We are a gadget-obsessed society, always looking for the
multi-task tool, the time-shaving shortcut, the veritable easy-bake oven.
Skiing is no exception; just count the camelback wearing, energy bar
munching, walkie-talkie yapping, altimeter-tracking skiers in your next lift
queue.
Skiing parents, eager to get their prodigy on the slopes, want doohickeys
and devices to teach their tykes at a record age. Most ski resorts don’t
accept kids into lessons until they are 4 or 5, which seems like an eternity
for pre-pamper-changing powder hounds. Thanks to a few innovative parents
and instructors, there are now gadgets to take some of the grunt and groan
out of toddler teaching.
Steve Lathrop, former US Ski Team member and Downhill champion proves that
necessity is the “father of invention.” Lathrop was eager (you might say
obsessive) to get each of his five kids on the slopes, in some cases before
they could walk.
“I was like any other parent thinking I could teach my children to ski
because I knew how,” Lathrop said. “I quickly learned that the between my
legs method wasn’t doing me or my child any good.” Lathrop went on to design
(and modify after experimenting with his own kids) a series of five gadgets
to aid parents in their pursuit of toddler turns.
“With my Kid-Ski line, parents can have their kids skiing as early as age
one,” said Lathrop, “and skiing independently by 2 ½.”
Rick Pasturczak of Alpine Accessories, a top ski gadget merchandiser based
in Illinois, said, “Parents want to teach their children to ski early on,
they want devices to make it easier, but they don’t want to spend too much
money either.”
For really young kids (1-3 year olds), Pastruczak says Lathrop’s plastic
skis that can be worn with the child’s own winter boots are good for
backyard beginnings. “For $39, the Kid Skis are easy to fit and use. Since
they are made of plastic, you can pull them around inside on the carpet,
then outside - even over gravel,” said Pastruczak.
Another home-helper is the Ski Bar – a mini T-bar that parents can use to
pull kids around, and walk or ski next to them offering the bar for support
and balance. The plastic bar is adjustable in length and best for 1-3 year
olds. The cost is $27, half the price of a chiropractic visit for a sore
back. Lathrop says you can teach kids to ski within 3 months of learning to
walk – though that is not guaranteed.
This ski bar would have proved useful to my husband and I. We used a ski
pole in a similar capacity with our one-year-old (admittedly he was
23-months). At least we were smart enough not to give our son the pointy
end.
One of the critical skills small skiers need to learn is a wedge, to control
speed and initiate turns, especially as they go from the backyard to steeper
ski slopes. The “pizza pie” stance is not innate to a youngster.
The edgie-wedgie (also known as the ski bra pre-political correctness) is a
tried and true gadget that keeps skis in a pie shape. It costs about $10.
The drawback according to Pastruczak is that the thumbscrews can mar the ski
tips and even delaminate the skis. Lathrop’s improved “tip lock connector”
uses Velcro and a buckle that easily clips and unclips and doesn’t damage
the skis, for about $5 more.
The traditional ski harness, attached over the child’s shoulders, invites
almost as much debate as the helmet issue. Some argue this harness can
introduce bad habits by turning the child’s upper body and not instilling
self-control. Even worse, the leash can get tangled on the chairlift.
On the flip side, Lathrop’s Ski Leash that attaches to the child’s hips
instead of the shoulders prevents a speed-seeking tot from bombing the hill
(French fries) while introducing steering with the lower torso. Lathrop’s
Ski Leash for $32 comes with its own fanny pack for storage during lift
rides.
Pastruczak says all of these devices increase the learning curve
tremendously. “The ski tip connectors are by far the most popular gadget
because they are inexpensive, and easy for the child and the parent (or
instructor) to use.”
Peter Ingvoldstad, director of Smugglers Notch’s award-winning Snow Sports
University for 25 years, said his ski and snowboard instructors definitely
use tools to teach small children. “We definitely use edgie-wedgies on 2-4
year olds whose balance has not developed enough and whose tips naturally
come apart as they tend to lean back.”
“We have also had success at Smuggs’ teaching snowboarding with our own
modified outriggers for really young riders, as young as 4 and 5, to give
them better balance. Our goal is to get young kids having fun, with an
emphasis on safety from the beginning, and progressing that much more
quickly,” said Ingvoldstad.
Lathrop has also designed a paddle to aid in early snowboard instruction for
kids and adults, which he believes will dramatically wipe out the all to
common wipeouts of learning to ride.
Ingvoldstad recommends intermediate parents who want to teach their
two-year-olds should enroll in Smugg’s “Mom & Me,” or “Dad & Me” private
lessons. “An instructor helps the parent teach the child, giving pointers
and important hints so that Mom or Dad can go off and have fun instructing
safely and more quickly with proper technique,” Ingvoldstad said.
Lathrop says you don’t have to be U.S. Ski Team alum to teach your kids to
ski. “What is more important than your skiing ability is progressing
gradually, using devices to make it easier for you and your child, and
knowing that kids have good days and bad days – and it should be about
having fun with your child.
