Reggie at Kirkwood

By Reggie Yemma (photos by Dan Foldes)

After getting news of a spontaneous spring break from work in late March, my boyfriend, Dan Foldes, and I decided to spend our time off by retreating from the city (in our case, San Francisco) and head off on an adventure to the mountains. We both are avid skiers, and have been waiting for just the right time to head to Lake Tahoe this past winter, and now spring.

The California snowfall had not been very heavy all winter (many of our friends would return from the mountains saying that they had done more hiking than skiing most of December and January). However, March was the best month of snow in Tahoe. And, we were excited to do some good hard skiing in South Lake Tahoe at Heavenly and Kirkwood resorts, both of which we had never been.

Capitalizing on the incredible conditions, the majority of the Ski Lake Tahoe resorts have announced they will be extending their seasons with most aiming for the end of April and a few continuing operations into May. Heavenly and Kirkwood extended the season until April 29 and you can ski the rest of the season free if you buy a season pass for 2012-13.

After spending three early-morning hours driving from San Francisco to the beautiful snow-draped Sierra Nevadas, we were treated to a, well, “heavenly” view of blue skies, white mountains, and turquoise water as we ascended the Aerial Tram at 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 and watched the Heavenly ski patrol line up for a photo with all of their avalanche rescue dogs. It must have been one of the most breath-taking views I have ever had at a ski resort!

The mood amongst our fellow skiers on the Thursday when we arrived was quite pleasant and cheery.  Although Heavenly’s – and indeed California’s – snowfall this year has been decidedly light, Wednesday had seen a good accumulation of snow, so conditions were good for bounding around on the slopes.  Upon exploring the mountain on our first few runs, we were struck by Heavenly’s vast amount of terrain. Friendlier than normal lift operators were happy to tell us where the best runs on the mountain were.

Our exploration eventually led us to the remote Killebrew Canyon area, where we were treated to fresh tracks and a peaceful traverse out, overlooking the infinite Nevadan plain below. We spent most of the rest of the day skiing the challenging chutes of nearby Mott Canyon as well as the fun, moderate runs off the Dipper Express lift. I decided to warm up with a hot drink at East Peak Lodge while Dan did a few more runs, and was excited to have free refills of hot chocolate with endless amounts of whipped cream and mini-marshmallows!

Après ski, we took the gondola down to Heavenly Village and wound down around a warm outdoor fire pit at Restaurant Fire and Ice. We enjoyed their happy hour special with bloody Mary cocktails. We then decided there was no better way to spend our night than to see “The Hunger Games” at Heavenly Village Cinemas. A fan of the books, the movie did not disappoint!

We got to bed early to rest up for another big day at nearby Kirkwood. We had heard a lot about its extreme terrain, and were super excited to finally see for ourselves the steep slopes Kirkwood had to offer. We arrived right as the lifts opened and immediately headed up The Wall lift. The snow was soft and the slopes were steep as we challenged ourselves to ski fast and try some new routes. We especially enjoyed skiing down Eagle Bowl and Headwaters. From The Wall, we headed over to Sunrise lift for a few runs, and got a chance to spot some extreme snowboarders getting ready to take part in The North Face Masters of Snowboarding competition.

Fundraising for Kirkwood Ski Patrol

On our way back over to the Mountain Village Area, we ran into one of the happiest dogs in the world, a member of the Kirkwood Ski Patrol! We spent the rest of the afternoon skiing on the Cornice Express Lift, finding stashes of fresh snow, tight cliff tunnels to squeeze to, and mini-cornices to jump off of.

Not wanting to leave, we decided it was time to hit the road back to San Francisco. But, we cannot wait to come back next season to explore the extreme terrain of this mountain way more. Here’s to some late season snow, and a beautiful spring break in Lake Tahoe!

Old ski image from the Montage in Deer Valley

DAY 5 — Who says history can’t be fun?

Here in Park City, whether you visit in winter or summer, there’s a lot of history to be learned.

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.

We’re also impressed that  the woman who employed all of the seamstresses, provided health care and taught them to read and write, explains Michael O’Malley, an amateur historian who in summer offers historic hikes at Deer Valley and in winter, imbues is complimentary  mountain tours with local mining history.

We learn The Montage Deer Valley’s newest hotel and where we are staying is actually built right where one of the area’s famous mines was located. From the hot tub we see part of a mining structure that has been preserved.

Both Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort are built above hundreds of miles of mining tunnels where over $500 million worth of silver, lead, and some zinc, copper and gold came out of the ground.

The newly renovated Park City Museum on Main Street is a great way to appreciate the town’s history–from mining to snow sports to the Olympics. Visit the Utah Olympic Park.  It wasn’t until after silver prices declined in the mid 20^th century that Park City reinvented itself as a ski town famous these days not only for the slopes but for the Sundance Film Festival held every winter.

The celebrity packed streets are a far cry from what is downstairs here at the museum—the stone Dungeon and Park City’s original territorial jail that was used until the 1960s. Check out the two story Mega Mine’s mill and aerial tramway. There’s a stagecoach, an old-fashioned “market” impossibly long wooden skis and more.

Silver was first discovered here in 1868 and two decades later, the tiny town had grown to a city of more than 5,000 people—one of the first in the state to have electric lights and telephone service.. By 1898 10,000 people lived here including many immigrants.

Remind the kids that long before Park City became a ski resort, locals would get outdoors in winter-skating on ponds, sledding down the streets, ski jumping.

The first winter carnival was held here in Deer Valley in 1936 and the next year, WPA workers cut the first ski runs.  The first lift was built alongside those runs in 1945 by two locals. It wasn’t until 1963 that the first ski resort opened—what is now Park City Mountain Resort followed by Park West (now the Canyons) in 1968 and Deer Valley in 1981.  A lift pass in 1963 cost just $3.50!

Whether you visit in winter or summer, take time to learn about how this community high in the mountains came to be.  You’ll be glad you did.

Park City Mountain Resort Ladies Club

DAY 4 — There are second acts in life—and in ski country,

Just ask Vicki Martell, a Harvard MBA with a successful career in banking behind her. She’s now an instructor at Park City Mountain Resort and has dedicated herself to getting moms—and women–back on the slopes.

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.”

Thus Ladies’ Club was born—two hours rather than three, starting at 10 a.m. so that moms could get their kids to ski school and join the club without rushing. It also is significantly cheaper than a three hour lesson.

And taught by female instructors with no more than five in the group, it is designed to be as much about a shared experience (complete with tips on where to eat, shop and spa in Park City) as about ski instruction. “It was supposed to be time for themselves with other women like themselves,” Martell explained. It’s offered Saturday to Tuesday from 10 to 12 with local women invited to join. “Women tell me it is the best thing ever,” she said. There are at least two instructors assigned so women can be divided among abilities-whether they want to graduate to intermediate terrain or ski bumps. And you don’t need to be a mom either—the idea is to “have fun for a couple of hours—to have time for yourself!”

We all know ski trips are tough for moms. The idea here is to insure that moms have fun too—at least for a couple of hours.  Martell says she knows the dads do. “They get out there and find the challenging terrain.”

This is for the moms—or any woman—who otherwise would be sitting in the condo when she could get outside and have the time of her life,” Martell promises.

Powder skiing at Deer Valley Utah

DAY 3 — Snowball fight anyone?

We are in the outdoor hot tub at the Montage Deer Valley while it dumps much needed snow on our heads and the mountains. Three little boys are having a snow ball fight on the other side of the hot tub.

For those who can afford luxe on the slopes, tt doesn’t get any better than the ski-in, ski-out Montage (with its own Compass Sports rental shop and ski valet where they buckle and unbuckle your boots) and Deer Valley, five minutes from Park City’s Main Street and just 40 minutes from Salt Lake City National Airport.

We’ve chosen Deer Valley, North America’s No. 1 ski resort (ranked by the readers of SKI Magazine 2008-2012) where the number of lift tickets are limited each day to prevent crowds and the Montage for a girls’ getaway that will combine some time on the slopes (though Deer Valley is known for its groomed terrain, with six peaks there is plenty of expert caches to discover) with some pampering (Montage has the largest spa in Utah) and good eats.

I’m glad for the opportunity to spend some just-us-girls– R&R with my daughter Reggie, who lives in San Francisco, and her college roommate Meghan McCloskey, just back from a two-year stint in the Peace Corps.   

I couldn’t have chosen better. The Montage has everything from great views (we watch kids playing in the snow outside our room window) to great places to cozy up by the fire (We loved the Vista Lounge with live music and the hotel’s own microbrew) and great eats (The farm-to-table Apex is awesome for breakfast –the coconut-crusted French toast was amazing as well as dinner where we indulged our inner foodies with Elk sausage, Utah Trout and Duck Breast as well as foraged mushrooms. (Truffle Mac and Cheese anyone?)

Downstairs, there’s Daley’s Pub & Rec a gourmet gastro-pub where you can bowl, play billiards, arcade games or watch basketball on TV while chowing down on your burger. There’s a sushi bar and a coffee bar named Buzz where you can taste the resort’s own honey. I’m sorry we didn’t have time for the resort’s sushi bar.  

The Paintbox offers organized kids’ activities should parents need a break—maybe at the gargantuan spa—as well as a lending library of books. No wonder this place is packed with families!  Everyone loves the big pooch who is the resort mascot.

I’m told the locale is just as wonderful in summer and fall when you can hike and mountain bike right outside the door—arranged by the concierges. I’m going to have to come back to see! Even better, prices are less than half in winter.

Just because a hotel is pricey doesn’t mean it will meet your needs but this one does—luxurious but casual, a staff that is service-oriented but welcoming rather than snooty. The girls love the gargantuan bathroom with its heated floors and the fireplace in our room and the oh-so-comfy beds. I love the little things—the loofah in the shower, the truffles left for us at bedtime, the free newspapers in the lobby, that kids , are invited to choose a special stuffed friend who is local to this area—a moose, raccoon or fox perhaps.  

Deer Valley has been known for its food and service since it opened in 1981 so it’s nice to feel pampered both inside the hotel and outside on the slopes. (You’ll get help with your gear as soon as you arrive). Sign on for a complimentary tour with a Mountain Host. My daughter Reggie joins an expert tour on a powder day and reports the guide took the group through glades and trees and areas she never would have found on her own. 

Nor do visitors realize how much history is right here under the slopes—literally—says Michael O’Malley, a local amateur historian and Deer Valley Mountain Host who imparts history at every opportunity on the ski slopes and special summer guided tours (check www.deervalley.com) did you know underneath Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort are some 1,000 miles of mining tunnels?)

Did I mention Deer Valley is one of just three ski resorts left in the country that doesn’t allow snowboarders? That seems to add to the ambiance. Every year, customers are polled and are asked whether they want snowboarding and the vast majority don’t.

There are plenty of options to stay at Deer Valley–a sumptuous condo, a one-bedroom suite complete with private hot tub at Stein Eriksen Lodge, with its newly renovated spa and emphasis on wellness (there are teen treatments if your getaway includes a teen). The St. Regis Deer Valley has great late season deals. It’s easy to see why Deer Valley is so popular with multi-generational families –the food, the service, the groomers and the kids’ programs, including infant daycare.

This season, Deer Valley even has a new children’s trail map complete with fun facts about local critters. Did you know a raccoon’s hands are so nimble they could unlace a shoe or that deer can move their ears in any direction without moving their heads?  There are fun games to do and some runs kids love like Bucky’s Humps or the Enchanted Forest.

I’ve long known that Deer Valley and Park City are great for families with its three mountains,  historic Main Street (don’t miss the newly renovated Park City Museum that tells the story of history here—from mining, to saloons to snow) and activities from the alpine coaster and zipline at Park City Mountain Resort to bowling at Jupiter Bowl.

I worried, though, that Deer Valley would prove too chi-chi for my wilderness-loving daughter. I shouldn’t have. The Montage proved the perfect respite where we could catch up (we live 3,000 miles apart!), relax and indulge ourselves a bit.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

We wake up to more snow. The girls can’t wait to get out there.

The Farm restaurant at The Canyons in Utah

DAY TWO — Forget burgers and chicken fingers, though they certainly are available. At Canyons Resort in Park City, you have your choice of farm to table cuisine at The Farm—I loved the sampler of the grass fed beef onion soup, vegetable soup and Wyoming buffalo chili. Most everything comes from local purveyors within a few hundred miles and in summer, when a weekly farmer’s market is held at Canyons, it isn’t uncommon for the chef to meander down to see what looks good.

The dinner menu features everything from all natural chicken liver mouse to braised rabbit to pork chop, steelhead trout and buffalo osso bucco. (Squash risotto for the vegetarians in the group!)  It’s easy to see why The Farm was voted the best new restaurant in all of Utah in 2012.

Here as well as at neighboring Deer Valley –which led the industry in providing good mountain eats—we’re seeing ever better food with an emphasis on what is locally sourced. 

How about vegetarian couscous or pork tamales at Cloud Dine at The Canyons? Crawfish bisque at   Royal Street Café at Deer Valley where many skiers can’t pass up home-made chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches with hot fudge dipping sauce.

One morning, we start our day with the sumptuous breakfast buffet at Deer Valley’s Snow Park Restaurant (amazing waffles, cappuccino and fresh-squeezed juice!).   I love the tuna nachos at Park City Mountain Resort’s Legends restaurant.

I just wish the kids’ menus would be equally as creative but except for an occasional small steak, they seem to be typical pasta, chicken fingers and burgers. 

I’m invited to Stein Eriksen Lodge at Deer Valley for its Sunday brunch which is an institution here. I don’t know how anyone could ski afterward—though many are dining in ski boots—after eating the famous Boar and elk chili, five kinds of salad (I especially liked the couscous and mushroom) crab legs, shrimp, game hens, trout, omelets, waffles, bacon and buffalo that the chef was slicing, assuring me the meat is far more lean than beef.

“Are you doing breakfast or lunch?” one woman asked her companion as they made their way through the buffet, trying to decide between waffles, eggs benedict or game hens,  shell fish and more. “Both!” he said. “Dinner too!”  There was a long array of deserts, of course, including gluten-free cupcakes. 

Gone are the days—at least here anyway—where your choice for lunch on the mountain is a burger or a bowl of chili, dinner a bowl of pasta or a pizza. (Park City boasts more than 100 restaurants, including the excellent Grappa Italian Café  where I loved the house antipasto, wild mushroom soup and osso bucco. (And yes, we finished the meal with glasses of Grappa.)

Canyons now boasts the only kosher restaurant in ski country—Bistro at Canyons  with a resident Rabbi who conducts Shabbat services and a special Friday night sabbath menu and shabbos lunch complete with gefilte fish, chopped liver and smoked turkey.

 Other nights, you can choose from a soup sampling (I loved the roasted tomato),  wild salmon cakes and corndog franks to grilled steaks, smoked duck breast to a pastrami sandwich

Most nights, Rabbi Yosef Kirszenberg , a snow-loving father of nine from Brooklyn, tells me, there are enough men for a  traditional prayer service too.

Last Hanukah the restaurant was packed as it was for the recent Purim celebration. Not only can you get a kosher dinner here, but you can get a kosher lunch on the mountain (and who doesn’t love a pastrami sandwich) and breakfast to take with you after dinner.  “People are so happy to have this,” said the Rabbi . “They love it.”

But our favorite hands down is the Alpine Fireside Dining in the Empire Canyon Lodge right next to the Montage at Deer Valley. We’re told that in the Middle Ages, sheepherders in the Alps accidently discovered that raclette cheese placed on a stone next to an open fire would slowly melt. They enjoyed the cheese with boiled potatoes, pickled onions and hearty bread. By the 19^th century, the raclette tradition traveled across the Alps –and now to Utah where we enjoy it as our first of four courses cooked over open fireplaces.

Yum! We pair our cheese with boiled potatoes, cornichons, cured meals, breads and a sprinkling of paprika, all washed down by white wine.

And that is only the beginning. We move on to salad and roasted  root vegetable stew, veal and wild mushroom stew and chicken fricassee served with traditional Swiss Roti—a crisp potato torte.

We’re not done yet! Not when there is fire roasted lamb that has been brushed with fresh herbs, lemon and garlic. We eat that with roasted winter squash.

Did I mention desert? Warm chocolate, caramel and white chocolate Grand Marnier fondue that we eat with fresh strawberries, pineapple, dried apricots, almond biscotti and brownies that have been cooked in a pan over the fire.

Honestly, this meal may be the best bargain in ski country–$56 for adult and $28 for kids.

Holly Flanders and her instructors in Park City

DAY ONE of five in and around Park City, Utah (March 2012) —

If you think Olympic ski racing is hard, try raising three kids on your own.

Just ask Holly Flanders, who raced down mountains at 80 mph in the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympics and won three World Cup Downhill championships.   She braved icy courses, crashes and bad knees and had been ski racing since she was an eight year old growing up in Sunapee, NH.

“That was about me,” said Flanders, who now serves as the Ambassador for Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah—with 4,000 acres, the largest in the state and creating a lot of buzz in the ski industry. There are new restaurants (check out the farm-to-table offerings at The Farm) a new zip line and 300 additional acres of terrain since last year.

Flanders is also that rare breed who not only was a champion but is the mom of a champion—Her 19-year-old son  Alex Schlopy  won  a gold medal at the 2011 Winter X Games in the big air contest and a gold medal in slope-style at the 2011 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships.  He is a member of the U.S. Ski Team and, his mom says, hopes to compete in the next winter Olympics.

But it wasn’t easy getting to this point.   Even after being an Olympian and being the director of Skiing at Park City Mountain Resort, Flanders “ bottomed out,” she said. “I felt like a big failure…” as she struggled to juggle a career and three children, including an infant, on her own.

Alex couldn’t have been a tougher kid to raise, Flanders added.  She had to step back professionally. “And there was such a big age span—her youngest is eight years younger than her middle child,” that I felt like I was the single parent of two different families.”  It took quite a while to get back on track.”

Now she wants to help other women take time for themselves and to feel better about the choices they’ve made. “I wasn’t doing anything for me,”  she explained at lunch after we’d spent the morning skiing some of the Canyon’s extensive terrain. “And I realized you can’t take care of anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself.”

Flanders teaches women’s ski workshops at Canyons—I thoroughly enjoyed one a few years ago—but now has a new mission—to convince women they need to make that time, no matter what else is going on in their lives. Especially when it comes to physical pursuits like skiing, she says, women don’t have much confidence. “When they are allowed to build their skills, they gain great confidence and they can take that confidence with them to other parts of their lives.”

Sounds good to me.

Flanders remembers one particular rough patch with her son Alex when she realized that no matter how impossible he was, she would still love him. She told him so—more than once—and that really seemed to make a difference. “We turned a corner,” she said.

No matter what is going on in your life, she is convinced, “It really is about attitude…get outside…make time for yourself..if you do that, you are better for everyone else around you.”

Pond Skimming at Bolton Valley in Vermont

No one in Isaiah Nieves’ inner city neighborhood snowboards.  He  had never put on snowboarding gear and wasn’t sure how to lace up the boots.

But that didn’t dim the high school freshman’s enthusiasm for the new sport. “ It was so exciting and fun,” he said after his first weekend of lessons at Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont.  “Being on those slopes made me feel alive,” he said.

That’s the idea, of course. But that Isaiah and five of his classmates—all from the inner city–even had the opportunity to experience a snowsport took a lot of teamwork.

It’s no secret that the snowsports industry wants to encourage more minorities to hit the slopes. But that’s not easy with lift tickets costing over $90 at many places, not to mention all the gear that’s needed.  (Even long underwear and the right socks can be expensive.)

That’s where this wonderful partnership that got Isaiah and his housemates to Bolton Valley came in. The boys—all identified as having potential for academic success in middle school –live in a group house in Westport, CT and attend Staples High School under the Auspices of A Better Chance   that sends inner city boys and girls to prep schools and suburban communities like ours around the country.

The Chill Foundation ,  was started by Burton founders and Vermonters Donner and Jake Carpenter here at Bolton Valley to get at risk kids out on the slopes—kids who live near the mountains but may never have seen them—and to use snowboarding to enforce positive life lessons.

These kids have been referred by local agencies, are bused to a mountain near where they live, outfitted from head to toe and taught to snowboard which becomes the vehicle to help them find success and ultimately build self esteem. 

Since starting at Bolton Valley—the resort has a strong commitment to giving back to its community—and  thanks to partnerships with ski resorts and private donations, the program has reached thousands of kids in a dozen North American cities and those as far away as Australia and Austria—some 1300 each ski season participate in the six-week program learning the rewards of perseverance, respect , responsibility for others and for their equipment, courage, and in the end, pride at what they have accomplished. 

Those are lessons we could all learn, of course, and vacation is a good time to reinforce them.   For many families, all it would take is a camping trip, a visit to another country to experience a different culture or to the ski slopes to get out of their comfort zone.

Our ABC boys, though, don’t often have the opportunity for such experiences.  That’s why we’re so fortunate that  for the past three years, Chill has graciously provided gear for our boys—everything from waterproof jackets and pants, gloves and helmets–while Bolton Valley donates rental equipment, lessons, rooms and even coupons for breakfast and lunch. Board members, including me and my husband, donated the weekend to drive and chaperone the boys.  SmartWool  sent long underwear and snowboarding socks this season and a popular local restaurant, The Reservoir  in Waterbury, VT covered the boys’ dinner, which they loved.

“I enjoyed the food and the resort itself,” said Luis Cruz, the other freshman I n the group. “I enjoyed learning for the first time and then jumping into the hot tub.”

“Everything was tranquil and calm, and it felt particularly comforting,” added Isiah. “Perhaps it was because everyone was there for one central purpose: to enjoy themselves and to have a pleasant time.”

Even those like senior Stephan  Patterson who prefers the beach to the snow was glad he came, though he conceded, “The sauna was my favorite part.”

“The instructors were young and really cool,” added  Ruben Guardado, a sophomore, who would like to try skiing next season.  Another plus to a weekend away, he said, “Was not worrying about anything . That was so nice..a real  treat.” 

( For those of you who want  such a stress-free  getaway, Bolton has some amazing spring deals With their western facing slopes and Vermont’s most extensive night skiing and riding, spring skiing at Bolton Valley provide for skiing and riding in direct sunlight all the way through sunset—complete with views of  Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks. 

In addition to regular night skiing hours Wednesdays through Saturdays,  they are now running lifts until 5pm Sundays through Tuesdays starting on March 12^th with afternoon lift tickets just $19.

On March 24, is the biggest spring event as skiers and riders assemble on the slope right in front of the Base Lodge to try their luck at crossing the man-made pond–fueled only by gravity, technique, and the desire to stay dry.

Ready to try?  You’ve got less than a month to get on the slopes in Vermont, Utah, Colorado  and California, with even the poshest resorts from Lake Tahoe to Park City to Vail and Aspen to Stowe offering terrific deals when the sun shines and the weather is warmer.  I’m meeting my older daughter and her college roommate in Park City, in fact.  

It’s never too late. One of our middle-aged chaperones, who hadn’t skied in eight years and never off the easiest terrain, got out of his comfort zone and took a ski lesson.

The boys were impressed.  But more important, so was he.

Mel with Eileen before she ditched us at Beaver Creek

DAY 7 — Fresh baked cookie anyone?

It’s the beginning of the ski day and the chef is fielding a silver platter heaped with fresh baked chocolate chunk cookies. Yum! Beaver Creek’s motto is “not roughing it,” and the cookies are just the beginning. There are mountain welcome tours, the chance to send a post card anywhere in the world courtesy of the resort and après ski for families in the village on Saturday. Today, skiers and riders are participating in The Talons Challenge—ski or ride 13 black runs in one day, 24,000 vertical feet! Tomorrow, there is a Talons kids challenge event.

In case you are wondering, Beaver Creek hands out nearly 400,000 cookies each season to skiers and riders. There’s village entertainer Helmut Fricker dressed in his lederhosen with his accordion and long alpenhorn. On Saturdays, there’s an Apres Ski Family FunFest with music, magic, games, après ski at the ice rink in the village. Did I mention the complimentary hot chocolate every day? Several times a season, there’s Beaver Creek Loves Kids with special activities. We’ve met up with my daughter Mel, who just turned 21, and some of her friends from Colorado College for a belated birthday celebration.

We’re staying in a spacious condo in the village at the St James Club, enjoyed dinner and spa at the nearby Park Hyatt and now we’re ready to ski.

We turned down the option of doing an afternoon clinic –Max-3 Coaching Clinic geared toward strong intermediates and advanced skiers with only three in a group—so we could ski with Melanie. Our first run, Mel leads me to a double black diamond. I’m not thrilled. We lead her over to the Arrowhead area and Bachelor Gulch. She’s not thrilled. Too far…too much easy terrain.

When we suggest stopping for some soup, Mel sees her opening to leave us. “I have a PB&J in my pocket,” she says, “I want to keep skiing!”

So much for family time.

We‘ve been taking the kids on ski trips since they were toddlers—including to Beaver Creek. “This is the living life,” my then six year old daughter Reggie declared when she looked around the condo we’d been assigned here. 

I  learned a long time ago nothing goes as planned. Someone gets sick (we’ve had lots of ear infections). Someone ends up in the ER (me, here three years ago after a bad fall).  Someone has a meltdown. And someone just doesn’t want to spend that much time with mom and dad.

That’s the way it goes. I’m just glad Mel and her brother and sister love being outdoors and out on the mountain. All those years of schlepping them to ski school have paid off royally—all can ski anything.

So my husband and I ski down to the Broken Arrow restaurant at the Arrowhead area where we chow down on excellent tortilla soup. We ski our way around the mountain and down to the bottom and guess who is waiting for the chairlift?  Mel and her friends.

One last run together. Everyone’s smiling. Sometimes, you can’t ask for more than that.

DAY 5 — It’s great when you can step out of the frenzied 21^st century—for a little while, especially on vacation.

Welcome to Aspen’s historic Hotel Jerome  with its view of the famous iconic mountain. The glitterati of the day came from around the country for the opening on Thanksgiving eve 1889. The hot and cold running water, flush toilets and electric lights were the ultimate in luxury for a town used to icy outhouses and miner’s camps.

Jerome Wheeler, president of Macy’s, first came west for his wife’s health—the mountain air was considered therapeutic. He was persuaded to invest in Aspen’s mines and by 1885, he’d financed the first hydroelectric camp and Aspen’s first bank. Wheeler agreed to finance the Hotel Jerome built to rival big city hotels.    

It rose three stories at a time when the first skyscraper was just being built in Chicago; The central rotunda over the main drawing room was with colorful glass; walls were frescoed and fireplaces ornately carved. Once the hotel was built, wealthy Easterners and Midwesterners would travel by train to see their mining investments and the Hotel Jerome was the center of it all.

Sadly, Wheeler eventually went bankrupt and lost the Jerome. The hotel became a boarding house for many years. The men of the 10^th Mountain Division bivouacked here during their training during World War II.

With a new owner after the war,  the hotel was again the center of things–the site of the founding of the Aspen institute, the Aspen Music Festival and the Aspen Ski Company—as well as a favorite of movie stars who hob-nobbed with ski instructors and locals.

We sit in the Library under the spectacular tin roof, sipping cocktails and nibbling buffalo sliders, trying to imagine the scene during the hotel’s heyday.

Now a new renovation, expected to be completed by Christmas, should restore the Jerome to all its former glory.

I can’t wait to return to see it.

Chris Yemma with Ski Patrol monster on Aspen Mountain

DAY 4 — Some days don’t get better than this.

Plate-sized blueberry pancakes and fresh berries I didn’t cook and a foot of fresh powder on Aspen Mountain.

Did I mention we’re eating our pancakes, biscuits and gravy, sausage and bacon, eggs–and for the healthy eaters, greek yogurt, fruit and oatmeal–at the Sundeck on the top of the mountain?  

There are options for First Tracks every morning, but on Wednesdays for $25 you are treated to this sumptuous spread and then the chance to ski down the mountain any way you like, rather than following ski instructors down. All the better that we got a foot of fresh snow yesterday, the sun is shining and it is a blue sky morning.

I’m here with my husband Andy, my son Matt, my nephew Chris and his dad and my husband’s brother Mark Yemma. When Mark and Andy were in college and afterward, they came to Aspen and in fact pretty much learned to ski here. This is the first time Mark has been back in 35 years; Chris had never been here.

What better place, I thought for the two brothers to reminisce about their 20s with their sons who are just a few years older than they were then.

But of course whenever you take the kids, nothing goes as planned—even on a perfect skiing day. I’d envisioned our First Tracks together for weeks (Reserve by calling 970-920-0755). Instead, my son Matt got to the top of the Gondola and realized he didn’t feel well. He hopped the Gondola back down. So much for the picture I’d wanted to take of them all smiling on top of Aspen Mountain.

Snowmass, one of Aspen’s neighboring mountains, may be five times bigger (Aspen has 675 skiable acres as compared to Snowmass’ 3,132, Aspen Highlands 1,028 and Buttermilk’s 470) but Aspen—known as Ajax after the mine that was once here—is the one with all the mystique, rising high right in the middle of this historic mining town that these days is known for the celebs who vacation here as well as for its slopes. Together Aspen’s four mountains offer 5,300 acres of skiable terrain!

We’re ensconced in a comfortable condo at The Gant a short walk (or complimentary shuttle ride) to the Silver Queen Gondola and walking distance to all of Aspen’s famous nightlife and shops. There are more than 150 in this small town.

I love staying in a condo—especially such a comfy, well-equipped one—on ski trips with family because we can cook breakfast, gather around the fire après ski for cocktails, and eat a delicious dinner without having to move our tired selves.  All the better when my sister-in-law Anne Yemma volunteers to cook—an excellent pasta Bolognese.  A perfect ending to a perfect day in the mountains!

This morning we were out the door early to get the Gondola up the mountain before it was open to the public—shortly after 8 a.m. We ski some of the mountain’s famous runs all morning. By noon, my son Matt is feeling better, thankfully.

We meet up for lunch at Bonnie’s on the mountain (loved the fresh tomato soup!) and head out together afterward.

I smile. It’s the family together on the mountain scene that I’d envisioned, complete with the inside jokes—just a few hours later. And I’ll take those good times whenever we can get them.