The Brave Ski Mom

Building a new generation of skiers and snowboarders.

Three New Learn-to Ski Tools for Children

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ski ring

Photos: Monica Schwanitz, SkiRing™

brave ski mom logoHarnesses, hula hoops, and Edgie-Wedgies. When we were helping our young sons learn how to ski, these were the tools at our disposal.

Today, parents have many more choices, with products coming out each season.

Here are reviews of three new tools (plus an enduring shout-out to the Edgie-Wedgie), along with a giveaway from SkiRing™.

If you’re currently helping a little one navigate the basics of turning and gliding, or you’re anticipating going down that road soon, read on.

Even if you don’t have little kids, but you’re interested in a new product suitable for all ages that will help with downhill focus and stance, read on.

The SkiRing™

(Just a bit of follow-up: After the giveaway was complete, I received this email from one of the winners.

Not only were we lucky enough to win one of the giveaway ski rings, we had the absolute great fortune of living only an hour away from Monica. She offered to show us how to use the Ski Ring in person and spent well over 3 hours working with me and my 5-year-old. It was amazing, and we both learned so much!
The Ski Ring is an awesome learning tool and Monica a fantastic instructor. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity today. Thank you!

Thank you for sharing Rachel!)

Let’s start with our giveaway product, the SkiRing™. Designed by Monica Schwanitz and marketed by her company Lost Mitten, LLC, the SkiRing™ is a large plastic “steering wheel” that beginner skiers hold in front of them.

ski ring

Photos: Monica Schwanitz, SkiRing™

Monica is a PSIA instructor with over 20 years of experience. Used in place of ski poles (or by children who are not yet ready for poles), it reinforces proper hand position and balance and lets beginners focus on turning.


The SkiRing™ has been tested by Monica’s PSIA colleagues and beginner youth racing programs over the past five years. As of January 2017, the SkiRing™ is being used by instructors at 26 ski schools including Vail, Jackson Hole and Deer Valley.

I’m not one to argue with ski instructors, but I did want to get the SkiRing™ out on snow, so I passed it on to our friend Norah (who just turned five), our friend Nicholas (who is a 20-year old beginner) and Kevin Jordan, the father of a young skier and the Children’s Coordinator for the Aspen Snowmass Ski and Snowboard Schools. I also gave it a go.

Here’s some of the feedback.

“Norah loves the SkiRing™! It helps keep her hands forward and she likes to pretend she’s driving down the hill. It gets a lot of attention and people, including ski instructors, want to know where we got it.” — Norah’s parents.

ski ring child using

Norah, in action.

“The SkiRing™ can be used as a “buffer” by an instructor skiing backwards with a child skiing forward. Unlike a hula hoop, the instructor can’t ski behind the child. More independent skiers can use it effectively as a steering wheel.” — Kevin Jordan

“This helped me keep my hands in front of me. But since I was already using polls, I felt like I lost some control. Still, I think it helps.” — Nick, age 20.

ski ring nick

Nicholas, in action.

“I thought it was very useful as an exercise in keeping my hands still and my shoulders square with the bottom of the hill. It focused my concentration on my lower body and turning. And as Norah’s parents mentioned, everyone wants to know where we got it.” — Brave Ski Mom

These comments tell me that the SkiRing™ accomplishes exactly what Monica hoped it would.

For independent skiers, who don’t need a parent hanging on to them via a hoop or harness, it’s a fun way to reinforce a still upper body with forward hands.

We really like it! I think you and your kids will, too. You can buy the Ski Ring here.

Slope Ropes

Slope Ropes are a new take on the hula hoop. Suitable for young children learning to ski, Slope Ropes are made of a loop of 60” rope with two 12” plastic handles set across from each other.

One set of handles is for the parent or instructor, who skis outside the loop. The other handle is for the child, who skis inside the loop with the handle at his or her waist. This reinforces a forward stance, because if the child leans backward, the ropes will fall.


Slope Ropes expand the circle provided by a hula hoop, while giving parents some control over their child’s speed and direction. The rope is also helpful for pulling kids across flats.

I asked Kevin Jordan to review this product with his young son. His feedback was largely positive. He liked the construction, the colors and the design. A benefit he saw was that the hands-free handle for the child allows more independence. The only con? If the child is holding onto the handle and drops it, or leans back and the rope falls, it could be a tripping hazard.

Still, he proclaimed it “a decent product for $30.00.” And he and his son have also found a new use: laying the rope on the ground and hopping over it!

slope ropes skiing

Photo: Slope Ropes

Lift Lyne

A safety product, rather than a learn-to ski product, the Lift Lyne is essentially a climbing harness that kids wear and parents attach to the chairlift bar to lessen the risk of falling.

lift lyne chairlift

Photo: Lift Lyne

While I’ve been heard to say that the chances of falling off a chairlift are about the same as falling out of a chair at a restaurant, I’ve been proven wrong this winter, with some high profile incidents (note to all: skiing with backpacks can be a very bad idea).

While the Lift Lyne looks complicated to put on, it comes with very detailed and lengthy instructions.  Once it’s on, it stays on and your child skis in it. This adds some weight and you’ll want to make sure it’s not impacting your child’s posture or balance.

My biggest concern with the Lift Lyne is that I’d either forget to clip it to the bar or I’d forget to unclip it.

For responsible parents who can remember to do such things, and who are concerned about chairlift falls, it could be appropriate.

This is another product that I passed onto Kevin Jordan to test. While he hasn’t used it yet with his son, he likes that the harness has leg loops and secures the torso of the child, rather than just the waist and shoulders.

lift lyne harness

Photo: Lift Lyne

To facilitate this post, I received 3 SkiRings™, a set of Slope Ropes and a Lift Lyne harness. I passed each of these items onto families with children for testing and use. As always, all opinions are my own and are exactly what I would tell my family and friends.

More Learn to Ski Tools and Tips

© 2017, braveskimom. All rights reserved. Any use or publication of content, including photos, requires express permission.

Comments

  2. Wow, great reviews.. Would love to try the ski ring.. Teaching my 4 year old daughter has been a little trying and this might make it more fun for her.. Also liked SkiRing’s facebook page…

  3. We always tell our daughter to “drive the bus” – a tip we picked up from a ski instructor and our bigggest fear is the lift. So these seem like handy products! Liked on Facebook and following on Instagram!

  4. Thanks for the reviews! We just got our 2.5 year old on skis for the first time this winter and I can tell she’s really going to love the sport. Will be keeping these in mind for next winter when she starts learning more!!

  6. Have a 5yo who is very anxious to move on to bigger hills and a mom who is looking for a bit more control on his part

  8. Getting our almost 3 yo out on the slopes this year and he would love to “drive a car” while skiing (that’s what he’d call it!). I also liked on fb and followed on instagram!

  9. Getting the kids hands out in front like this is a great idea for the pre-poles set. Even their father lets his left hand hang back too much.

  11. I have three kiddos who I want to learn to love skiing as much as I do (only two who are old enough right now). Lots of teaching in my future! Would love to win. Following on Facebook too:)

  12. We always had the kid pretend to carry a tray of cookies, or hold poles together like a tray. The ropes thing looks similar to the lucky bums trainer we have. It worked ok when they were really little. When they were older we kept the harness part on them since it had a nice handle on the back. It was a good place to pick them up from falls, or to make sure they were able to get up on the chair.

  13. The ski ring is a great idea! I’d love to try it with my new-to-skiing 3 yr old this winter and my 6 yr old could use it too – would help him lean forward better

  15. I’ve been using “pretend you’re playing MarioKart” as a way to get my daughter to hold her hands out! Great Idea to actually make a SkiRing!
    As a former lift operator, not sure how I feel about the Lift Lyne though, I’d be terrified that parents wouldn’t get it off the chair in time, or get it stuck somehow.

    • I hear you on your concerns Heather. And I may be naive, because I never really was concerned about falls. Data shows that they rarely happen. I’m also a spacey parent — I’d leave my child attached. Whoops.

  17. Would love to try with racers. Might end the broken record “hands up”. Please enter me in drawing!

    • From a ski instructor point of view…. MOST of my lessons this past weekend were family members wanting other family members to LEARN how to ski so they could SHARE and SPEND time together on the snow! WOW…I love being part of the FIRST experience and helping to make the it successful and the BEST experience. SkiRing™ is a GREAT training tool for a beginning skier!

  19. Love this idea. Always trying to get kids hands from falling back. Our and 4 and 6 year old would love “driving” instead of mom and dad just telling them to keep their hands in front…

    • SkiRing™ is a great training tool for proper hand position which supports BALANCE and an athletic stance…..all of which is needed for beginner, intermediate and advanced skiers! Use SkiRing™ to ‘tweak’ balance and stance! AND…yes…..if ‘driving’ keeps our hands out front…go with it! FUN is FUN!

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