Let me give you the speech I give my first time and beginner students from the "Bunny" Chair 9 lift:
"Kirkwood is a very wide mountain. It is divided into three parts, going from right to left: Timber Creek, Village Center, and the Backside. Every lift at Kirkwood is a ski lift, rather than a transportation lift. So, while it is always good to have a trail map with you, the layout of Kirkwood can be less confusing than other resorts.
See that ridge way over to the left? Well, Kirkwood goes from here to that ridge and then from that ridge that far again left. Before that ridge is the Village Center area and on the other side of that ridge is the Backside.
See the mountain in front of us? We ski there. It is called the "Pallisades." But it is not lift served. So, the skiers and boarders that ski and ride there have to traverse to get there and, because of that, they need to be pretty good skiers and riders.
So, in general, when those skiers and riders come down from the Pallisades to the Timber Creek area where we are teaching, we don't need to watch our backs quite as much. So, since the Timber Creek area is somewhat isolated from the more advanced lift served areas, we can really focus on our learning while in the Timber Creek area.
One more thing, when you are learning, it is best to reduce variables and focus on learning. So, to learn, pick a ski resort and stick with it, so your focus can be on learning and not where you are and where you are supposed to be at the resort.
Have you heard of Vail Resorts? Well, Vail owns Kirkwood. And of all the ski resorts that Vail owns, Kirkwood's Ski and Ride School is consistently rated among the highests by our guests. And I am proud of that."
If your kids are already ready, or when they are ready. I suggest that you enroll your kids in the "Jets" program. They are assigned to a group and that group is assigned a particular coach for the entire season. And they learn to ski just about all of Kirkwood. Including Thunder Saddle and many of the chutes.
Last season I rolled up to Elevator Shaft (to skier's right of Jim's Rock) to take a peek over and a bunch of five and six year olds rolled up right after me with their Jet's coach. After I watched all six of them drop in and ski down to Sentinel, I knew I had to do it to. I then skied over to their group and congratulated them that they had skied it better than me. Because they had.
I love Vail Resorts and I can't say anything bad about any of their other resorts, but Kirkwood is very special.