Snowboarding with 12year old

A snowHead

Off for a week with daughter in Jan to alps, we did 4 days in norway last season. As we were with inlaws we did their times which was at most a 4 hour day, too few for me!!. My question is, for those thst bring kids that age is a 9-4.30 day too long to start with??. Hopefully she will do some lessons, but would like to get out together each afternoon.
Just hoping to hear anyone else's experiences.
Thanks

A snowHead

Yes, no, maybe. How athletic/ sporty/tough is she? Is she accustomed to doing all day physical activity like hiking or cycling?

The issue is likely the bruising of slams and fatigue from pushing herself up rather than the physical effort of actually snowboarding.

Kids however have several advantages over adults:
- made of rubber
- natural balance
- still fairly good at new skill acquisition

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Yeah loads of variables in that question. The better and more experienced Jnr is the longer she'll want and be able to ride for.

Twelve is quite old comparatively so less of a problem - but with younger kids you have to factor in that once they are out of energy, they are out so being somewhere halfway across the mountain with them in shutdown can be problematic if it's late in the day and you're racing to get a lift before it closes.

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I have been skiing one to one with my son since he was 4 (he's now 10) and he has been doing full ish days on the slopes since he was 8 or 9. I would have thought that a 12 year old would be able to stay out reasonably well.

I have worked on this point quite a bit with my son. All kids are different but I have shared below what has worked for me. A number of the points only work if you are doing full days together and not all will apply if you have lessons booked. Hopefully it's some help.

It's basically a military operation to avoid them getting tired and keep them as happy and comfortable as possible.

My tips are:
- Maximise resting time off the slopes, I just let my son read and rest after a full day skiing. I tend to bring a selection of films for us to watch each night before bed. I avoid active things in the evening and make sure he has a long warm shower to avoid muscle soreness. I tend to avoid eating out and will self cater or eat takeaways (if we are in a B&B)
- Plan to have an early bed time for both of you each night.
- Plan to get up early so there is plenty of time for a relaxed breakfast and some general relaxing before going out on the slopes, my son will generally be much happier to catch first lift if he is up a bit earlier.
- Make sure the kid has a really good breakfast (this is another key reason for getting up early)
- Get out early in the day for first lift. How tired my son gets and how late he wants to ski doesn't really change if we get first lift or one an hour later.
- Do not let them get cold. It is much better to avoid coldness before they complain than have to spend ages off the slopes warming them back up.
- Do not let them get too tired. Again avoid is better than cure.
- Plan Lotts of little breaks for hot chocolate or whatever your kid likes. If your daughter decides she likes a specific place for hot chocolate go back there each day. I found this is good because my son then relaxes a bit more. My default is to go inside for these stops, get the outer layers off, warm up and get comfortable. The Folie Douce bars (mid morning before they get busy) are often good for this because they are big and interesting for children.
- Involve them I'm planing which runs you go on and make them feel like they are choosing where to go.
- Avoid taking them down anything outside of their comfort zone (this can be a day killer for my son), leave this for the instructors.
- If they have lessons don't try to pressure them into a higher group than they can cope with easily, this will completely tire them out.
- Consider afternoon lessons so you know they will be out for a full afternoon.
- Avoid the temptation to try to teach them yourself when you are together this will tire them out, focus on fun and safety.
- Praise them a lot.
- Wear a backpack with a supply of spare gloves, warm layers, suncream, lip balm etc.
- Keep a supply of high sugar snacks in your backpack/pockets.
- Carry a hydration pack in your backpack so you can keep the kid hydrated on lifts.
- Avoid drag lifts and cable cars. Use gondolas or chair lifts if you can.
- Have a deliberate snack stop at about 11:30 and give the kid a substantial snack like a pretzel or whatever they like. This should keep them going over the lunchtime period when the slopes are a bit quieter.
- Have a late lunch about 14:00 don't rush this and let them have a proper rest.
- Avoid going back to your accommodation in the middle of the day because it seems to take ages to get them out again.
- If you are comfortable leaving them in a piste restaurant then go off and do a lap of a nearby lift while they have an extra rest. I tend to make sure my son has plenty of food and drink and is sat somewhere I can easily see him on the way past. That way I can check he's ok and then have another lap.
- If your kid wants to stop and look at something, play in the snow, chat to other kids or anything else safe on the mountain let them do it. Avoid pressuring them into moving on even if it is a bit boring for you. An extra 10 minutes at a restaurant while they have a snowball fight with other kids will put them in a good mood and increase the chance of them wanting to stay out longer.
- Keep the mood as light hearted as possible the whole time, come up with lots of fun jokes and games for on the lifts. Never get frustrated with how fast they go, how tired they are.
- Plan in a stop for hot chocolate at a restaurant right at the top of the resort at about 16:00. Do your best to make sure they look forward to this. This helps motivate them to stay out.
- Bring a collection of rewards that they get each day if they have a good day and cooperate.
- Get some kids body armour to avoid bruises which impact tiredness.
- Get a tracker like an AirTag and put it in your kid's pocket, if you get separated any upset can be a day killer.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Henwc, bloody hell Shocked

Only joking fella, some good tips

@Rje66, in answer to your question (based on my two) fine doing full days at that age. And we had picnic on the slopes. Only caveat is that they started at 3/4 so by 12 very competent. It's more tiring for beginners. Don't be too bothered about turning in early if tired or weather bad.

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A normally fit and active 12 year old should have no problem with the purely physical demands of a day on the slopes, assuming a decent lunch break (though in busy holiday times I'd go for two breaks, one about 11 and then another about 2). BUT. What gets them is often not the physical demands but the emotional ones. Feeling scared/bored/discouraged can bring them to a stroppy halt and call for an unscheduled hot chocolate.

Only you know your daughter. If she's had only a few lessons so far then unless she's super-sporty and motivated I'd book her a few more.

In January the light will be going by 4.30 on a cloudy day. Don't be the father having to coax a tired child down the mountain after that "one last run". Stop when she still wants more.

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

from the age of 5 my two little ones would do a full day, yes we did long hot chocolate breaks, but they did the full day.

After all it is free

@Layne, Haha yeah, most of those are the result of some kind of fail on my part over the years. The number of times I have got it wrong it's a surprise he still wants to come on a ski holiday!

Having been through it myself, @biddpyat, I would say that early days on a snowboard are a lot more tiring than the skiing equivalent. You do get slammed!

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Wow, great replies and lots of little tips I wouldn't have though about. She is sporty, so from that point it helps. Great tip on having a backpack with supplies in it. She's resistant to lessons and I don't want to spend the dsys trying to teach her , so I'll have to have a plan there!!. How long are the lessons there 9.30-1????.
If I got her in for the first 3 days I could probably cope...
I suppose a lot of patience is needed .

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What did you do in Norway? Did she do 4 days snowboarding? If so, she'll have a fair idea what she wants to do. If she can turn down a blue slope and get herself on and off chairlifts (and easy drags, depending on where you go) I wouldn't worry, as long as you're prepared to stick with stuff she can manage. I wouldn't push her into lessons if she's really opposed, but equally, she needs to cope with the consequences of her decision!

We had a 16 year old snowboarder with us on a recent family holiday. He'd had quite a few lessons on a dry slope (yuk) but really wasn't very good. He was much slower than all the cousins on skis and fell a lot. But everybody loved him, so they didn't mind, and admired his courage and persistence! But he was no natural on a snowboard - some kids would have made faster progress!

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@Henwc, terrific set of useful points. Really wish I’d had it 15 years ago. We got lucky as ours quite resilient with good stamina.

@Rje66, is she opposed to all lessons or would she be ok with private lessons? If so private might be the way to go. My son didn’t get on with group lessons and made slow progress but thrives in private lessons.

If you can work out the type of instructor she’d connect with best you can ask the ski school for that type of person. That kind of thing made a big difference to my son when he was learning. A cool young female teacher might inspire your daughter a bit.

You know it makes sense.

@Oiegen, in norway she had private 2hr lessons along with her cousin for 3 days, so from an ability level she can do all lifts ok. Falling leaf ok. Skating ok. It's just linking turns really, it was the last day that things started to work, ...so @Henwc's advice might work. Few hours with an instructor might be the answer. Pricey I'd imagine...

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

Yes, a couple of the right lessons would be great but it sounds as though she'll soon be taking off - shouldn't take many hours! Where are you going? Best to get some personal recommendations - I had snowboarding lessons in France as an aged beginner after a "learn in a day" course in Hemel. They were with a French instructor who I rated as a ski instructor but, to be honest, he was fairly hopeless as a snowboard instructor and I learnt more from this book, now available second hand cheaply on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/075662357X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=amz07b-21

But that was years ago - Snowheads snowboarders might now scoff at that book but I thought it was very good, but the illustrations and videos are all from a goofy point of view, which requires some mental gymnastics if you ride regular.

A snowHead

@Rje66, have you ridden much with your daughter yet? I think you're going to have to moderate your expectations if you think she'll be up for hooning it in the afternoons. Have been through this process with my own Jnr and you are realistically going to be moderating your own riding for some time to come. You're going to have your 3-hr window from drop off to collect, which is normally closer to maybe two-and-a-bit hours once you've extracted yourself from drop off and getting back into the right area for collection. Afternoons is normally spent working with Jnr on what they've learned and basic low pace mileage on blues as she builds confidence.

A snowHead

I'd agree with @Richard_Sideways in that you'll want to be moderating your riding.

As a skier my experience won't be completely compatible but I thought I'd share in case it helps.

To be able to do "proper" boarding together I'd expect you to need to get your daughter to step 5 or 6 below. I tend to find playing in the side piste is the best option if my son is going slowly down the piste because it's naturally slower but still enjoyable. Obviously safety is my priority so I don't venture far enough to get out of sight.

I'd expect that as a boarder you'll need to focus a bit more on staying uphill of your daughter and won't have the luxury I have of being able to skate and tow my son using poles on flatter sections.

From skiing with my son the progression of skiing outside lessons kind of fell into the following steps:
1 Complete beginner, a bit of sliding with me on foot. No skiing for me.
2 Could slide but not really turn or stop consistently, Skiing between my skis (not really that applicable to snowboarding). Kind of fun and we could get about small parts of the mountain but not proper skiing for me.
3 Could turn and stop but not really link turns (falls a lot), going slowly on nursery slopes with me a couple of meters behind snowploughing ready to jump in and deal with any issues. At least I was skiing but not really properly.
4 Could link turns on blue runs (but still risk of falls), exploring the mountain but being really cautious about where we go. At this stage the best I'd get in terms of proper skiing is I'd pause on the piste above my son and let him ski 50m or so at his own pace then have a proper ski for a few turns.
5 Reasonably confident on blue runs, skiing together but me having to stop a lot or proper ski very slowly (great for my technique).
6 Safe but cautious linking turns on red runs, skiing together and me being able to ski properly. I tend to stay above him and make sure I can see him. I can't go fast or carve but I can explore side piste. This feels like proper skiing. I still like to go off and have a real shred when he's having a snack or in a ski lesson.

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

Hi all, thanks again for replies. Totally agree on the moderation of my expectations,this is the advice I need to hear...
I see this trip as an investment of time and hopefully next season will be the one where we can get down the hill without too much drama....
On the last day in norway last year we went to top , on last lift , so only way down was on the board and they surprised me with their enthusiasm and ability.... there is hope!!!

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If you're not that good at it, ride switch the whole time. It will slow you down, tire you out and increase your empathy!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks Leggy, ....still trying to master goofy!!!!
But yes a good time to progress skills.
Meant to say we sre in westendorf, so any lesson recommendations are appreciated!!

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@Henwc > - Never get frustrated with how fast they go, how tired they are.

Haha! It's my 10 year old getting frustrated at how slow and tired I am!

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

After all it is free

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Took all advice and have her booked in for 3 2hr lessons on first few days, we'll see how that goes, maybe a few more later in week

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@Aspect, just thinking, from your experience, would it be better to stick with the above group lessons or change to a 3 or4 hour once off private lesson?

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Re groups, I would say that snowboard classes do tend to be smaller in size - particularly as you go up the learning scale. Even going to VT or VdI when the Jnrs were doing lessons, snowboard groups were never more than maybe 6, compared to 10 or 12 for skiing groups. And, oddly the rate of attrition was high among older teens. My youngests last group lessons started with 6 and ended with 2 as the older teens dropped out through injury and critical-condition hangovers - ended up with just the instructor, him and a 50yo russian lady who kept sneaking him biscuits throughout the lesson.

Help!!

Snowboarding with 12year old

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