 Poster: A snowHead
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Was wondering if any Snowheads know what the rules are re: under 3's on lifts - chairlifts/telecabines? In the past I have seen little kids in backpacks etc but am not sure if this is still allowed? Last year in Morillion they wouldn't let us up. We're going to Courchevel in Feb and I'm wondering if I'll be able to get my 2 1/2 year old up the mountain for a hot chocolate and a short ski down, (obviously depending on the weather as there's no way I'd do it unless we had a nice warm day).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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dibblette, put it in a gondola.
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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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dibblette, We took our daughter up the mountain in the gondola in Whistler when she was 2 and she loved it. I wouldn't have skiied back down with her though and I would have felt very nervous about taking her on a chairlift when she was so small.
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Mine were 4 and 7 when I took them a chairlift last year (minus skis) - I hung onto them both for grim death one on each side of me - this had the complication of making lowering and raising the bar difficult as I had to let go of them to do so and they had strict instructions to hold onto the side rail very tightly whilst I did so. I would personally think that a younger child could be quite worrying, but my Swiss friends had their children on all sorts of lifts at a very eary age as far as I know.
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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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Megamum, crikey that was brave! We're yet to take our 4 year old on a chairlift and I'm still finding the thought of it quite scary. I'm hoping it's just fear of the unknown and it will be really easy. However, I'm always nervous going up with the smaller ski school kids and I'm dreading the day when our daughter's ski school class is out on the mountain and some stranger is responsible for her on a lift. Eeeek.  In fact it's probably best if I don't know!
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I believe I asked on another thread, but don't believe the issue was addressed - do you have any responsibility for any minor that you might be saddled with on any lift? Also, how closely do they watch ski school kids on lifts in terms of pairing them with non-ski school members, i.e. could your, say 8 year old daughter be sat on a chairlift (or any other lift) next to a large strange foreign male of unknown background?
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my 2 1/2yr old was happily allowed to ride a poma with me last season, liftie was great keeping a good eye as we went  . If we actually manage a sneaky week this season then depending on weather and a host of other variables we might try a chair.
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Megamum, Very probably, yes!
dibblette, Good idea to get some clarification, but I guess, as it's France, they will leave it to you to decide. See you then!
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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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We have taken our son to L2A twice now, once at 18 months and again at 27months. We initially thought he would just travel in the Gondala's, but due to a breakdown on our first trip we had to take him on a chairlift. Luckily he was wearing reins, so Daddy sat him on his lap with the rein strap around his neck for extra safety. We didn't make a big fuss of it as we didn't want him to become scared. Since then he has been on quite a few chairlifts and thinks they are fantastic fun, calling out like most little ones, more more more. We now insist that he wears his reins, which also help when we ski with him between our legs. The lifties seem to slow things down for us with his skis on or off and have always been of great help.
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dibblette - the most important thing to consider is that kids go from cold to hypothermic much, much quicker than adults and they also cope with altitude much less well than adults. So I'd be cautious about assessing your child's likely experience of cold/altitude based on how you're likely to feel.
Skiing, carrying a child is, to my mind, is an extremely stupid thing to do. Sorry, it's hard to be polite, but I saw an accident last year where a parent fell on top of the child they were carrying.
Megamum - good questions. The principle thing that a ski instructor has to worry about is getting the children on and off the lift safely - which poses the biggest immediate risk to your child. So children will usually just be farmed out to anyone willing (or not objecting) to take them. The instructor will normally get on last - so the first child will be told to wait at the top. To put your mind at ease, however, once children are big enough to safely sit themselves on the lift (i.e. they don't need to hop up to sit on) then they're normally loaded 2-3 per adult. Of all the risks to worry about with your daughter, the risk associated with strangers is vanishingly small.
In terms of the "what's your responsibility" question, I really don't know. In principle, the ski school is ultimately responsible for the child's safety. In practice, the lifties are responsible for putting/helping children onto the lift (i.e. you shouldn't have to physically help) and for making sure they get off safely. And the ski school shouldn't have put the child on the lift if the child doesn't undertand to sit still or is so small that there's a risk that they'll slide off. But if the unthinkable did happen, then I really don't know.
You should remember that no one can force you to take a child up a lift. But don't expect those involved to be mind readers. Say "pas enfants" or similar very firmly and directly to the liftie or ski instructor. Or learn the local language phrase for "I am an axe murderer..." 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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my oldest son tarted to ski 3 yrs ago- at just 3- arguably a bit too young- but he was on the Village chair lift at Val D'Isere (very short- slow- bar but no foot rest)from the start- but when he went up to Solaise the instructor took him in the cable car rather than the solaise chair (long- steep- detachable)-
so I think it really depends rather on the sort of chair lift your talking about!
Can't remember how old he was when he fist wet on a Poma with just us rather than the instructor- but he was small- the French litie really sucked his teeth!!! We all lived happily ever after.
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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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Took my youngest on chairlift last season a short(ish) 5 year old and that scared me! Thankfully he is a lot taller this season so hoping I wont be as scared - he also managed the drag lift on the nursery slopes, but fell off as many times as he made it  I have been asked to accompany ski school kids many times - my thoughts are to make sure the bar isn't lifted until I would want someone to lift it if my kids were on there! You do leave a lot to common sense and kindness I suppose.
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Thanks for all the advice. Last year my 4 and 5 year old boys were quite happy to be whisked up the mountain on a chairlift on day 3 of their lessons, I have to admit I was a bit concerned....but they loved it. Even at that age they were just plonked on a chair with any random adult, which would never happen in the UK, but seemed to work well enough.
I saw this harness the other day and thought it would be quite good for skiing/riding lifts with little ones.
http://www.gltc.co.uk/fcp/product/-/Out_and_About_skiwear/Cub-Ski-Lift-Harness/3123
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You know it makes sense.
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dibblette, Courchevel 1850 has some great gondolas that have easy ski routes back down. The first stage of Verdons, and the Jardin Alpin both have lovely green runs back to 1850.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I was skiing in the PDS a couple of years ago and arrived at the bottom of a chairlift where a French ski-school was waiting. The instructor asked us to take 2 kids each on the chairs and they could only have been 5 or 6 years old. I kind of thought that just showed the different approaches countries have to children as there was no consideration of who we were or how safe we could keep the kids on teh chairs. Mind you, they were all better skiiers than me!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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My youngest was 4 when he went on the 2 person chair lift at Puy. I've been on lifts with young ones and I tend to keep a tight grip on their jacket as I'm often worried they'll slip under the safety bar. Not sure I'd be able to easily hang onto a falling child for long mind you, but it made me feel a little better.
My youngest didn't seemed phased by the lift, although when I went on with him I was worried by the combination of slippery ski suit and short legs in that he sat too far forward for my liking. To his credit he did sit still and the lift was not too long.
I'd say there is a real risk with small children on a chair and they need to be aware of the real dangers around them. I'm glad my two are a little older/taller now.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I have taken my sons on a detachable chair when they were 4 and 5 without any worries. Just make sure they don't do what my son did and leave part of the skin of his lip on the safety bar because he wanted to lick it
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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[quote="Megamum"]I believe I asked on another thread, but don't believe the issue was addressed - do you have any responsibility for any minor that you might be saddled with on any lift? quote]
Depends how hard you push them 
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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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We have been taking our two 7 and 5 on the lifts for about a year. The 5 year old is quite small for his age but he is in no way the smallest that I have been on a lift with. We make sure he sits right back on the seat, which is difficult given his short legs and he tends to sit naturally right at the edge with his knees bent but we bug him until he sits right back. But I do get very concerned with the kids on the lift and I am often looking to see how far it would be if he fell under the bar!
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rpft, That is shocking 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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God were doomed aren't we? All big foreign men are child molesters, all scots are drunks. Any more stereotypes to roll out? Of course childrens heads can be crushed by chairlift safety bars, that sounds a real possibility to me or maybe its an urban myth in the making.
Most people ( unlike some here) are competent to help an already competent small child from ski school onto a chairlift and off at the top. They know what they are doing. Keep an eye on them to make sure they are not slipping, offer a hand at the top if they want and keep an eye out as they dismount. I have done it loads of times in france , austria and the UK, I have also helped kids up pomas, they are small and light and its easy to make sure they don't come to any harm. if you don't feel up to it politely refuse the ski teacher , who has probably spotted you as you came down the slope anyway and may have made a passing judgment on your ability. The highlight for my wife and I was a charming young girl in france who told us how nice and pretty her skii teacher was ( and she wasn't wrong about the pretty part!). Relax folks, if you are that worried about going up a chair with your kids then they are far better going up with someone else.
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stevepick, Is th pub closed or something 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| stevepick wrote: |
they are far better going up with someone else
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That's the bit I'm most worried about, that the "responsible adult" doesn't pay enough attention.
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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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kind of with Stevepick here. I'm not a parent and am a largish foreign (to some) man who as a competent skier has champeroned numerous small children on chairlifts. To reassure the parents on here, you can be absolutely sure that the 99.9% of us who are responsible adults are watching any child put on a chairlift with us like the proverbial benevolent hawk. The prospect of the awful consequences that any negligence could cause tends to be highly motivating, not withstanding that the vast majority of people skiing are thoroughly decent folk who are pleased to help where possible. I also second the comment made earlier that if you are that worried about your ability to saftely take your child on a chairlift then they're probably better off being on there with someone else.
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stevepick, my post wasn't intended to be stereotypical at all - loads of our rellies are scots, including my dad - but this one was either drunk or crazy - what kind of weirdo shouts obscenities at a small, extremely cute & amiable, (if I may say so) 6 yr old girl?
Beakyshark, this (hopefully) was a one off, I agree that 99.9 % are not like this - or the horrendous example geri, mentioned. As I said, the 5yr old would have drop kicked him - people like this always pick on the quiet ones I would have disembowelled him.
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You know it makes sense.
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As I've stated before - I was once taking a lift on my own when someone stuck an approx 4-5 year old girl on with me. She seemed ok but upon arriving at the top seemed too scared to dismount. As there were no staff at the top I grabbed her under the arms as she was about to be carried back down, lifted her off and then (only half stable) sat back so she landed on top of me. I made sure that she was ok, had her smiling and then caught up with her group which were waiting 15m below the lift. Not the best idea to not have anyone at the top of the lift, although if a kid arrived back down at the bottom I'm sure the lift operators down there would have noticed.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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rpft, Just how many little rpft's are there 
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Poster: A snowHead
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geri, only 2 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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geri, I assumed the same and therefore was developing some colossal admiration for abilities of rpft, as a skiing parent
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Megamum,
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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rpft, I did actually read it as a 5 year old and 8 year old but now I have visions of the Family von rpft a la Sound of Music
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geetee, skipping merrily through the hills
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Found this on courchnet today. Looks promising particularly given that lessons is when I worry about this the most.
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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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In Isola last year they allowed our 2 year old up on the Gondola, usually went with Grandad (none skier, great baby-sitter). Boy did he love that. Had to go up and back at least once a day. As under 5 didn't have to buy a ticket, but did have to get a free one from the ticket office each day.
Will be doing the same this year no doubt as well. Is already talking about going on the cable car.
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| prthomas wrote: |
| Found this on courchnet today. Looks promising particularly given that lessons is when I worry about this the most. |
It is kind of reassuring that they are trying to make things better, but it also makes me concerned that it must be a bigger problem than I thought if they see the need to go to all this effort to stop kids falling off!
Also, we're in Courchevel 1650 so won't get to do the trial 
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FAQ
once advised me to put the childs back against the back of the chair & then my ski stick across her lap - & my arm around her holding the other end of the stick - so like a safety bar over her lap - me holding both ends. It does work v. well
