Yesterday I took my family of five skiing and it was a disaster. We’re a skiing family – my 10 year old can ski difficult black runs and even my four-year-old knows the ski basics. But this first ski adventure of the season brought all of us to tears. These are our top family skiing mistakes to avoid. Save yourself the hassle and learn from our mistakes.
Packed Away Snow Clothes
Our epic fail ski attempt began before we left our house. Thinking we were smart, Mountain Dad and I sorted all the snow pants, jackets, gloves, goggles and helmet and packed them all into a shared duffel, that went into the back of our truck. While it’s a good idea to organize your ski gear the night before skiing, an even better idea is to dress your kids in their snow pants and jacket for the ride to the resort. That way everyone can be responsible for their own gear as much as possible.
Once we got to the resort, the pounding snow made dressing kids in the small confines of the truck cab frustrating and awkward. So save yourself the hassle and put on snow pants, jackets, and ski boots on kids BEFORE driving to the resort. The only exception to this may be children still in diapers, because a diaper change immediately before snowsuiting up is an excellent idea.
Too Much Waiting, Not Enough Skiing
The hardest part of skiing with kids is getting to the lift. It takes time and a lot of effort to dress in snow clothes, wrangle five set of skis, get lift passes, take potty breaks, adjust helmets and gloves, put on skis and finally get on the chairlift.
On our ski flop experience, the moment we got the resort Little G needed a potty break. I helped her get on snow clothes and we stomped up to the lodge. By the time we got back to the truck, Big E needed a potty break. So we hauled all the gear and stomped back to the lodge. By then four-year-old Baby L wanted her ski mask adjusted, eight-year-old Little G had snow in her boots, everyone complained about carrying skis and we had barely gotten out of the parking lot.
In the future I hope to prevent the frustration this caused by streamlining the car-to-lift tasks as much as possible. Here’s some ideas.
- Take a potty break before loading in the car.
- Dress kid in snow suits and ski boots for the ride to the resort if it’s close enough.
- Use season passes or pre-purchase tickets (we love the discounts at liftopia.com) to avoid ticket lines
- Prepare as much as possible the night before.
- Leave ski poles at home. They just get in the way when skiing with young kids and they’re one less thing to worry about.
- Divide and conquer – send one parent to get tickets while the other dresses kids. Have an older child guide all the kids to the lift while you haul gear OR have each child responsible for their own gear as much as physically possible.
Equipment Failure
The biggest bust on our ski day attempt was a major equipment failure on my part. I’d just purchased new-to-me ski boots from Level Nine Sport (they’re my new favorite ski shop). Like a dummy, I didn’t test fit the boots with my ski bindings before heading up to the resort.
While most bindings are adjustable, these bindings just couldn’t adjust small enough to fit my new boots. I spent a good thirty minutes with a screwdriver attempting to fit the bindings correctly while my kids pouted in the corner of the lodge. I finally gave up and took the dumb skis to the resort repair shop.
Avoid equipment failures by:
- Try on ski boots and skis before leaving home.
- If renting equipment RENT THE NIGHT BEFORE. This ensure you have equipment that will work for you and your fam while streamlining car-to-lift wait time.
- Do NOT store ski boots in the cold ever. If the shell of the boots get too cold it’s much more difficult and possibly impossible to fit your foot into the boot.
- Wax and tune ski gear in the spring before storage.
- Inspect skis, boots, and poles at least 48 hours before your first ski attempt of the year. This allows you time to get your gear in shape BEFORE getting on the ski slope.
Cold Fingers and Toes
While I bothered with non-functional skis and Baby L (4) pouted in a corner, Mountain Dad took Big E (10) and Little G (8) on an easy green run. We were in the midst of an excellent winter storm, complete with dumping snow and wind. Great snow for skiing, not great for keeping kids warm.
Tears and tiredness greeted me when Little G slid off that run. “My toes are frozen!” she wailed.
“My fingers are cold too,” Big E said.
To prevent cold fingers and toes:
- Wear just one pair of quality wool ski socks. DO NOT WEAR COTTON. If wool gets wet, it still retains heat, NOT cotton.
- Don’t let snow in boots! Snow pants should completely cover boot openings – double check this before leaving the car.
- Don’t over tighten ski boots. If the major artery on the top of kids’ feet get pinched their toes get cold.
- Fully dry out ski boots after each ski trip. Sneaky moisture in boot linings make cold feet colder. We use a Peet boot dryer at our house.
- Use high quality, waterproof MITTENS or MITTS like VeyoKids Mittyz for kids 5 and under or Hestra mittens for older kids and adults. Gloves with individual fingers add frustration and coldness. Get a FREE ski equipment checklist in the box after this list.
- Reuseable or disposible heat packs thrown into mittens can keep those fingers warm.
- Avoid removing mittens at all costs.
- Take breaks indoors whenever needed.
Bring On the Snacks
As all parents know, a hungry child is a grumpy child. During yesterday’s terrible ski day, none of my children even complained of hunger, but one bite of lunch changed the crying and whining into smiles and play. I wish I had stuffed my pockets with easy to open snacks and bribery treats.
Not only would snacks from home have saved us money, it would’ve given all of us a happy distraction or reward for accomplishing the hard work of buckling boots, cleaning off snow and clicking into skis.
Be Prepared for the Worst Case Scenario
The final mistake we made on our awful ski attempt was being unprepared. While I DID apply sunscreen to avoid getting raccoon eyes, I was unprepared in many other ways.
I’ve learned from previous years to keep the following items in a zippered coat pocket.
- $40
- chap stick
- bribery/reward candy
- handkerchief
Yesterday I only had chap stick and a handkerchief. If I’d had money in my pocket I could’ve rented skis to avert the equipment failure, or purchased a snack to prevent complaining, motivate positive behavior and give myself a treat after hauling wet noodle kids uphill.
I hate to say this. Mountain Dad’s “Always Be Prepared” perspective on life is correct. Sometimes a little preparation goes a long way.
Take Your Time
One thing we DID do well on our terrible ski day was listen to our kids. When toes got too cold, we went inside to warm up. At lunch time we hauled everyone in to get fed. After lunch I entertained Baby L and Little G indoors for an hour while Mountain Dad and Big E skied.
I did not force my kids to ski because my goal with family skiing is to raise lifelong skiers. With young kids, I believe it’s more important to have fun than force skiing.
That premise is one reason I partnered with Alyssa from kidproject.org and Kristen from BraveSkiMom.com to create the Online Family Ski School. This online course is cheaper than even one on snow lesson at a resort. It’s designed by parents, for parents to help YOU teach your 3 to 10 year old the basics of skiing through games.
Online Family Ski School is committed to helping more families hit the slopes. One way we want to help you is by providing you a FREE Ski Equipment checklist. This list will help you prepare the night before your next ski activity, it’s essential. In addition to that FREE Ski Equipment checklist, you’ll get weekly ski tips.
To get this awesomeness just sign up in this box, right here, after this sentence.
When it comes to skiing with kids, please avoid my mistakes, take your time and remember to have fun on the slopes!
See you in the outdooors,
~Mountain Mom
