Category — Skiing

We spent Sunday, Monday, and today on our annual Jiminy Peak trip with friends. We returned a few hours ago, and I’ve literally been stumbling around due to exhaustion. As in, I tripped on our duffel bag handle and landed on my face, and moments later I fell down the stairs while carrying 3 pairs of ski boots. Lucky for me they were the carpeted stairs down to our basement instead of our steep, old, wooden stairs that strike fear into the hearts of visiting mothers with toddlers.

M, who is an unbelievably motivated maniac, managed to finish all the schoolwork that she missed in time to hustle off to soccer practice tonight. In fact, she was hoping to go to another soccer thing that she normally does–which would have been a whopping 2 1/2 hours of soccer after skiing for most of the day–but she had to finish her homework first, so she missed the first hour.  I don’t think that she’ll collapse on the gym floor, but I am a little worried that there will be sobbing before she finally passes out tonight. We usually walk the couple of blocks to the school gym, but Cute W’s driving her home. J, meanwhile, fell asleep in the car on the way home, continued the nap on the couch, and was only roused by the scent of take-out Italian food. She ate three helpings of pasta and settled in for yet another Harry Potter reading marathon (we’re now on #3 with her) before bed.

Our weekend was great, especially considering that there was serious rain last night. The girls spent most of the day on Monday in ski school, and they had a wonderful time. Prior to the drop-off, there was a bit of high drama because they have one girlfriend who also attends the daylong class, so each girl was hoping that she’d be placed with a friend and fearing that she’d be left out. They’re pretty close, ability-wise, but you just never know, and you want them to feel comfortable skiing at the right level. There was also speculation about the placement, because last year the two older girls had been told that they’d be in the Fox group. Jiminy used to place kids in groups named after various woodland creatures. If you’d done your time as an undignified Chipmunk or Raccoon, of course you’d be psyched to finally become a Fox. When I broke it to them that the ranking system was different now, both girls were in denial, so I just did the old motherly, “Well, we’ll see. . . .” Really, it makes sense. If some 11-year-old first time skier got called a Chipmunk they’d basically be opposed to the entire program immediately, I bet.

Ski School was a tremendous success. All three girls (and only our three girls) were with one teacher whom they liked very much. And they were thrilled because he took them on black diamonds, so they officially feel like The Most Awesome Skiers Ever.

There was a lot of that girl power thing going around. At one point J stopped next to me and laughed out loud, saying, “I can’t believe that I’m still alive.” I promise that we weren’t particularly defying death on that run. But seriously, how much happier would your life be if you took a moment any old time to laugh out loud with joy that you’re still alive? We should all try it, maybe. Another time, I was skiing with a bunch of girls (we just happened to have a girl-heavy group), and a middle-schooler who’d been a bit hesitant about skiing down a black diamond decided to try, anyway (not surprising, since the two 4th graders were game). When the hardest part was over, I told her to stop and look up. It appeared much scarier from below, probably because you could see a greater expanse of the whole slope. “Now, aren’t you impressed with yourself?” I prodded. “You know what?” she answered, “I really am. I really, really am impressed with myself.”

After so much rain last night, I expected today to be a washout, but conditions were surprisingly good. Nothing froze, trails were groomed, and the temperature hovered just around freezing, keeping us all warm and cozy without melting the slopes entirely.

Between all of that skiing the kids swam in the pool, I learned how to play one of Cute W’s new board games, and we all ate a ridiculous amount of food. Now it’s back to real life again. But you know what? Real life’s pretty good, too.

I’ve been so discombobulated by the holiday and related travels that I’ve lost track of time, and I forgot to remind you that Natalie at Trendy Tots in Schenectady is offering a special discount to all of you.  If you go from Tuesday December 27th to Saturday December 31st, you can get  20% off  your purchase if you tell them that Katie from Capital District Fun sent you. I visited Trendy Tots and told you more about it in a previous post.

Did you know that 4th graders can ski or snowboard for free at many New York State resorts with the $20 NY 4th Grade Ski & Ride Passport Program? Kids can get a free learn to ski passport or 3 free lift tickets (with an adult ticket purchase) to each of the participating mountains for $20 (or both of the deals for $39). I heard about this awesome program from Sandra at Albany Kid–thanks, Sandra! I’m finally getting around to putting our application for M in the mail tomorrow. Now all we need is some snow. Yeah, I said it. I’m ready.

Oh, and speaking of outdoor winter fun, did you already hear that the Empire State Plaza skating rink will reopen this year? They were aiming for January. I’m excited about this, and I couldn’t remember if I’d mentioned in here already. But hey, free! And thus worth another mention as a  super deal for you!

If you’re considering getting your kids skiing this winter, now’s the time to look for seasonal rentals. We seized the day off from school last week to go to Goldstock’s to get ours. Update: I forgot to link before, but Sandra at Albany Kid wrote a review of Goldstock’s last year.

Last year we went, gosh, in late October or early November, and they were almost out of equipment. This year we were early, which meant we got skis that also happened to be pretty.

The girls were thrilled.

Most seasonal rentals run about $99 to $110, which is a far better deal than renting by the day, with tends to be about $30. Most places will provide bigger sizes for growing kids or make binding adjustments as kids improve. But most of all, having the equipment already just makes you so much more likely to ski more, because it’s less hassle and less money each and every time. Here are a few places in the area that sell skis, and most do rentals as well:

• Alpine Sport Shop in Saratoga Springs
• Goldstock’s in Scotia
• High Adventure in Latham
• Plaine and Son in Schenectady & Albany
• Steiner’s in Hudson, Valatie, & Glenmont

You can also always try for something used at Play it Again Sports in Latham, but that’s sort of like a treasure hunt.

And then, if you go for the seasonal ski rental and you’ve got beginning skiers, you should think about getting season passes at Maple Ski Ridge. They have regular season passes and special passes that let you choose a single day during midweek to visit.  I reviewed Maple Ski Ridge last year, and it’s a convenient spot with great trails for beginners. Halfway through last winter, Cute W and I both wished that we’d just bought season passes. The girls improved so much, though, that I think we’ll be exploring some new spots this year. In any case, most resorts have discounts for season passes if you purchase early, so if you want to look into it, here’s last year’s post on skiing day trips.

Okay, hopefully the snow won’t be here too much longer, but I realized that I never passed along our ski getaway report, so here it is.

We spent two nights at Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Massachusetts, and it was such a good time that I’ve been telling everyone I know that they should go, and not just because it’s so close, an hour door-to-door from our house near Schenectady.

What we love even more are the deals for staying at the Country Inn. Downhill skiing is expensive, so when you can find something reasonable, it’s cause for celebration. Check out their website, and you’ll see that a full day of skiing (8 hours) costs $59 for an adult and $44 for kids 12 and under. That’s a painful $206 for my family of four to ski all day. Except that the going rate for a midweek stay at the Country Inn is generally $199/night and lodging  includes two adult lift tickets plus free skiing midweek for kids under 12. Yippee!

Kitchenette

Each suite has a separate bedroom and a living room with a pull-out sofa and a kitchenette. I kept discovering helpful details, like when I unearthed some much-needed dish washing soap from the pantry, or when I opened up the sofa bed to discover that it was already made with sheets and a blanket, so my kids could collapse immediately.  With a little preparation, we’d packed everything we needed to skip buying food at the lodge and restaurant entirely. Excellent, because I’m cheap. Even better, if you book a few rooms with friends, you can have an ongoing potluck party. If your kids vary in their enthusiasm for skiing, a group makes life much easier. When J lost steam, there were always a few adults taking a break who could provide  snacks and turn the tv to cartoons as necessary.  Large groups, say ten suites or more, can negotiate for a lower group rate.

Our bedroom before we had a chance to trash it.

We checked in promptly at 4 pm on a Sunday, dropped our bags, and ran outside (okay, more like ka-thumped in our ski boots) to take advantage of the night skiing. After a few runs, J was tired of skiing for the night, but she and I loved taking a ride on the Mountain Coaster that’s available on the weekends. At $7 each, this was an extra cost, but it was absolutely worth it for us. We squealed with joy all the way down, and it was the perfect way to end our evening outside on a high note after she’d gotten discouraged on the slopes.

Not me and J. We coasted in the dark and I contrived to have J still in her ski helmet just in case we flew off the rails, which seemed quite possible.

Most of the kids in our group spent a full day (9:30 am to 3:30 pm) in ski school. The cost is $102 and includes lessons, lift tickets (if they weren’t already included in lodging), and lunch. Our only complaint was that the person who took our reservations didn’t ask for the girls’ lunch order and assigned them chicken nuggets. We realized the mistake at drop-off and attempted to correct it, but they ended up with the nuggets, anyway. This was particularly comic when my 8-year-old recounted that another child had received nuggets and also didn’t want them because “she’d seen the video, too.” I realized that the Jamie Oliver video that I’d shown them had made a bigger impression than I’d thought! Apparently the other little girl was wily enough to finagle a macaroni and cheese, but my kids were stuck. However, they enjoyed ski school so much that they were ready and willing to go back the next day (we skied together instead) and they both “graduated” to the next level, which means my big girl will be a pole-wielding Fox next time (levels are designated by woodland creatures from chipmunks to coyotes).

Meanwhile, we adults took advantage of the kid-free time to ski as quickly and as much as we could for the day. We liked the variety of trails and the conditions as well as the nonexistent lift lines that midweek offered. And with hours running from 9 am to 10 pm and the convenient access to our rooms (we could pretty much ski to the doorstep of the Country Inn), it was easy to take quick breaks for lunch and dinner and head back out again and again.

The inn has an inviting lobby that’s frequently stocked with free cocoa and cookies. Last year we happened to visit during a late-January rainstorm, and the kids enjoyed playing games in the balcony while the grown-ups  listened in from below and drank wine by the fire. We felt like we had the run of the place, so it was a bit disappointing that with great snow conditions, the lobby became a bit of a mob scene. Still, the staff were friendly and helpful. We didn’t participate, but on the weekends, they have late-afternoon activities for the kids. Perfect timing to keep them entertained between ski school and dinnertime.

Also entertaining? The hot tubs and pool. Along with an indoor hot tub, the 0utdoor hot tub and heated pool beckoned many of us to hightail it through the cold to enjoy the water. Soaking in the hot tub surrounded by snow was perfect after a long day of skiing. The pool was bearably warm, but not my cup of tepid tea. The kids, however, had a blast.  Any parent knows that a hotel pool is golden, and the novelty of frolicking in the steam outside in February was thrilling for all of them, even if many of the adults supervising them preferred to chitchat in their coats.

A photogenic Jiminy family enjoying the pool. A more realistic image would be ten kids swimming like crazy while the adults huddled in the hot tub with plastic cups.

We thought Jiminy Peak was an excellent and convenient getaway, and we’ll be going again next year.

I had a tremendously unproductive day and some girl-drama this afternoon, so I’m grouchy.

I figured that I’d blow off posting today. But then, instead, I  decided to share my notes as I checked out lift ticket prices. We’re thinking about skiing this Sunday. This listing is pretty self-serving. It isn’t  particularly helpful for those of you who are interested in half days (we’re early birds) or who’ll need to rent skis (we’ve got them already), because I was just too lazy to take notes on those.

But it is a reminder that there are plenty of of places nearby to ski. I took this list from the one that’s on the list of links and the newer Embrace Winter page. Actually, that list includes information on places with tubing, adaptive skiing, and night skiing.

Alas, it’s also a reminder that this is a freakishly expensive sport. What were we thinking, getting the girls all gung-ho?

For the rates, I list full-day tickets, and when prices vary based on the calendar, the first number is the holiday price, and the second number is for mid-week, non-holiday price. The times listed after the location are the approximate drive-times from my place near Schenectady, according to Google Maps. Finally, the bold number is what it would cost for my family to go skiing for a day this weekend. So if your family happens to be composed of 2 adults, an 8-year-old, and a six-year-old, you’re in luck! Yay, you!

Belleayre Mountain Highmount, NY – 1¼ hours $184

• adult: $54/$45
• youth: 6-12 $38/$35
• $25 lift tickets on non-holiday Fridays.

Butternut Great Barrington, MA- 1¼ hours $195

• adult: $60/$25
• youth: 7-13 $50/$20
• 6 and under: $25/$15

Catamount Hillsdale, NY – 1¼ hours $191

• adult: $59/$27
• junior: 7-13 $48/$27
• child: $25/$10

Gore Mountain North Creek, northwest of Lake George – 1½ hours $198

• adult: $77/$66
• juniors: 7-12 $44/$37
• 6 and under: free

Jiminy Peak Hancock, MA – 1 hour $192 or if lower mountain means bunny slope only, $216

• adult: $65/$59
• junior 12 and under: $43/$40
• 6 and under, lower mountain only: $19/$19

Maple Ski Ridge Rotterdam – ¼ hour $120

• all: $30/$20 + one-time purchase of $5 “sweet pass”

Otis Ridge Otis, MA – 1½ hours $90

• adult or junior: $30/$20
• beginner area only: $10/$10
• 6 and under: free

Royal Mountain Ski Area Caroga Lake – 1¼ hours $120

• adult: $35 any day
• 6-12: $25 any day
• 5 and under: free

Sawkill Family Ski Center Kingston – 1¼ hours–seems like it’s only open weekends & holidays $146

• adult: $40
• 12 and under: $33

Ski Bousquet Pittsfield, MA – 1½ hours $148

• all: $37/$20

West Mountain Queensbury, near Glens Falls – 1 hour $120

• adult & teen: $52/$42
• youth 7-12: $41/$42
• 6 and under: not mentioned-free I hope?
• family plan for weekends/holidays: first 3 members $120, each additional $32
• lower mountain all ages for weekends/holidays: $32

Willard Mountain Greenwich, east of Saratoga – 1 hour $144

• adult: $38
• junior 12 and under: $34

Windham Mountain Windham, west of Hudson – 1½ hours $200

• adult: $68/$48
• youth 7-12: $54/$34
• 6 and under: $10/$10

We finally made it to Maple Ski Ridge! Really, I feel silly that we hadn’t gone before. Everyone told us that it was a great easy trip and perfect for learning skiers. Somehow, I had a mental block that there couldn’t be anything worth a trip that wasn’t, you know, a trip.

But we had a wonderful time! We loaded up our car so that we could go directly from church and ate lunch en route so that we wouldn’t miss more time than necessary.  It was a quick trip to Rotterdam for us, but when we arrived I was concerned. First, the wind was positively whipping all over the place, and Cute W was parking while I ran (okay, stomped) inside to buy tickets. The line was long. There was definitely an early-afternoon rush. So I fretted about the children becoming demoralized little Popsicles. When the crowd parted I could get a glimpse of them through the windows, but the crowd parted infrequently. And of course I’d forgotten my cell in the car, so I couldn’t call Cute W to ensure that he’d joined the children and that no one was getting frostbite.

Luckily this wait won’t have to be repeated. This year they’ve started a new system, the Sweet Pass, which is a card that you can refill online. We paid $5 for the cards themselves, which each person keeps in a pocket instead of one of those hang tags. Then next time we go, we can “reload” the card so that we don’t even have to step into the lodge. Unless we want cocoa.

As it turns out, the kids were fine and Cute W had scored an unbelievable parking space. Which wasn’t too difficult, since the place is small. But honestly, Maple Ski Ridge was perfect for us. There are two rope tows and two lifts. We were novices with the tow rope, but everyone did relatively well.  By the end even J was reaching back to put the handle behind her so that she could sit back and relax her way uphill. M was overjoyed and did terrific with all the skiing–she barely paused in 3 1/2 hours. J would have preferred to snow plow straight down every hill. She’d fall and get frustrated on some of her turns, but generally she had a wonderful time. Our biggest problem was that she’d speed up and then we’d be going alongside her yelling “Pizza! Make a PIZZA!” But the best was that, for us at least, there was hardly ever any wait time at all to get back up the hill. And that was a Sunday afternoon after a snowstorm.

It was also a new experience for us to run into various acquaintances while skiing, so it felt almost like a neighborhood get-together. Some parents were clearly just hanging out in the lodge and checking for their kids through the windows. The food prices looked relatively reasonable (again, I’m cheap, so we’d packed snacks). It was, as I’d heard, pretty crazy-busy in the lodge, with people camping their stuff all over the tables.

J rides the lift with me. I would have taken more pictures, but we were too busy skiing.

All in all, it was a great place for the beginner & young skier. We’ll  visit other places, too, but we’ll absolutely ski there again.  It was an excellent family outing for us, and it’s nice for the kids to have a place where they can feel pretty comfortable just about anywhere. And it’s especially nice that it’s so close to home!

We went sledding today, and I have to tell you:  I am not good at sledding. You would think that there’s not a great deal of skill involved.  I mean, children do it quite successfully.  Not me.  I always get nervous and start wiggling around, and that throws the sled off course, and next thing you know we’ve managed to turn around and we are going backwards.  Or we’re pitching over to the side.  Or we’re running into a tree.  All of which happened this afternoon, once on the same run downhill.

I was particularly nervous today because the sleds were fast.  The last few times we’d gone, our scratched-up plastic sleds barely moved, so we’d be chugga-chugga-chugging to get started.  So this time I decided to be clever and utilize some simple household items.  First, I rubbed the sled bottoms with a votive candle (unlit), and then, in case that didn’t help, I sprayed the bottoms with Pam cooking spray.  In retrospect, if I had wanted to use the scientific method, I should have given each sled only one of the two treatments so that I could compare and contrast and, possibly, produce a bar graph.  But we all know that if I’d done that, there would be fights over who got which sled.  Whichever item did the trick, the sleds were frighteningly fast.  We were just at the local school, where the brick and concrete are not too terribly far from the bottom of the hill, and I’d always thought it was safe.  Until today.  Today I was so relieved that no one was hemorrhaging that I even pulled the girls on the sleds for most of the way home.

Anyway, the fresh snow the other day inspired me to look into local tubing possibilities.  I found a few, although they’re more of a trip than I’d hoped (of course, you can always bring your own tube anywhere).  And then, while I was at it, I realized that I might as well create a section for skiing/snowboarding/tubing day trips on the Big Ol’ List of Links for You.  If you click, scroll down to the bottom for Winter Day Trips.  Here are some tubing spots:

• Glimmerglass State Park (Cooperstown) has tubing on weekends Jan. 9th to Feb. 28th from 11 am to 4 pm.  $5/day, but you’ve got to walk up the hill.
• Gore Mountain in North Creek (northwest of Lake George) has tubing at $16/2 hours.  Children must be 36 inches or taller to use the lifts.
• Sawkill Family Ski Center in Kingston has tubing at $15/1 hour or $20/2 hours.  There’s a 42-inch height minimum.
• Tubby Tubes Co. in Lake Luzerne (near Lake George).  Rates weren’t posted  online, but I have  heard that the slopes are mellow/small kid friendly.
• West Mountain in Queensbury, near Glens Falls has tubing that’s $16/adults and $8 for kids under 6 for two hours.  Kids are not permitted to ride with an adult.
• Willard Mountain in Greenwich (east of Saratoga) has tubing for 2 hours for $15.
• Windham Mountain is west of Hudson (a good 90 minutes from me near Schenectady), and it has tubing at $20/2 hours.

Considering how inept I am with mere sledding, we’ve thus far skipped out on snow tubing, ourselves.  But I’d love opinions, if anyone’s been to these places or others.

And finally, for still more outdoor fun, those oh-so-helpful folks at All Over Albany have created a list of places to ice skate outdoors.  Hooray!  This is one of those things that was on my list of things to do, so I am particularly grateful to them.  Go check it out.

I know this seems crazy, but February break has flown by for us.  Tomorrow I’ll have weekend activities, and then we’ll all be back to the old routine.

Okay, I know, I’ve been the slacking blogger lately.  Originally I thought that I’d be home much earlier yesterday, but with the crazy weather, plans changed.

In case you were wondering, yes, it was warm and pouring rain on Monday at Jiminy Peak.  It was monsoon-like.  We took a walk that morning and it was so warm and so wet that I had no hope at all about any more skiing (we had skied a bit on Sunday night, and M & her dad rode the mountain coaster).  Everything was closed, and when we finally found a sign that said “Arcade Open”, my friend went to check it out and saw some guys bailing water because it was beginning to flood.  There was a big group of us and everyone else was more optimistic than me, so I stayed, even though the prospect of just hanging out all day with the promise of only-possibly-skiing-on-Tuesday seemed pretty bleak.

We had a wonderful time. I feared that Monday would be a Day of Television, with 2 tv sets in each suite, but they actually didn’t watch too much.  The kids, who ranged from a 5^th grader to a 4-year-old, enjoyed traveling as a pack from room to room.  For quite a while they were all hanging out in the large balcony area over the hotel lobby while the grown-ups sat just downstairs chatting by the fire.  Whenever the noise level got too high (or disquietingly quiet, for that matter), someone would pop up to check on them.  They also loved swimming—the outdoor pool and hot tub are warm enough to be comfortable, while running out through the chill made it seem somehow forbidden and thrilling. Really, the only drawback was that by the time Tuesday came, everyone was getting tired.

Amazingly, it got colder and they made snow and groomed the hills like crazy, and we had a lovely and warm day of skiing on Tuesday.  M says her favorite part of the super-fun weekend was ski school.  In our group, 2 out of 3 kids enjoyed it.  Both of my girls improved quite a bit.  If I were a regular skier there, I might have been disappointed that so few trails and lifts were open, but since I ski so infrequently these days, it was just fine for me.

But most of all, it was a great deal and very easy for families.  We stayed in the Country Inn for $175/night.  It was a suite with a kitchenette, so the grown-ups had their own bedroom with a king-sized bed and the girls shared the pull-out couch in the living room.  Paying for two nights got us the suite as well as free lift tickets for all four of us for 3 days.  It was right at the bottom of the hill, so we paid $0 for food—we brought everything potluck.  The kids loved “shopping around” to see who had the best snacks.  Yes, we dropped cash on ski school–$110 per child, which included rentals and lift tickets—and on the mountain coaster.  But for me, what I hate is when you’re on vacation and there are all sorts of incidental expenses that you didn’t plan for, and that didn’t happen.  We got four vouchers to make up for Monday, and we can’t wait to go again.

Incidentally, we usually go to Mt. Snow, Vermont, where we have family.  There’s actually a deal this Sunday:  you get one free kid’s lift ticket per adult ticket purchased.