Thredbo Kids Lessons/Freeriders question

[BigWaveDave]

Howdy.

Early Sept we are doing a family trip to Thredbo with a our kids who are 9 and 5. Our 5 year old hasn't skiied before (so he'll be going into Thredboland) and 9 year old hasn't skiied since she was 6 so she's probably going to have to start from scratch again.

Just a question about what would be the most suitable lift/lesson package for our 9 year old beginner?. I note Thredbo has a couple of options for 7-14 year olds, one being the the 'beginners lift and lesson package' and one being the Freeriders. I'm assuming Freeriders is a group which stays together all day and ventures around the mountain?

As our 9 year old is still at beginners stage I'm wondering whether she's going to be competent enough for Freeriders? Ideally we want her to be in a group all day. Can anyone tell me whether the kids need to be at a certain level for Freeriders or if Freeriders is still grouped by skill level/age like the Group lessons?

Cheers

 

[rugbyskier]

Dave,

Freeriders encompasses all kids 7-14 and there are half day and full day lesson packages. The beginners package is a separate 2 hour lesson for 7-14 year olds.

If your daughter has skied before she should be fine for a half or full day Freeriders session. They are grouped into similar ability levels from second day snowplough through to all mountain parallel. Where possible the Freeriders groups will also be sorted by age. If you have any questions on the day, see the supervisor at the Freeriders arch around 20-25 minutes before the lesson start time.

 

[BigWaveDave]

awesome, thanks RS. that's what I'd hoped for.

 

[Whiteman]

Both my girls (now 14 & 16) have done the Thredbo Ski School Freeride/Workshop programs since they were little and it is an excellent program.

As RS has said, they cater for half day & full day and it is worth it to buy a weekly ticket and just whack them in. The kids are 'graded' and will be with others of that level.

I thoroughly recommend it. Well worth the money.

 

[Snowball]

I can add to the above. I have had my daughter and son in Freeriders the last couple of years and they have always had a good time. I've always found the instructors friendly and just plain good with the kids. They get taught properly and get fed but we have time to have a few runs together afterwards. And yes, even though its aimed at older kids, they cater for first-timers as well.

This year, I took my daughter and a friend down - we fudged my daughters skill level down an bit and the friends skill level up so they were in teh classes together. The first day, there was 3 kids in the class, the 2nd day, there was only my daughter and her friend so, it was virtually private lessons :o)