Learning to Ski (and Improve) at Pico Mountain

Raising two boys and teaching them how to ski has been an eye-opening experience. What works for one, doesn’t always work for the other in terms of parenting or learning to ski and improve. Maybe that’s no surprise, but it can be a source of frustration if your toolbox is limited.

Enter the second-born child. I assumed Dash would pick up the sport just like his brother did. We’d weed through the years of magic carpet runs and potty breaks (and emergencies). Then he’d just pick it up. Right? Well that wasn’t his story. He was far more resistant to learning to ski than his older brother. He just wanted to chill and snack. We aimed to be patient and crossed our fingers that he’d grow out of it, but it was also a sign to try a professional.

We had the opportunity to do just that at a family getaway to Pico in early 2025. Both boys enrolled in a full-day lesson on our first day as Dad and I explored the slopes with my cousin and family. (Read about the full trip!)

 

Trekkers Lessons at Pico

Up bright and early on a Friday morning, we made our way to the base lodge at Pico to get the boys to their lessons on time. Dash was enrolled in the Trekkers program. His drop off was at 9am at the Trekkers Den across the way from the base lodge.

The Trekkers Den is a welcoming place for the 4-6 year olds taking lessons. It has cubbies for keeping extra layers and play room with a coloring station and toys like balance boards to foam blocks to stack. Located near the Bonanaza learning area, the Trekkers came in and out of here throughout to the day to warm up, eat, and rest.

While lessons wrapped up at 3pm, I went early and caught Dash’s last session with his instructor, Kyle. They were hiking up the bottom of the Bonanza trail and making turns through the tassles in the snow.

I spoke with Kyle about Dash’s progress and hurdles, and he explained that they didn’t go up the lift that day in order to focus on acing control on the lower slope. He told me Dash had good control and was ready to do more, but it came down to his willingness to do it. I wasn’t surprised by that feedback, but I was pleasantly surprised by his progress the next day.

I spent the following morning making runs with Dash off of the chair so he could show me the skills he learned the day before. We kept is positive and fun, with a lot of treats and it was a breakthrough days for him. By the end of the morning, he was getting off the chairlift himself, controlling his speed downhill with a powerful wedge and making solid turns. The lesson was a gamechanger. A little motivation and instruction from someone other than Mom made all the difference.  It became a catalyst to a breakthrough season for him.

Becoming a Mountaineer

Smart as they are, the Pico ski school folks set up drop-off for older kids a half hour after the Trekker.  Ollie, my eldest’s, met his lesson group at 9:30am Friday on the slopeside of the base lodge. He was spending the day with instructors Pete and Todd in the Mountaineers program for kids 7-17.

At nearly 8 years old, Ollie is a pretty proficient skier – a lot of that due to a great lesson at Magic in March of 2023. Ollie let the instructors know he was comfortable skiing just about anywhere on the mountain and was placed in a group with two other girls his age and ability.

When we met up with the crew after the lesson wrapped up, we learned Ollie lucked out by having two instructors (one in training). The trainer, Pete, was also one of the most experienced instructors at Pico to boot. Pete shared Ollie’s strengths and what he should work on.  He said Ollie had a strong base and they spent some time having fun with edges, trying to ski on one ski to feel both the inside and outside edges and how to use them to their best extent.

Ollie came out of the lessons feeling proud and ready to show some of things he learned. His carving and confidence both got a healthy boost from time with a professional teacher.

A Lesson in Lessons

As a family we all walked away from a day of lessons ready to ski together and happy with the progress made.  Our kids came out of a day of instruction with increased confidence and excitement around skiing, which was a huge win for Dash, especially.  As parents, we learned that giving the kids lessons was a worthy investment when learning to ski and improve. Also, it gave us time to actually ski together for once, which can be tough when the kids are still learning.

All in all, we’re committed to doing more lesson days for the kids next year. I can’t wait to see how they grow.