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I board, kids learning to ski for the first time - problem?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi everyone.

After a personal 6 year absence I'm extremely excited to be taking my family to the mountains for the first time. I learnt to ski as a kid and got averagely competent over 6 - 8 trips then didn't get to go for a while. After a 10 year break I decided to learn to snowboard when I next went as all my friends did or were learning who I was travelling with. I really enjoyed it and have stuck with it since then. Can't say I'm any great shakes but I can get around the mountain well enough.

My partner has never skied or snowboarded before and neither has my 5 year old daughter. We are going with another family of the same make up and ability so mums will learn in ski school together and so will the kids.

I guess my question is whether I am being realistic about boarding in the company of beginner skiers - assuming we will be doing stuff together in the afternoon. I don't particularly want to go back to ski's and it will mean hiring stuff as all my equipment is snowboarding based. That said I'm hoping this is the first of many family snow holidays so am keen it goes as well as possible.

Any thoughts / advice gratefully received.

James
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
In 3 days the kids will be dragging you along the flat sections because you're slowing them down.
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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?
felstead, welcome to snowheads. snowHead I think your holiday sounds great - perfect to have friends, so they have company in ski school. It will probably be a bit difficult for the first few afternoons, if you want to stay with them, as it will mean being on very gentle slopes. But they'll be keen to show you their new skills.

You are probably already far too good a boarder for this suggestion to make sense - but if you've not done much so far, you could usefully spend the whole time with them riding switch - especially on the drag lifts. Twisted Evil
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Thanks for the responses already. Well aware I'll be left for dust in no time!!

Just clarify though - I'm more concerned about ensuring I'm not hampering their learning by snow boarding - eg not following the same lines, not offering an example to follow ( could argue it would be counter productive anyway?). I defintely intend to use the time to improve my neglected skills such as riding switch as suggested.

Thanks

James
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
felstead, might be worth you brushing up on your skiing, and I say this as a snowboarder... Our eldest is starting to learn and i'm very aware of the fact that when hes a bit more proficient and we are out on the mountain with him, if i'm on a board i'm not going to be able to assist in doing things like picking him up if he falls over, holding him back from bulletting off down the hill on the toddler ski reigns we've got.

Sure i'll be a role-model of darkside prowess, but not too useful when trying to sort out a tangled mess of four year old, skis, poles, boots, goggles and gloves. Threatened to do it before we went away this year but may actually get around to learning to ski at HH this summer...
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felstead, willkommen and Bienvenue btw...
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
felstead, welcome to Snowheads snowHead

I've never boarded so this could be seen as ignorance/bias. I've been skiing with my kids now 5 & 7 for a few years. I really wouldn't have fancied accompanying them on a board. As mentioned you are quite often called upon to assist in a fall. Also I can imagine chair lifts being tricky. Also as beginners they may spend more time on flatter slopes not ideal for boarding. Not sure about the learning aspect. We teach our kids so it's vital for us but if your wife and child are taking lessons it probably won't and shouldn't make much difference.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

i'm not going to be able to assist in doing things like picking him up if he falls over

why can't a boarder pick up a fallen over little skier? You can always stop on your toeside, downhill of him, then kneel. Be just at the right height then! Easier if you've only one foot in the binding, maybe, but that's supposed to be good practice too.

If you ever intend to ski again, now is the time, I suppose, but I don't see why you can't hang around the nursery slopes on your board.
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Can't foresee any problems boarding with them - and the average six week skier is unlikely to be setting them a good example anyway, so I really wouldn't worry about hampering their learning.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
I took up skiing about 4 or 5 years ago - mainly because I became a bit of a snow snob, and consequently wasnt enjoying boarding if the conditions were bullet proof ice. Poor snowboarding conditions can be OK skiing conditions..... I am glad I did, forward wind to now, we have a 3yr old that is learning to ski so I am happy to be able to ski with him. Next yr when he is at ski school in the morning, I can board and then stick the skis on for the afternoon to cruise the greens/blues or more likely trees given his rate of learning. I have just found myself buying a pair of twin tip skis, and am really enjoying using them and was fortunate enough to have a day at Whistler just after they had about 30cm. Yes, at times I wished I was on my board, but it was a new challenge I suppose to stick with the skis even in powder. But either way I am glad I am reasonable at both skiing and boarding. Give it a shot again!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
As a boarder and a skier I use either skis or blades when I'm with the children. Blades allow me to get in really close to them and that is useful when the 6 year old decides to go off over bumps at the edge of the piste and falls over-I would really struggle to help him up if I was on a board. He doesn't fall over on the nice, level, groomed stuff but always in an awkward part!
I did see a chap boarding down with three kids following exactly in his line (taking up the whole of a narrow slope so it wasn't easy to overtake!) so it is possible.
I think this holiday I am going to try boarding with my son skiing as he is now more competent- but not sure I can do that with the 4yr old.
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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.
SachaF, Ah now blades. Yes, that was exactly my thought too for assisting Sideways_Jnr. First things first...

***GENERAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT*** Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, Standard SnowHeads response to the word 'blades' - they are the work of The Great Satan, greatest threat to peace in our time since Hitlers European vacation, Blades murdered my uncle, Blades voilated my dog. Put horsemeat in my pie, sold plutonium to North Korea etc etc etc. There i've done it for you, so no need now.

Anyway back to interesting stuff, blades seem to me the way to go to get in close to the kids when they're still doing their pizza-fries bit. An old mate uses them when he's working with disabled skiers as it allows him to get in close. Makes alot of sense to me.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
A friend of mine is a skier, and he also used blades for skiing with his two young boys. They're getting a bit bigger now, so he was looking for a slight step-up in performance and be a bit more versatile in different terrain and snow conditions, but still wanted to be able to ski backwards easily so I sold him one of my spare sets of twin-tip park skis. They are short enough he can still get in reasonably close, but much more 'all mountain' than blades.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
we were boarders who returned to skiing when our kids started to learn. How old are your children, because i think that makes a big difference as to what you should do.

our kids were little (3&5) when they started and actually needed us to help them with lifts and stuff. they also tended to expect we would be able to just lift them up and detangle them when they got in a pickle, which would have been a lot harder on a board.

Especially as your other half doesn't ski, you may be required to give a bit more support than you would to an adult learner.

Also,once, we went out with a couple and their child where the dad was a boarder and the mum a not very confident skier. Child suddenly got ski-fright and wouldn't move. I skied down with her between my legs till we got to an easy bit, but I couldn't have done it on my board (and I'm not bad on a board).

You can try on a board if you like, but since you'll be on beginner slopes anyway, where's the harm is brushing up an old skill? and it means you can offer an example to follow.

now mine are older (6&7) and more independent we have started to board again (sometimes), but the kids don't seem to understand about a boarders blind side, or that it's quite hard to just stop in the middle of the slope and talk (about snowflakes or other vital stuff!) because of the effort required for mummy to stay stationary without sitting down. I prefer to ski with them i think - but they all want to learn to board so maybe in a year's time we'll be back on trays!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Instructors do a lot less of picking up kids than parents do - they seem to learn to sort themselves out. If you are a good skier you can do quite a lot to help, but you see a great many parents setting rather poor examples to their kids, or trying to get them to ski parallel when it's just not the right thing for them. And I don't think you need park skis to go backwards - instructors go backwards with kids a lot. Park skis might be ideal, but I wouldn't buy a pair specially; this is my son in law on 180 piste skis (£50 second hand .
wink )
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
felstead, Take the slow times to improve your basic boarding skills, ride switch, learn to butter, ollie, nollie, little jumps and tricks at the side of the piste (hit Youtube for the how)
Use the time to take video of your kids to embarrass them when they are 21 or getting married.

Most of all, take pleasure in being with your family. snowHead
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
oops sorry you said your daughter was 5. she'll probably be ok with you on aboard i would think.
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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?
grey, Jnr is 3 now, and his little brother won't be allowed to ski until the 14/15 season thanks to his birthday being in July, so plenty of time could be spent in the future on blades... Anyone know if Hemel or similar run blade lessons?
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Thanks for all the advice, it's appreciated. It's certainly given me plenty to think about and I can see that I haven't really considered it fully. I'm letting my thoughts settle a little but I think I'm starting to think that I will need to be on ski's with them in the afternoons for the reasons outlined above. I certainly won't be setting them any sort of example (in fact I'm slightly scared that I won't remember how it works!) but can see that from a practical helping perspective it's going to be more straightforward.

I may see how it goes as I'm not sure how much stuff they are going to want to do in the afternoon anyway - they may just want to go sledging! I can see that I may have to consider ski's for the next year or so and maybe I just need to bite that particular bullet.

I've no experience of snow blades. They look slightly scary - easy to learn or would I just be a danger to myself and others? If this is likely to start world war III please feel free to ignore the question!!

I like the idea of using 'slow time' to brush up on some basic board skills but think I may need to put my families needs first. We're staying at a ski in / out chalet close to the ski school so it should be fine to switch styles morning to afternoon - maybe that will allow me to face the inevitable reality in my own time!!!

Thanks again and any other comments gratefully received, particularly tips on helping 5 years old learn to ski!!!!
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
felstead, if it sways your decision at all, my friend who uses blades says that, to him, the sensation and skills for blading are a cross between skiing and ice skating (which he used to do alot of in his youth) so if you've got any experience in skating, that may help your learning curve if you decide to give blading a try...
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Quote:

tips on helping 5 years old learn to ski!!!!

Put them in a good ski school. wink They might indeed not want to do much, if any, skiing in the afternoons - there's a lot of other fund stuff to do.

It's worth putting a bit of time and effort into finding the right ski school - they are not all created equally. Very roughly speaking, you'll get what you pay for.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Thanks Pam - they're booked in with the local ESF, which to be honest is the only realistic option where we are. From my own experience I know that tutors differ greatly and it can be luck of the draw - I've got my fingers crossed it's someone patient and good at teaching kids with reasonable english skills rather than some reluctant chap who doesn't see why he should communicate in another language!!!

Richard - I was completely rubbish on skates!!!! Think that may put pay to that suggestion Laughing
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
felstead, skied with our kids, one from just shy of 4 to 7 now. One from 2.5ish to 5 now. First off on whether they are likely to want to ski in the afternoon: We usually had a picnic on the hill after which they would be up for a bit more. Up to 5yo there would often be a tailing off energy/enthusiasm about 3. A bit of chocoalate will buy you an extra quarter of an hour but depending on weather conditions we might have finished at 3 or maybe just a bit earlier than lift closing time. Because ours weren't in ski school we tended to start later (anywhere from 30 mins to over an hour) so bear that in mind. However, our son at iirc at 5yrs 8 mths , certainly at 6 was game until the last lift.

pam w, makes a good point about how much help you give them in terms of getting up after a fall, skating on flat bits, poling, mounting chair lifts etc. Obviously, you want them to do as much for themselves as possible. However, it is inevitable that sometimes you want to straighten their ski's out, give them a dusting down or lift them on to a chair, etc. Sometimes you may have to sidestep up the hill if they completely down tools. We often hold hands on the chute into a chair lift and through the barriers. I just imagine it would be much easier to do this on ski's. But yes try to get the little blighters to look after themselves. We are currently trying to get the 7yo to carry his own ski's everywhere rolling eyes

Regarding any teaching as such. They are in ski school so all you are going to want to do is enjoy the time with them, let them have fun and practice what they've been doing in the morning. We do quite a lot of fun stuff with ours (jumps), through the legs, parky bits aswell as having some more serious moments of technique discussion. But at a young age they don't really get it and are just learning by imitation.

Personally, I find it gets more enjoyable each trip because there is just less faffing and they can do more. But equally, though it can be hard work the early years were also special in there own way.
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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.

Layne is dead right; it's hard work but the thrill of those first winter holidays is special - and it's not just about skiing.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Layne, is right. Sometimes it is just easier to help them especially if you have more kids than adults or a time pressure. Smaller kids do not carry speed so well on long schusses so it is handy to be able to tow them along (I'm thinking the Arete in Morillon when my daughter was still 6).

I boarded for the 10 years before my kids started to ski. Then I got some blades for exactly the reasons of being able to walk around the kids, back up the hill etc. The problem with blades is the non step-in bindings. I would be faffiing with my bindings and the kids would be 50m away down the hill and rapidly getting out of earshot. So I got the shortest normal skis I could find which were 150. But these were so much fun to carve on I got hooked and ended up selling my good board and getting some Scott Missions and have not boarded since!
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Daddy poma...

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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.
Thanks again for all the advice. I plan to hire some skis so i can ski with them in the afternoons. Will be interesting to see if I remember how it works!!! Looking forward to trying the newer version of ski's - I understand they've improved some in the last 25 years!

Thanks again - I'll let you know how I get on.

Really excited about our week in Oz en Oisans - trying to not check the snow forecast too fequently.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
felstead, if you haven't skied for a quarter of a century it might be worth taking a few lessons yourself - things have changed quite a lot (for the better....)
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
A quick note to say another thanks to those that gave their advice. Just to say we had a fantastic first family trip at Oz en Oisans - somewhere I would definitely recommend for families. As some suggested the little ones weren't up for too much in the afternoons in terms of skiing but plenty of fun was had on the sledge piste! Towards the end the kids were keen to show off their stopping and turning skills so we spent some time doing that on the nursery slopes. Without wishing to knock the ESF I think I will definitely look for somewhere with a good English ski school next time where they will hopefully be getting out on the slopes a bit more. I'm pleased to say that the beginner mums did great and were getting down greens comfortably and even the odd blue by the end of the week.

It was my first time in the Alpe D'huez region which I thought was quite impressive, a well run ski area with plenty to go at. The snow conditions were still amazing when we arrived but by the end of the week the weather had started to get pretty warm and I suspect there will be much more freeze / thaw this next week. Luckily there seems to be a huge base for them to work with.

Thanks again

James
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
felstead, glad you all had a good time, but you didn't say whether you stuck to the snowboard or went back to skis?
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Sorry! I stuck with the board as the kids just wanted to mess about in the afternoon. My main priority was that they really enjoyed the holiday and would be keen to go again rather than be caught up in their skiing progress. I tended to share afternoon duties with mum so we both got a bit of piste time. That said we managed to share a few runs together and although she was an absolute beginner it was fine me being on a board and her on skis.

I think next year my daughter is much more likely to be out on the slope more so I'm mentally preparing myself for a potential switch to ski's. It was such a pleasure to be back on the slopes again after such an absence and I really loved getting back into my boarding but I can see that learning to ski again could be just as much fun. Milton Keynes snowdome should see some action before hand so plenty of opportunity to try it out.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
felstead, glad to hear you all had a good time. snowHead
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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?
felstead, thanks for reporting back and glad to hear you had a great trip.
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