We love to ski as a family, and there is nothing more exciting than watching a child fall in love with skiing. It was that excitement to share the joy of skiing that prompted us to begin teaching our oldest child to ski at age 2 almost 10 years ago. Since that time he has become a a great skier capable of attacking any run we've come across. Using the same methods we also had great success teaching our younger son also at age 2. By age 3 he was independently skiing most intermediate runs at the hills in Oregon and Montana that we usually visit.
This is a video of Mason at 3 years 3 months.
We were planning on getting Arden up on the ski hill next year at about two and a half, however when we were at a local used ski shop we saw the absolute smallest ski boots I have ever seen. They were Nordy 14.5s and with some thick socks they were perfect. The nice thing is that they are real ski boots, just sized down. Plus at under $20 they were meant to be. So at just 20 month old Arden's ski journey began.
Of course, we had to get her a new extra small set of skis, as we'd never had a little one start quite so early. Since the rest of her ski gear will likely be hand-me-downs from the brothers we got her a used set of cute little Rosignols with hummingbirds and butterflies.Once she was set up she was pumped to start skiing.
The first thing is getting a toddler used to the boots at home. We let her wear them around for a 5-10 minutes at a time. Pretty soon she was putting them on herself.
We also had her practice binding into the skis and sliding around in the skis in the house.
When planning your visit to the ski hill it is important that you choose a time when your toddler is well rested. We definitely have had times when by the time you get to the hill and get all your gear on, the youngest skiers are ready for a nap.
In order to ski safely with a toddler you need a little bit of extra gear. The first thing I strongly recommend is a ski harness. I like that the straps come around from the front and you are able to help control the child's hips for turns. I also recommend toe clips, as it forces your child to hold their skis in a wedge position.
At the hill the first time your toddler binds in you may just want to practice walking next to them and helping them glide along while you hold the safety handle on the back of their harness. After that I advise going straight to the "bunny hill". I leave the toe clips on while loading/unloading small children. I just hold the handle on the harness and slide them forward. The handle on the harness is also helpful in lifting them up onto the lift. While on the lift I hold onto the harness and keep my other arm wrapped around my child. Once you get to the top I always remind them "tips up". Then help them slide off and holding the handle direct them off to whatever side you are going.
Once at the top get the harness straps out from the pouch, and make sure they are appropriately positioned.
Help your little one towards the angled part of the hill and have them shuffle until they start sliding. At that point I slowly let out the straps and we are off!
With toddlers it is important to keep in mind their limited endurance. With Arden under 2 I noticed we would only get about 3-5 runs before she needed a break (and usually about a 3 hour nap). Another tip to consider is if your ski hill has some nice long easy runs that aren't too steep it may be worth it to move to them from the bunny hill relatively quickly. The benefit is that you are avoiding the constant on and off of the chair lift in exchange for more actually skiing time. Just beware that if your little one decides half-way done the hill they are too tired to continue you may need to ski the rest of the way with them between your legs and you holding them under the shoulders.
As your child progresses and over the next year or so you should be able to remove the toe clips and then once you are confident in their stopping abilities the leash. I left the handle on the back of my middle son until he was about 6 just for piece of mind and loading on the chairlift.
Using this progression my 3 year old was place directly into level 3 of 6 in ski lessons and quickly moved up to level 4. The funny thing is the lessons he was in were for 6 and under and because no other children of that age were skiing that well he would always get private lessons. Teaching your toddler to ski is definitely rewarding. The best part is that soon you will be skiing as a family and making amazing lifelong memories!
