Going to Whistler with the soon-to-be 4 year old! Anyone gone as a kid or have tips with kids? I've only been as an adult a few times and love skiing so I'm excited.
Any tips or personal recommendation for kiddie stuff you've done? Or if you have gotten your kids on the slopes at a young age- how was it?
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Fun! We live near the mountains in Colorado. At 4, you can put your LO in ski school, they may offer a half day option or just full day. When we first took our older DS (he had just barely turned 2) we rented him ski gear and just went to their little "magic carpet" area. We rode up with him and then walked down with him while he skiied. That lasted 30-45 minutes before he lost interest. Are you staying at the ski area? When we stayed there, there were lots of things to do! Ice skating, sledding, tubing, riding the free gondola to the parking lot and back, and several playgrounds. And just watching people was really fun for my kids too. Enjoy!
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We started our son at age 3. It took him a few tries to get used to it but now at 5, he loves it and was able to go down easy blues by himself end of last season. Whistler has one of the best kids ski programs. Between both mountains, I think there are several drop off locations but we usually go with the one on whistler side right by the westin near the main gondola.
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Put her in a 2 hr private lesson if you can. It's the best way for little ones to get acclimated to skiing (don't try snowboarding yet, she doesn't weigh enough). You can put her into group lessons after one private.
Little Jacks started skiing last year through a couple private lessons and now she rides the lifts and skis pretty well (and safely). You'll be surprised at how fast she picks it up.
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Fun! We went to Whistler a few years ago and rode a gondola with one of the drop-off programs with an instructor. He said they did half-day and had groups according to skill levels - made it nice for parents to ski!
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@shellio: Thanks! Now I have a more realistic idea of how long she will last. I want to do one day of tubing but I'm a little scared! I'll have to put her in a helmet. Do adults wear helmets too-or just the kids?
@BoogieBea: We will be staying at the Westin. How was his stamina? Do you recommend tubing before skiing? I was thinking one day of tubing, then one day of just us getting her acquainted with the gear before a day with lessons. We'll be there for 6 days so there will be some time. I'm open to advice though if you think there's a better order.
@Mrs. Jacks: Do you prefer private because there is better feedback and can go at your kids' pace? Everything is at least twice as much at Whistler so that's the only thing holding me back. Group is more affordable so I think I may be stuck with that. Can't believe Little Jacks can ride the lifts already!! So cool!! -
@808love: we found a deal to do a 1.5 hr private for $80. That 1.5 hrs was a total jump start. Our daughter is such an observer that the group lessons weren't a good idea. But in peak season it may be impossible to find such a good deal.
Group can be ok. It's just hard that first time
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@808love: we all wear helmets all the time
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@808love: Like mrs jacks, we did start my son out with a couple of private lessons before our whistler trip. We did it at our local mountain which is probably at a cheaper price point (though I've never looked into pruvates at whistler). The reason we did that was because my son was not so good with group settings and generally not very adventurous. He has complained about group lessons at our local mountain but never at whistler, which makes me think that they're pretty good at making them feel comfortable. Though he is pretty exhausted at the end of the day, he's never really complained about lack of energy. The first time he's taken lessons at whistler, he was 3.5 years old. We always go for 6 full days at a time and put him in lesssons for 5 days. There is a 5 day camp program for kids where they stay with the same instructor and class the entire time. The repeated days definitely helps them be comfortable with the instructor and as a result learn faster. And plus, it gives us, the parents time to be on the slopes so there are selfish reasons to sending them to the 5 day camp for us. Drop off is at 8:30 and by the time they get all the kids up to the learning center and settle in, lessons probably won't start til close to 10. Then they probably ski for 1.5 hours and break for lunch. They'll probably ski for a couple more hours after that then, pick up is at 3. I'm pretty sure the younger ones get a lot of rest time in between too.
My son has gone tubing at whistler when he was too young for lessons and enjoyed that. So that would be a fun activity for your LO too.
When will you be going? We're heading there presidents day week. -
@BoogieBea: Wow cool! I'm looking forward to sending C to Whistler camp next year when she's 3.5. Let me know if you decide to stop by Seattle for lunch or something!
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@sunny: 49degree in WA has free skiing in April, assuming there is snow then.
@BoogieBea: We will be going to Whistler right around then but not on a Family weekend. LO is confident and adventurous so she might be able to pull off group lessons. Thanks for the insight.
@Mrs. Jacks: ok, helmet it is... -
@808love: It seems like some adults/big kids wore helmets when tubing and some didn't... Like @Mrs. Jacks I would say all helmets, all the time.
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