Full day ski school for 3-4 year olds? What are North American options?

[Kimmyt]

My mom hates the outdoors and hates the cold and lives across the country from me, my dad is dead and my stepmom is disabled. My husband and I are essentially raising our kids on our own with no family support aside from when we pay money to go visit our families, and when we do so we feel that we can't leave the kids with the grandparents because we don't want to seem like we are using them for daycare or that we don't value spending time with them as well.

My husband and I haven't skied a full day by ourselves together in over 5 years since before we had kids, and most days we ski by ourselves which limits the terrain we can ski and just isn't that much fun because we are each others best ski buds. So we paid a ridiculous amount of money for daycare for our two kids so we coiuld enjoy a ski day together during our trip to Taos and I think thats fine. I mean, it was our first full ski day together since before we had kids. Some people ski one trip a year and put their kids in ski school for the entire time, I can't wrap my head around spending that kind of money but I'm sure many people feel that way about the money we spend on passes etc so I try not to judge other people and the choices they make because I don't know the situation they're in.

 

[marzNC]

Solitude in Utah offers a full-day program, 9:00-4:00, for ages 3-4 that includes two 1-hour lessons with a 2:1 ratio. Cost is $214 and that includes the lift ticket.

For kids ages 5-6, the timing is 10:00-3:30 with 90-min lessons, 4:1 ratio. The idea is to allow time for parents (and/or grandparents) to ski a warm up run or two with the kid(s) and perhaps a few runs in the afternoon.

 

[marzNC]

Just came across this thread from 2010. Post #4 has very good input from a Colorado Diva relevant to families traveling with young kids. In this case, the OP was planning a trip from Australia to CO or CA.

Family ski trip with 2 young kids

We are planning a trip with our 2 young kids, one will be 4 & able to go to ski school, the other will only be 2 1/2 so will need childcare. It seems from the quick bit of research I have done so far that not all resorts offer the childcare part. We are travelling from Australia so we can get to just about anywhere, though I'm tending towards CO or CA. We have skied in the US quite a bit & our favourites are Aspen/Snowmass, Telluride, Jackson Hole & Vail/BC. I have heard that Northstar is great for young families, but that the skiing may be a bit "ho hum" for us??

 

[liquidfeet]

Small feet require small ski boots. If a parent is planning on renting, they need to take the child's size into account if they are planning on renting gear.

At Bretton Woods they have a line drawing showing the size the child's foot needs to be in order to rent ski boots for that all-day program that includes skiing.

 

[Moonrocket]

We had a great experience with the 3yo program at Winter Park. They have a special room and do short ski stints but dd got privates after the first day since she was the only kid who really wanted to ski. They would have her out all day and took her in the park. She was so excited when her instructor taught her to jump. I think she did three days of lessons at three there (basically when we got stuck on teaching her something we signed up for a lesson- and asked them to teach that skill to her- which worked great).

We were also able to get her a lesson at Steamboat- I don’t think they technically start til 4- but since she had already done lessons at WP and was potty trained they let her in for a day which she absolutely loved. This was 6 seasons ago though- so things could have changed.

 

[marzNC]

Big Sky doesn't offer a full-day program until age 4. But for 2019-20 there is a new program for 3 year olds who already have a little ski experience and are ready for more instruction. $120/$125 for a 90-min morning lesson. Starting at 10:00 means less of a rush first thing in the morning. Parents who want to keep skiing for a bit can pick up their little one and take them to the slopeside child care center.

 

[LaurainDC]

For parents who don't live within short driving distance of a big mountain in N. America with ski school that starts at age 3, there are a few options if looking for a full-day program. The list grows if a kid is already 4.

I waited until my daughter was 4 to get her started at Massanutten in VA, our home mountain (4-hour drive one-way). The full-day program starts at age 4. It runs 9:30am-2:00pm, essentially 3 lesson periods with a morning snack and lunch. The lift ticket runs until late afternoon so there is time for a run or two afterwards, assuming the kid is up for more sliding. I was very happy with how things went her first few seasons. She was up for Alta blues by age 7 based on what she learned from Massanutten instructors, even only skiing about 10 days a season.

Apparently Big White in Canada has a program for 3-4 year olds. The deal is that a 3yo gets enrolled for the morning. Parents go back at lunch time and if everyone agrees the 3yo is good to go for the afternoon, they pay for the upgrade. Saw a recent thread by an Aussie parent who is planning a stay at Big White in 2020 with two young kids.

Any other ski school suggestions for a 3yo? 4yo?

Wisp has an all day 3-4 yo program - agree with others in the post though that a full day for that age group is way more than they need

 

[COcanuck]

For parents who don't live within short driving distance of a big mountain in N. America with ski school that starts at age 3, there are a few options if looking for a full-day program. The list grows if a kid is already 4.

I waited until my daughter was 4 to get her started at Massanutten in VA, our home mountain (4-hour drive one-way). The full-day program starts at age 4. It runs 9:30am-2:00pm, essentially 3 lesson periods with a morning snack and lunch. The lift ticket runs until late afternoon so there is time for a run or two afterwards, assuming the kid is up for more sliding. I was very happy with how things went her first few seasons. She was up for Alta blues by age 7 based on what she learned from Massanutten instructors, even only skiing about 10 days a season.

Apparently Big White in Canada has a program for 3-4 year olds. The deal is that a 3yo gets enrolled for the morning. Parents go back at lunch time and if everyone agrees the 3yo is good to go for the afternoon, they pay for the upgrade. Saw a recent thread by an Aussie parent who is planning a stay at Big White in 2020 with two young kids.

Any other ski school suggestions for a 3yo? 4yo?

A little late to the party here but I can personally vouch for the program at Buttermilk for the little ones. The child group lessons are so small, my daughter was in a "group" of two when she took a few there last year. I don't have first-hand experience for the child lessons at Snowmass, that mountain is in generally more crowded than Buttermilk but I have heard good things about it from other parents who have had their kids in the lessons there and will allow you to ski more terrain as an adult. The instructors are all of high caliber through the Aspen Snowmass program. The prices are high, but it kind of falls in line with everything else in that area!

https://www.aspensnowmass.com/plan-your-stay/lessons/child-group-lessons