What happens in a ‘polar bear’ Grindelwald kids group lesson?
For those sending their little ones skiing, we know you often have a lot of questions! Here is a guide for our youngest group lessons, for those aged 3-5 years, so you know exactly what to expect.
Quick Guide to “polar bear” kids groups in Grindelwald:
Times: 9h30-12h30
Running: Sunday – Saturday most weeks of the winter
Starting point: Hütte at Kleine Scheidegg
Pick up point: Hütte at Kleine Scheidegg
Language: English
Who can join: Children aged 3-5 years of all ski ability levels
Is my child ready for group ski lessons?
We have been running lessons for children for over 20 years. Our group lessons for those aged 3-5 are in small groups, and our instructors are hand-picked to be part of our ‘polar bear’ team as they love making skiing exciting and fun for our youngest skiers!
We do ask that all children are at least 3 years old, are fully toilet trained, are confident on their feet, and have a basic understanding of English words (such as stop, go, and asking to use the toilet).
We accept children from 2 years in private lessons if this would be a better fit for your child.
What to bring
Before you leave in the morning, make sure your child has the following with them:
- Is ready to ski and dressed in appropriate ski wear with ski boots already on
- Has all their equipment including skis and poles or a snowboard, helmet (compulsory) and goggles or sunglasses
- Has CHF 5 – 10 per day for a hot chocolate or snack during the break
- Has a valid ski pass in their pocket (left hand side) – the Jungfrau area pass is what you need and is free for under 6 years.
Arriving at the meeting point :
Our meeting point is located in Grindelwald outside the Hütte cafe at Kleine Scheidegg
Try and arrive around 5 – 10 minutes early to the lesson to allow time to meet the instructor and for the lesson to leave on time. Our instructor will be happy to chat with you about your child’s ability level, exchange contact details and let you know the plan for the day.
Getting to the slopes
Once the instructor has everyone joining that morning, it’s time to head to the slopes!
We still split our ‘polar bears’ into ability level groups, as some children have more experience than others, and we even have groups already confident on red and even black slopes by this age!
For beginners, it is a 5 minute walk below Kleine Scheidegg to the beginner area and for those level 4+, you are in the heart of the ski area at 2061m. The Kleine Scheidegg – Mannlichen ski area is the biggest of the three ski areas available to us.
Morning skiing
If it’s the first morning, the instructor will get the group warmed up and ready to ski with some quick on-the-snow games, so everyone can get to know each other, then it’s time for skis on! On the first day this will involve assessing the skiing level of all the children in the group, and making sure they are able to ski at this level. There may be some group changes to make sure everyone is matched up to ski with others of a similar ability.
Morning break and more skiing!
After a good ski, it’s time for a break, so an opportunity for a quick snack, hot chocolate, and toilet break! In the colder months this is always inside as an opportunity to warm up is very important. Then it’s time for some more skiing!
The daily content of each polar bear lesson will vary depending on the ability of the group. However, the focus is always on safety, fun and then learning. A similar daily structure is followed for each group level and our instructors make sure the skiing is kept fun and that the children leave each lesson feeling they have learnt something new, made some new friends and had lots of fun.
Home time
At 12h30 the group will ski back down with their instructor to the meeting point. In Grindelwald, this is at the Hütte at Kleine Scheidegg.
