With four downhill ski resorts and some of the best terrain in the Mid-Atlantic, the Mountain State of West Virginia is a prime place to learn to ski. While we thank God every time we ski that are kids can now dress themselves, here’s a few tips we learned (often the hard way) on taking little kids skiing or snowboarding.
Get Them Acclimated – Before your trip be sure to layer them up and regularly take your kids out for short day hikes in winter conditions so they can experience how their body’s furnace warms them up once they start exercising even when it is cold.
Get Them Covered – Be sure to have proper gear with hats, mittens (usually better than gloves for little kids), long johns (that wick moisture), waterproof ski pants,, their regular ski/winter jacket and goggles an a helmet. Usually resorts have helmets but goggles can really help if there is wind and snow. Stop by The Ski Loft in Barboursville, where Ron Newman and his son Tony, can get you suited up and give you plenty of tips. They also have ski and snowboard rentals.
Go With A Group – We’e found doing beginning trips with church or scout youth groups are not only a lot of fun but can keep down the “whine” if the kids are with their friends. Also, groups get a nice discount that helps cut the costs.
Go With Another Couple – Having one or more couples to rent a cabin or condo helps costs, gives the kids playmates and adults can take turns skiing by themselves and with the kids.
Give Them A Lesson – We all know how much kids listen to their parents. Now imagine how much they listen in a howling wind and snow. Save your sanity and pop kids into a half day or even just an hour lesson with a certified ski instructor and you’ll be amazed at the progress. WV resorts also have day-long lessons and childcare for small children.
Halfway is OK – In skiing everyone should ski to their ability. Once kids have gotten down the basics on the bunny slope, take them halfway for some short Green beginner runs and do those multiple times before trying anything more advanced. No one is having fun (including other skiers) if a child is taking onto a trail they have no business being on.
A Magic Carpet Ride – Especially for little tykes, we have found Winterplace is a nice intro for beginners with its Magic Carpet (lifts that are like a conveyor belt taking beginners back to the top of the training hill.
Be Sure to Have Fun – On one of our first ski trips, our boys who were pre-schoolers at the time, immediately dropped outside the ski lodge and began doing snow angels and built a snowman in a new fallen snow. While we were anxious to get onto the slopes, we plopped down and joined them. Life is too short not to make snow angels.
Off The Slopes – One great thing for families and small kids is there are a ton of fun things aside from skiing. At Silver Creek try their glow tubing. Just up the hill at Snowshoe Mountain, don’t miss fun inside The Big Top, and at Split Rock Pools. At Canaan Valley, be sure and tube, ice skate and take a side trip to go see Blackwater Falls.
