child first ski holiday

[minny80]

Hello
Looking for some advice pls. I am taking DS (7yo) to his first ski holiday in April. He has been taking lessons at an indoor ski centre since last summer and I have booked a family-friendly resort with plenty of blue pistes. It's just the 2 of us and I would place myself as a mid-beginner. I have never been to that area and we are only staying for 5 days. Do you think it's safe to hit the (blue) pistes together straight away or would it be better to send him to ski school or hire a private instructor to show us around? We are going to the Gurgl area in Austria

Definitely you are right to consider getting an instructor. Many blue runs are not suitable for beginners (they can have a steep pitch even if short) and some run classifications are more about making sure the resort looks welcoming to early improving skiers rather than being genuine blues. Depending on altitude some can be very slushy and have moguls particularly resort runs. I would book an instructor for your first couple of mornings and once the instructor has seen you ski s/he can advise where you can safely practice alone. Your son will probably progress more quickly in ski school (and possibly have more fun with other kids) but you have to decide what you want to get out of the holiday and how much you want to spend it together. The other factor is, if he has been practising at the snow dome all winter, he may already be quite a lot better than you so ski school will be better for him?

I think you'd both be better off in ski school/lessons in the morning and then you can practise together in the afternoon on the runs you've been on with the instructor.

Thanks for the suggestions, I am probably not been clear on my level of experience as I know how to ski and I would be comfortable skiing on my own on blue pistes and I have been already on ski holidays. My questions were more on what would be safer to do with LO on his first ski holiday.
Based on your observations I am leaning towards a private instructor that can help little one on the piste, I'll look into that option.

It can be hardwork with a beginner child. Better to give them a few days' lessons to get familiar with the conditions and runs before taking them out alone. By afternoon they may have had enough for the days and be tired. Most kids prefer to learn with a peer group.

I'm a beginner skier (Finnish blues and reds) who can ski unsupervised and happily within my level. I always book into ski school in a new place just to have the guidance of which ones are 'true blues' and also to learn the sneaky cutovers and linking of routes that are unique to that resort. There's nothing worse than being on the top of a hill wondering if you're actually about to end up on the black run.