# My 5YO on the Slopes for the First Time!



## whiskaz (Feb 10, 2010)

So yesterday was pretty much awesome. The private lesson may not have been worth the money I paid for it but it gave my daughter and I both a little more confidence I think. I'm not sure if the instructor had worked a lot with little kids. Another instructor in the lodge offered up several hints/tips post-private lesson. He'd had some more formal training with munchkins apparently. 

Anyway, after the lesson, she insisted she was done with the bunny slope, but I wanted to make sure I could handle her with the harness on, so we went down it once more. Very smooth. I should have maybe worked with her more on the falling leaf and so forth (the instructor said she was doing it for him) but she just wanted to cruise and get on the chairlift! Since I figured it was all about her having fun, we went for it. Especially since the bunny run went smoothly.

The first run was a little disastrous between me keeping speed in check (without coming to a complete stop in places) and her being cold/tired/hungry. There were some tears but we made it down! She went into the lodge with her mom for some hot cocoa and lunch. After that she was ready to go. We headed back out and made it down pretty clean- no tears or anything. The run had a couple of steeper/faster sections which she really enjoyed. I was able to steer her some with the harness. We made another 3 or 4 runs before she got too cold and was done for the day. She didn't want to leave though and can't wait to go back! Sounds like a win to me! 

On a side note, I have a difficult time keeping my speed in check, even on mellow stuff, when I have a very narrow area to work with (e.g. right beside my kid). Guess I need to read up on some tips for that (cattracks, etc).

Some pics! 

With her instructor:

















Ready to shred:









Cruising with the harness:


----------



## init (Mar 8, 2010)

That's just awesome  But dude, lose the harness and let her go by herself. When I started as 6 year old, harnesses didn't even excist


----------



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Cute...get her off the leash...wide open groomed...play racing and follow the leader games...she will be blowing past you very soon. Its been at least 4 years since being able to keep up with my daughter.


----------



## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Cool!!! Good times ahead!


----------



## whiskaz (Feb 10, 2010)

Oh man...if I let her off leash she'd kill herself. I know because it happened a couple of times. Even on a relatively flat area at the end of the run, I let go of the ropes and she just started cooking it (I guess it was a little steeper than I thought). She has no concept of turning or stopping so she would have slammed into the lift but for the fact that she sort of went toeside and fell down.

Soon enough...


----------



## firstx1017 (Jan 10, 2011)

OMG - that is the cutest board for her! I love seeing little kids on the mountain and wish I had gotten my kids into this when they were her age. Since I just learned at 50 I can't wait to get a grandchild to take with us since my kids have no desire to board.


----------



## gjsnowboarder (Sep 1, 2009)

whiskaz said:


> Oh man...if I let her off leash she'd kill herself. I know because it happened a couple of times. Even on a relatively flat area at the end of the run, I let go of the ropes and she just started cooking it (I guess it was a little steeper than I thought). She has no concept of turning or stopping so she would have slammed into the lift but for the fact that she sort of went toeside and fell down.
> 
> Soon enough...


At that age childeren progress vary differently. It is easy as an instructor to doubt a lesson given by anyone but them. But until you are out there with the same student it is just a bunch or WAG(wild ass guessing) if the lesson would have gone differently. If she doesn't have the concept of speed control yet and stopping I would keep her on the harness. a hoola-hoop can work better, but it sounds like this might be a little to close for your ability level right now. Just keep getting her out on the slope and lessons every once in awhile and as long as she keeps having fun that is all that matters. If you are concerned about the level of instructor you can always ask if a snowboard instructor with a "children's accreditation" is hired by the mountain and could go out with her. The accreditation is even more specific knowledge for working wiht younger children like your daughter.

P.S. great pics


----------



## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

whiskaz said:


> Oh man...if I let her off leash she'd kill herself. I know because it happened a couple of times.


Holy shit! You daughter is a zombie?!


----------



## whiskaz (Feb 10, 2010)

linvillegorge said:


> Holy shit! You daughter is a zombie?!


Ha! I think it would have read more like:



> Oh man...if I let her off leash she'd eat people's brains. I know because it happened a couple of times.


----------



## herzogone (Oct 19, 2010)

whiskaz said:


> Oh man...if I let her off leash she'd kill herself. I know because it happened a couple of times. Even on a relatively flat area at the end of the run, I let go of the ropes and she just started cooking it (I guess it was a little steeper than I thought). She has no concept of turning or stopping so she would have slammed into the lift but for the fact that she sort of went toeside and fell down.
> 
> Soon enough...


I can relate to the concern, I took my almost 5YO son out twice now and had similar concerns about just letting him go, but he has been good at following my instructions to lift his toes and sit on his butt if necessary. He seems to grasp going heelside pretty readily, although he struggles much more with toeside. I think this is common for a lot of people. I'm sure the instructors on here can provide better insight, but in my case getting my son to the point where he could follow my instructions to do a heelside turn (even if he falls on his butt) has allowed him to have fun going down the gentle greens with me following. He is totally stoked! I was really skeptical about even starting him at first since he gets frustrated easily, but he kept begging to go and now I can't believe how much he loves it!

Anyhow, congrats, I think it's awesome you got your daughter into it already! :thumbsup:

Here's some video from his third or fourth run down the beginner trail (apologies for the quality and length, it was really aimed at family members viewing).


----------



## pencap75 (Dec 10, 2008)

In the last pic, it looks like she would be more comfortable in a foward stance. 
I think beginners are better served learning to snowboard with foward angles. 
Duck does have the advantage if they want to learn switch early, however.


----------



## whiskaz (Feb 10, 2010)

pencap75 said:


> In the last pic, it looks like she would be more comfortable in a foward stance.
> I think beginners are better served learning to snowboard with foward angles.
> Duck does have the advantage if they want to learn switch early, however.


As in 0/0? I may adjust them. 

I talked to her a little bit about how she was turning her shoulders to face down the mountain. She didn't listen this time


----------



## whiskaz (Feb 10, 2010)

herzogone said:


> I can relate to the concern, I took my almost 5YO son out twice now and had similar concerns about just letting him go, but he has been good at following my instructions to lift his toes and sit on his butt if necessary. He seems to grasp going heelside pretty readily, although he struggles much more with toeside. I think this is common for a lot of people. I'm sure the instructors on here can provide better insight, but in my case getting my son to the point where he could follow my instructions to do a heelside turn (even if he falls on his butt) has allowed him to have fun going down the gentle greens with me following. He is totally stoked! I was really skeptical about even starting him at first since he gets frustrated easily, but he kept begging to go and now I can't believe how much he loves it!
> 
> Anyhow, congrats, I think it's awesome you got your daughter into it already! :thumbsup:
> 
> Here's some video from his third or fourth run down the beginner trail (apologies for the quality and length, it was really aimed at family members viewing).


Thanks! I'll have to watch the video when I get home. Did you do anything special with your little guy to get him turning healside/stopping?


----------



## herzogone (Oct 19, 2010)

whiskaz said:


> Thanks! I'll have to watch the video when I get home. Did you do anything special with your little guy to get him turning healside/stopping?


Nothing much really, all I had to do was basically demonstrate the concept and tell him to "lift his toes up". If he had a lot of speed I would sometimes just tell him to lean back a bit after lifting his toes, just to ensure he at least fell on his butt rather than risk a faceplant in case he dropped his toeside edge. It actually surprised me that he got the concept! He did catch an edge a couple times on his earlier runs (when I forgot the camera) and fell a little hard, but he seemed largely unphased by it. I know I fell similarly when I was first starting out and ended up with mild whiplash. Reminds you how much more resilient kids are.  Good luck, have fun out there!


----------



## pencap75 (Dec 10, 2008)

No, 0,0 is duck.

Foward is when both angles are positive, facing foward. Something like +12,+3. She is twisting her body in that photo, like she is fighting her duck stance and wants to be more foward. 

The alternative is to keep her current duck setting, but teach her to not turn her body foward like she is doing in the photo and keep her shoulders aligned parallel to the board.

My wife use to have a hard time carving, but when I changed her to a foward stance, she is an expert carver now. She can't do any switch riding or park stuff, but she carves great. One reason why I ended up marrying her.




whiskaz said:


> As in 0/0? I may adjust them.
> 
> I talked to her a little bit about how she was turning her shoulders to face down the mountain. She didn't listen this time


----------



## whiskaz (Feb 10, 2010)

pencap75 said:


> No, 0,0 is duck.
> 
> Foward is when both angles are positive, facing foward. Something like +12,+3. She is twisting her body in that photo, like she is fighting her duck stance and wants to be more foward.
> 
> ...


Gotcha. Yea, like I said, I noticed here doing it right off (of course when she turned to look back at me, he shoulders would become more parallel to the board, but when she turned to look back down the hill, her shoulders would rotate too). I tried to get her to put that arm back but she wasn't listening. Maybe I'll try adjusting her stance for next time. 

How about her stance width, in the pic with the instructor. Does it look too wide? I wasn't sure. The instructor said it was OK.


----------



## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

whiskaz said:


> Gotcha. Yea, like I said, I noticed here doing it right off (of course when she turned to look back at me, he shoulders would become more parallel to the board, but when she turned to look back down the hill, her shoulders would rotate too). I tried to get her to put that arm back but she wasn't listening. Maybe I'll try adjusting her stance for next time.
> 
> How about her stance width, in the pic with the instructor. Does it look too wide? I wasn't sure. The instructor said it was OK.


Her stance looks _maybe_ a little wide but not necessarily too wide.

Does she know if she's regular or goofy yet? If not, why not keep her ducked? That way she learns to be comfortable with either foot forward rather than favoring one foot then having to relearn switch later?


----------



## Catman (Mar 16, 2008)

That is awesome! I am glad you both had fun.She is cute as a button too.

As with the stance I would try it 0 front and rear just so it feels the same both ways. Remember this is a totally new feeling to her and she could ride switch as good as regular right now so why not teach it. 

The harness is a great tool on the open slopes it is a must until you feel she can turn and or stop to avoid getting hurt.Better safe and ride everyday than all out for one:dunno: 

Again glad it went well!


----------



## gjsnowboarder (Sep 1, 2009)

Do not go 0,0(neutral stance is neither duck nor forward) for her stance. It limits the range of movement a person has because it blocks the hips. When I teach beginners typically a good stance is roughly shoulder width to a little wider for the stance width, and +12,-6 for the back. I would probably take an inch of her width judging from the pictures.


----------



## Catman (Mar 16, 2008)

gjsnowboarder said:


> Do not go 0,0(neutral stance is neither duck nor forward) for her stance. It limits the range of movement a person has because it blocks the hips. When I teach beginners typically a good stance is roughly shoulder width to a little wider for the stance width, and +12,-6 for the back. I would probably take an inch of her width judging from the pictures.


That is NOT a good for a 5 year old that is way too much angle for their developing knees. At the max they should be 3+ to 3- after they get the feel for riding.


----------



## gjsnowboarder (Sep 1, 2009)

Catman said:


> That is NOT a good for a 5 year old that is way too much angle for their developing knees. At the max they should be 3+ to 3- after they get the feel for riding.


Actuallly its not too much as long as the width of stance isn't too wide. I wouldn't set up a perfect duck stance for a person when first learning. Its better to have a higher angle on the front foot with a lower one on the back. Also typically a riders combination of angles shouldn't be greater then 30. you will notice with the suggest angle setup that it is below 20. But this could change depending on the individual. If you have information/facts to why you believe that +12, -6 is too much please let me know where your information is coming from. I'm always eager to expand my knowledge base.


----------



## pencap75 (Dec 10, 2008)

whiskaz said:


> Gotcha. Yea, like I said, I noticed here doing it right off (of course when she turned to look back at me, he shoulders would become more parallel to the board, but when she turned to look back down the hill, her shoulders would rotate too). I tried to get her to put that arm back but she wasn't listening. Maybe I'll try adjusting her stance for next time.
> 
> How about her stance width, in the pic with the instructor. Does it look too wide? I wasn't sure. The instructor said it was OK.



Wide stance width is fine since it lowers her center of gravity, which will make her more stable.
I find it funny when I see novice snowboarders standing straight up in the air, totally unstable.

With my wife, in addition to foward stance, I also widened her stance slightly so that she bends her knees more, stays low, with a lower center of gravity and therefore more stable.

You never know, one day she might end up being the female Shaun White.


----------



## whiskaz (Feb 10, 2010)

Lots of different advice - I like it. I may try adjusting some things to see how it goes. 

She was pretty good at keeping her knees bent (something she did pick up really well from her lesson!). At one point she got them nice and bent, kinda low, good from. I praised the heck out of her 

We'll be riding Snowshoe together in 2 weeks. Hoping for another fun day.

Catman, how many days per season has your son put in since he started (per season)? Do you live close to the mountain you ride most? Wisp is a relatively quick drive for us - 2-2.5 hours but the mountain is SMALL. It's perfect for her but I don't really want to drop money on a season pass for myself just to take her every weekend, all because it's close. Snowshoe is 3 hours away and my preference for riding (and a season pass is cheap if purchased early enough). I'm just not sure how she'll handle the drive if done very often!


----------



## Nefarious (Dec 26, 2010)

Find a way to make the drive fun for her. Set up some rituals that a kid would look forward to along the way. Favorite place to eat/ buy her something. It's borderline bribery, but better than risking an early burnout caused by car rides. As for stance and width, at her age and ability minor adjustments won't yield mind blowing results. Ask her and make sure she's comfortable, past that...just let her progress and have fun. Once she starts feeling the flow of the board, she'll want to learn and progress on her own ambition.

Either way this is super inspirational. As the father of a 2 year old boy, I've got big dreams of shredding. I'll never force him, but I'd love to go and hit the slopes with him. Keep having fun!


----------



## Catman (Mar 16, 2008)

We ride about 130 days a season give or take.


----------



## Catman (Mar 16, 2008)

gjsnowboarder said:


> Actuallly its not too much as long as the width of stance isn't too wide. I wouldn't set up a perfect duck stance for a person when first learning. Its better to have a higher angle on the front foot with a lower one on the back. Also typically a riders combination of angles shouldn't be greater then 30. you will notice with the suggest angle setup that it is below 20. But this could change depending on the individual. If you have information/facts to why you believe that +12, -6 is too much please let me know where your information is coming from. I'm always eager to expand my knowledge base.


I find working with little kids (3-6) Their knees and legs last longer with a mild stance.And when they fall and happen to roll with the torso and hips twisting a mild set up allows their knees to flex the same either direction meaning if they were at a 12+ they have already lost 12 degrees of knee rotation in one direction. Did I explain that clear enough if not I can try again:dunno:That is my opinion from trial and error

I only say equal right now for her first few times because she is probably doing some drifting so why not let her get used to switch whatever that may be.


----------



## whiskaz (Feb 10, 2010)

Catman said:


> We ride about 130 days a season give or take.


Wow! You must be really close to the slopes. I take it you guys go out a lot after work/school  I'll be lucky to reach double digits for myself this season.


----------

