When is it age appropriate for a child to ride a lift w/out an adult?

[IntheClouds]

Why would you want a kid to go with someone who feels really uncomfortable about the situation? It seems to me that it would be better to wait for someone who feels like it's no big deal than to guilt someone who isn't good with kids into taking that responsibility if they don't want it.

I wouldn't want to guilt anyone into riding with a kid & sorry if it sounded that way. One instance where an adult declined, an adult immediately behind him volunteered, yet the declining adult didn't want to let him go ahead of him. The liftie kept loading groups until the solo man finally let the other past to go ahead with the ski school group that was waiting.

However, I do take back my judgemental comment about the adult being selfish. I can think of a number of reasons someone would not want to ride up with kids. And several reasons I would not want explained or stated in front of kids. There is an increasing percentage of population that is legally not allowed to be alone w/children. That situation could be construed as being w/kids & breaking the law.

In the case of a newer skier, I still think if they speak up about being new , especially in the case of a slow day, they get a huge opportunity to learn & gain some skills/experience. But only if they speak up. So many people are willing to help or share experience when someone says "I'm new & don't really know how to...." Especially when there is an instructor there making a request. They can certainly spend a few moments explaining, guiding or helping out.

 

[pinto]

I agree with those who say there are many variables. With mine, I just knew when it was okay. I can't even tell you when it was.

It depends on the lift, too -- my daughter is 10, and she will ride a lot of lifts alone (ie, w/o adults but with other kids), but she doesn't like riding Mountain Chief at Copper with anyone but her mommy. It's an older double lift and comes around pretty fast.

Plus, patrol is bombing Tucker Mountain right behind you half the time. One time she was surprised by a charge (it's pretty loud there, because you're in the bottom of a bowl and the noise is contained), and practically jumped out of her seat.

Dang, thinking about all that made me want to go skiing now.

 

[Jilly]

I checked at Tremblant this weekend. Absolutely no kids under 6 without adults. And no kids under 135cm without one adult. That's the hills policy. But I've seen kids from the race program go up together. But most were in that 4' range.

 

[valli]

At Tahoe Donner we were horrified last to learn that the ski school was was sending four year olds up the lift w/o an adult, and not modern kid friendly lifts that slow and drop down for easy on/off. Our daughter refused to ride by herself, but they put two other 4 yro's on together. No safety bar, and a kid did fall off and get pretty badly injured last year, and I saw several kids slide off the lift shortly after loading. They finally installed safety bars this year, but the little kids are too small to pull them down, and the liftys don't bother. My daughter is five now and skis comfortably on all green and easy blues, but she still needs help getting on and off the lift. I can see advanced 6 year olds on a ski team might be ok, but a lot of the ski schools around here seem to push kids too early to ride the lift alone.

We had to explicitly tell the Squaw Valley kids program that our daughter didn't want to ride alone, which was apparently a major imposition. If you are charging $140 for a group lesson, find a few warm bodies to help the kids on the lift. Of course Squaw Valley also thought it was a bright idea to ask a group of five year olds if they wanted to ski down the 3 1/2 mile insanely crowded icy Mountain Home run at the end of the day rather than take the gondola down. They arrived an hour and a half late and very cold, with a group of freaked out parents awaiting them. The kids were saying they never wanted to take another lesson ever. To their credit, they did comp us a private lesson later for the parents that complained.

 

[pinto]

At Tahoe Donner we were horrified last to learn that the ski school was was sending four year olds up the lift w/o an adult, and not modern kid friendly lifts that slow and drop down for easy on/off. Our daughter refused to ride by herself, but they put two other 4 yro's on together. No safety bar, and a kid did fall off and get pretty badly injured last year, and I saw several kids slide off the lift shortly after loading. They finally installed safety bars this year, but the little kids are too small to pull them down, and the liftys don't bother. My daughter is five now and skis comfortably on all green and easy blues, but she still needs help getting on and off the lift. I can see advanced 6 year olds on a ski team might be ok, but a lot of the ski schools around here seem to push kids too early to ride the lift alone.

We had to explicitly tell the Squaw Valley kids program that our daughter didn't want to ride alone, which was apparently a major imposition. If you are charging $140 for a group lesson, find a few warm bodies to help the kids on the lift. Of course Squaw Valley also thought it was a bright idea to ask a group of five year olds if they wanted to ski down the 3 1/2 mile insanely crowded icy Mountain Home run at the end of the day rather than take the gondola down. They arrived an hour and a half late and very cold, with a group of freaked out parents awaiting them. The kids were saying they never wanted to take another lesson ever. To their credit, they did comp us a private lesson later for the parents that complained.

 

[Robyn]

I concur, that's just unacceptable. There is a huge difference between lifts and it sounds like this lift just isn't the type to take this young a child up alone. Valli, I'm sorry you had to go through this, I can't imagine how frightening it was.

 

[Jenny]

Just my quick thought -

I've ridden up with kids when the ski school needed it and I was in line, but it made me nervous. I don't have kids so I have no experience with what they need/don't need and I was worried that he'd need help getting off and I wouldn't be able to do it without falling on him!

 

[pinto]

Just my quick thought -

I've ridden up with kids when the ski school needed it and I was in line, but it made me nervous. I don't have kids so I have no experience with what they need/don't need and I was worried that he'd need help getting off and I wouldn't be able to do it without falling on him!

When we were at Solitude, I volunteered to ride up with a kid precisely for this reason. Mom came into the line with two kids, and was asking no one in particular for help with one. I realized that I had plenty of experience doing that, but not everyone necessarily does.

Cute and chatty 6-y-o boy, but he got on the lift and sorta leaned over stiffly, like he was afraid to move near to me at all. It actually made me a little nervous, because it was VERY windy. All went well, but I know exactly what you are saying!

 

[skiwishes]

At Sunday River our policy is that children 6 and under (in the ski school) do not ride a chairlift without an adult. Smaller older children often are paired with adults, also. We spend lots of time teaching the kids how to ride properly and safely, but the adult is a precaution both for loading and unloading, which is difficult because of height, and in the case of emergencies.

We try to assess the ability of people in the lines before asking them to help. Some folks have all they can do to get themselves on the chair!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

At Sunday River our policy is that children 6 and under (in the ski school) do not ride a chairlift without an adult. Smaller older children often are paired with adults, also. We spend lots of time teaching the kids how to ride properly and safely, but the adult is a precaution both for loading and unloading, which is difficult because of height, and in the case of emergencies.

We try to assess the ability of people in the lines before asking them to help. Some folks have all they can do to get themselves on the chair!

Same policy at Sugarloaf with Mountain Magic and Mini-cuffers. Not always an easy job for coaches to make this assessment of the adults, surely is one of the tougher aspects of the job.

 

[marge]

I'm not an instructor but I have personally let my daughter ride up with her friend when she was 5. She's been skiing since she was almost 3 and I felt she was careful. That's only my own child though.

 

[Native Vail Gal]

Yeah....don't even get me started on chairlifts!

My dad and mom tell me that they didn't let me ride the lift alone until I was 8 or 9. They also told me that in my lessons (skiing with dad and mom from 2-3 years old, and then Vail and Steamboat Springs Ski School) the instructors ALWAYS sent us up on the lifts with adults who were willing to take on looking after the kids on the lifts.

It was a different time then.....but, in so many respects, safer. (and in so many others....not so safe!)

 

[Mafia_Princess]

Our ski school has all 4 and 5 year olds paired up with instructors only (one of my favourite age groups and I teach them a lot). I will wait for instructor taxi service to make sure my kids are all safe. We allow 6-8 year olds to pair up, and above that can ride alone. If the 6-8 year olds are afraid or seem less capable we try to stick a free instructor with them, or a child with more experience from another group to help guide them.

 

[frenchgirl]

It just depends on the child and the mountain. Our is not very big or tall(2200 ft), but I have just let my 11 yrs old ride the beginner chairlift by himself. It goes half way up. He is not allowed to ride all the way up the mountain(fast detachable quad) by himself. Fortunately, that chairlift is always full of people. He can barely reach the safety bars on that one. If someone asks me to help I have always said yes. The little kids are so cute!

 

[Kiragirl]

I've seen 2 related things recently that bugged me:
1- a very young girl, maybe 5, who could not handle the poma (not her fault, just too small and not enought weight), and the parents and lift person kept forcing her to do it. I ducked out of the line and went elsewhere because they were taking so long; I should have offered a mini-but-friendly-lecture.

2- 2 girls, maybe 10-11, on a chair in front of me Sunday morning when it was so windy that I actually waited for another person to come along to get on the chair with me, for the extra weight to reduce the rocking of the chair. The girls did not have the bar down and it was making me nervous; I almost yelled up to them (in a friendly tone) to put the bar down but thought, oh they will think I'm some old bitchy lady and possibly refuse to do so, so I did not, but I should have anyway, darn it.

 

[skimomma24]

So, like others, I ski at a very small hill. When I am teaching a group that is too large to have a 2 kids-1 "adult" ratio, we grab a patroller, another instructor, parent or actual adult from the line. Other wise, the kids have to be A) tall enough, and B) able to load/unload safely with assistance before they are allowed to go up the lift without an adult. My son went up by himself for the first time, early last season. He was 8, quite tall and it was his 2nd full season of skiing. (3rd year by the calendar) My twin girls will be 5 next week, this is their 2nd full season, and even though they are tall (46.5 inches!), they are not allowed on the lift unsupervised. The new rule here is 1.2 meters tall, or 47.25 inches before they ride unsupervised.

I would base it on that, then go by age(preferably 7) and ability.