Anyone a boarder with young kids that ski?

A snowHead

Kids are 3 1/2 & 5, the eldest has done her ourson and just about to go onto snowflake (which takes her to blue run standard) and the youngest is about to start lessons this season.

We have 5 weeks planned so far (with more to book Very Happy

) inc 3 weeks over Xmas / New Year so I'm hoping at the end of that first trip they will be up for coming on the slopes with us.

The problem is that neither of us ski and we're a little nervous in case they get into any trouble / falls etc whether we can help them effectively.

Has anyone done this?

A snowHead

My close friends did, they find it easier with a skier along too ( me usually) but nothing disastrous has come when they've been out alone. Biggest problem seems to be demoing a 'follow me' line if it gets a bit hairy. That said ive also had strong skier friends flip to board so they were more of a pace with the kids for weeks 2\3 ( older kids 8\9)

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Might be fun to learn to ski with them is another thought (reverse of my skier friends plan) if you have mountain sense already its not hard to learn the basics and means you def won't get bored on the nursery slopes Smile

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@trainee snowboard jedi, I'm not a boarder but a couple of things come to mind....firstly the best terrain for the kids in their first weeks will be (I imagine) the worst terrain for you. They'll need to be on green runs and very easy blue runs. Taking them on terrain too steep too soon is really not good for them. They are very young too. That said the big plus is that you have three consecutive weeks away snowHead

they should really come on brilliantly! Ask the instructors for specific slopes to take them on and stick to those.

Don't worry too much about falls, instructors are very quick to get kids getting themselves back up otherwise they would spend the whole lesson picking kids up!

Next bit of advice is....when they get good do not follow them through 'rabbit runs' in the trees Toofy Grin

I think there are some boarding parents who have done this, possibly Richard Sideways?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You rang... Always29 skis so I don't really have the problem - she takes the boys and I either follow along sweeping or filming the kids.

Simple answer - Take the young Padawans and GET THEM ON SNOWBOARDS. The Buton Riglets kit is brilliant and absolutely for kids of this age - Mine are the same age as yours and they were on snowboards this weekend and they loved it. Your kids will be looking at mum and dad for their cues so why not let them ride like you. They can't cross their skis, they can't fall off, you can TEACH them on the bunny slopes because you know what to do (probably). See how they get on - they'll only want to ride for an hour or so before they're cold and lose attention, less so for the wee'un.

Or

and this won't be popular... You quickly learn to snowblade.
As the blades are shorter you can get in close to the kids to help them up and sort them out. As your not skiers, you're never going to be skiing to a point where you'll be teaching them so why not just learn to blade quick and dirty to get you to a point where you can keep up with the Jnrs and help out. Plus you're not lumbered with even more kit and you're blades will look a lot like their mini skis so their kit looks like dads and that'll be an easy win for grumpy mornings. And they're easier to carry!

Also if they ski, invest in one or two of those reigns harnesses that you sometimes see. We've got one of these NipperGrippers which act as steering and speed reigns and also as pickup handles when they fall and grabs when they're on lifts.

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Welcome to my world – I’m a boarder with a wife who’s a very strong skier and 2 boys, 7Y old has already done 5 weeks and a 4Y old who skied in Tignes for the first time in March.

Kids are always in ski school in the AM while my wife and I do our own thing – so ski / board our favourite runs, rack up miles, go high and steep and stop for a relaxing cup of coffee and a cake etc.

We would then normally meet the kids for lunch and then either ski as a family or arrange to meet other families with young kids (friends, people we share chalet with etc). I find that our kids as much as they like spending the afternoon with mum and dad they are much more motivated and inclined to push themselves if there are other kids around.

Being a boarder I’m always mindful that I don’t want to encourage the wrong type of technique or behaviour based on how I would approach a slope no matter how steep, shallow, short, long, easy or difficult it is. I think if both of you are boarders then it may prove slightly trickier, I can always rely on my wife to help them up if they fall, pole on a flat section etc .

So my tips would be as follows :

- Arrange to ski with other families if at all possible

- One parent at the front, the other at the back

- Encourage kids to turn (whether snowplough or parallel) at all times – when, as a boarder, I’m at the front I would always make the point that turning is key

- I almost board in slow motion, switching between toe edge and heel edge in a pronounced way

- Work out works work best for you on chairlifts – I ride regular so I prefer to sit on the LHS (it helps keep an eye on the kids too), my wife would then sit between the 2 boys

- Avoid busy pistes / intersections and plan your way back to resort very carefully (if in Val d’Isere for example, we try not to spend the PM on Solaise or take them down Santons)

- Carry snacks (encouragement) / water

Good luck!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Thanks for your input everyone, definitely some food for thought. We tend to go alone self catering so It would be a challenge to rope other parents into to help.

After all it is free

A second for the snowblade idea (not so unpopular after all) hubby and I did this ourselves with the kids (I ski, he boards) so we did the quick and dirty learn to blade thing and hung out with them in the afternoons - ski school in the morning so at least we could get a fix too makes it SO much easier to be patient with the minis if you aren't looking whistfully up at the hill the whole time and they can tell

I don't disagree with the blades idea but you might find it takes longer than you think to become competent if you have never used two planks. A competent boarder would do better with kids than an incompetent blader from whom they could pick up some bad habits.

The fact that you couldn't help coach/instruct them if you were on boards would probably be a very good thing!

Just be prepared to get in and out of your bindings more than you'd like!

They will very probably be keen to board, given your example.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

>>We don't want to learn to ski as we still have so much to master on a board

Doing one helps you on the other though, and vv. It won't 'unlearn' any of your snowboarding to potter about on skis.

Anyway, just do it on a board. Maybe rent one with those funny bindings, so you can get out in a hurry if needs be.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Oh, and carry a ski pole in case you need to unclick a binding which you can't reach.

snow reports

I was in the same position, wife good skier and kids aged 4 and 5 and chose to learn to ski, have been boarding for 20 odd years and was ready for a new challenge anyway.

I found the transition to skis not that hard and after 1 full week and a few odd days mixed with 3 private lessons I am pretty comfortable on most marked runs. I think if you already have confidence going at speed down a ski slope and know how edges work you can make the transition reasonably well.

I am still lacking in technique and often find myself with my weight too far back but even with my lack of experience and ability I have found dealing with the kids a lot easier on skis than on a board.

I suppose I could have continued boarding and let my wife deal with the kids but when I have done this I have felt I was missing out a bit on all the fun.

My boys also would like to board but I think I will leave this for a bit as their skiing is coming along great thanks mainly to The Lions Ski club at Castleford and I think putting them on a board would just confuse them at the moment.

I took my 2 daughters, 7 and 9, skiing for the first time last year for a week. I'm a boarder....
Despite being first time they quickly were able to go down pistes suitable for snowboards. When up the mountain I had no issues having them follow me (I was keeping trajectories I knew they could follow), no trouble attending to them when they fell, and even once carried my youngest down a steep section she was too scared and tired to handle ( I did a slow heel edge falling leaf..).
As for technique, I'd say they're less likely to pick up bad habits from a boarder than from another skier with bad habits of their own.
I got plenty of bad skiing habits I don't want to show them Very Happy

Help!!

Anyone a boarder with young kids that ski?

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