first tracks - 'cause if you're not first, you're last...

Our family is hooked on first tracks, ours' is admittedly a competitve crew. Sometime you have to pay to play, and pay extra for the early morning ski privilege - but like many of the best things in life: it's worth it! We love to crush the corduroy at 7am, or get fresh powder while others are still hugging their pillows...here is our take on taking sweet laps before the lifts are open to the public.

Read our review of First Tracks for skiing families

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Sugarloaf? There is an app for that

Sugarloaf? There is an app for that

Hey Sugarloafers, no more loafin as you can track your vert, your runs, your speed and your entire season and compare with your ski compadres with the new Sugarloaf Reply app, brought to you by @Alpine Replay for iPhone an Android with sharing capabilities on facebook - fun!

App on, game on, this is going to be interesting...

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Top 10 Reasons to Ski!

Looking for excuses to escape to the mountains this winter? Here are our top 10 reasons to ski! From calorie burning to camaraderie- we will provide you the perfect reasons to get out and get active in the snow with your family this winter season!

Family Ski Trips Top 10 Reasons to Ski!

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we always oogle and google before ski season!

The anticipation for alpine skiing is on, as always. A fluke pre-Halloween snow storm was affectionately called "snOwtober" by skiers and Armageddon by those who lost power for days. But the heavy Halloween snow measured as much as a foot in the mountains, allowing both Killington and Sunday River to open for skiing on upper mountain trail on Saturday Oct 29. 2011.

Now, Sunday River has been getting the first to open goods for several years now, their 5th pre-Halloween start in as many years. But Killington made the announcement ahead of the Maine resort, and Sunday River graciously opened one minute later (10:01) to let the Big-K have their day - or their minute in this case. Weekend only operation has ensued in this extremely early season skiing.

While we haven’t made our first turns yet, we anxiously anticipate La Nina snow year. Meanwhile, we are tweeting, writing, and prepping for another great season.

You can, and should, follow us on Google+, this is Google’s answer to facebook…and our idea of more social media overload. But we are on board just the same. We’re happy to give Mark Zuckerberg a little healthy competition after all. Worked for Sunday River and Killington this fall- so why not Facebook & Google?!

Stay tuned, tune your skis, and see you on the slopes!

Join our new Google Plus Pages 
family ski trips google+
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Give ‘em the bird…just joking, give the Bird a hand!

I love Snowbird, the amazing tram to 11,000’, the 500’ bounty of Utah pow, and the awesome 2,500 acres of terrain that makes every skier’s top 10 must ski list. But just like Mr. Blackwell’s top 10 best dressed list, ski resorts need to update their wardrobe and keep their look fresh – so to speak. Snowbird has proposed a 5 year improvement plan with 11, not 10, important but modest improvements to the ski resort. These are thoughtful, low impact to the environment, upgrades…but since Snowbird is in a National Forest and their goal is always to work in harmony with the environment and forest service…your support of the proposed MDP is appreciated and important.

Snowbird hopes to improve their beginner area, provide night skiing in Gadzoom area, install a new conveyor lift for first timers, create bike trails and a new outdoor deck, remodel the Mid Gad Lodge restaurant and make Gad 2 lift a detach, to name a few.

 

Here are the 11 proposed improvements to Snowbird Resort from 2011- 2016:

1. Beginner Skiing Area Below Entry One

2. Conveyor Lift in Gad Valley

3. Baby Thunder Yurt

4. Night Skiing on Gadzoom

5. Lift Maintenance Shop and Office Expansion of the Lower Gad Valley Pump Station

6. Gad Valley Day Lodge Adaptive Sports Expansion

7. Bike Trails and/or Park

8. Relocation of Lunch Run Summer Road

9. Remodel of Mid Gad Restaurant

10. Gad 2 Upgrade

11. Outdoor Deck for General Gritts

Here is a detailed description of Snowbird’s Master Plan

So don’t just flip the Bird, friend the Bird and show your support by emailing comments-intermtn-wasatch-cache-saltlake@fs.fed.us in support of Snowbird’s plans.

Read our family ski trip reviews of Snowbird

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winner, winner, final skiing and lunch (not dinner)!

Just as Sugarloaf was paying a fond farewell to the ski season, thinking they had sealed the “last ski resort standing” in the East title on Monday May 9, Jay Peak goes for the sneak with plans to reopen the following weekend. So once again, it's the Eastern skier that keeps the skis or board handy that really wins the game.

So if you haven’t stored those boards, here’s the deal at Jay Peak this weekend. A full day’s lift ticket and lunch is $39 on Saturday or Sunday, May 14 or 15, 2011. You need to go to www.jaypeakresort.com/ilikejay to get your coupon to present at the Jay ticket booth. The Jet Triple will be spinning, and the golf course opens Satruday May 14 as well. If you want to ski and tee the same day at Jay, you can get a golf and ski ticket for $59!

We still think Sugarloaf is the King of Spring, but maybe Lady Jay could be dubbed Queen of the Spring Scene with their pond-skimming, Tailgate Party, Mardi Gras and more.

What an extraordinary winter...and western resorts Mammoth (pictured above), Alpine Meadows, Squaw, and Snowbird are still skiing on deep base depths. Happy trails!

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Sugarloaf earns King of Spring rep...

Sugarloaf reigns supreme today, May 9, as King of Spring and the last resort ski standing in the North East on Monday May 9, outplaying and outlasting sister Sunday River, Jay Peak, and Killington. It was an impressively long season for all these top guns in New England, and for the fortunate skiers as snow continued through April, and even into Mother’s day weekend in May.

As for the longest ski season in the East, that title deservedly goes to Sunday River for opening October 22 and closing 181 days later on April 24. The ski season of 2010-11 will go down in history as “epic” for snow conditions, all across the country for that matter.  Mammoth, Snowbird and Alpine Meadows reported record snows and continue to ski - with Alpine peaking out on the snow charts at 852 inches. Moonlight Basin and Big Sky in Montana stayed open well past planned closing dates, skiing on deep snow on all their trails through Easter April 24! Western resorts still skiing include Bachelor and Timberline in Oregon, Arapahoe Basin Colorado, Squaw, Alpine and Mammoth in California, and Snowbird in Utah.

For those of you, like me, who have stored your boards, next winter promises the delivery of a new quad at Sugarloaf and at Northstar at Tahoe, and a replacement quad at Stowe. And you can start to get pumped for the Sochi Russia Winter Games, now that Freestyle halfpipe skiing and Women’s Nordic jumping have been approved for Olympic Competition in 2014.  Let’s keep our fingers, not our tips, crossed that next winter brings a similar bounty of snow too! Stay tuned for more ski news.

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