Any kids NOT enjoy 1st skiing vacation?

Kelly:

Here is my own 2 cents. I have 2 boys now ages 9 & 6. They have both been skiing since the were 4. I read all of the posts above and agree with most of the remarks. My highlights are:
1. Alternate activites - tubing and swimming top the list.

2. Time expectation management - The younger ones will not have attention span for a full day or possible even a half day. Just be aware - not that I need to tell you about your own kids.

3. Cold - When my boys were very young they did not like being exposed to cold blowing winds. It ruined my older sons first day in ski school. Spring skiing is a great first choice. (Although I saw that you already booked your first trip.) Send them to ski school with a neck gaiter or something similar in case the winds blow that day. Which leads me to my next point.....

4. Ski school - I highly recommend it as do many people on this site. Neither one of my boys liked it at first because they were not with me, but the older one was able to competently ski blacks at the age of 7. (The little guys said last week that he does not want to go back to ski school.) It will be money well spent.....

5. That being said, if you are capable, any time you personally spend teaching your kids can pay off ten fold. At least it did for me. Now there are those around here who will vehemently disagree with this point, but I am a coach for 3 non-snow sports so it is in my blood. I spent the better part of 2 seasons on bunny slopes with my older son and I was able to work him through his concerns and point out his mistakes that were becoming repetitious. This is a very personal decision.

Lastly, make it all about fun and you will all have a blast. Take it slow and easy and don't push too hard. I wish you all of the best and i believe that they will be posting here one day in August just like the rest of us crazies.

Attitude...is about 99%. Take it and keep it positive.


Money---do not let it get in the way of "having a good time" See too many parents who force their kids to have fun, cause the ticket was $60 bucks and rentals, etc.... Whats the goal?

Instructor----do your research and pick one who will have a blast with the kids. If they want to take a 2 hr lunch...whose vacation is it?


End each day early.....assuming they are having fun....stop the day during the fun...make em want to come back for more. THis servers lots of things...keeps em warm, their muscles will be happier, their brains better.

HOT TUB....

Let me add this.... There is no better family vacation than skiing, period.

Hello everyone:

 

I just wanted to put an update on this thread, as everyone as this forum was so helpful!  We took our ski vacation 1/26-2/1 to Solitude.  Things could not have gone better!!!!  As I was re-reading some of the posts this morning, the comment about having the right attitude from I:-)Skiing really hits the nail on the head.  Even though my boys are not the most athletic kids in the world, they do love being outside in the winter, and really take to "new" experiences-so I probably shouldn't have worried like I did.

 

A synopsis:

1) we didn't get to take the boys skiing locally before going to Utah.  Between their schedules and the wacky weather we had in the Chicago/Wisconsin area (either bitterly cold, or freakishly warm!) the timing didn't work out.

 

2) Enrolled everyone in all-day ski/boarding school (including Mom and Dad) the 1st day on the slopes.  It snowed about 8 inches the night before, so we had fresh powder to learn on.  Also, because it was during the week and not during a major holiday, my 2 sons (learning to ski) had 1 instructor between the two of them, and my other son (boarder) had 1 instructor just to himself for a full day...all for the price of the "learn to ski/board" group package!  Needless to say, I felt they progressed really well.

 

By day 2, my two skiiers went with my husband and I (we were all at the level of skiing greens...which was fine by us!), and my boarder took 1 more day of lessons (spent much of day 1 on his behind!). 

 

By day 3 we were all able to be together as a family.  Of course, we were all "green" skiiers/boarders, but everyone was able to maintain control and have fun (which for a newbie, I think, is key). 

 

3) Had other activities in the wings, but they were a bust once the boys got a taste of skiing!  We did go see the Olympic Park one day, and got to watch some of the skeleton athletes in training, but other than that we never left Solitude

 

4) Solitude was a great choice for us!  They have an area called "Club Solitude" where the kids (and adults) can watch a movie/swim/play video games, etct.  It was wonderful, because we usually hit the slopes 1st thing in the morning and stayed until the lifts closed at 4pm-so at night we were too tired to really go anywhere that required effort, but then again, we didn't want to really sit in a condo with 3 kids all night, either. 

 

Also, we could ski back to the village/condo for lunch in no time.  We ordered groceries ahead of time (one thing limited at Solitude is restaurant/shopping)...but going back to the condo for lunch saved us $$$$.

 

We found the ski school wonderful, as well as felt the instructors were really honest about the amount of lessons needed.  After day 1, my son's (who was boarding) instructor said he would probably really benefit from 1 or 2 more days of lessons, as the 1st day of boarding can be really hard.  After day 2, his assessment was that "while he could always benefit from more lessons" my son was at the point he was boarding down the same hills we were skiing, and that there are "beneftis to practicing with the family", too. 

 

The folks in the equipment rental place were (in a good way) laid back.  Could easily swap something out, etc.

 

Lastly, we felt (for us, at least) that the green runs at Solitude were fairly challenging for a beginner, so DH and I were able to buy the "beginner lift" lift tickets and be plenty happy with our choice of terrrain.  (There were also blue runs off of the beginner lifts...so we had harder terrain if we chose to try it.) 

 

All in all, it was a great trip...now our kids want to go back!!! Not sure if we created a monster or not:-).

 

Thanks again for everyone's input while I was in the planning stages.

 

kelly01

Cool. hope this is a good omen for us.  I'm taking the kids(5 and 6) on a ski trip in 2 weeks and will put them in  ski school. 

Edited by crgildart - 3/1/2009 at 02:53 am

Kelly - Thanks for the update. Glad to hear that everything went so well.

Sounds like an awesome trip.  Now.... beware.  I can NOT get out of the house to go without the 8-year-old . *sigh* :)

I vote Big Sky. I have a friend there now (from Brooklyn!) who says it's deserted. I was there a few years ago at Christmas and no crowds- It can get cold midwinter, but I'm a fellow cheesehead and it's like WI cold. Utah and Colorado are balmy, really, it's a joke. Spring break should bring warmer weather and still less crowds than other places. Yellowstone is fabulous, ski and do a tube day, maybe, if they need a break. X country is kid torture.. Big Sky has miles and miles of gentle cruisers to ski on that you'll have to yourself. Lone Peak is amazingly beautiful, the whole area is. Don't come here (Park City) during school holidays- it's a zoo...

 And, yeah, they'll love it. The hardest part is getting dressed and gear on, then keeping 'em warm.. Once they're blasting down a mountain, it's all fun and games....

 

Update;

 

I enrolled the kids in the Blue Knob Ski Academy all day program, but just signed up for the morning session.  I dropped them off at 9 am and was told they would take it from there.  It turns out that they each got a 3 hour private lesson.  Well, the boy got a private lesson because he skied the whole time (with a tip rope and instructor).  She took him up the lift a couple times.  The 5 year old girl was a wash out.  She tried a little bit then ended up taking a hot chocolate break then just played in the snow with the other instructor. I tipped the instructors and thanked them.

 

We're going back tomorrow for a half day, but I don't think either will ski.  I'm not gonna push them.  Blue Knob also has a kids play proram for little ones that they might prefer.  I know she won't, but he might just decide to ski again.  I might look at a 1 hour private for the boy as an option instead of the 3 hour plan, but it will be his and her call what to do while I ski.

Edited by crgildart - 3/1/2009 at 03:07 am

The boy is ready to go again!!  My son said he want's to go skiing next weekend.  I've found a decent Ski Wee program at the smaller ska area out this way and the price is pretty reasonable.  as soon as the truck is fixed we're gonna head for the hills. 

Now the million dollar question, age 6 with one morning session under his belt:

 

Half day or full day?  I'd go half in the morning with the idea of adding an afternoon session if he still has the energy, but the ski school only offers half day Ski Wee sessions in the afternoon 

For what it's worth, I've read (somewhere) that the learning curve for skiing is quicker than snowboarding up until about age 10; then for 10 and older, snowboarding is easier to become somewhat proficient.

 

That said, I'm a skier, rather than a snowboarder, so I'm biased toward skiing whatever the age.

 

I'm from Chicago too and I recently took my 5-year-old up to Grand Geneva for a day of skiing. Being that he's only in Kindergarten, I didn't feel too bad about taking him out of a day of school. Therefore, being a weekday, it wasn't crowded at all. That's up to you though with older kids. They have Magic Carpets, rather than rope tows on the beginner hill. Also, if scenery is important, I found Grand Geneva to be more scenic than a place like Wilmot that doesn't have many trees.

 

It might be worth it for one day before you head out west, which I agree is a great place to learn with the better conditions. However, one day in Wisconsin would be good to get through the initial jitters, understand the ritual of putting on the gear, etc.