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  1. #41
    marinkitty is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    North Shore Chicagoland
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    You will be amazed how quickly your kids pick it up - especially your older two. By the end of our first PC trip (when my older two were 5 and 7) they were both very comfortable on the greens. Now we ski groomed blacks and all blues with them. They kick our butts through the moguls. My little one still is a green hill skier - an easy groomed blue that is nice and wide is fine but otherwise he gets out of control.

    We usually put our kids in all-day ski school for the first few days and then pull them out starting with the oldest and working our way down so by the end of the trip we are all skiing together. But we always ski with the older ones (now both of them come out together to ski with us since both are advanced intermediate/advanced) for a few days but really I am done with a day or day and a half of skiing with my youngest. When he was 4 I often pulled him out after the pm hot cocoa break and skied the end of the day with him. Last year we pulled him out for a day and a half at the end which was fun, but it definitely cramped the style of the older two so it was fun to have them out on their own so the four of us could cover more terrain.

    Depending where you ski, group lessons can be very small. At Deer Valley - my four year old was either out one on one or with two kids. Last year when he was five he was in a group of three or four, tops. The older kids were in a group of five or six, but of course they are much more accomplished skiers and they were with friends so they wanted to have a group. We had five 9-10 year old girls ski together all week and at the end the instructor said next time we should definitely just get them a private instructor (one day they had a random kid in their group that really slowed everyone down) so this year we will have 3 girls (10-12) together and will probably go that route for 3 days and then they will just ski with us. But even with five kids, the rates were slightly higher for private vs. the group ski school rate - I guess my point is don't stress about the quality of group lessons if semi-private will break the budget. They will still learn very quickly.

  2. #42
    Philly Mom is offline Diamond level (5000+ posts)
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    I can only speak as a child who grew up taking yearly ski vacations out west not as a parent. I first went skiing in PC just before I turned 4. My parents put me in all day ski school for the week. By the end of the week, I was able to ski from the top of the mountain to the bottom. We normally spent the last day skiing as a family when I was kid, but the rest of the time we were often in lessons (including my parents). It was almost always group lessons when we were kids. My brothers are 5 and 7 years older so they were together in a group lesson and I was by myself in a group lesson. I think my last group lesson was when I was 9 or 10. By that point, I was a very good skier and could ski with my brothers. We were much better than my parents. My parents still took lessons, sometimes semi-private for themselves and my brothers and I would take a semi-private for a day or two and then just ski together without my parents. My parents would join us for a few runs every day. If we went somewhere new, we sometimes would take a family "lesson" but it was really just so that someone could show us the mountain for a day.

  3. #43
    geochick is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    I'd put the 2 older kids in a semi-private...for the first day or two. You might then want to put them in groups after that, or just let them ski the blue runs with you. The 4 year old won't have the same stamina. Put the 4 year old in a group lesson with other wee ones from the first day.

  4. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by mom2beofboy/girltwins View Post
    I took my twins skiing for the first time this past spring in Utah. Extended family has an amazing vacation home just outside of Park City. We drove to Brighton each day. The kids were turning 4 y.o. two weeks after our trip so they "technically" weren't able to do the 4-7 yr old class. I ended up putting them in a semi private lesson (just the two of them) for 2 mornings. By the second afternoon they were riding the lifts up with us and skiing down. I was so blown away at how awesome they were doing and how fast they picked it.up. They had such a blast and still keep asking me when we can go back. Also, just FYI, the other thing they had a total blast with was tubing and playing at Gorgoza Park (www.gorgoza.com), so I'd recommend that too!

    Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
    Wow, 4...that is pretty awesome!!

    Quote Originally Posted by geochick View Post
    I'd put the 2 older kids in a semi-private...for the first day or two. You might then want to put them in groups after that, or just let them ski the blue runs with you. The 4 year old won't have the same stamina. Put the 4 year old in a group lesson with other wee ones from the first day.
    That is what I think I'm leaning toward.

    Quote Originally Posted by Philly Mom View Post
    I can only speak as a child who grew up taking yearly ski vacations out west not as a parent. I first went skiing in PC just before I turned 4. My parents put me in all day ski school for the week. By the end of the week, I was able to ski from the top of the mountain to the bottom. We normally spent the last day skiing as a family when I was kid, but the rest of the time we were often in lessons (including my parents). It was almost always group lessons when we were kids. My brothers are 5 and 7 years older so they were together in a group lesson and I was by myself in a group lesson. I think my last group lesson was when I was 9 or 10. By that point, I was a very good skier and could ski with my brothers. We were much better than my parents. My parents still took lessons, sometimes semi-private for themselves and my brothers and I would take a semi-private for a day or two and then just ski together without my parents. My parents would join us for a few runs every day. If we went somewhere new, we sometimes would take a family "lesson" but it was really just so that someone could show us the mountain for a day.
    Good info,thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by marinkitty View Post
    You will be amazed how quickly your kids pick it up - especially your older two. By the end of our first PC trip (when my older two were 5 and 7) they were both very comfortable on the greens. Now we ski groomed blacks and all blues with them. They kick our butts through the moguls. My little one still is a green hill skier - an easy groomed blue that is nice and wide is fine but otherwise he gets out of control.

    We usually put our kids in all-day ski school for the first few days and then pull them out starting with the oldest and working our way down so by the end of the trip we are all skiing together. But we always ski with the older ones (now both of them come out together to ski with us since both are advanced intermediate/advanced) for a few days but really I am done with a day or day and a half of skiing with my youngest. When he was 4 I often pulled him out after the pm hot cocoa break and skied the end of the day with him. Last year we pulled him out for a day and a half at the end which was fun, but it definitely cramped the style of the older two so it was fun to have them out on their own so the four of us could cover more terrain.

    Depending where you ski, group lessons can be very small. At Deer Valley - my four year old was either out one on one or with two kids. Last year when he was five he was in a group of three or four, tops. The older kids were in a group of five or six, but of course they are much more accomplished skiers and they were with friends so they wanted to have a group. We had five 9-10 year old girls ski together all week and at the end the instructor said next time we should definitely just get them a private instructor (one day they had a random kid in their group that really slowed everyone down) so this year we will have 3 girls (10-12) together and will probably go that route for 3 days and then they will just ski with us. But even with five kids, the rates were slightly higher for private vs. the group ski school rate - I guess my point is don't stress about the quality of group lessons if semi-private will break the budget. They will still learn very quickly.
    Yeah, those ratios are really good!
    Marcy

    DD1 2003
    DD2 2005
    DD3 2009

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
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    Utah.
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    I'm late to this so you may have already come to a decision. I live in Salt Lake and we have skied at almost all the local resorts over the past 14 years. DH is a snowboarder so we don't go to Deer Valley or Alta, however. As far as ski school goes, we loved Brighton, but DS had a really great experience at the Canyons too. Brighton is always referred to around here as the "locals" resort. It doesn't have much at all in the way of amenities, honestly, and it's pretty isolated from anything that does. It would not be my first pick if I were traveling here from across the country for my first visit.

    If you were traveling without kids and were really serious skiers then I would say go to Snowbird. The snow is generally the most reliably good there and there is a decent resort feel. There are several excellent restaurants and the skiing is a lot of fun. Again, though, it's pretty isolated. We never used the ski school at Snowbird so I can't comment on it.

    Personally, for a vacation with kids, I'd choose to stay in Park City and ski at the Canyons. If the cost of staying at the Canyons is really prohibitive then I'd definitely look into a VRBO nearby. Park City just has SO many more amenities and conveniences. I really wouldn't want to have to travel 30-40 minutes daily to get to the resort with 3 kids.
    Daniele
    mama to
    dd1 watching over her brothers and sister from Heaven
    ds1 13 years old
    dd2 10 years old
    ds2 6 years old
    Placenta Increta/c-hyst survivor

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    USA.
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    Thank you. This is such great info, esp from a local's perspective. I haven't posted in a while, but sadly when we looked at as many options as we could, and worked on it for two weeks, with us looking at everything, and also having a travel agent put together a package for us ----going to UT this year was still too pricey. It was mostly because of the week we were going and the flights. We could have done it possibly by staying somewhere further out, but if we are going to make the trip from FL, I want to be where the amenities are and not have to drive everywhere. We really wanted to be in the Canyons or Park City. I will also plan further in advance next year too.

    We decided to go next year, most likely over spring break. So as an intro, we are going to a ski resort on the east coast, in Snowshoe, which will be $2500 cheaper for the whole trip (Yeah, I know, no comparison to out west but the kids will still love it) They won't know any better, since they've never seen snow. DH and I are thinking of it as a way to expose the kids to skiing and the snow, and for us to get back in ski mode again as it's been 11 years for both of us. I'm sure we've been spoiled since we've skied out west a lot, but it will still be fun.

    I'm bummed that UT didn't work out, but you can bet I'll be coming back to this post when I plan next year's trip!!!
    Marcy

    DD1 2003
    DD2 2005
    DD3 2009

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