We’re hiking in the snow—micro crampons on our feet on the Crawford Trail in New Hampshire, with a guide from the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Highlands Center. In case you are wondering, the needles on the spruce are spikey–thus “spikey spruce” and the needles on the balsam are soft (“friendly fir”!).
Welcome to the Appalachian Mountain Club Highland Center, a short drive from Mount Washington, New England’s tallest peak. Some of the families we meet the weekend before Christmas have made a visit here an annual tradition, like the Canes, who have come nearly every year since their nine year-old was a baby.
As I thought back about this past year’s trips, I realized that each one enabled us to challenge ourselves in different ways, whether in the outdoors, navigating in an unfamiliar culture, or learning a new skill. That’s not counting the challenge of getting along with each other along the way — not always easy, especially these days as families who don’t spend a lot of time together gather for vacation.
If you’re taking the little ones on the snowy slopes for the first time it is important you introduce them to the wonder of skiing in a way that will have them pleading to return the year after. And, of course, make sure you protect your investment in the trip in case your plans go awry.
Our first day on the mountain my daughter’s instructor got her set up with a bi-ski and we all headed out onto the lift. It was a short run and I’m not sure if I breathed the whole way down, anxiously wondering how she was doing. We got to the bottom of the run and I was greeted by a wide smile. Game o!.
You don’t need a gourmet meal to enjoy snowshoeing. It’s fun to take a sandwich and hot cider with you in your backpack; it’s fun just to get out and enjoy the back-country landscape away from the hustle and bustle of a snow sports resort. I try to take a day off from skiing each trip just for the experience.
Every snow-loving parent knows that trips to the slopes not only are expensive but a lot of work for moms and dads. All the schlepping of gear! That’s why I applaud any effort that makes snow sports more affordable and more fun for families.
Heavenly Ski Resort. We both agreed that this ski area had been aptly named. We looked out over the giant span of beautiful Lake Tahoe from the top of the mountain.
Since we’re here on a girl’s getaway, we find it amusing that at the height of the mining boom in the 1900 census, there were 22 seamstresses in Park City but only two sewing machines.
Welcome to Park City Mountain Resort’s new Ladies’ Club, offered certain days of the week. Women who hadn’t skied in a while, said Martell, “didn’t want a high powered clinic. They just wanted an opportunity to get back on the mountain in a non-threatening way.”