Children, adults: how long does it take to learn to ski?

If you don't know how long it will take your child to learn to ski, know that children have a less apprehension (or sometimes none at all...), which gives them a distinct advantage over adults in terms of rapid progress. So, generally speaking, children learn faster than adults.

But how do you guess that your child will likely enjoy skiing?
It all depends on their age. You shouldn't start them too young (3 years minimum), but also don't force them. If before 3 years old, your child enjoys playing in the snow, that's a good indicator that they will likely enjoy skiing. Conversely, if you're wondering how long it takes for your child to learn to ski, while they protest or show disinterest, or even apprehension towards skiing, don't force them.

For a child to learn skiing properly, they must take group or private lessons with ski instructors, especially between 6 and 13 years old. The French Ski School (ESF) even offers medals to validate children's ski levels based on their age and the difficulty of learning, from 'ourson' (beginner) to 'chamois' for the most gifted. And if they prefer snowboarding, there are also lessons to learn this winter sport.

Finally, note that it is important to limit the daily skiing duration for the youngest, and therefore not have a child ski all day. Two hours of skiing per day for a child under 5 years old will be amply sufficient. For the rest of the day, enjoy resort activities with them: sledding, treasure hunts, building igloos, etc.

While some children will quickly feel comfortable and be able to master small descents and turns in a week, others will need more time. It also depends on the child's age.

So, how much time per day for learning to ski from 3 to 5 years old ? Between 3 and 5 years old, your child will learn to slide and move on flat snow, as well as to control their weight on skis in a snow garden. They will brake in a snowplow, go around obstacles, and become familiar with ski lifts, thanks to small, child-sized platter lifts.

But it's from 6 to 10 years old that they will reach a milestone: they will learn to control their speed, to brake by skiddingand to initiate turns while keeping their skis parallel... They will also be able to schuss, tackle bumps or dips, while learning to adapt their skiing to the terrain (slope inclination, presence of ice). Some children have more aptitude than others and can, from the age of 8, descend difficult black runs.

Finally, from 10 to 13 years old, your child will learn the wedeln, will be able to tackle every type of terrain (black runs, ski cross...) and ski non-stop once at high speed.
Beyond 13 years old, some children even turn towards competition.

In addition to the ski lessons provided by instructors, don't hesitate to go family skiing. Whether you go skiing in Courchevel, in Saint-Lary or elsewhere, the vast majority of resorts have a children's and beginner's area, with structures adapted for learning to ski. There are also slightly more technical fun areas, which allow learning while having fun.

If alpine skiing tempts you, enter a ski rental shop to find your equipment and take lessons with an instructor (2 hours per day if it's your first time doing winter sports). You will thus learn the basics of this sport (leaning forward, skidding, taming the fear of the slope, etc.). After the lessons, you can practice what you have learned independently, first on green runs, then blue runs. Don't hesitate to go skiing with family members or friends with more experience, as they can give you good advice and take you to more technical areas.

Don't ski all day (3 to 4 hours per day should be enough), and prioritize beginner areas, at least for the first 3 days (not to mention that adult beginner passes are significantly cheaper, as is the case in Avoriaz). Furthermore, if you go on holiday with several beginner skiers, choose the resort accordingly, so that there are suitable areas for beginners and slopes that will allow you to progress gradually.

After 5 or 6 days of practice, many people are able to descend green and blue runs and enjoy themselves. Why not you?

Don't get discouraged at first. You'll hesitate, you'll fall... persevere and enjoy the joys of the mountains in winter!