Small children and bad weather on the slopes advice

A snowHead

My husband and I are heading to Courchevel on Sunday with our two children. It is our three (almost four) year old's first time in ski school (the other is younger). The forecast for the coming week looks very snowy and very windy. Aside from the obvious, i.e. making sure she's warm enough etc, is there anything else we can do to try and ensure her first skiing experience is enjoyable? I'm worried that the wind and cold will (a) shut the area and/or (b) make her experience a cold and damp one. We are going with Esprit and staying in 1850. Her ski lessons are in the afternoon and she will be taken there straight from the morning childcare so we won't be with her immediately before the lesson starts, although we will probably try and check in with her around that time of the day. Any advice would be great. In particular of anyone has any experience of skiing with small children in these conditions and can give an insight into how well they cope this would be really helpful.

Many thanks.

A snowHead

From our experience at that age.

Take spare kit in case it gets damp and need to be changed on the day or cannot be dried o/night for next day wear, especially socks/gloves as these get wet easily during littlies snow play. Nothing worse that trying to get cold, wet gloves back on. Take the spare gloves to school to change during the day if needed. If the gloves you got didn't come with them get those leashes so they dont drop the gloves on the ground when they take them off. Someone listed ones you can buy, we just jerry rigged some from some old pass lanyards we had. A few chemical hand warmer packs might not go amiss but careful with using them as they can get quite hot. Get neck warmers, that can be pulled up over mouth and nose if windy. Obviously take googles and sunnies (that fit).

Of course school will advise/stipulate wearing a helmet. Get one, and buy don't rent, they aren't too expensive. Apart from protect vitals these are great at keeping the head warm. If you dont already wear one yourself as that encourages the kids to wear them.

Dont keep them out on the snow too long at one time. Let them get inside to warm up, fed and watered at regular intervals and you may find you get them on the snow longer in total than trying to stay out for one long session.

Take plenty of snacks, sugary/chocolaty are best to keep energy levels up and dont be above bribery with them.

I would go to at least the start of the first lesson to get them settled. Might be a bit overwhelming for them if its all a new experience surrounded by unfamiliar faces and place. Also to see if the school are doing their job. i.e. putting her with a good English speaking instructor (I am assuming a bit here that you are not fluent French speakers, apologies if you are). And great to get there during the week as nothing kids like to do more than show off their new skills to their parents. And so they should.

Kids are all different and take to it differently. Our oldest is fine with groups and so had group lessons but second not so much so predominately did private for her. But luckily both enjoy skiing. Would be a nightmare forcing them to do it.

Good luck and enjoy.

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

As your using Esprit, we've used them twice and been very happy with them, as were all the other guests on each week that we spoke to, I think you/they will be fine, they look after kids week in week out, their website gives lots of info, you could give them a call before you for some one to one info.
Re the lessons, once they are doing them the instructor may prefer for you not to be there as it can distract some kids, they will be in a small group and will get lots of attention from the ski instructor and there will be an Esprit assistant with them during the lessons.
If the weathers really bad they won't keep them out too long, it's in their interest for the kids to enjoy skiing as they wil want repeat business.

As long as you keep them warm they probably won't notice the poor conditions, have great time, let us know how you all get on.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@MummyChristmas, i assume you are staying in the crystal2000 1850. If that is correct its just about ideal as its slopside and their is a nice easy couple of runs and a drag lift outside the hotel so if you are not feeling brave and you want to spend some time with them skiing its very safe and easy and you will never be more than 5 or 10 minutes from the hotel and a hot chocolate if needed. Its also ideally located for an easy circuit into 1850 centre down the bellecote run.

As already mentioned esprit are very experienced with juniors (we used them 3 or 4 times when ours were younger) and we always were very happy and felt they were in safe hands.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

At that age, our daughter seemed to spend more time inside the crèche playing than actually outside when the whether was anything other than warm/sunny (which almost certainly was the product of years of experience of the ski-school).
Don't allow your kid to see you when they go out on the penguin travellater/ski-park place. They might be used to nursery in the uk (where people are English) but at skischool even if the English is perfect they will be hearing other languages/accents. If this unsettles them, then seeing you in the crowd watching will make them want to go "back to mummy".

It might be 13 years ago... but I still fondly remember the morning that we decided to take our daughter ourselves (rather than leaving in the child-care). In the warm sun I spent a good two hours picking her up, carrying her 10 meters along a really gentle slope, and then pointing her in the direction of Mum so that she slid gently downwards....over...and over... and over again. It was exhausting.. but worth it.

You'll need to Register first of course.

The ski-school group she'll be in with Esprit will all be English and will be the other kids from her group in the hotel. Also there'll be a member of the Esprit childcare team with them at all times to help out - on foot in the snow garden and on skis if on the slopes. Esprit hotel-style holidays may not be everyone's cup of tea but they really excel on the childcare and ski-school side. Been with them last 3 years (not in Courchevel though) and always been very happy with the way the kids have been cared for.

@MummyChristmas, take plenty of spare base and mid-layers, spare gloves (basically spare everything if you've got them!) as it will all get wet through. Take a big carrier bag (bag-for-life style) with the kids name on it, label everything and be philosophical about stuff going missing - as it inevitably will. A fun-size mars bar in each pocket and a sachet of suncream and you're good to go!

Personally, I would ignore the advice of @jamescollings and definitely go and watch her/them in ski-school, make it obvious you're there and even go in and give them some encouragement and/or help for 10 mins. At 3-4yo, the group is basically a creche on snow, there'll be kids crying, kids eating snow, having a rest, making snowmen, having snowball fights etc etc - basically none of them doing what they've been told (but having fun!) and an extra adult is always welcome in my experience - if they don't want you there, I expect the instructor will say so in no uncertain terms but it's never happened to us.

Bon Voyage! You and your sprogs will have a great time.

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

My 5 year old granddaughter started ski school at Christmas in the pouring rain. The meeting area was a sea of mud worthy of a welsh agricultural show. The instructor spoke no English. When I picked her up. Hair escaping from helmet plastered across her face, her first words were "I love it". so we thought we'd cracked it.

But next morning, parents were skiing, I did the Esprit child care bit, and she absolutely didn't want to go. She was tired, only little, two hours was too long, she missed her little sister (the least convincing part of the tale of woe).

I resorted to incentives. not bribery. That's when you pay someone to do something they shouldn't). I had some Tesco kids finger nail transfers they'd not been allowed to open. So after the lesson we'd do them. And after the last lesson if she got her "souris de bronze" award they could choose their own cake in the patisserie. If she only got the "souris verte" they could share a cake.

Absolutely shameless. My daughter was a bit horrified about the whole cake but since she'd boogered off and left me to do the quite demanding ski school routine, including a 15 minute drive and a 3 year old, tough!!

The rest of the week was sunny and warm but the snow was ghastly. She did brilliantly, adored it, went over the mountain to ski school with mum and dad the last day, did some little jumps, coped with snow that was fazing adults, got the badge and the cake.

I wouldn't worry to much about instructor language skills. Smiley face and group size more important. Ella was in group of 8. Rented helmet was fine though we had to try several to get a good fit.

Absolutely crucial is a last minute wee and not too much to drink beforehand.

Frankly I'd leave it to the Esprit people to take her to ski school. They're experts and that's what you are paying for. Tears are far more likely if you are there.

The weather will be horrible at times but then they'll play indoors a lot at 3, and again, the ski school and Esprit are experts and presumably the other kids will be English. Ella was in an entirely French class but she's shy and seemed quite happy just to ski, not chat.

Good luck. At 3 it's about having fun, and concluding that snow and skiing are the best things in the world. snowHead

After all it is free

Thanks to everyone for your replies.
@ansta1, Yes, we are in Crystal 2000 and it does look like a good position. We stayed in Arc 2000 on our last trip and I can't imagine that being too fun in the bad weather!
@ster, I'm going to buy spare sets of gloves for both of them before we go! Thanks for the tip. We already have spares of everything else, but I hadn't thought of this.
@jamescollings, and @geoffknight, We'll try and stay out of sight during the lesson - It's more to satisfy our curiosity than anything else.

I guess as long as the kids are kitted out properly, I should just relax and let Esprit do their thing. We were really happy with the childcare last time - it's just that I have no experience of their ski lessons.

Thanks again.

take some of the hand warmers - the single use ones that are like tea bags that you take out of the packet and shake to get going - if its looking cold at the start of the day either stick them in their pockets or even in their gloves, if there's space. as they react with oxygen to heat up we've found that they don't get too hot when confined but help keep the little fingers going.
On more than one occasion we've 'saved the day' for random other parents on the slopes with miserable cold kids by handing these out.
Our kids started with esprit (blimey 14yrs ago now) and if the staff are as good with the kids now as they were then then let them do all the work - hand them over in the morning and see them at tea time, the kids will have a great time - friends who kept popping in to see how the little ones were getting on had a miserable time as junior always spotted them and kicked of...which of course made them feel more guilty for abandoning him. The staffing levels and instructors were very good when we used them - so much so that on our 2nd trip with them my son (then about 4.5) wanted to ski all day - so the Esprit team swapped him from afternoon child care to ski lesson, no issues.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

My daughter had her first ski lessons there (with Esprit) when she was 4. It was really cold when we were there and their lessons were in a very sheltered area below the main lifts at 1850. They were surrounded by trees and weren't linked to any runs. It tools ages to find then to sneak a look at them.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

I would only add that I'd avoid pressuring them to ski if they don't want to or have had enough. Focus instead on having fun, whether that is on skis, playing in the snow, sledging, having a hot chocolate, riding on the lifts, or whatever. If they have fun, they will want to continue and do it again. If they don't have fun, then everything will become a battle, and no one will enjoy themselves. This might mean that the adults don't get to do as much skiing (but in your case with the Esprit childcare, that's perhaps less likely) but it will pay dividends in the future.

You know it makes sense.

Mine still wear thermals/leggings under salopettes and they are 8 & 11.

My daughter gets cold hands sometimes even when wearing inner gloves. Spare gloves are essential for after the inevitable snowball fight.

As mentioned above, just leave the kids with Esprit. They will call you if you are needed.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Also, half way through lessons they usually stop for a snack (especially if the weather is bad) so make sure you take stuff with you that is easy for them to open and eat (snacking fruit/fun size Milky Way sort of thing).

On our holidays with Le Ski and Esprit we found that our daughter and the other kids lived in their thermal gear - treated just like leggings and tops once they came in from the slopes - so these days we just take 6 sets of those and a smaller assortment of other clothes for evenings/chalet staff night off.

A snowHead

@CaurnieBred, +1,
Re clothes our son has a thin fleece balaclava which he can wear under his helmet if it's cold or a bit windy, also has a fleece neck warmer, he wears it all the time, keeps the cold air going down his top without having to zip his jacket up fully, the zips can sometime scratch kids necks.
When he was younger we used to arrange to collect him from the afternoon care about 3pm and take him out for a ski with us so he could show us what he do and where he had been, all rewarded with a hot chocolate at the end of the day of course Very Happy

A snowHead

Balaclava/buff under helmet is ideal. Neck warmer essential when it's cold. Not a scarf! Gives me the willies to see kids using lifts with scarfs, however well tucked in to start with.

Tea bag hand warmers good too. Shame they don't make little ones for kids. But given that they don't use poles, bulky mitts don't matter.

Skiing with littlies in the afternoon, or tobogganing, is great. Having kids shepherded expertly to and from ski school would be welcome (never had that luxury) but I'd not want to leave them all day. Family holiday time is precious and fleeting.

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

Great, everyone, thank you. Just two more sleeps to go now!

You need to Login to know who's really who.

@MummyChristmas, have a great time!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@pam w - loved your description of bribery and incentive. Wish my kids had a grandma who took them to lessons when they were 3! I remember having my just turned 3 year old in lessons in Ax les thermes , so very French and no English. I had to sit and watch the lesson for the 2 hours (I had a 9 month old who would not stay in the Creche so could not ski anyway). For the 3 year old the best part was the snack in the middle of the lesson. At the end of the week I asked her did she enjoy herself and her response was " yes is was great except for these slippy things on my feet"!!
She is no 11 and we don't mange to ski every year but she is competetnt if not very adventurous.

Second the inner gloves recommendation - like them myself!

You'll need to Register first of course.

Slippy things on the feet..... Laughing

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

If it gets very could make it a 4 layer system - fleese trouses and ekstra body layer - room for 2 par of socks and very good https://hestragloves.com/sport/en-ca/gloves/junior/ make it mittens and room for liners.

The fleece balaclava should be able to cover the mouth as well.

Kasper Treadway, Age: 2 from Dave Treadway

https://vimeo.com/150919023

After all it is free

@MummyChristmas, Welcome to snowheads.

Have a great time.

We have Esprited lots and the kids all loved it. Fun, games, singing, slimming. Also some skiing.

My advice:

1. Leave it to Esprit and the ski school. It is hard not to go and help / peek. Many kids find it a bit overwhelming- and parents are a distraction- it is really important that your kids bond with their instructor and the snow rangers- if you are there then that interferes with them forming what is a really important, albeit fleeting, relationship.

2. That said - peeking is fun- but do it secret squirrel stylee.

3. You may or may not want to know this but: A three- four year old, in the cold and wet, after lunch and juice and in a ski suit outside will have crafty wee, in their ski suit, down their leg, into their ski socks and into their ski boots, most days for a week. Many older normally continent children also have a crafty hot leg whilst skiing. Your options are: ignorance is bliss or: "my goodness these ski boots leak a bit don't they Henry? Look the socks are all wet!" or "my goodness I need to wash these stinky clothes" or " humm these need to be put on a radiator- in the hall". I'd suggest radical acceptance of the way the world actually is, which is a bit pissy.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Last year at age 6 my son still wanted me near on the first day of ski school. Luckily the lift queues were short and I kept up with them. I stayed 50m behind and he glanced round every now and again. After that he was fine by himself for the rest of the week.

Otherwise, as others have said, balaclavas and buffs with spares (they get damp/cold from breath).

Re helmets, of course you can buy (places like decathlon) but in my experience they have a load of helmets and you'll find one that's ok for their first trip. Just make sure all the bits like chin and goggle strap are working.

You'll need to buy goggles. We got some Scott goggles with natural light lenses as they seemed a good tint even for overcast days. Though kids seem to be able to ski in all conditions in dark goggles.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@MummyChristmas, have a great time and let us know how you get on. It's quite wild down the hill this evening so must be pretty blowy in 1850. I'm guessing the kids will be on the Jardin Alpin area which is perfect. As has already been said, additional gloves and layers. And in my experience of my own in ski school at that age and from teaching skiing to this age group the chances of a pee in the salopettes is high but no big deal. Hope you all have a great time.@ed123, Very Happy

snow reports

@ed123, nice one! Keeps 'em nice and warm. Reminds me of the benefits of diving in a wetsuit compared to a drysuit.

@pam w,

You know it makes sense.

Help!!

Small children and bad weather on the slopes advice

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Resort Reviews and Trip Reports