golden19850130

Youngest Age to start skiing ?

How young can you start skiing? I saw this guy at Jay peak snowboarding with a baby on his back in a backpack. How safe is that? Technically the baby wasn't skiing but still...isn't that a little early?

Obviously snowboarding jackets or skiing with a baby in a backpack is ill-advised. The balance would become so tricky. How would one ride a chairlift?
I have cross-country skiied quite a bit with a baby in a backpack, but even that requires being very careful, no hills, just flats. At that time I was very strong, training for XC Marathons.
My experience with my two kids for downhill skiing is that they enjoyed the activity--sort of--when they were 4 and 5, but they really did not have the strength, attention span and coordination to ski effectively until the year they turned 6. Everything prior to that was really sort of a waste.
If you have a place at a mountain and you go every week, then kids who are 4 might progress, but if you are going a few times a year, save your money and wait until they are a bit older.
I know that new parents who are skiers will think I'm wrong, that their kid will do fine. Its not my money. But after your youngest is 7 or 8 you will recognize that I am correct.ski clothing Both my kids are fully grown and very strong skiers.

I think it depends on both the child and the parents' attitudes.snowboard jackets We took our 3 children skiing when our youngest was just shy of 4. We thought she would tobboggan while the boys skiied, but when she saw they had skis there was NO WAY she was missing out, so skiing she went, and she did pick it up very quickly. I had other friends whose kids simply weren't interested til they were 5 or 6. But the parents' also have to have the right attitude with younger skiiers - they will get tired/cold/hungry sooner, so you need lots of patience and often leave the slopes early on frustratingly perfect days. And spend lots of time cruising round on the green slopes. And protecting them from wild snowboarders as they move onto the blue slopes. spyder ski clothingWe also found using a childcare facility on the mountain for part days worked really well for us too - she would ski with us in the morning, then stay in the creche in the afternoon.
Lauren has just turned 7 now, skis parallel and is much faster than me!! By contrast, the boys started when they were 6 & 8, were better than me in 3 days, and have been great ski companions ever since. But I don't regret starting our daughter earlier - I just think of all the fantastic family holidays we would have missed out on otherwise!