Guest author: Melanie Gath
In this photo of a young family, you’re looking at nearly a hundred years of combined winter sports experience. How is that even possible? That’s exactly what I wanted to find out. We had the great fortune to go on a ski tour with these five wonderful people last year during a namuk shoot. We met them through their Instagram channel, littlemountainvillage.
Afterward, I had the chance to chat with Julia Baur – wife to Dani and mom to Elia (11), Joan (9), and Levi (7). While I had already met Dani and the two younger kids during a previous namuk shoot for our 3 Layer Collection, this was my first time getting to know Julia through our conversation. My first question was simple: “Who are you?” Julia smiled and said, “We’re a passionate winter sports family. My husband and I both used to be professional athletes. I was an alpine ski racer, and Dani was a freeskier.” As a family, they’ve naturally gravitated toward the freestyle world. “The boys love hanging out in the park and throwing themselves over the jumps. And sometimes we take them ski touring too,” Julia said.
“Away from it all – the noise, the lifts”
Julia still spends a lot of her free time freeriding and ski touring. When I asked her how many years of winter sports experience the family had altogether, she thought for a moment and said, “Probably close to a hundred years, counting the kids.” After all, they all started skiing at a very young age.
“We put Joan and Levi on skis when they were just one year old,” she told me. That sounds wild to most parents, as many children are still learning to walk at that age. But Julia was quick to clarify that she would never recommend taking kids into the backcountry too early: “They really need to be strong skiers first, so they can handle the conditions safely.”
That’s starting to happen only gradually for them, too. With the kids, they still spend most of their time on the slopes, but without them, they always head off-piste. Right after ending her professional career at around 17 or 18, Julia began venturing more and more into the backcountry – her husband did the same in his early twenties.
I wanted to know what makes it so special for them. Why do they love being off the beaten path so much? “You can enjoy the mountains so much more that way,” Julia said. Accomplishing something through your own effort brings a special kind of motivation. She added, “It’s also simply the joy of it. The feeling of being away – away from everything, from the noise, from the lifts.”
“He really wanted climbing skins under his skis – just like the grown-ups.”
Talking about their first ski tours as a family, Julia explained that the tour during the namuk shoot was actually the first time all three kids truly got a taste for it. The children absolutely loved it. Even their oldest, who’s usually the least interested in winter sports, really enjoyed ski touring. Julia said, “I think we’ll definitely be doing that more often now.”
The youngest also wanted to make his own tracks in the snow on touring skis during the shoot. But that was only possible with an adapter the family had borrowed from neighbors. It turned out to be so heavy and “super tall” that Levi quickly realized it wasn’t going to work. “He really wanted climbing skins under his skis – just like the grown-ups,” Julia said. So she cut down an old pair of her own skins to fit his tiny skis. “That way, he could at least walk the first few meters with us.” Still determined to be at the front of the group, he eventually switched to kids’ snowshoes and “zipped up the mountain.”
One jacket for the whole tour
When the conversation turned to gear, I had a few more questions for Julia: “What’s your kids’ Snowy Owl outfit – on and off the slopes? What do they feel most comfortable in?”
“Our kids have always worn overalls,” Julia said. “They’re great for the slopes – they stay safe, no snow gets in anywhere, and that bathroom zipper is just so practical.”
“For ski touring, though, I found two-piece outfits like the Turas ski jacket and the Dait ski pants really convenient,” she added. “When we started hiking up, it was still quite chilly, so we kept everything zipped up. Later, when it got warmer, we packed the jackets into our backpacks and kept climbing in fleece.” The kids also thought it was really cool to wear the same outfits as the adults, she added with a smile.
While the kids were out in the snow in their Owl gear, the parents wore Penguin pieces from Penguin Powder, the brand that outfitted them for our shoot. Julia wrapped up our talk about clothing by saying, “the shell jacket is great because you often get wind when ski touring. You really need that protective layer. Just wear a light base layer underneath, and with the hardshell jacket you’re set for the entire tour.” She concluded, “The kids felt really comfortable in it.”
Tip for ski touring with kids: “Start easy”
Going on a ski tour isn’t just about having the right clothing – it also means packing your backpack with all the important essentials. When you’re off the slopes, there’s a lot you need to bring, especially when it comes to safety. “Kids need to learn early on what’s needed in the backcountry,” Julia said. “We always carry a shovel and probe in the backpack and wear the avalanche transceiver on our bodies.”
Here’s a quick checklist of the essentials for your next family ski touring adventure:
I asked Julia what she thinks is most important when taking little adventurers on their first ski tours. Her advice: “Start easy. When planning, think carefully about how you can get back to the ski area or a restaurant quickly. Maybe start out on a winter hiking trail – not straight through deep snow,” she said. For the beginning, you should look for simple descents. With her years of experience, she added, “Skiing in deep or tracked snow that’s been sitting for a while can be really challenging for kids with short skis.” Preparation, she emphasized, is everything. “If there’s breakable crust, it’s definitely more difficult,” she said.
“When you say we’re going hiking, nobody wants to come along”
I asked Julia if she had any tips or tricks for keeping the kids motivated on the mountain when things get tough. I also wanted to know what drives her and her husband to go ski touring in the first place. “For me, it’s definitely the descent,” she said. “But if there aren’t any great runs left because it hasn’t snowed in a while, then it’s about being outside – about the sport itself.”
When it comes to the kids, Julia laughed: “If you say we’re going hiking, nobody wants to come. But if we say we’re going to that mountain restaurant and they’ve got fries or something like that, then it works.”
She knows that many kids don’t have the natural drive to push beyond their comfort zone. “Two of our three kids love doing that – they test their limits every day. But one prefers to stay in his comfort zone,” she explained. “What about our kids’ physical limits?” I asked. Julia answered right away: “Kids usually have much more endurance than we think.” Most of them have excellent endurance, she added.
Julia shared that a traditional ski school was never an option for their family, even though it’s great for learning the basics. “For us, it’s always been about being together in the snow – skiing together and having a good time.” She used to work as a ski instructor herself and knows how important it is “not to push too hard.” Her advice: “No pressure, keep expectations low, and make it playful.”
One topic still intrigued me. I wanted to find out what role fear plays for them – especially as parents of two ski-loving whirlwinds. Julia said, “When the slopes are really crowded, I do worry about my kids. It’s usually not the children who make mistakes, but the adults who can’t ski properly.” You have to be very careful, she added. She believes it’s essential to teach kids the rules of the slopes. “We go over them again and again,” she explained.
“It’s a sport, something can always happen,” Julia said. “But generally, I’m not afraid. I just think a healthy dose of respect is always good.”
“Don’t just head up the mountain with your kids…”
Before wrapping up, Julia wanted to emphasize one more thing: “I think it’s really important to understand that when you’re with kids, you’re in unsecured terrain. You’re off-piste.” That should only be done with enough experience, she explained. “Don’t do it if you don’t know what you’re doing in the mountains. Don’t just hike up somewhere with your kids and ski down. You need safety equipment, experience, planning, and an understanding of avalanche conditions.”
Talking to Julia was incredibly inspiring. You can truly hear and feel how much experience and love for adventure this family has. As we ended our conversation, the former ski racer smiled and said, “The two little ones are basically just waiting for it to snow again.”
If you want to follow this adventurous family as they jump through snow, go ski touring, or launch themselves over kickers, be sure to check them out on Instagram under “littlemountainvillage”.
Let’s see when the first snowflakes will fall this year.
