Teach them and you can curl up in the lodge with a book. I prefer boarding to skiing the older I get. Find it easier on my body. Over 60. Though boarding is harder to learn but more fun.

Anonymous wrote:OP on the East Coast the mountains tend to have a layer of ice, so they aren’t falling in fluffy powder. West coast skiing has the fluffy snow conditions.

My kids learned at Liberty just fine. Not the best snow but good enough.

OP on the East Coast the mountains tend to have a layer of ice, so they aren’t falling in fluffy powder. West coast skiing has the fluffy snow conditions.

Anonymous wrote:No one gets made of fun of for not knowing how to ski/board. It's not a big deal if your kid doesn't know how. Don't worry about that.

not knowing how to ski or snowboards is low class and made fun of at school kind of like messed up teeth without braces

No one gets made of fun of for not knowing how to ski/board. It's not a big deal if your kid doesn't know how. Don't worry about that.

White Tail and Liberty both offer multi week camps for kids. You'd have to drive them every week but you might be able to find a carpool. They usually start in Jan.

Liberty is about 1 1/2 hours from DC. You can get individual lessons for your kids. Some places have a six week program you can take your kids to. Parents can sit inside in the warm ski lodge. Best to rent skis from Sun and Ski in Gaithersburg to avoid long lines at the resort. But your lift ticket online

Take the oldest to a local mountain and put him into ski school for a couple days. Do that every year. You don’t have to follow up with practicing. It’ll be enough so that he’s not embarrassed during the school trip.

My kids did that. It helped a lot.

Op here. After reading all these comments, I think skiing or snowboarding may not work for us. DH has an injured shoulders which he can't risk to get injured again from sports and I dont think I am capable to learn to ski or snowboard. Ot sure if it is similar concepts, kids have tried ice skating, and one kid does a bit better than other on balancing but both are not good at them. They have not tried roller blade or skateboard due to concern of the balancing challenges. I thought ski may be easier because one fall on soft snow, isn't it? I hear of middle school bus trip to ski ( probably through privatd vendors) , that's why I want to take them (esp. the older one, 4th grader) to give it a try in case he may get teased that he has never ski or snowboard before. We live in dmv area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you and your spouse do not ski there is no point in teaching your kids to ski. Lessons only go so far, they need time "free" skiing to develop the skills. They can learn as adults if they want.

+1. This doesn’t sound like the right activity for your family. And yes, kids do need their parents on the mountain. My kids have both been skiing since age 3 and we ski 50+ days a year. I see countless kids skiing out of control and getting hurt because they took a lesson and then mom and dad sent them off on the mountain by themselves.

+2. Just lessons is not going to cut it and then throwing your kids out on the mountain on their own. Just because they are able to get down the trail doesn’t mean they are good or have control. So many of these kids are out of control, have terrible form, etc..

I also agree that lessons only go so far. They need to free ski and work on what they learn. The way to do that is ski with a parent or adult skier. Also the more you ski, the better you will get. Also once they are competent, they need to ski on different terrain and know how to adjust accordingly.

Don’t waste your time and money OP if neither you or your husband ski. If your kids really want to do it, they can learn in their 20’s, ski with friends, join ski club, etc…. I say this as someone who was in this boat and learned to ski in my 20’s. I also say this as a family who started our DS skiing around 5. DH grew up skiing and came from a skiing family.

We put DS in lessons but also did lots of skiing as a family initially locally and now go out west every year. The lessons gave him the foundation but he got really good from getting lots of ski time in to practice those skills, especially with DH. Because of this, it only took him about 3-4 years to surpass me in ability.

Anonymous wrote:If you and your spouse do not ski there is no point in teaching your kids to ski. Lessons only go so far, they need time "free" skiing to develop the skills. They can learn as adults if they want.

+1. This doesn’t sound like the right activity for your family. And yes, kids do need their parents on the mountain. My kids have both been skiing since age 3 and we ski 50+ days a year. I see countless kids skiing out of control and getting hurt because they took a lesson and then mom and dad sent them off on the mountain by themselves.

To what others said - no one is cold while skiing, it's all about how you dress - for yourself - i'm cold all the time so i survive with sherpa lined legging underneath ski pants - https://www.amazon.com/Yeokou-Womens-Sherpa-Athletic-Sweatpants/dp/B07L6F6Q5P/ref=sr_1_15_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.uOkxUnaFyFbWaaeqDVbOxw4Q847wp2wkC64AMU0-Mt78U8JZTcp4-fSL5Q-YOZUJvNvd0ojDQtWPKQ_eKYbpBwRJnABVGQ9bg67YTy8K_ppIsgR5r1yNbTq4ZnxJYXtV106z00afG5cpHNw3rnvewHI3Ucr0XKPsc7VIhwCA-ruur7g3qP72QVhPWBPbggEV9MC1hm36XC1-cNbgfpfr6y8KEyiEA6axkMRx7-nePOe-XSEVspJ_HuUekptkBJaIa4f55RwtjKArNuDg2Q00vzxg2xSVUEfbccjPbAcEnQw.nEmSOkEFsLhFQxQJliS4GjrHyKRp98NdDBmOO5OuFZI&dib_tag=se&hvadid=643178734538&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9007533&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=14097505961888109603--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14097505961888109603&hvtargid=kwd-1906590891791&hydadcr=7666_13589697&keywords=shearling%2Blined%2Btights&mcid=06a53b4a0ae034f6a0e5fe01d55fd98b&qid=1765820076&sr=8-15-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1&psc=1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you and your spouse do not ski there is no point in teaching your kids to ski. Lessons only go so far, they need time "free" skiing to develop the skills. They can learn as adults if they want.

+1. How will they practice? They need adult supervision on the slope.

I always thought a great service for a skiing teen would be Buddy on the slopes. Parents would pay the teen to ski with their kid like a babysitter. No lessons, kid has to be able to manage their own equipment, kid is responsible for their own lunch, etc. But the kid would have a buddy on the mtn that isn't a parent.

It depends on the age of the kids. Ski school and then beginner slope can be handled by kids alone. As they get better, the front facing greens. Agree that an adult would have to be onsite but not necessarily on the mountain. Kids learn so fast.

If you really want to do this.

Go on a nice day not a day the weather is iffy.

Sign your kids up for semi private lessons.
Get them rental equiptment drop them at the ski school you get some coffee or hot chocolate and enjoy the free hour and half or so...

Anonymous wrote:If you and your spouse do not ski there is no point in teaching your kids to ski. Lessons only go so far, they need time "free" skiing to develop the skills. They can learn as adults if they want.

+1. How will they practice? They need adult supervision on the slope.

I always thought a great service for a skiing teen would be Buddy on the slopes. Parents would pay the teen to ski with their kid like a babysitter. No lessons, kid has to be able to manage their own equipment, kid is responsible for their own lunch, etc. But the kid would have a buddy on the mtn that isn't a parent.