How to take a young kid skiing

We decided to take our little one skiing this weekend with her cousins who are around her same age. Beaver Mountain ski resort in Utah has a great little beginner bunny hill that is absolutely free of charge.

We learned a few things from this ski trip. First, don't plan to be there very long. We were there for about 2 hours and we spent about 1 hour just playing in the snow.

Second, be patient and ready for anything. They have what I call a conveyor belt that you ski onto and it whisks you up the small mountain slope. When little bug went to get on she fell over and ended up being pulled partway up while on her side with her skis twisted and stuck. It was not a good experience for her. She was screaming and crying and just wanted to take her skis off. When we got to the top of the hill I ended up taking off my snowboard and walking down the hill while I pulled her on her skis. By the time we got to the bottom I was sweating and little bug was barely not crying.

Of course, we made her go again. I walked beside the lift this time and held her hand and it was a much better experience. When we got to the top I held her hands again and we went down quite a bit faster than the first time. Again I walked next to the lift, holding her hand, while she rode the conveyor belt up the hill. This time, her dad took her down with her skis between his skis and her arms safely wrapped around his in case she fell. Mostly she just leaned on him because she was emotionally exhausted but they made it down the hill together without any tears and when we got to the bottom and I said we were going to go again, little one said "Okay," with almost a hint of enjoyment in her voice ... a very small hint, but it was there.

She went down the hill once more with her dad and by that time we had been there for an hour and she was ready to be done. So were her cousins, who had gone down the hill a dozen times or so (they've skied several times before) so we spent the next hour playing in the beautiful powdery snow beside the resort.

I also got a few runs in myself on my snowboard while little bug played with her dad. It was a great day for us all, despite the terrible start.