Child carrier

[shnu]

Hello,

I was just reading in another forum and found a thread were parents show fotos of their kids skiing. One was posting a picuter seeing him with his little child, I would call it a baby, in a child carrier like this https://www.jack-wolfskin.com/jw_ca...Url=/JW_CATALOG/Default.aspx?catId=30&lang=en

I was wondering what you think about this action? I was very shocked when I saw this :mad:. I think it was 2 years ago when a baby died because it was carried in one of these things by his father. He was skiing for some hours but dind't realize that the neck of the children was broken because the kids head was bouncing in all direction while his turns on the slope. Since then I never saw anyone using it, but maybe just concindence.

 

[ski diva]

I've never seen anything like that before. Is that a front pack or a backpack?

 

[shnu]

backpack

 

[Severine]

Like a Kelty pack. Great for walking and hiking, maybe even cross country skiing - terrible for downhill skiing. Simply not a safe thing to do IMHO. However I think it was in the movie "Steep" that they showed some great skier who was living in Europe who would ski with his kid on his back. Perhaps it's a European thing?

Too many variables that make skiing with a child on your back unsafe. And this is coming from a mommy who did the attachment parenting thing and wore my kids just about everywhere in slings, packs, mei tais, and wraps.

 

[Jilly]

I've seen people at Tremblant with these, infact a client of mine had one. But I've only seen them on the easy greens or on snowshoes.

 

[Robyn]

My mom skied with me in a backpack style child carrier the first winter after I was born so when I was around 8-10 months. But, with the extra danger with crowds and such I wouldn't do it these days.

 

[geargrrl]

Some ski areas prohibit them.



I've seen the the front pack thing done with tiny infants. If you HAVE to do it, that would be the way to go as it's much more stable than a backpack.

We also have seen some real disasters. My ski patroller hubby stopped to chat with a guy who had a one year old in a pack, concerned for the kid's safety. The guy of course insisted his kid was fine. As he skied off, his 25 year old bindings blew up and he landed on top of the child.

People do crazy things. I 've seen guys MOUNTAIN BIKING with kids in packs, how crazy is that? For hiking a pack is great though.

 

[toughgirl]

Just seems too unsafe. I don't even like those baby seats on the back of bikes.. but thats me.

However, I'm planning on getting one of these for hiking when we pop one out :P

 

[geargrrl]

Just seems too unsafe. I don't even like those baby seats on the back of bikes.. but thats me.

nope that's not just you. Those seats are really high centered. A trailer or even a front mount seat ( very rare in the US) is much much safer.

I hike MILES with kids in packs. I carried my youngest son everywhere and I mean everywhere. He was a holy terror in the stores ( pulling over racks, escaping strollers etc) so I carried him until he was about 4.

 

[itri]

No way, no how. I'm another pretty attachment parenting-oriented mom who did a LOT of baby-wearing but never ever even considered (ok, maybe joked a couple of times about it) wearing DS to ski. There are just too many outside factors (read: I don't trust other skiiers) for me to feel safe about that. We've done a TON of hiking, and even hiking gets a little scary on occasion if you lose your footing and slip and fall, but at least you don't have skis strapped to your feet on a slippery surface with hiking.

And I totally agree on the bike baby seats as well. At least with my trailer, I know that if *I* crash, DS is super well-protected with his helmet on and fully strapped in with his 5 point harness in his trailer with rollover cage. Those baby seats terrify me!

 

[Gloria]

A company called Sherpani makes a very similiar pack to that one. I would recomend trying before buying, make sure it fits. Agree with the concerns re: other skiers, and wouldn't make a day of it but an occasional lap on the bunny hill is probably okay as long as it isn't totally crowded.

 

[mollmeister]

We have hiked and snowshoed a ton with kids in packs, but I wouldn't ski in one.

We used to see it a bunch at Sunshine in Banff, but usually just on the easy slopes, on weekdays, which didn't bother me too much, although I wouldn't have chosen to do it. At that mountain, the main lodge is ON the hill, at the top of a gondola, so we just took turns sitting in the lodge playing with babies and skiing. I did once see a guy skiing the chutes on Goats Eye with a child who was probably 18mo on his back. Yikes.

That said, I have seen a lot of mommies (myself included) with wee babies in front carriers (like Bjorns or Ergos) helping their older toddlers/preschoolers on the bunny hill at Eldora, some on skis, some walking it. And that doesn't bother me at all. The bottom of the bunny rope tow at Eldora isn't a big risk, IMO.

 

[Severine]

That said, I have seen a lot of mommies (myself included) with wee babies in front carriers (like Bjorns or Ergos) helping their older toddlers/preschoolers on the bunny hill at Eldora, some on skis, some walking it. And that doesn't bother me at all. The bottom of the bunny rope tow at Eldora isn't a big risk, IMO.

I did that last season with my infant on my back or front in the Ergo, while helping my (then) 2.5 yr old on the flattish part of the bunny slope. Still, it can be a zoo there on the weekends and someone most definitely could have plowed into me. Hence why I would not ski with my child on me. Too many crazies on the slopes.

 

[AnnKH]

At Big Mountin (excuse me, Whitefish Mountain Resort) last year we saw a guy skiing a blue run with a small kid on his shoulders! I was appalled, and prayed that he made it to the bottom upright, or that the ski patrol stopped him and pulled his lift ticket (preferably both).

 

[gardenmary]

Scary stories! I've only seen kids in carriers on the XC trails at Snowbasin, and that's a guy who has his kid in a sled with long straps which he pulls (i.e. dad as sled dog). Heckuva workout, that's for sure (he skates).

But downhill?!? The "what ifs" are endless.

 

[marge]

*eeeeek* Nope, a little too scary for me.

As for the kid on the shoulders..... we had to do that (my brother and his middle one) because we got onto the wrong run at Steamboat and his son couldn't/wouldn't do it. It was more out of necessity to get to the bottom. He did have a helmet on.