KEY POINTS:
Many 2-year-olds can barely walk. Gustav Legnavsky is busy learning to do that - and ski.
The plucky toddler is a cute sight on the Cardrona slopes with his tiny skis and a dummy in his mouth.
Gustav learned to ski at an early age out of fun and necessity.
His parents, Pete and Bridget, both work at the Cardrona ski fields and he spends much of his time in the snow, which is just as well as Gustav is ski crazy.
"All he ever talks about is skiing and wanting to go skiing," said Bridget.
Gustav got his first set of skis when he was only one.
The family is so snow mad that Bridget was given a pair of mini skis for Gustav just after giving birth to him in hospital.
As he grew up a pair of tiny plastic skis were in his toy box.
Now he swooshes down the slopes in a pair of 70cm skis.
"Sometimes he has a dummy in his mouth," Bridget said. "Soon he will be going faster than me."
Gustav competes in slalom races with kids 10 times his age.
He is a popular competitor among bigger kids who clap and cheer him on.
Pete said Gustav's good balance made him a natural skier.
He learned to ride his bike without training wheels and is also a good skateboarder.
Pete was a champion skier in his home country Slovakia, and Bridget competed as an extreme skier.
They hope that one day Gustav will be a champion skier.
"He loves it, he always asks 'can I go skiing, can I go skiing'," Pete said.
Gustav also looks up to champion local skiers including Wanaka local Jossi Wells.
Wells was the first Kiwi to be invited to compete at the Winter X Games in Aspen earlier this year, where he won a gold medal.
