Things I've learned skiing with kids

So, I don't come around here much anymore. Way more of a lurker these days. But I do still ski, just usually with my new partner, Elsa, my daughter.

She's awesome and one of my favorite people to ski with because of her genuine go-get-it enthusiasm. Thursday morning, she woke at 5 a.m. just to get to the hill on time. And walked from C-lot to Chex at Crystal today because she thought the shuttle might take too long... not to mention, I haven't seen Queens run in over a year since she really got the bug. I'm a happy mother.

Anyhow, I've learned a couple of things getting out with her besides the usual lessons we learn from kids like slow down, appreciate, remember the wonder and excitement, etc., etc. and I thought I might pass them along.

First, bribery is magic. I used to keep treats in my pockets to hand out at the end of each run. This served two purposes: immediate motivation, sustained energy. I think sometimes as an adult anyhow, I forget to eat when I am out playing. Kids do, too, but don't recognize their sudden breakdowns as a need to refuel, just frustration. So stay ahead of the curve and feed them lots of things they want to eat all day long. And use that refueling as a motivation to make a few more turns or try something a little scary.

Second, keep handwarmers open and on the ready all the time. I open up a package of handwarmers every morning as part of the routine. Sometimes, we use them, sometimes not. But when hands or faces or whatever are cold, pulling a hot handwarmer out of your pocket for gloves or the back of the neck effects an immediate change of attitude.

Third, show them the powder stashes. And "steal their lines". Elsa is on the hunt for powder at all times, and extremely motivated to beat me to it now that she knows how valuable this is to me. I'm happy to "lose" if it keeps her stoked.

Fourth, remind them of safety and practice it. Elsa may always be on the hunt for powder, but she knows not to get out of sight or duck into trees without my attendance. She wears a whistle at all times and we have a little call out code we sing back and forth as we head down the hill. And when she falls and gets all muddled up and sprawled out in the snow, I've made it her responsibility to learn how to get out of this situation. The first time this happened, it was horrible. Screaming, crying, frustrated and so mad at me! The next time, she fell and I was already significantly further down the hill than her. She crossed her poles in an X, pushed herself upright out of the deep snow, stomped out a place to put her skis back on, and skiied up to me beaming at her success in handling the entire event herself. She even thanked me for the first experience. It took a long while, and I made sure she wasn't in danger, but letting her handle it without my nagging has been a great benefit to our day!

Lastly, pick a code word for leading. When skiing together, she usually goes first and picks the line. This way, I know where she is and am not worried about losing her behind me. Sometimes though a run is a little steeper than her comfort level, or she's unsure how to navigate the next set of trees and she wants me to go first. This used to mean she would stop, get upset at leading, start saying no, and then we had a lot of confusion and frustration: No, you won't go down the hill? No, you don't want to go first? No, you are scared? Tired? What's happening? Today, we made a code word. She chose pigpen. And every time she got shy about leading, she'd shout out "PIGPEN!" And I took the lead from there. Wow. Worked beautifully. And when she stopped to say, "No" the next time, I knew there was an issue that we needed to stop and work out or avoid, not just uncertainty about going first.

Oh, and one other note use two different colored gloves, or add different colored tape to their poles. Elsa is dyslexic and it's not uncommon for the rest of us when our brain is engaged in heavy physical activity. So instead of going through the "which way is left" dialogue, I just shout out, "Go pink!" and we are headed in the right direction...

Happy skiing all!

These reflections are great - thanks for sharing.  It sounds like your daughter is well on her way to being a confident, independent skier.

With my grandson, it is "Whatever C*** wants, C*** gets, as long as Poppa [me] get his beer!"  We ski at White Pass and stop at the new midslope lodge for lunch; he loves bratwurst; I like beer; he usually wants to eat so much junk he gets sick; I tell him that is all right with me but he will have h*ll to pay with his Mom and Dad; we have a good time.  Last year I took him on a "Black Diamond powder run" , it was a little challenging for him; this year he should have some more pro lessons.

deep into the kidski lifestyle now has afforded me many thousand more powder hits following my lil green bug around.
...as a 9yr. old he is better with a beacon than me, lucky me!
bobby

Thanks Holly !
I'll be sure to use those tips with my new granddaughter ELSA when she's ready.

Awesome Holly -- glad you've got a good partner in the making.

Thanks Holly !
I'll be sure to use those tips with my new granddaughter ELSA  when she's ready.

A new grand baby!! Name Elsa no less? Aw, how sweet. I know they are out there, but I've only met one other child (and a handful of distant great grandmothers) named Elsa the last 10 years of her life.

And glad you are having the same results, Bobby. The shift has been a little weird for me at times, but definitely rewarding. Elsa has also become a proficient rock climber over the last year, too, and makes an excellent belay partner, if not motivator to stay strong!

...i am already lining up ski partners for him from the charger crew so i will be able to ride with my baby girl

Great job, Holly! Fun stories and innovative tips! I skied with a guy today - one green mitten, one red mitten, he said it was so he didn't get run over by a ferry. Well, it WAS foggy at Silver Fir today...

Good to hear your "voice" again, Chica!

Great story, it brings back lots of memories from when I introduced my now 23 year old son to skiing and developed him into a great ski buddy.

When he was 4 on his second day of skiing it was snowing in the parking lot, but turned to rain by the time we were on the bunny chair at Crystal. I had him in a chest harness with leads that ran under his armpits so I could control his speed. We got off the chair and he pointed 'em down the fall line, singing to himself in the rain. After a couple of runs in the rain we went in for lunch. As we finished lunch Annette made noises about heading directly home but he would have none of it! So out we went for 3 more laps in the rain, and I knew another hard core skier had arrived...

I had been teaching on weekends at Crystal since college, and the task of teaching him technique was next. Teaching your own child how to ski is uncomfortably similar to teaching a spouse how to drive a stick shift; every instruction has the potential to be received as a personal criticism. With this in mind, I signed him up for the 4 hour bunny program in our school and had my friends and peers in the school teach him the basics. At the end of the day after class he and I would ride to the top for one T-to-B run (initially the Kelly's gap road, but eventually anywhere) before heading home which for many years had him falling asleep in the car before we even passed the Northway road.

After he had made it through the full progression in the ski school, the last remaining class was the "high adventure" program which I was fortunate enough to be running with another instructor. This program was designed not just teach kids how to turn left and right but to teach kids how to ski the whole mountain, when conditions were right taking groups of kids out to the slack-country (Northway or south-back). So here he was in the class with about 15 other middle school kids. Because he and I had been skiing around in those same areas for that "last run" for years we already had nonverbal and specific call out communication techniques similar to what Holly describes. My son soon became my reliable lead out or tail gunner as we herded these kids around in deep snow. Our method was low key and the other kids in the class didn't even spot it was a Father-Son combo until the goggles came off for the warmer days at the end of March.

And now...on this Thanksgiving this year he and I did a tour of East peak/Union creek. He's an accomplished skier with a nonchalant no drama style even in challenging terrain. Now if I could just get him to spend more time skiing with the old man...

Skiing with Kids

On Xmas Eve with NEW skis!