Snow Skills

Half your day of skiing and riding is spent on the lifts. While safety is an issue all day long, riding the lifts represents a time to be more vigilant, especially if you’re riding with the lift with a child.

Here are some tips on riding a chairlift with children:

* It’s best to keep an arm around behind the child, especially when preparing to unload. You’ll be ready if you need to get a grip on them.
* When loading, coach the child to “chase the chair” to begin to walk out to the load point. If they are conditioned to move out as soon as a chair has passed, they’ll have the most time available to reach the load point.
* When you reach the load point, coach the child to look over their shoulder at the oncoming chair. If necessary, phyically turn the child’s head to condition them to looking for the chair, rather than being surprised by its sudden arrival.
* Coach the child to sit still with their legs and arms facing forward. Make that the only posture you allow them to have.
* Entertain them! Sitting still will cause a child to reflect on what could bother them, i.e. cold, fear of heights, etc. Distract them from their fears with songs, jokes, or discussing good skiing and riding.