Advice needed - First time Skiing as a family: Skiing and/or Snowboarding

[magicfarawaytree]

We are taking our first holiday skiing holiday as a family. DH and I have only been once before, our children have never been. My son who is in year 6 wants to do snowboarding. The rest of us want to learn to ski first. I have been told that snowboarders take longer to get down the slopes than skiers. Also that if he learns to snowboard first he is unlikely to learn to ski. Is this true and therefore likely to make this more of a disjointed holiday? Would it be better to make him learn to ski first? (he can be persuaded) and then book a couple of private snowboard lessons to see if he likes it?

If he snowboards first it is unlikely ime that he will learn to ski later . Most of the kids we know who board have done so after becoming proficient at skiing. Yes he may well have to go at a different pace to skiers initially, take longer to master lifts and get off the nursery slopes.Also I suspect he'd be more interested in snowparks and learning tricks. tbh it is unlikely you will be able to learn and ski together for a while yet as the kids will feel less inhibited and are more flexible in correcting their centre of balance so progress quicker

Thank you LIZS that's really helpful. Skiing it is then!

Ski lessons for adults are separate from children's lessons. If you take lessons you will not be together anyway during lesson time. All the boarders we know,skied first. We never ski as a family because I am really slow, DD1 and DH are proficient and DD2 is super quick and can't hang around for the slow ones! I think boarding has a different feel to it and I think boarders stay separate from skiers.

My DS1 is yr6, we are skiing at the moment - this is his third time skiing and he is having boarding lessons in the afternoon after his skiing lessons - I'd say its definitely the right way to do it as skiing is quick to learn, and you can (almost instantly) go somewhere and do something, whereas, snowboarding, for the first few days at least, you can spend it on your arse trying to get off the magic carpet . I put mine (3DS) through ESF from 6. For a family holiday, I'd just say - choose your resort and time of year carefully, there's no fun spending half your holiday queuing up at a lift or trying to dodge hundreds of people down the slopes (or being so bitterly cold it's miserable!, especially when you are learning and don't move so much!)
Have a great time

Thank you all for your advice it has all been really useful. :)