Telemark Talk / Telemark Tips Forum

My 3-year old has been obsessed since he saw me catch the bug last season with the help
Of the gang here.

He excitedly proclaimed my new Norwegian ski box I mounted last night for the Volvo “super cool!” and asked “can I put my skis in there when I get them for Christmas?!” ([emoji23]) The wife has agreed this might be a cool idea to boot.

So.....

Woods, Cliffs, Johnny, anyone!

What the fuck do you do for an adventurous 3-4 year old who wants to get out an shuffle around the woods with his novice Dad? How best to get Him set up to maximize fun and avoid frustration? I know google is a thing, but any and all personal anecdotes from the faithful are appreciated.

Thanks dudes!


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Just get a set of the lucky-bums skis (or similar). I know Madshus makes a pair too. They just strap onto their snow-boot and have scales on the bottom. Any longer for a 3-year old would probably be pretty unwieldly for him. Should be able to find used ones around as well. My 6 and 7-year old still kick around the yard or the pond on their old hand-me-down Karhu K-booms (the original ones as far as I know). Just make sure to show him a herringbone and keep the hills smaller.

Don't expect to go far though, as every one of your strides/shuffles will be 4-6 of his, so they can start to tucker after a while. Once he starts to master those, then you can consider bumping up into more traditional xc skis which only run down to around 120 cm.

hey satch,

no real advice for you here, other than encouragement that getting them going young seems to be the ticket. i only really got into all of this because my ex's dad was a huge ski bum and she was skiing at 3 years old in the driveway. that took and she passed that passion on to me. so yeah, get him out there somehow, and i think it's awesome you are trying to do it and hopefully have gotten the physical pain worked out. good luck, and have fun with the kiddos dude!!!!!

TomH wrote:Just get a set of the lucky-bums skis (or similar). I know Madshus makes a pair too. They just strap onto their snow-boot and have scales on the bottom. Any longer for a 3-year old would probably be pretty unwieldly for him. Should be able to find used ones around as well. My 6 and 7-year old still kick around the yard or the pond on their old hand-me-down Karhu K-booms (the original ones as far as I know). Just make sure to show him a herringbone and keep the hills smaller.

Don't expect to go far though, as every one of your strides/shuffles will be 4-6 of his, so they can start to tucker after a while. Once he starts to master those, then you can consider bumping up into more traditional xc skis which only run down to around 120 cm.

I’ll have a look at those, thanks!!!


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t-$ wrote:hey satch,

no real advice for you here, other than encouragement that getting them going young seems to be the ticket. i only really got into all of this because my ex's dad was a huge ski bum and she was skiing at 3 years old in the driveway. that took and she passed that passion on to me. so yeah, get him out there somehow, and i think it's awesome you are trying to do it and hopefully have gotten the physical pain worked out. good luck, and have fun with the kiddos dude!!!!!

Yeah we’ll see how it all goes . . . Hope I can get him stoked. He loves to hike and run and just play in the woods in general so he should be a natural.


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Also, if you're into lift served skiing at all. Some easy days on the magic carpet/tow rope are always fun and are really good for just learning balance with skis on the feet. Both my boys have been on alpine skis since 2, with their formal lessons starting at 4. They were probably on those toddler cc skis at 2 or 3, usually poleless, but the poles can help the topple factor at that age.

Hot Chocolate!

I also recommend him eventually joining a fun-oriented cross country class like this:
http://www.cccski.com/Programs/Athlete- ... bbits.aspx

Have fun!

https://luckybums.com/collections/shop- ... -snow-skis

Tom, great call, these are pretty cool. Good luck Satchel, I wish Santa brought me those years ago.
Now all I want for Christmas is SNOW!!!

Did anyone mention Whitewood Wildcats. I got them for my 5 and 7 yr. old grandkids. 95cm with a universal binding and they come with adjustable poles. We were doing laps in the yard and they were doing wedge turns around spruce bough gates. The skis seemed to turn easy for them. Unfortunately my 10 yr. old and 9 yr. old neighbor tried them and each broke one. They were rated for up to 8 yr. olds. My plan is to look for some cheap used kids downhill skis and put the universal bindings on them and either kick wax them or use trimmed down skins for grip. They were 65 bucks/pair.

Did anyone mention Whitewood Wildcats. I got them for my 5 and 7 yr. old grandkids. 95cm with a universal binding and they come with adjustable poles. We were doing laps in the yard and they were doing wedge turns around spruce bough gates. The skis seemed to turn easy for them. Unfortunately my 10 yr. old and 9 yr. old neighbor tried them and each broke one. They were rated for up to 8 yr. olds. My plan is to look for some cheap used kids downhill skis and put the universal bindings on them and either kick wax them or use trimmed down skins for grip. They were 65 bucks/pair.