Here in Switzerland, it is quite a familiar and inspirational sight to see kids flying down the mountain on their tiny skis!
RECOMMENDED AGE TO LEARN
The general recommendation for kids learning the sport starts around age 4 –5. At this age, they are physically and mentally fit to hit the slopes. They possess both the energy to ski all day and have much better motor skills to balance the curves and corners.
SKI & SNOW BOARDING QUALIFICATIONS
The Swiss Schweizer Skischule is the Official Swiss Ski School organisation and runs over 170 ski schools across Switzerland. Their website is in English and many ski resorts are affiliated with this organisation and use their system to organise classes. The benefit of this means that the course is standardised throughout Switzerland, so your kids can progress up to the next level no matter which resort you decide to go to.
MONEY SAVING TIPS
Winter sports may not be renowned for being the cheapest activity. So, here are a few budget saving tips to keep those costs down!
- Buy Skis for families with more than 1 child: With luck they might be able to use them for 1-2 seasons and pass them down to their younger sibling/s.
- Rent equipment for the season: This is the cheapest option if you’re planning to take a few trips on the slopes. Take a trip to Ebikon and you will find a couple of places to rent from:
- Sport XX – Bike World Ebikon.
- Oschner Sport – Mall of Switzerland, Emmen Center.
- If you want to buy your equipment
- Between October and early December there are often pre-season sales
- Secondhand: ski rental shop, Brockenhaus or Kinder Borse, alternatively online at Tutti.ch or Ricardo.ch.
- Decathlon is probably the most affordable option for new winter clothing.
- Check the resorts for discounts
- Kids between 6, or in some cases 8, ski for free – remember to bring ID.
- Family discounts.
- Partial day tickets for 3-4 hours or discount tickets from 12:00 onwards.
- Engleberg Resort: The day pass for Brunni and Fürenalp is a lot cheaper than paying for the whole resort.
- Andermatt- Sendrum is amongst one of the most reasonable prices for a day pass.
WHAT TO PACK
Kids and even us adults can get really grumpy when tired, hungry or cold! So, to try and avoid these little meltdowns here is our advice on the key things you need to pack for a successful outing:
- A hot drink/soup
- Snacks. Kids will get tired so pack some food to boost their energy
- Extra gloves and a pair of woollen gloves so they can eat or drink. Especially handy for when their gloves get wet.
- Always take with you a number of layers, so you can add or take away items according to the weather.
- Label your skis and poles so they’re much easier to find.
KIDS CLUB
Planning on having a family holiday in the snow with younger tots, who are in need of a break? Worry not! As most resorts will have a kids club to entertain your little ones, whilst you get to have some fun on the slopes.
RECOMMENDED SKI SCHOOLS/ CAMPS
Migros Klubschule
Migros offers a fantastic Saturday course for children from the age of 6, beginning in January for 6 weeks. The great thing about this course is that instead of doing a week-long course, which can be quite tough, especially for the younger ones. The benefit of this course includes the bus ride from Lucerne and day ticket for Melschee-Frutt. Making it especially good for families who can’t make it to the mountain every weekend.
The Swiss Ski and Snowboarding School Klewenalp and Stockhütte
These two resorts are situated in a unique mountain area near Lucerne. The school here has some great packages for kids including:
- Saturday School
- Wednesday “Fun in the Snow”: for kids from 4 years old, make use of your free time on Wednesday afternoons and introduce your kids to the snow, here they will get to learn basic skills.
Stadt Luzern: Snow Sports Camp
During the Fastnacht holiday, Stadt Luzern offers a week’s snow sports camp for children between the ages of 8 to 16. Here kids can practice and improve their skills on skis or snowboard with trained professionals. The cost per camp is between CHF 330 and CHF 360. Including all expenses, i.e., travel, accommodation, meals and weekly tickets for cable cars and lifts.
