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Inspired by blister, in the 5 ski quiver one reviewer mentioned snow blades for skiing with little kids.
I have a 4 year old I am hoping to get out with this year on the bunny slope and this seemed like a good idea instead of dealing with 190s on the magic carpet which was a pain last year. Has anyone tried it and can recommend for or against? Anyone holding a pair for cheap?
Everyone does their own thing, but when I would need to arrest the momentum of a runaway 4/5 y.o. as they were starting out... I appreciated the little bit of leverage provided by my regular frontside skis. Sometimes for between the legs turning, but also if they were holding on to my poles. And for towing. Ugh.
Once they're autonomous though, could be fun. Good luck out there!
I've found tele skis good for teaching. I knew how to going in, but it helps to be able to take a knee and get down to their level. If you are learning, you can practice on the bunny slope too or just ski them like alpines.
when i first read this i was like, why on earth would your kid be on 190s?
But they for sure give you some social distance on the carpet
I used an old pair of short park skis on the carpet with mine.
Public Enemies in like a 160 I think..
Twin was nice, and the shorty length definitely helped with maneuverability.
When I taught little kids ski school for a season, I used an old pair of short-ish park skis, and they were perfect for the job.
If you have reasonably strong technique you could get a pair of slalom skis. I found it easier to manage toddlers on 165s vs 182s.
The advantage over snow blades is you can have fun on them when you get to do a few turns.
Once the kid graduates to some harder greens/blues and takes the lift I like using the backpack with the reins on the kid. For this you will need skis to wedge down the hill in a controlled manner. Blades wouldn’t be ideal for that.
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Liberty hazmats in a 170 for me. Perfect for skiing switch and following through the woopdies
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Snow Blades are a blast at any age! They rock in the glades ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by carlh
This statement is a fallacy. How can you not have fun on snow blades?!Quote:
Originally Posted by The Tortoise
In theory yes. I have some Moment snowblades that I have used when my youngest was 2/3 (now 4 and skiing on his own.) The ONLY issue is when you help the child get down steeper terrain. With the child between your legs, or if you are using a harness system and pulling to slow down, normal skis have the extra length to help slow you down. Trying to do a snowplow with a kid between your legs on snowblades isn't leg muscle friendly.
+1 for teles teaching kidsQuote:
Originally Posted by geomorph
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+2. plus you get to learn a new sport. It makes the greens and blues fun again. Lunges are great cross training for uhm... well fencing anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by scmartin69
I'm always on tele. It was helpful with the littles as mentioned above. I was also gifted some shorter skis (172), which was also helpful. Plus shorter skis makes ski ballet easier.
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I teled for 10 years so would not be new to me but still might be a good option. Only skis I have left mounted tele are 191 lhasa pows with ntns t-nutted back in after I ripped them out so not ideal but worth a try. might watch for a short frontside side mounted ntn for cheap.
If you're willing to move bindings, or can source a pair, it shouldn't be too hard to find a pair of cheap, used slalom skis. You may need to get creative with the mounting (everything has manufacturer-specific plates these days, but at least some of those plates can be drilled for other bindings).Quote:
Originally Posted by carlh
My kid taught 3-4 year olds for a season (or maybe it was 4-5). He used park skis. They made him get new used skis though because of the "offensive" graphics on his park skis. He didn't use a harness. I wouldn't think you'd need one for a 4 year old. And you won't be on the Magic Carpet for long. (Too bad most kids nowadays don't get the character building experience of starting out on a rope tow.)
My standard advice when skiing with small kids--don't follow too close behind, because a) you're hiding them, and b) it's a lot easier for a gaper to pass on person safely than 2 people one behind the other with no room in between to slow down. Even the biggest jerk on the mountain will steer clear of a small kid if they can see them. If they can't they may turn into them after they pass you.
I find being able to ski backwards a good skill for skiing with the littles and useful for ski ballet.
Like many have commented, longer skis give you more leverage to control speed by snowplowing.
And as the last commenter pointed out, twin tips help as well.
Instead of keeping the toddler between the legs, I would suggest using a hulahoop. This may sound funny and look funny, but it is far safer and helps. The toddler is inside the hulahoop in front of you holding on while you hold on to the outside of it. Then if, or when, they fall, they don't take out your knee or leg. The other thing that works, and this is where the twin tips come in, is you can ski backwards so they can see you (which comforts alot of kids), each holding onto opposite ends of the hulahoop (poles will work this way to)
Use this until they can stay up on their own and you can use a leash.
With that being said, in order to be in total control of all of this, you will need skis longer than snow-blades.
Not a toddler. OP has a 4 year old. Pretty soon he'll need DH race skis to keep up.