From I Hate Skiing to Is it Snowing Yet?! How I Helped My Family Learn to Love Skiing!

Though we lived in Colorado for almost a decade it was not until we moved back to NH that my family found the joy that downhill skiing brings. That’s right, we lived in Colorado and we did not ski.

Well, we tried skiing once. It was a massive disaster.  I put my kids into group lessons while my husband and I remained available in case they needed us.

My daughter took to it quickly but my son was put in the wrong sized boots- too small. Yeah, if you are a skier you know what a big deal that is. Two bruised, purple feet later, my son swore off skiing forever.

My daughter spent too much time standing around waiting. Her experience was all learning to ski, not skiing. She had no time to fall in love with it and did not want to go back.

Seriously Bummed Out

I was super sad that my family didn’t get into skiing. I grew up skiing Loon, Sunday River, Okemo… and so many other New England mountains. Skiing was an awesome part of my childhood. Not only did I want to ski again, I wanted to ski with my family.

What Was I to do?

So when we moved back to NH I asked my kids if they wanted to participate in an incredible program offered by Gunstock.  Their friends were skiing, so they trepidatiously said yes.

As the season approached I stayed focused on my goal; I wanted my family to LOVE skiing. I wanted them to fall in love with what it feels like to break through the bitter winter air- to have it push past you while your body sails through the winter white snow. I wanted them to know how good sun feels when it warms your midwinter face.

I wanted them to get to live in the whole other universe that exists in a New England winter- to know that winter doesn’t have to mean hunkering down inside waiting for spring.

I wanted it so badly I was going to remove every single barrier I could possibly think of. I wanted them to get past the initial challenges of skiing- like learning how to equip themselves and get down the mountain- so they could see that skiing isn’t exhausting and painful and miserable, but that it’s joyous and light and healing and spiritual.

Skiing Has Been an Unexpected Gift for My Family

Skiing together has been one of the very best things for my family. It has brought us closer, given us a way to play together that we each individually adore, and is something even my homeschooled-sleep-until-noon-kiddos will happily get up early for. It has been an incredible gift.

So, I am sharing the things that turned my family from “skiing is miserable” to “is it snowing yet?” people. Here are my tips for easing the initial barriers for learning to ski:

1. If you are the only skier in your family count yourself out. (If you are not a skier skip to tip #2). When my family was taking their first few lessons I did not ski (even though I was DYING to). I relegated myself to support staff. Learning how to pickup and put on gear is HARD. We don’t know the language. It’s physically tiring. It’s confusing. It’s overwhelming. If not handled carefully it can make it feel like skiing isn’t worth it.

So I bundled up in my own gear (minus goggles and ski boots) and went through the whole process with my family. I went to the boot pickup and enlisted the help of  staff to give my family tips on how to put on boots (it’s not easy- ski boots are weird!). Asking a pro to help made the information easier for my family to hear. I went with my family to get their skis and showed them the easiest way to walk in boots and carry their skis.

All this time I could have been skiing. I could have left them to figure this all out on their own. They would have of course, but it would have been harder. My goal was to remove barriers so that we could all ski together for decades!

2.  Lessons were included with the package we purchased but they were group lessons. In my experience, group lessons are not great for those new to skiing.

The staff is awesome and you’ll never meet more encouraging people, but you get very little individual attention in a group lesson and can only go as fast as the slowest person in terms of learning. It takes longer to learn to ski in group lessons.

My goal was to get my family to the thrill of skiing quickly- before it felt like skiing was all about preparing to ski. So we invested in private lessons.

My kids were most comfortable taking lessons with just them and their dad. So I signed up my husband and two kids for three private lessons.

This gave my husband and kids time to spend with the instructor not only to learn to ski, but to see how AWESOME it is to be around ski instructors. They are just the greatest people! So fun and encouraging!

By the end of the first lesson my family was able to get down a step above the bunny hill safely, comfortably, and enjoyably. They were hooked. YES!

3. Be Ready to Help As my family learned to ski I stood at the bottom of the bunny slope in case they needed anything. Anything at all. Spoiled? Nah. This was an incredibly worthy investment of my time and the ROI was a million percent (no really, I measured it.)

My daughter’s boots weren’t working but she made it through the lesson in a small enough amount of pain that she wanted more. Here’s a little truth I learned: ski rental boots are designed for men (surprise, surprise). Often, they dig into the calves of women and are uncomfortable. My husband and son were fine. My daughter was not.

I spent under 200 bucks at Phibrick’s and bought my daughter a pair of boots. It changed everything. (Bonus lesson for her: if something isn’t working or is uncomfortable, there might be solutions to try before quitting. Love that!).

4. Make the experience as sparkly as you can. Again, my goal was for my family to love skiing. I couldn’t control whether or not they loved it, but I could ease many of the initial hard parts so they could experience skiing instead of learning to ski.

During those hard parts I could try to make everything else around them better. I found some yummy transportable food to make like these YUMMY strawberry oat bars, filled a thermos with hot chocolate, and packed blankets and fresh, warm socks for the ride home.

I kept a water bottle and a couple of granola bars in my coat pocket in case they needed a quick break with something to eat or drink while they were learning (they did not).

5. Let the instsructor do their job. I have been skiing my whole life. That doesn’t mean I can teach somebody to ski. And it definitely doesn’t mean I can help an instructor teach my family to ski!

Once I got my family to their instructor I said good-bye and I meant it. Even though I stood at the bottom of the bunny slope watching, I never, ever thought about “helping” the instructor.

These folks know what they are doing. They know how to keep it fun, how to talk to learners, and how to help them learn to get down the mountain as quickly as possible. Let them do their job! Note: if your family does not like their instructor get a new one! This should be pure FUN and working with an instructor you like is paramount. 

But What if it Didn’t Work?!

Even after me doing all of this work to ease the initial barriers to skiing there was a chance my family wouldn’t like it. Yes, I would have been devastated. But at least I would have been left with the knowledge that it was skiing they didn’t like- not learning to ski.

Luckily, the exact opposite was true. By the end of the season we were skiing two to three times a week as a family. My husband was scheduling afternoons off, my kids were committed to keeping their days free, and I… well, I was filled with joy.

Not only was I back on the slopes, I was skiing with my whole family. Every time I’d see my youngest whiz by as her dad and I were on the chair lift, or I’d call my oldest to check in to have him say “yeah, I’m at the terrain park with Dylan, Gibson, and Toby” my heart would soar.

But that wasn’t even the best part.

The very best moment of last year was riding up Ramrod on a cold and snowy day. All of a sudden I realized what was happening. I was sandwiched between my two children on a ski lift for our fourth run of the day together, just us. They were chatting  with the energy that only comes from being active and outside in a New England Winter- excited, eager, happy, energized.

I felt my eyes fill up with gratitude. We were doing it! We were skiing as a family. This was something I had dreamed of since becoming a mom. Not only were we doing it, we were LOVING it. Together. What an absolute gift.

I hope some of these tips help you to ease the initial barriers of skiing, too. So that you can experience skiing instead of learning to ski. Maybe it will not be worth all the effort in the end. But maybe it will.