Little kids in powder

A question for you folks who have little skiers who have been lucky enough to ski powder. Are fatter skis recommended? I'm bringing my little guy (10 yr old) to the mini, and wondering if perhaps he might be better off if I rent him some fat or mid-fats. He's used to skiing EC boilerplate for the most part and is on "carver" type skis right now.

Also, any kid-specific pointers for skiing powder? I can't imagine it would be any different than for grown ups, but ya never know. I guess "hold your breath" might be one, eh?

I have been teasing him about the fact that he needs to bring a snorkel, and that I'm going to have to attach a flag to him so I can find him in all that powder. From what I've been reading, perhaps this is true!? :eek:

Sprite

Have a lot of patience because he will struggle a lot at first. Other than that I have nothing.

My 9-year-old was literally neck deep at times, and often waist to chest-deep, this weekend on skinnyish sticks. He would have benefitted from some fatter sticks but he got around pretty well, he went everywhere we went, which was pretty much everywhere. He even landed a six foot or so cliff and skied away.

The things we had to keep telling him were to keep his feet closer together, to weight both skis equally and to keep 'em pointing downhill, which is the same stuff you'd tell anyone. One thing I'd recommend is those powder cords, he double ejected one time and those little skis were hard to find.

If it gets super deep, tie a flag or balloon to his helmet, seriously. I saw this done at Steamboat on a deep day with kids, and it really helped the instructors out. It looked cool too, to see just a balloon bobbing above the snow with a cold smoke contrail behind it.

If it really pukes, try to get him on some wider boards. I'm sure you could rent him some short (150-160cm) womans or shorter men's fatties out there. Other than that, just tell him to straightline everything and only turn to avoid potentially painful obstacles, that should keep the tips bobbin'.

My 11 year old loves her Public Enemies, but is dying to get some even fatter for those powder days. She first skied knee-deep + powder last season and realized quickly that the slope had to be steep enough (blue/black at least) to get her momentum going through the deeper powder. Once she figured out how to stand, turn, etc. in powder, she wanted to search for it everywhere. Powder days are the only ones where she laughs when she falls (it doesn't hurt in powder!) and screams "Woo Hoo!" flying down the hills. It might be a good idea to try to rent some kids fat performance skis once you get there and see the conditions. The fat skis aren't as smooth on the crud and ice runs, though (hope you won't have any of those). I've heard people say the kids version of the Salomon 1080's (forget the name now) are great all mountain skis for the under 5 footers as well.

Bottom line, your kid's gonna love the powder!

In my next life I want Snowsprite to be my mom and GT40 to be my dad.

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Originally Posted by Plakespear

In my next life I want Snowsprite to be my mom and GT40 to be my dad.

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seconded. props to all the parents here given their kids the goods early. wish mine did:)

If it's deep & the kid crashes they may not be able to get up on their own. If you are below, you may not be able to reach them in the deep snow. Crashing in powder sucks & can really burn energy.

Stand in the middle, hands where you can see them.

Bounce like on a trampoline.

Aim the bounces.

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Originally Posted by snowsprite

I have been teasing him about the fact that he needs to bring a snorkel, and that I'm going to have to attach a flag to him so I can find him in all that powder. From what I've been reading, perhaps this is true!? :eek:

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Don't forget the periscope.

Good luck & hope it dumps for you.

The psychological factor of not being to see your ski tips, is what I find my 3 year old struggling with. Not to mention my wife does the same thing.

Super deep powder might also cause concern do to slowing down, falling over, ejecting and possibly spending a good hour looking for a ski or two!

Two words, Powder cords!!

I wouldn't be too concerned about it as long as your kid isn't heavily overweight. :wink:
When my kids were smaller they were just fine with their kiddie carvers. Today they're on 1080s which are not that wide either, they just rip those things around in the pow.

growing up on the ice-coast sucked...

all my friends had families that were really into skiing and they went to switzerland, utah, BC, ect before they were 12 years old....lucky kids...

my parents were not skiers and i never went on any trips except to shitty poconos and VT once....


then i moved to colorado and have skied 140 days here since last fall....


I will NEVER live on the ice coast again...and my kids will be on skis as soon as they can walk....

My kids on 1080's and skis pow pretty well. But my wife or I usually tail gun just in case, because they do get pretty fustrated when they yard sale in pow. Powder cords are a pretty good idea if its deep.

My older daughter just turned nine and the younger one is almost seven. At their size I don't think it makes a big difference if they have fat skis or not.

They're both good skiers, ski powder very often, and still struggle with it anyway. For them, the best part about skiing powder is falling down. One of the most fun ski days we've had with them was when we went down to Alta for closing day last year. There was about a foot of fresh, and the kids just had a ball cannonballing through it, mostly face first. We met Frozenwater that day - he can attest to how much fun they had.

Definitely try to stay uphill of them. Otherwise, don't worry about it.

Last year on the Bridger 100" day my wife found a kid struggling buried in the snow and gasping for breath. The adult who was skiing with her was was 100yds down hill in almost 10 ft of new powder. There is no way in hell that guy would have made it up to the kid and if my wife hadnt happened by, the kid would likely be dead. If you are going to ski with your kids in deep pow, make sure someone is uphill from them at all times. May not even be a bad idea to tie some surveyors tape to their ankles or something so they can be found easily in deep snow.

I also remember a little kid died of suffocation in deep snow at Targhee last winter and they put a minimum height requirement in place for skiing for a few days.

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Originally Posted by iceman

... he double ejected one time and those little skis were hard to find.

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Uh, yeah... [cough, cough] the little skis are hard to find in that powder [cough]










year later thanks to Viva and Ski Biscuit...

Wow! Thank you all for the advice. :) I'm going to make sure at least one of us is skiing behind the little guy just in case he has trouble or yardsales.

And it looks like I'm going to google powder cords. I think I would like some for my new skis too...don't want to leave those behind!

Sprite

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Originally Posted by snowsprite

Wow! Thank you all for the advice. :) I'm going to make sure at least one of us is skiing behind the little guy just in case he has trouble or yardsales.

And it looks like I'm going to google powder cords. I think I would like some for my new skis too...don't want to leave those behind!



Sprite

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Save your self some money, just pick up some flagging down at the hardware. Tie one end to the binding and stuff about 10' under his powder cuffs.

http://www.northerntool.com/images/p.../171992_lg.jpg

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Originally Posted by fez

I also remember a little kid died of suffocation in deep snow at Targhee last winter and they put a minimum height requirement in place for skiing for a few days.

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I was there that day. It snowed 45" overnight. I too had a very frightening experiance. On my first run I cought an edge and spun a 180 and fell backwords. Immdiately started breathing snow and I was a good couple feet under. I panicked of course but was able to sort of swim to the surface after what seemed like an eternity. Of course my legs were lodged stuck uphill all fucked up and I had let go of my poles while swimming so it probably took 10 minutes to get straightened out and find my poles.

I can totally see how a person, ESPECIALLY a kid could die in snow like that. It's about a foot and a half or 2 too much. Then again I was on G3's which do fine in a foot or 2 but want to dive when it's that deep. Shoulda rented some fat boys. We had to ski in other peoples lines to get any sort of speed built up and then can get in the untracked.

Definately get powder cords. They're only like 6 bucks or something. I wouldn't bother with a foot or so as they're kinda a pain in the ass but if there is like 30" i would.

Definately stay uphil of your kid.

He'res a pick from a day or two later:

http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~clar0480/wyo...03Targhee1.jpg

Great thread I had the same question the other day.

I taught my son to snowboard in powder when he was 3. I found it was much eaiser for him to handle the board in powder over the hard pack. This year he wants to try skiing and he asked me if it was going to be more difficult in powder. I figured it would be and told him he could stick to boarding in the powder. I think the cool thing about being that small is it takes a lot less snow to classifiy as a powder day. :)

If your kid is tall enough, heavy enough, and a decent enough skier, maybe the 153cm K2 Phat Luv would work? I don't have any kids, but my puppy can only handle 2 feet of snow, otherwise he can't move...hope that helps. :biggrin:

If it's over the kid's heads, you want to be on the groomed trails. It's no fun for them when it's that deep. My kids are psyched when they can't see their boots.

You also have to keep your own powder frenzy in check. That's one of the toughest parts of a powder day with your kids. My wife and I take turns alternating each shot, so one of us skis down normally while the other takes "uphill duty." Even so, the continuous stretches are shorter than what you'd ski on your own, and it can take a long time for the kids to make it down.

My best advice for powder skiing with kids is to get silly, fall down a lot, roll around in the snow, and laugh all day long.

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Originally Posted by The Suit

If it's over the kid's heads, you want to be on the groomed trails. It's no fun for them when it's that deep. My kids are psyched when they can't see their boots.
My best advice for powder skiing with kids is to get silly, fall down a lot, roll around in the snow, and laugh all day long.

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Great advice.
And be extra careful in the trees sprite. Treewells can take out the strongest adult skiers--for kids, they are extra dangerous. Stay close, because when it gets alta deep, one second you'll see em, the next second you won't.
So awesome that you're bring the youngster to the mini. :D

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Originally Posted by The Suit

If it's over the kid's heads, you want to be on the groomed trails. It's no fun for them when it's that deep. My kids are psyched when they can't see their boots.

You also have to keep your own powder frenzy in check. That's one of the toughest parts of a powder day with your kids. My wife and I take turns alternating each shot, so one of us skis down normally while the other takes "uphill duty." Even so, the continuous stretches are shorter than what you'd ski on your own, and it can take a long time for the kids to make it down.

My best advice for powder skiing with kids is to get silly, fall down a lot, roll around in the snow, and laugh all day long.

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My first experience skiing powder was over my head sierra cement at Bear Valley. About 70 or so inches of the stuff and I was 4' 8". I was on 152 X-Scream 700s. I fell. Alot. It took over 2 hours once to dig myself out and get going fast enough to get to the top. Be wary in heavy snow as (especially with short, skinny kids skis) if they sink into it b/c they stop/fall it is sometimes literally impossible for them to get moving again. I was chest-deep and there was basically nothing i could do but slowly squirm until I got out.

But I was old enough at the time to not really be in danger of suffocating. The staying behind them thing is prolly a good idea. I would have appreciated a lift at the time.

Grrr jr is ten, and has been skiing powder for as long as he has been able to get on the chair.

First, fat skis do matter. He has race skis, beater skis and fat skis. Before he got his fat skis, he struggled alot. Some of his improvement is skill, but some is related to flotation.

The suggestions for 150+ skis are pretty far off. At 4'10" and 91#, he is on the solid end of the 10 year olds. The 140 Mini Enemy is perfect. If your kid is smaller or has not got any practice with a big ski, a 133ish might be in order. It can be hard to find powder skis in that size, but Public Enemys or other small park skis can work. They don't need to be super fat, but should be soft.

Grrr jr logs about 40 days each year at Baker, so he gets plenty of opportunity to ski deep snow. Heavy days are still frustrating, but light snow up to 24" is fine. One thing I did with him a few years ago was to talk about how Kent Kreitler was skiing deep snow in one of the TGR flicks, with an exagerated unweighting. He took that in, and it really helped.

My youngest started skiing pow w/ me last winter (at 7). He was on jr. mad trix last year and has some new 1080's he hasn't tried. He hasn't had any problems w/ floatation, mostly due to his light weight. I don't think we had more than 2 ft of new at any time last year though so a day w/ 48 inches of new might be a different ballgame. Our oldest has skied the pow for a couple years on k2 enemy's. He wants fatties and we'll prolly get him some next year. Its just hard to find fat skis for the kids.