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You are here: Home / Travel Tips / How to Survive the First Ski Trip: Insider Tips
Have you gone skiing as a family? Read our first time ski tips
You're never too old to try out skiing. Credit: Judy Antell / TravelingMom with Pets

How to Survive the First Ski Trip: Insider Tips

January 25, 2019 //  by Judy Antell//  17 Comments

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One of the best gifts I gave my kids was starting them on the ski slopes young. Skiing is a great – though admittedly expensive – family activity and the younger you start learning, the easier it is. But even if you are going for the first time as an adult, you can enjoy yourself. These tips will help ease your transition to a skiing (or snowboarding) family.

That first ski trip creates great memories
On the bunny hill. Note the goggles and helmets! Photo: Jamie Bartosch/Suburban TravelingMom

How to Survive the First Ski Trip: 6 Insider Tips

1. Dress in layers
2. Gloves are not your friends
3. Wear only one pair of socks
4. Helmets, of course
5. Goggles are required
6. Bite the bullet – pay for the closest and most convenient lodging

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy, TravelingMom may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you.

Ski vacations are one of the most fun trips an adventurous family can take. They also involve a few complications – namely, keeping the kids and yourself warm and dry. As a veteran ski family, we have amassed a list of tips that will help keep the family dry, smiling – and screaming with delight.

Best choice for the first ski trip: lodging as close as possible
Outside a slope side condo, minutes from the chairlift and lessons in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Photo: Diana Rowe, Traveling Grandmom

1. Dress in layers

Make sure everyone has a warm ski jacket. Even though my kids are experienced skiers, our first time at a New Hampshire ski resort introduced a surprise element: bone chilling cold. A ski instructor walked up to me and my then 13-year old daughter and declared her fashionable middle school jacket inadequate for the task. It was 30 below at the summit and she had on her “perfect for a short walk to a NYC subway” jacket.

Choose a family friendly ski resort for the first ski trip
Buckaroo Bowl in Beaver Creek is a fantastic area for kids to learn to ski. Photo: Liana Moore/ Mountain TravelingMom

Waterproof ski pants are also a sound investment. First time skiers are known to fall into snow and get pretty wet, and soggy pants are no fun. Choose a comfortable base layer; if it’s extremely cold, you may need regular pants over the base layer and under the waterproof. Don’t bring your skinny jeans.

2. Gloves are not your friends

These tips could save your ski trip #firstskitrip #firsttimeskier #beginningskier #familyskitrip

Each skier needs two pairs of warm mittens. Make sure the mittens are waterproof, flexible enough that you can grip poles, and rated to a below-freezing temperature. That second pair of mittens is for when the first, apparently non-waterproof pair gets wet. Remember, first-time skiers spend a lot of time on the ground, and even more experienced ones can fall when they try more challenging slopes. Wet mittens will make everyone miserable. Trust me on this.

3. Wear only one pair of socks

As someone who gets cold in September and doesn’t fully warm up until late May, I know from cold. But two pairs of socks create friction and friction creates blisters. One pair of warm socks (I highly recommend Smartwool) plus warm ski boots will keep your feet warm and dry. But remember the advice above; a second pair of socks is a good idea in case that first pair gets drenched. And of course you need clean socks for every day of skiing and you may not have a dryer. Plus wool socks don’t survive most dryers. So you will need lots of pairs of socks. But wear just one at a time.

If you are cold weather averse, a few packets of hand warmers and toe warmers should do the trick. These packets stay warm for hours and have saved the day on many occasions. They are much cheaper further away from the slopes, so stock up before heading to the mountain.

4. Helmets, of course

While only some ski resorts in the United States require helmets on kids, they are mandatory in most ski schools. But they should always be part of everyone’s ski gear. Don’t you all wear bike helmets EVERY TIME YOU RIDE? You go a lot faster on skis and helmets are a critical insurance policy.

Helmets are also great because they help keep your head warm. I suggest buying a helmet to ensure a good fit, and to make sure that your hat will fit under the helmet. No cute pompoms, alas, but you can wear those apres-ski.

5. Goggles are required

Goggles may seem like an unnecessary expense, but they are a lifesaver when it’s snowing and you don’t want snow blinding you. Plus they offer sun protection. The sun hitting the snow creates a powerful light and you want to protect your baby’s baby blues, don’t you?

6. Bite the bullet – pay for the closest and most convenient lodging

A first time skier might prefer trying out cross country first. Credit: Judy Antell / TravelingMom with Pets

Sorry bargain hungers, but ski trips are not the place to cut costs. Whether you are schlepping all the way to a remote resort in Utah (lucky you) or Maine, you are already investing a lot of money. But you are also spending a lot of time. If you are herding even just one child to ski school in the morning, you want to be on time, well rested, and close by so at the end of the day, you don’t have to drive an extra 5, 10 or 20 minutes to an off-site hotel or condo. Taking off your skis and walking to a slopeside resort residence is priceless.

When you book a condo in Vail, you not only have great access to the slopes, but you also have space to spread out; a full kitchen to prepare dinner if you are too tired to go out, and breakfast every morning, a living room where you can watch TV or read a book. We have booked condos where a washer and dryer meant we could bring just two days of ski clothes. And we could bring the dog!

So even if you pay more for a convenient ski in / ski out condo, some of the cost is offset. You can save money on food, and you can save on clothes if you are buying ski clothes for growing children, and only need two of everything.

Bonus tip: check out non-alpine options

Not everyone wants to hurtle downhill at 60 miles per hour. Cross country skiing can offer a gentle introduction to spending a day on skis. It is also more gently priced. When my kids were little, we would spend at least one day cross country skiing.

See you on the slopes!

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Category: Travel Tips

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17 Comments on “How to Survive the First Ski Trip: Insider Tips”

  1. John Gelb says:
    August 13, 2019 at 5:02 pm

    1. Hits the best points for first timers to skiing. 2. Don’t forget about ski lessons! A fun, first-time ski trip MUST include ski school lessons. Very important tip: YOU’VE got to book these very far ahead if your trip coincides with a holiday weekend — most ski resorts “sell out” of instructors a week or more before the holiday weekend. Your big decision: group ski school lessons (for the kids), or private lessons: private lessons are very expensive, group lessons much less so. Tip: ask a friend if there’s an instructor she would recommend. Like everything in life, especially things involving personal instruction, there’s the great, the great Ok, and the not so great. A solid recommendation is really worth it for the kids, and their parents.(full disclosure: I’m a ski instructor at Stratton, VT.

    Reply
  2. Olivier says:
    February 3, 2018 at 4:48 am

    A Well Explained Tips for the Ski.

    Thanks for Sharing.

    Reply
  3. GVA Transfers says:
    January 4, 2018 at 8:42 am

    I am newbie in skiing and this is really helpful for me. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    1. Judy Antell, TravelingMom with Pets says:
      February 19, 2019 at 3:39 pm

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  4. Jen says:
    December 7, 2016 at 9:04 pm

    great article! I would just add that you should give yourself a day or 2 before skiing to get used to the altitude. Sadly, my kids’ first trip to ski was ruined for one son who suffered from altitude sickness. After a day adjusting, he felt better but it put him off from skiing in general. We will try again this year and ease into it before hitting the slopes.

    Reply
    1. Judy Antell, Vegetarian TravelingMom says:
      December 20, 2016 at 4:39 pm

      Thanks for bringing that up! My middle daughter actually gets altitude sickness, though oddly never when skiing – only mountain hiking. Hope he can avoid it this year!

      Reply
  5. Denedriane (Dee) Dean, Serendipity TravelingMom says:
    October 24, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    I have never skied before, and so I feel like this set of tips would have me well-prepared for the beginner slopes! thanks for these vital insider tips ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    1. Judy Antell, Vegetarian TravelingMom says:
      October 31, 2016 at 12:32 pm

      You’re welcome. I hope you try it!

      Reply
  6. kerrie @travelswithmum.com says:
    October 19, 2016 at 4:19 pm

    Great tips!! As skiers ourselves these tips are invaluable and so important whether you are a first time skier or have a few trips under your belt!

    Reply
    1. Judy Antell, Vegetarian TravelingMom says:
      October 31, 2016 at 12:31 pm

      thanks

      Reply
  7. Diana Rowe, Traveling Grandmom says:
    October 16, 2016 at 11:49 am

    5

    Reply
  8. Tara says:
    October 11, 2016 at 10:40 am

    Great tips, all so true! We plan to take our boys for the first time next winter.

    Reply
    1. Judy Antell, Vegetarian TravelingMom says:
      October 11, 2016 at 10:58 pm

      enjoy!

      Reply
  9. Anonymous says:
    October 10, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    5

    Reply
  10. Cindy Richards, Empty Nest TravelingMom says:
    October 10, 2016 at 6:51 pm

    5

    Reply
  11. Cathy Bennett Kopf, Optimism TravelingMom says:
    October 10, 2016 at 7:58 am

    5

    Reply
  12. Judy Antell, Vegetarian TravelingMom says:
    October 9, 2016 at 5:56 pm

    4.5

    Reply

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