Lifting confidence and self-esteem through adaptive skiing

Lifting confidence and self-esteem through adaptive skiing

Haley Woodland may be freezing but she’s all smiles. So is her mom Eilizea. Four year old Haley has Cerebral Palsy and has just come in from her ski lesson — she’s in a sit ski. “I can’t tell you what a difference this makes in her self esteem...
To Park City for some fun in the snow

To Park City for some fun in the snow

Plenty of light fluffy snow—close to 400 inches a season. Plenty of sunshine. A place that really loves families.Welcome to Park City, Utah, home to Park City Mountain Resort, famous for its world-class parks and pipes that tweens and teens especially love, as well as innovative children’s programs that are changing the way kids learn to ski and snowboard.

Hitting the slopes without busting the budget

Hitting the slopes without busting the budget

Eleven-year-old Nate Gourd, an avid snowboarder from Manchester, Vt., couldn’t agree more. “You feel like you’re flying when you come down the mountain,” he says, adding that kids “definitely should wear helmets.” Meet Vermont’s vice presidents of fun. Bridget — who says she’s always waiting at the bottom of the mountain for her “slowpoke” family

A LAST-MINUTE SPRING BREAK

A LAST-MINUTE SPRING BREAK

What are you waiting for? Spring Break is looming and you haven’t planned a getaway. We’re not talking a Big Trip — a cruise, for example, or an adventure trip to Costa Rica, though, according to Travelzoo.com, there are good last-minute deals to be had in Costa Rica.

To a favorite Colorado ski town that’s as much fun in summer as winter

To a favorite Colorado ski town that’s as much fun in summer as winter

A gem of a mountain (no lift lines here!) just minutes on a free, festively painted shuttle bus from the tiny (less than 2,500 people) town of Mt. Crested Butte, so steeped in mining history that most of the downtown area, with its wooden, multicolored, 19th-century buildings, is on the National Register of Historic Places. (Ever see a two-story outhouse?)

Family Ski Trip Mode

Family Ski Trip Mode

We’re in family ski trip mode. Everyone having a big bacon and eggs breakfast in pajamas. A lot of teasing is afoot. Thirteen year old Eva decides she’ll ski with us rather than go to ski school. We’re all impressed at how well she skis.

Not many fur coats in this crowd

Not many fur coats in this crowd

Mel seems to be rebounding from her fall and disappointment during the Junior Extremes qualifying run down a terrifyingly steep slope. Everyone has been telling her it’s a lot better to give your all than to not try. That she didn’t succeed just goes with the territory. It helps when she learns a lot of other kids fell on the same run.

A Tumble Down the Mountain

A Tumble Down the Mountain

All Mel wants is to qualify, which means skiing in control down what looks to me like a sheer cliff studded with rocks and boulders! Only about half of the teens who are here will actually qualify.

Snowshoe day — There’s More to Do In CB than Just Ski

Snowshoe day — There’s More to Do In CB than Just Ski

It’s a perfect blue sky day. The sun is shining…the snow crisp under our snowshoes. There’s hardly anyone else out on the trail — just a few other snow shoers and Nordic skiers with their dogs, and an occasional snow mobiler. We see the tracks where hardy skiers have come to back country ski, hiking up so they can ski down pristine powder.