Teaching Young Kids To Ski: From Parents Who Learned The Hard Way
Do you have some future ski rippers that you want to get on skis but have had trouble teaching or are not even sure how to start? Then this information is for you; we were in that same place when we started teaching our kids (now 3 and 5). Our poor daughter, who is the oldest, got the short end of the stick with our teaching skills or lack thereof. Lucky for our second, we’ve finally got it dialed in!
Follow along as we lay out some tips to make sure you are setup for success before hitting the slopes and techniques to get the kids happily cruising down the hill. You’ve got this!
BEFORE YOU GO
When is My Kid Ready to Learn to Ski?
Start ‘em early! If your kid can walk, they can ski. We were teaching our kids before they were 2yrs old. This is not to say they were out shredding blue runs at that age, but they were getting used to the gear and getting a feel for it on the bunny hill in small doses.
As we get into the techniques section down below, we assume your kid is about 2. If your kid is older we would still recommend starting at those steps and then progress faster.
The author at Steamboat with Austin (2) and Stella (4)
Gear and Clothing
Nobody is happy if they are cold or their feet hurt. You can prevent many of these problems ahead of time by having the right gear.
Skis and Boots: If you are going to ski more than 2 or 3 times, we recommend getting a seasonal rental. Your kid will only have to get sized once for their gear, they can try it on at home to get comfortable, and are ready to ski whenever the conditions (i.e. your kids mood) is right! If you can’t make it work to get a seasonal rental, see if any friends have a similar size you can borrow for the weekend.
Edgie Wedgie and Harness: There are a couple of products out there to tie the ski tips together, one of which is The Edgie Wedgie. We also like having a harness but don’t use it to hold the kid skiing down in front of us, but instead to help get kid on and off the lift with the handle on the back. We also us the harness straps to tow the kids on flat sections.
Helmet and Goggles: For sure use a helmet. Googles are optional but are nice on snowy cold days. It can be hard to fit a helmet and goggles on very small kids so sunglasses also work just fine.
Clothing: Dress the kid in a warm under-layer like long underwear or thin fleece pants and a warm top along with tall wool socks. For outerwear we like bib ski pants and a waterproof winter jacket. For the hands, waterproof mittens are nice for keeping their fingers warmer. We like these ones that are very long and stay on well. Lastly, a neck warmer is key on cold days and we use this one that helps keep their head warm too. Oh and a handkerchief can be a glove-saver for those mid-mountain snot storms!
Must-have ski equipment for teaching young kids to ski
Do a Dry Run
Once you get the boots and skis, have them play around with them in the house. Put everything on and walk around on the carpet. Toss the helmet and goggles on too. Make it fun, see if they can duck walk across the room with skis on! This is also a good time to show them how the bindings work and practice getting in and out of the skis. Little kids will not be able to get in and out of the bindings on their own but this just gets them engaged.
What to Pack
Few things will ruin a ski day like being hungry or cold. Here are things to bring to keep the troops happy.
As any trained parent knows, snacks/motivational food (i.e. bribes) are key! Riding up the magic carpet or lift is a great time to make sure they (and you) are fueled. We bring bars, fruit leather, candy, clementine’s, etc. We also bring a thermos of hot chocolate along with a lunch to eat back at the car (good old COVID times). This year especially, be sure to bring enough water for everyone as the lodges have limited access.
Another nice thing that makes the experience better is a heated ski boot bag. This will forever change how you put your ski boots on as they are 100°! We have one that fits a pair of adult boots and two pairs of kid boots along with their gloves. It is a great way to start the day. We also have a Rumpl blanket in the car to cozy-up under.
Austin walking around in his boots
Check the Weather
Pick the day selectively if you can. A day in the single digits with negative wind chill is not the day to start skiing. A big powder day is also not the best for learning. The spring can be a great time to teach a kid as it is typically warmer and less icy. In Colorado, a sunny day with no wind can feel balmy and is ideal for the first few attempts.
Where to Go
You will want to start at a place that has a bunny hill and magic carpet, preferably with quick and easy access. Riding a shuttle bus with a toddler and 2 pairs of skis can be a challenge and walking a long distance will burn into everyone’s mood fuse. Here are some places in Colorado we know are good for beginners:
Steamboat’s Howelsen Hill (Free on Sundays and you might even see some kids learning to downhill ski jump!)
Steamboat Mountain (grab a red wagon to help haul kids and gear)
Eldora (note that it can be really windy)
Echo Mountain (adults can pay for a cheaper foot pass)
Winter Park
Keystone
Loveland
Want to have a future Olympian? Why not take them where Olympians train!
One thing we tried with our first kid was “skiing” at our neighborhood sledding hill. That didn’t go great. You really want a very smooth and consistent surface (i.e. groomed run) and a grassy hill with sled/boot tracks is not consistent. Also many local hills are just not long enough for the kids to actually try any technique.
ON THE HILL
OK you did all the prep work, packed the car, and got the team to the mountain. Now the fun part!
What to Bring With You
Depending on how long we will be away from the car or how far away it is changes how much stuff we bring. If it a pretty short ski session or you are close to the car, we will just bring a couple snacks. If is a longer stretch we will wear a small backpack with more food, water and sometimes if it a long walk we will have the kid wear winter boots and carry their ski boots in the bag. Then on the mountain we will have the winter boots in the bag. Toss the Edgie Wedgie on the skis so you don’t forget that.
Hit the Baby Bunny Hill
Head for the easiest hill first that ideally will be pretty flat and wide with no side angle. It is not a bad thing if it is so flat you have to give them a little push to get them moving. This is also a good time to show how them to waddle a little to get moving.
Walk Along at First
At the very beginning you don’t need to have your skis on. Walk alongside but avoid holding them. The point here to let them to feel how the skis glide and to learn balance. This is a good time to start talking about pizza (skis in wedge shape) and french fries (skis more parallel). Depending on how little the kid is or how they are doing, this might be all you do for the day! Don’t push it, take breaks and if they say they are done, call it right there.
A warm day at Howelsen Hill on the little magic carpet
Ski Backwards (The Real Takeaway Lesson)
Ready to challenge your skiing skills? For the next step you will ski with them and help them learn a good pizza wedge so they can slow down and stop. Depending on the bunny hill, you might want to go to a slightly steeper section. Get started by you skiing backwards in a wedge and have them mimic the shape with their skis. For very little kids you may need to bend down and hold their ski tips to get them in a good wedge as you slide down the hill. That can also be helpful in controlling their speed.
There are a few reasons skiing backwards is so great for teaching. The first is that they can easily see what to do with their skis (looking at yours). Another is that it makes them learn to control their own body weight and balance. If you are skiing behind them with them between your legs they can just lean back and get a free ride! The other major benefit is that you can catch them if they go too fast. They are always skiing into you rather than away from you.
Let the workout begin! As the kid gets better you won’t have to bend down to hold them as much.
Body Position
To help the skier get weight forward, you can have them use their hands to help. We do a mix of hands on knees for little kids and arms out to the sides (like a cross).
Take a Break
Time for a snack! Anyone’s back and legs sore yet?
NEXT STEPS
As your kiddo starts to get the wedge position and can slow and stop on their own, you can start to work on the next skills.
Snack time for Austin
Turning (put weight on foot)
You can start to teach them how to turn. It is amazing how quick they can learn how to move their body. To turn, they basically need to put a majority of their weight on one foot. That ski’s edge will bite and become the downhill ski. When skiing backwards, touch your leg you want them to put weight on and they will mirror that back. So for them to turn to their right, touch you right leg which will signal to them to put weight on their left leg and make them turn right. Sounds confusing but once you get out there it will be intuitive. You are not looking for huge turns out of them, just little back and forth so they can start to learn how their skis respond when they move their body.
Edgie Wedgie On and Off
At this point you probably are still using the Edgie Wedgie as this will really help them learn that wedge and be in control. For really little kids (under 2), they just don’t have the strength and control to ski without the assistance from the Edgie Wedgie band. But for kids around 3 or 4 once they are feeling comfortable, you can start to remove the band. The band makes it hard for them to put their skis parallel which is the next phase of skiing. When you are taking the band off, head back to the comfort of the easy bunny hill for a few laps. Then if you progress further up the mountain, take the Edgie Wedgie in your jacket just in case they get a little spooked and want the help.
Another benefit of taking the band off is they can waddle much more effectively. Waddling is a good skill to learn for getting thru the lift line, up to the chair lift, and getting skis pointed downhill from a stop.
Big S Turns
Once your kid is skiing without the Edgie Wedgie and comfortable slowing themselves down and stopping, you can work your way to slightly steeper terrain and work on big S turns cutting sideways across the runs. You can teach them that the best way to slow down is to turn up the hill rather than pushing hard into a wedge on a steep run.
More Resources
When we were trying to figure out how to teach our daughter we found a great video series that is the backbone of the techniques mentioned above.
Happy turns out there and drop us a note if this helped you get your kiddo skiing!
Travis and Victoria
