Teaching the kids to ski

[TripletDaddy]

I really love to ski and look forward to our annual winter trip to Utah...truly the greatest snow on Earth.

My kids will be 4 in December and my wife and I have been discussing getting them out on the slope. I am really hoping my kids enjoy being on the hill as much as their old man, so I am extra excited about this coming trip in December.

My question for the group....how and when did you teach your children to ski, if at all (less interested in snowboarding anecdotes because we are going to start them on skis)? Did they enjoy it? What things would you avoid or suggest? How quickly to they get tired? Obviously each child is different, but looking for general observations.

I love Alta but we also ski PCMR regularly. My guess is that we would try to take the kids to Alta.

Any advice would be appreciated.

PS also, where the heck do I get all the kiddie gear? can you rent ski clothes for little dudes? do you just buy kiddie ski clothes at Wal Mart or Target? They will only be out there one day this year, so not sure I need to invest in an entire expensive wardrobe.