Ski school a valuable part of family vacations on the slopes

The writer's boys on the slopes.

By Donna Mulligan

Ask my husband and he will tell you. His favorite family vacation with the kids is spent on the ski slopes in Vermont.

Taking the kids on a ski vacation does involve some organization and planning. Staying warm and dressing in layers is essential. Chattering teeth and blue lips can cut an afternoon of skiing short, so it’s important to pack with staying warm in mind. Don’t forget multiple ski gloves, turtles, socks, thermals, snow suits and goggles. Always remember to stash a few tissues in the snow suit pockets for runny noses on the slopes.

For my husband and me, putting the kids in their first ski school was a difficult decision. Since we both worked, our family vacations were truly planned with thegoal of spending quality time with the boys. We felt a bit “guilty” leaving them with the ski school instructors, so we compromised by enrolling them in ski school in the morning and spending the afternoon on the slopes as a family. Most ski schools will also provide parents with “peace of mind” beepers. This way, if any emergency occurs, parents are easily notified to come back to the ski school.

Most mountains will take children in ski school as soon as they are potty trained. Ski school includes some snow play, learning how to walk in snow boots, navigating the magic carpet (a flat escalator that will take the kids up the hill) and how to get up once you fall. The instructors have all the patience in the world! They teach the kids that a “pizza wedge”, or snow plow, will slow them down. Pointing your skis like “French fries” will speed you up. Kids also learn quickly from other kids in a “follow the leader” approach. All my three boys learned the basics of skiing in ski school.

Once my kids were beyond the toddler stage, we still enrolled them in ski school. They made ski buddies and won gold and silver medals in ski races. Parents attended the medal ceremony in the cafeteria at the days end. Celebrations included hot chocolate and ice cream sundaes for all!

After a day of fresh mountain air and exercise, we would lounge around in our thermals, light a fire, and eat one of our crock pot meals of chili or stew. After dinner we’d toast marshmallows and work, bit by bit, on a jigsaw puzzle, just enjoying being together. These are some of my fondest family vacation memories of all.

I think the reason my husband enjoys the family ski vacation as his favorite, is because he can STILL out-ski the boys down the trails. I anticipate the boys catching him in the very near future!

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Donna Mulligan is a full-time working mom to three hockey players, ages 19, 17 and 13. Her family’s favorite travel destinations include Killington, Vermont, the Adirondacks, Florida’s Gulf coast, and Quebec City.

Tagged: Family time