Make the most of your toddler skis

Have you bought some toddler skis?

The plastic toddler skis as seen being used with the ski trainer is excellent for pre-skis schoolers. If you now have a pair and are preparing for your ski holiday just take a second to plan when and how you can make the most of them. We found the use we got out of them was in the afternoon when we were as a family just having fun in the snow. We bought some bum whizzes in the local shop (just small plastic discs with a handle to pull through the legs) and took them and the skis to snowy bit round the back of the hotel.

After whizzing down the small slopes on the bum whizzes and lots of falling off, we put the skis on our toddler and just on the flat part let her walk around with her poles. After feeling very grown up and trying to actually ski like her big brother she soon got bored and wanted them off. Thanks to the easy grips round her normal snow boots this wasn't a hassle.

I was thinking, great thats £40 (yes they cost that much in resort!) wasted but after another 5 minutes of flying down the little slopes and laughing her head of she wanted them on again. And so set the pattern of the rest of the holiday. On off on off on off. But slowly she gained confidence walking in them, getting used to the odd feeling of these long things on her feet and just having fun. Towards the end of the holiday we put the ski trainer harness on her and she started going down little slopes which was such fun and seeing her little face as she realised she was skiing like her big brother!

We didn't set out to teach her skiing positions or anything formal, leaving that to ski school this year, but I hope we have introduced her to fantastic world of skiing and hope that when she starts ski school for the first time this feb she wont be scared but will be excited and will have an idea what this skiing malarcky that mummy and daddy (and now her big brother) are so addicted to!!!

Visit Little Skiers for the ski trainer and toddler skis

ski news!

There was fresh snow in the Alps over the weekend and with forecasts predicting more snow, more resorts should be opening soon. Les Deux Alpes, Tignes & Val d'Isere opened this weekend. Lets hope the predicted snow forecasts will enable the resorts in Andorra to open soon after their delays.

Swiss Air (www.swiss.com) is increasing their services between Heathrow & Geneva. Goods news as it is one of the few remaining airlines that offers free ski & snowboard carriage. If you haven't booked your ski trip yet, look at our info pages which shows transfer times from airports. Geneva is well placed to reach many resorts.

Crystal is holding a last minute sale, with ski holidays to a variety of european resorts : crystal sale

and finally, according to onthesnow.com, the Gstaad ski area is offering family discounts with children under the age of 9 skiing and staying free of charge (in your room). Look into resorts such as Les Diablerets (6 hotels with this offer) and Saanen and Chateau d'Oex (which has a kiddie ski area.

More ski resorts open

After yet another weekend of snow, more European glacier ski resorts have opened now. This excellent start to the season means that popular resorts such as Tignes are starting to build a healthy base of snow and are skiable now.

Even better, next week looks like most of the Alps will see some heavy snow making it a promising start to the season.

So fingers crossed for weeks to come!

November offer at Little Skiers....

FREE NIKWAX WITH EVERY JACKET, PANTS OR SKI SET

We want your fab new ski gear to remain in pristine condition, hopefully lasting your children as their school winter coat as well as their ski holiday jacket.

If your kids are anything like mine then you will be regularly washing their ski jackets. My little boy regularly comes home with his red trespass ski jacket (as modelled on our site!) caked in mud as apparently you must skid when playing football.

His jacket's waterproofness is maintained by Nikwax, who are renowned for their technical washes and waterproofing agents. Never ever wash ski jackets in detergents as they strip the waterproof layer, allowing water to soak in. Every 3 washes I then follow the wash with a nixwax waterproofing in-wash and his jacket is as good as when he first wore it last winter.

So with every purchase of a child's ski jacket, ski pants or ski set we will send you a full sized Nikwax wash to try and you will never risk your clothes with anything else!

www.littleskiers.co.uk

its snowing in the Alps!

October has been a great start to the ski season. Many ski resorts in the Alps have opened already thanks to heavy snow falls. Austria took the lead, with an incredible snowfall of 1.8m in the Tux glacier area, closely followed by the Molltal glacier with 1.4m. Other ski areas getting fresh snow include Kaprun, Cervinia, Tignes, Zermatt & Saas Fee.

Lets hope it continues...

Metro Ski & Snowboard Show - got your tickets??

We are looking forward to next weeks show, starting wed 21st Oct until the 25th oct.

Its a fantastic way to kick-off the skiing season - our top of the list attractions are:

• 50ft kicker - can't wait to see the tricks & stunts by top UK & international skiers & boarders - and make me feel inadequate!
• following that, we will be visiting Warren Smith Ski Academy to have a 30 minute assessment on my skiing and hopefully how to to improve it

So if you haven't got your ticket yet, treat yourself at www.metrosnow.co.uk

Full details of all the attractions are on the site

Fantastic offer on Barts hats - this weekend only!!!

Buy a Barts hat & receive a fleece neck warmer for free...

To celebrate our fab new range of Barts hats & accessories, for this weekend only, with every Barts hat you buy, you will receive a free fleece neck warmer worth £5.99!

Barts is renowned throughout the european skiing world for their stylish hats and accessories. Soft, thick chunky knits, cute designs or trendy beanies, it is a crime to save these hats for the ski holiday!

So, for this weekend only, starting today & ending midnight Sunday, all Barts hats purchased (including adult hats) will receive a complementary fleece neck warmer in either black, red, off white or pink which are currently selling on line for £5.99*

*while stocks last. Should stocks sell out over the weekend we will endeavour to secure new stock in within a week. Please state in the comments box when at checkout, which colour neck warmer you would prefer.