starting a young kid in the back country

I have a new addition to the family, and the wife and I are looking forward to teaching him how to ski (going to have to switch back to skis from the board.. not sure how the knees are going to be).

So question is, for those with kids, how quickly did you get them out to the back country?

5 years old? 10?  I don't have a clue...

Obviously avalanches and ability will determine things, but just have a mind that rambles so I was thinking about this and I am curious what you guys think.

I started my kids at Chinook Pass when they were 6 and 8 years old just hiking up from the parking lot. They had fun, it wasn't cold (july). I figured if they started off with good memories it would be an easier transition to the winter BC. My kids are now 10 and 12 and will still do Chinook in the summer with me but they are kids and they don't like to do things that take lots of effort when they know there are lifts they could be riding in the winter. Mostly depends on the kid....

Lots of good threads here on getting kids excited about snow... poke around a bit!

I started my kids at Chinook Pass when they were 6 and 8 years old just hiking up from the parking lot.  They had fun, it wasn't cold (july).  I figured if they started off with good memories it would be an easier transition to the winter BC.  My kids are now 10 and 12 and will still do Chinook in the summer with me but they are kids and they don't like to do things that take lots of effort when they know there are lifts they could be riding in the winter.  Mostly depends on the kid....

good stuff. Tickets are getting expensive these days, and when my kid is 10 - 12, we might not be able to afford to take the whole family out.

Lots of good threads here on getting kids excited about snow... poke around a bit!

will do.

Thanks for the information.

Er, at 13 months, Emma already had 6 months of BC experience.

I started my son on skis at 2 months! I'd drop him in the bjorn front carrier and Ski for an hour or 2. While my son skied at 2 1/2 yrs old ( an exception, i understand) he really couldn't enjoy it for more than 10 minutes per year of age up until he was 4 or 5.
Fortunately for us my wife is not one of those compulsive neurotic types. - kids are truly able, and quite happy, to be bundled up and moving in cold weather. Any chance we got I would load up the kid and go. And that's the rub- most often it would be a 2 to 4 hour outing in town with the baby jogger or the bike cart. In retrospect, our outings are frequent, but generally outdoor exploration/adventures.
If you can swing the regular outings, then you wont ne missing the backcountry as much, or for as long, as you might.

Simplicity is also key- A rag, a diaper, a bottle of formula and a thermos of boiling water in a ziplock is all that's needed to heat the formula and change into an empty diaper.

They can't sit up( hence can't ride) in the cart till 3 or 4 months, though.

Check out the outdoor parent dot com. If it's still a viable domain you can see my son's first overnight back country ski trip.

Hope this helps!