January 1, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Resolve to spend more time with the family on the slopes

by Heather Burke/

Ski areas have added magic carpets to help beginning kids and parents learn to ski with a nice gradual slope and an easy lift back up the hill. (photo: Greg Burke)

Ski areas have added magic carpets to help beginning kids and parents learn to ski with a nice gradual slope and an easy lift back up the hill. (photo: Greg Burke)

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I doubt most parents kick off the New Year resolving to spend more time puttering around the house doing mundane chores. And kids don’t pledge to spend 48-hours playing Wii or PlayStation. But that’s what families end up doing most winter weekends.

Why not resolve to spend just a few hours each weekend outside with your kids? What’s so hard about that? Whether its ice skating, sledding or skiing, make a pact with your pack to get out and play in the snow this winter.

What’s nice about this resolution is that it has the side benefit of getting in shape/losing weight — which ties in with many people’s customary New Year’s resolutions.

If your kids are really little (2-4), find a slope in your yard and create a nice, gentle, sledding hill. We did this when ours were tots and found that after a few descents on the sled, our snowy yard turned into a well-groomed, learn-to-ski run. With basic ski equipment (skis and boots), we were able to get our kids making first tracks in the (free) comforts of our front yard. Sure, it was a bit of manpower pulling our kids around our miniature private ski slope. But it’s great exercise for the adults and a great intro for the kids, close to home and within budget.

Once you start your kids skiing, head to your local ski hill. More resorts have added magic carpets to their bunny slopes. Like moving walkways at airports, these lifts are brilliant for beginners and for young parents that tire of hauling their kids up the ski slopes. And many resorts offer a learning-area ticket — so you don’t have to pay for the whole mountain. Shawnee Peak charges $13 for its Lil' Pine surface lift and beginner terrain. Mount Sunapee’s learning area is $22. Kids 5 and under get a ticket for free with a paying adult at these and most other resorts.

Okemo in Vermont offers the first hour of skiing for free, which may be just enough snow sliding for your little one (who is up and out of bed bright and early anyway).

Crotched Mountain has Family Fun Sundays, from 2:30-5 p.m. every Sunday. Lift tickets are $19 and rentals and lessons are $10 each. What a fun, inexpensive way to end the weekend. You can DVR the football game, save serious dough, and get your snow time with the kids after the weekend warriors have gone home.

Black Mountain in Jackson, N.H., sells a family four-pack of lift tickets — two adults and two kids — for $99 on weekends and holidays, and it's only $79 if you are willing to play hooky midweek.

There are plenty more deals on downhill skiing, as resorts are rolling out discounts everyday. So make sure you uphold your resolution, and get out and play with your kids in the snow this month. Family skiing also cures January sunlight deprivation and cabin fever.

 

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