What to expect when taking a 2-year-old skiing
“We’re not finished, Grandpa”
Grandpa P had taken his skis off to walk up the little children’s slope and help Baby Girl up when the lift stopped working, but 29-month-old Baby Girl was having none of it. As soon as she saw him taking his skis off she got worried Grandpa P had misunderstood. There was no way we were going to head back to the car yet. Skiing was suddenly Baby Girl’s new favourite activity, and she kept ordering us all back up to the top.
She had a pretty good crowd with her. Two sets of grandparents, a dog and her mummy were all clapping and cheering her along on her second day skiing. She must have been feeling like a true champion, and if one of us weren’t clapping after she’d been skiing a few metres on her own, we were quickly told off: “You must clap, Grandpa.”
By this time, she could stand up on her skis and one of us would say: “Ready, Set, Go” and Grandpa P, who was the only other person in her entourage with skis on, would ski backwards in front of her, catching her before she could fall.
With me having worked as a ski instructor in the past and teaching young children to ski, I was super excited to witness progress from one day to the next. When we’d arrived that morning she’d first only wanted to do two runs before making a scene and demanding to go to the ski area’s café, where she by this point knew there was a ball pool filled with Duplo, and the first day she hadn’t had the same will to stand up on her skis and the same level of balance.
On that day, she’d complained about the ski boots being too heavy for her, and she’d only really played along when we’d met another 2-year-old we knew who she could ski after. Before meeting him, she hadn’t wanted to stand in the lift and insisted on being carried instead, but when she was skiing after him, she was suddenly much happier and fine to copy.
After the first ski experience, I loved seeing how proud she was. She called Daddy T, who was back in London working, from a Fisher Price toy phone to tell him that she’d been skiing on her holiday, and she looked super excited about going back to the slopes the next day.
Go Baby Girl!
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