY kid that lives in a ski town is skiing by thier 2nd birthday. We're not talking about ripping down blacks at that age, we talking about the magic carpet going .0001 mph. They are too short to fall far enough to get hurt.

As for them being on your back; if you're good a mid week green or blue run would be fine, weekends and the gapers they bring would be out of the question for me. I chose to either put them down and let them ski or take them on a mellow tour. There's a dirt road out here that I would drag them up on a sled then and let em rip back down.

[k2skier112]

my son started at 2.5

[yerdun4]

what is the minimum accepted age for students at the children's ski school(s) in your ski town? did you talk the folks at those schools to teach your kids to ski? if so, you're one of the very lucky few. but for those gapers with kids not so much. keep in mind that kids less than 3 years old (yes, even yours) are weaker, tiny bodied, bobble heads, relatively speaking. they could get hurt. those risks aren't ok with insurers of resorts pretty much everywhere.

rsp 2 being on back - how good you ski is irrelevant, weekday or weekend crowds is irrelevant, even if you could successfully assert you weren't at fault for the
accident - that's irrelevant. the only thing that is relevant will be your choice to ski with your child on your back.

and if you turned out to be that expert skier things would not go well for you. I think it is safe to assume most judges, lawyers, and parenting experts don't ski as well as you, but those would be the people making decisions about whether you remain a parent to your children. neither you nor I, nor any lawyers we might hire, would be successful convincing those folks we didn't need our heads examined. they would conclude we were nuts who deserved to lose our kids and we wouldn't have kids anymore. furthermore, what's to say your significant other wouldn't totally flip bits on you if your choice resulted in your child being terribly injured? I'm not saying that's what will happen to you, heaven forbid. What I am saying it is that would likely be to the worst experience either of you have ever lived through, those that those experiences are life altering, and there is a very real chance your gal could flip that bit. a smart guy like you shouldn't be willing to accept that risk. Today your a guy with great gal and kid, tomorrow this accident is a heartbeat away and you're the poor soul who becomes that expert skier.

[BCMtnHound]

If a ski area decides to restrict a certain age group from certain activities within their controlled recreation area, that is their prerogative.

If I wish to strap on skis with my toddler riding on my person and go for a tour, that is my responsibility. Just like a myriad of other choices that I make on a regular basis that could impact the safety of my child. And fuck the condescending douche that presumes to define my feelings towards my choices regarding such responsibility.

[uglymoney]

most children do not develop the strength and coordination necessary to ski before age four. if your oldest girl has, consider yourself blessed and consider your girl gifted. There aren't many resorts in this world willing to accept children in their ski schools younger than four. If they say they do it is more about day care than it is about learning to ski. it is reasonably safe to say every child should wait until they are least three years old to start skiing. the risks of injury and having a less than good experience go way up if you try to start them younger than that.

enjoy

Get the hell out of here. My three year old girl was ripping it up at Jackson with 5 and six year olds in ski school. They skied all over the mountain. She carves beautifully. They require kids to be potty trained and willing. I'd rather ski with her than most anybody else save for my wife and a few select friends. They are little people.

Enjoy mr troll.


Sent from my SCH-R970 using TGR Forums

[Chugachjed]

My buddy Jed got on the lift on the last day of the season last year with his baby in the backpack and holding a beer. He and the baby made it down fine, he even threw in a little switch skiing. I would never attempt this but he started playing hockey when he was three and is one of the most natural skiers I've ever seen.

Lies, I've never ridden the lifts with my kids in a backpack. Lots o' mellow touring but never lifts.

[LightRanger]

what is the minimum accepted age for students at the children's ski school(s) in your ski town? did you talk the folks at those schools to teach your kids to ski? if so, you're one of the very lucky few. but for those gapers with kids not so much. keep in mind that kids less than 3 years old (yes, even yours) are weaker, tiny bodied, bobble heads, relatively speaking. they could get hurt. those risks aren't ok with insurers of resorts pretty much everywhere.

rsp 2 being on back - how good you ski is irrelevant, weekday or weekend crowds is irrelevant, even if you could successfully assert you weren't at fault for the
accident - that's irrelevant. the only thing that is relevant will be your choice to ski with your child on your back.

and if you turned out to be that expert skier things would not go well for you. I think it is safe to assume most judges, lawyers, and parenting experts don't ski as well as you, but those would be the people making decisions about whether you remain a parent to your children. neither you nor I, nor any lawyers we might hire, would be successful convincing those folks we didn't need our heads examined. they would conclude we were nuts who deserved to lose our kids and we wouldn't have kids anymore. furthermore, what's to say your significant other wouldn't totally flip bits on you if your choice resulted in your child being terribly injured? I'm not saying that's what will happen to you, heaven forbid. What I am saying it is that would likely be to the worst experience either of you have ever lived through, those that those experiences are life altering, and there is a very real chance your gal could flip that bit. a smart guy like you shouldn't be willing to accept that risk. Today your a guy with great gal and kid, tomorrow this accident is a heartbeat away and you're the poor soul who becomes that expert skier.

As a former children's ski instructor and current attorney, I'm going to kindly ask you to shut the fuck up and get the fuck out of here because you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Fuckwit.

[Lindahl]

My dad skied with me in his pack. Just ski conservatively and don't fall. Avoid crowded slopes. If you can't do these things, or it makes you uncomfortable, don't do it. That simple.

I started skiing when I was 2. Sure, there isn't a huge difference between that and 4, but getting them used to skiing and being on snow is a good enough reason to start earlier. Ski schools don't take em that young for other reasons.

[Stealth Radness]

My dad skied with me in his pack. Just ski conservatively and don't fall. Avoid crowded slopes. If you can't do these things, or it makes you uncomfortable, don't do it. That simple.
.

I've skiied with both my daughter's in the pack, on chairlifts, both from ages 2-4. Follow above guidelines- weekdays with good weather are a good time to go . There are rarely days in my parenting life when I get to spend so much 1 on 1 time with the girls, they sing and laugh and we make up stories and have a great time, and they beg to go do it again- a big difference from the bike and trailer experience. And no, I'm not worried about dropping the kid off the lift- but it is nice to have another adult to sandwich the child on the chair. Only one of the local areas allows you to bring them on the lift, I guess corporate freakout policy hasn't filtered down there yet.

[totaliboard]

[EEC]

The days I spent skiing in a backpack on my fathers back were most likely the safest days I ever spent on the slopes.

[flatNshallow]

No offense to any that have or are doing this but as someone working in the safety restraints industry I can (and must) say this is unconditionally a very bad idea.

You really wanna use you kid as an airbag when the random site snake raises its head?

Don't put you feet on the dash either.

[raisingarizona13]

I remember some weirdo back in the late 90's on the tram dock in Jackson that would ski with a baby doll in his back pack every day. I think he was on a mono ski as well but not so sure of that one.

I skied with my daughter in a pack when she was two. I chose a sunny warm midweek day where the slopes were practically empty and I skied very conservatively on some mellow groomers. I felt completely safe and in control. I didn't think it was a big deal. It would be funny to make a vid with someone skiing super crazy with a baby on board, a fake one of course than clip to shots standing around with a real one in the pack. I bet this has been done, it sounds like something the Gaffney's would do.

[FreakofSnow]

Man, you people are uptight. It's amazing some you even let your children out of the house. What if a meteor shower hits your backyard whilst your kid is playing in the sandbox? I've had 3 different kids in the back pack for a total of about 10 times. Was it a shit show? Yes. Did the kid laugh and smile? Yes. Did I ski 100% more conservatively than I would normally? Uhuh.

Maybe it's just Montana, but as long as I'm watching for other skiers, I feel safe. If you have a real concern of falling down and hurting your kid...then NO YOU SHOULD NOT SKI with them in the BACKPACK. Otherwise, carry on and mind your own business.

[Rodneyyee]

As a former children's ski instructor and current attorney, I'm going to kindly ask you to shut the fuck up and get the fuck out of here because you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Fuckwit.

Het Attny-you shut the fuck up. you and the other med school drop outs the reason we cant do shit in this country any more. Dingleberry