Help DS is now better at skiing than I am

[rookiemere]

So DS is 10 almost 11, my skiing seems to be regressing Benjamin Button style to the point where I will likely be on the nursery slopes next time. DH is pretty much a beginner so cannot help.

I enjoy skiing and would like the opportunity just to tootle down blues but DS wants to do more than that after his lessons. Being in charge of him makes me more nervous and makes my skiing even worse.

The place we go to only has 2 hour lessons for children. I guess we could go somewhere with longer lessons but DS doesnt fancy that. Ideally he needs other people of his own ability to ski with but with some sort of supervision. Does such a thing exist and if so where ?

It depends what your budget is. There are some ski companies that offer ski guiding for all ages but some of them are very, very expensive.

yes look down the page at Junior Camps 11-15 yrs they run in the afternoons
www.avoriazalpineskischool.com/childrens-groups

My 8 year old daughter has just overtaken me - so you are not alone!

• find some friends to go with
• have some lessons yourself
• go somewhere with a snowpark
• have a joint lesson in the afternoon where your ds can be taken to the side of the piste to do jumps in the powder while you try to build your confidence up

Here we have all day kids lessons. You just meet them for lunch and then you have an hour at the end of the day if you want to ski with them. My three have all been better than me for years, but it doesn't stop us skiing together - we just set them off first at the top and follow at our own pace. Most if the runs have little tracks through the trees so they head off through for fun and I use the main piste. As long as they know where to stop and wait, it's fine, and you know where to look if they don't turn up. (We have only properly lost one once when she fell in the trees and couldn't get back up, but a passing dude levered her upright and she appeared after about twenty minutes just as dh was going back up the chair in a panic).
It depends what you want though. The real answer is getting some more lessons yourself if you can be bothered - or have him ski with you at a slower rate (like you have been with him for years) for another year or two until you can release him alone - our family group has a very wide skill ability but we still ski together - patience and tolerance! Ours have been 12 before we set them off on runs alone, probably, but it's more fun if they take a friend.

Somewhere with longer lessons sounds like a plan but I don't think DS would fancy all day ones.

I have had lessons, in fact I am having one tomorrow but I don't seem to be getting much better. I used to be confident on most red runs in my twenties so I think it is an age related matter. Plus I am not as fit as I used to be 😳( despite doing skifit app) so I find the afternoons tough.

Thanks for suggestions so far do keep them coming.

Try this place - couldn't recommend it more....

connick ski

I don't know where you are but I found the slopes this year at least a grade harder than other years - blue becoming red and red becoming black.. -so perhaps you are better than you think you are!

In Austria they do lessons all day, but the afternoon session is a 'fun' one - trees/jumps/snowboard park etc. My kids loved it

Connick looks amazing but slightly out of our price range.

Thats really good to know about Austria. I think he would enjoy that. Any particular resort or ski school you would recommend willconcern?

Definitely getting worse although theres a blue run here that we have had confirmed used to be a red, it is definately harder than your average blue.

I think the problem is the lessons he is having rather than not liking lessons at all. My very competent 12 year old would far rather go into lessons with kids of a similar ability and and young 20 something instructor than ski with me! Once the kids have reached a certain level it seems to be more about having fun and covering the mountain, skiing in trees and doing tricks. The teaching seems very low key.

Yy 'lessons' for competent teens are essentially an all day all mountain party. There's no clinic lol.
Op my ski ability started to decline after I had kids. Self preservation kicked in and throwing myself off cliffs became a really dumb idea. Follow that by years and years of snowplow with toddlers and kids, and my ski ability has regressed to the lamest of the lame. The kids actually cause it lol, not age. DH though - his is definitely age lol. (Mil and fil visit to ski for 6 weeks every year and they are in their seventies - mil went through a few years of losing confidence and switched to snow blades as she felt safer - she's now back on the long skis). So that's another option - rent a few pairs of blades and mess about on the bunny hill - you can stay upright and move downhill and ds can go wild with 360 stunts

Might try blades that is an idea. Thing is I am not overly bothered about being decent I am quite happy to stick within my comfort zone so I think next time I will look for longer lessons for DS.

Try Ski Club of Great Britain for their group skiing and ski courses. Most Ski Schools will do advanced kids lessons or focus sessions on moguls etc. He may be better than you but there will always be kids better , especially in Europe.

Things went a lot better today. I had my lesson and my instructor told me I was capable of skiing any red so if he says it, it must be true😏
Also I realised that part of the problem is I am just not fit enough to ski all day. Therefore I factored in a coffee break whilst DS at his lesson and it was a very worthwhile 15 minute break ( even if it did cost 4 euros 30).