I am taking my 8 year old niece skiing soon. She has never skied before, l am a experienced skier and have been for 6-7 years. What run would you expect her to get to by the time we leave? We are there for three weeks. She does not pick things up that fast but when she does shes good at it.
I am just wondering if she'd be able to go on rough reds before we leave or is that a little harsh on her?
Thanks :)

Put her in lessons with a good professional ski instructor, if she is skiing everyday for 3 weeks, she should be a very accomplished skier. If she wants to be a skier and she is in reasonable physical condition. Teen and adults in the same situation should be skiing most runs on any mountain except the most extreme. l would expect the student to ski all of the intermediate runs and most of the expert runs. l hope you have fun with her. Take some lessons yourself.

l remember when l first started skiing and l gotta be honest l really hated it. Partially it was my parents making it more of a choir than a vacation for me. When l started to pick things up and getting better l started to really love it. So my point is, try to make her first lesson fun which is hard since she will fall and no one likes to fall. If she gets a good first impression she will be more willing to learn. If she likes skiing, than she should be able to go down a red.

The answer to ur question depends on several factors: (1) Your niece is natural athletic ability (2) her desire to learn (3) how many hours a day she wants to spend taking lessons & then practicing what she is learned- in other words her motivation level.

My daughter learned to ski at the age of 7.. she is now 12 & can ski the black diamonds. Three weeks is a long time for a youngster. Muscles grow tired, her boots may hurt, she might be cold or tired some days & not want to ski. If she is motivated, she could probably finish the trip on the intermediate runs. I've seen kids that were ''never-evers'' start on the magic carpet & by the end of the first day they r riding the lift to the top & skiing to the bottom!

l would just be encouraging, patient & keep telling her how great she is doing. But do not push her if she is tired or wants to quit early. A lot of us who r crazy & obsessed with skiing sometimes think that everyone is, when they're not! l ski to last chair, but my kids always finish early.