 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi
I normally go to Snozone MK but have promised to take my god daughter (aged 5) for a lesson. They used to half hour privates at £40 which were good for young beginners but now they don't do these any more so I've either got the option of their SnoAcademy for which you pay 13 weeks in advance or an hour's private at £70. As much as I love her I'm not paying for 13 weeks worth of lessons and what if she has one lesson and hates it? I also can't afford £70 for a hour's lesson especially when I can't see her being able to concentrate for that long plus she'll probably be tired as she's never skied before.
So, my only other option is to take her to a dry ski slope but I'm not sure how it would compare to a snowdome for a child.
Has anyone had any experience of starting young children on dry slopes and how did they take to it? Was falling over a problem and is it likely to put them off?
Also, can anyone recommend a dry slope near to MK? I don't mind travelling up to about 20 miles but don't want to have to go too much further.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The Snow Centre offer 1/2 hour lessons.
Can you manage a little further south?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@MayaL,
Mrs B and I used to be instructors at a local dry slope and, amongst other things, taught kindergarten classes ie from age 4 upwards.
The children loved it and falling did not seem to be an issue at all. Kids just didn't seem to have spectacular tumbles, particularly when learning to snowplough. Whilst they might take a minor tumble now and again, neither of us witnessed any accidents/injuries in the 5 years or so that we worked there & we both offered a nil return for the accident book! 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I teach on a dry slope, our minimum age is 5, and it seems to work very well! The worst bit about it is getting them to learn how to side step up the hill until you can get them using the lift, but luckily for you, 5 year old girls are usually much better than boys of the same age. Partly due to the fact that their ears seem to work much better  .
Falling bothers them much less than it does older kids, and it seems to bother most kids much less than it does adults.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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the snow centre also do hour group lessons at age 5, on saturday/sunday mornings, although space may be limited at this time of year, the groups are small and should have a helper/shadower to help the instructor.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I have had my 6 year old learn on a dry slope for the past two years and my 3 year old started lessons only a few weeks ago.
I think that for the (very) basics that a young child will be learning, a dry slope is absolutely fine. Falling isn't a problem on the nursery slopes as far as I can see.
My oldest went into weekly classes and progression was slow. My youngest is having private lessons and progression is much quicker. He does want to catch up with his older sibling though - that may have something to do with it.
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My daughter did her L1 shadowing at Talligton Lakes dry slope. Youngest she had wasn't yet 3 which tbh was too young. Kids generally seemed to get on well though, as long as the parent's butted out
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Many moons ago, I started on a dry slope. My parents managed to scrape up enough to get me 5 sessions on the dry slope with a small class. Started on the nursery and progressed to using the button lift and the lower sections of the main slope.
It gave me the base I needed to skip the very beginner classes in Pamporovo on our first ski holiday and progress onto the big mountain on day 1.
You just want them to be safe and have the basic skills from day 1 on the real slope...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@MayaL, Most (if not all) dryslopes now have carpet surface on their nursery slopes --- you can't get thumbs caught in it, and it's much softer than Dendix to fall on. Obviously it's not snow --- but it will be quieter, warmer (most likely) and less busy than one of the domes.
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I too teach children on a dry slope. We do from age 5. As long as she is reasonably coordinated for her age she should enjoy it. As @karin, says, girls tend to manage better than boys - they listen better and seem more coordinated. If the slope you use has a proper misting system make sure she has waterproof clothing - at 5 year old height they can get very wet standing in the sprays!
I would have thought a dry slope would also be vastly cheaper than a snowdone - we certainly are!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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we take them from 6 or be able to use a button lift on their own (safeguarding  ) from my experience they get on like a house on fire, and its a great base for when they hit the snow, would def recommend it
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@MayaL, looks like your nearest dry slopes are Gosling, Bassingbourn, or Tallington Lakes -http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/infoandadvice/uksnowsports/ukslopesmap.aspx#.Vl7_NfmyOko, none of which are very close. I suspect the fridge at MK would make it very hard for a dry slope to survive any closer.
I am guessing that there are probably a lot of folks in Surrey where I am, who go to Hemel rather than any of the several dry slopes around us, despite the hour's journey (assuming the M25 is working...) and the increased cost. We seem to have noticed a general downturn in the number of people having lessons with us since Hemel became a snow slope.
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