Spring Trail Count

Friends have been asking me, how are the conditions up at Bretton Woods? There is no getting around the fact that this winter hasn't been the epic one we had last year, but the snowmaking and grooming teams at Bretton Woods have made some delicious lemonade out of the lemons we were handed this year.

This past Sunday we decided to create a little challenge for ourselves: ski every open trail on the mountain. With 189 acres to cover, it took much of our day to hit every run. With bluebird skies and not a lick of wind, the stark contrast of Mount Washington's snowcapped peak kept watch over us as we cruised the mountain. The morning's twenty-degree temps felt a bit chilly compared to the tropical blast we'd had the week before, so we started with the lower mountain runs off the Bethlehem Express Quad as the sun began to warm up the corduroy.

As the day progressed, layers were shed and corn snow began to form at our feet. Never a lift line, we hopped on and waved hello to the friendly lift operators as we loaded again and again.

For a steep run, Darby's never disappoints. Water Tank's corduroy lines were still fresh into the morning.

After we decided to document our ski trail challenge, my subjects took it upon themselves to spice things up a bit.

Our run down Bretton's Wood included a stop at the NASTAR course, where my enthusiasm overcame me and I missed a gate. At the bottom I discovered I wasn't the only one.

Fabyan's is always one of my favorites. Since In Between is closed, the only access is to take a right off the Bethlehem Express Quad, when most everyone usually goes left towards Latitude 44. We had the trail all to ourselves.

McIntire's Ride had a bit of everything - some bumped up corn snow on top, a steep drop and some fun cruising around the trees towards the bottom.

Can't miss Zealand, with that big left hander that takes me on a giant swing under the Rosebrook Quad for more turns in the soft snow.

We stopped for a family photo before conquering Bode's Run, once again basking in the sun and views of the Presidentials.

After Lunch we hit the Zephyr trails. Avalon and Range View didn't disappoint.

Following a ride up the Zephyr discussing our favorite types of candy, we couldn't resist a stop at Chutter's  for a sweet treat.

On a warm spring day like today, there was no reason to do anything but have fun and enjoy ourselves on the slopes.

  

Crawford's was the last trail we hit to check them all off the list. With a sunny afternoon still beckoning us, we then went back and hit out favorites again. 

It may not have been a year to cross every glade on the mountain off our list, but every day has proved to be a chance to get out on the snow and enjoy our time together. 

Next on the list: Beach Party happens March 26, and we'll be gearing up with our best island attire. Do you think we can convince Outdoor Dad to take his chances on the slush pool?

Why I Make Time For Skiing With My Kids

The winter after my daughter was born, memories of pre-baby days on the slopes still fresh in my mind, I actually bought a season pass, thinking I could zip off to the ski area with ease. Not a chance. Little did I know that I’d spend my days driving the nap mobile and nights in a nursing rocker, delirious with sleep deprivation. I emerged from the baby cave to go skiing only a handful of times that first winter, and I recall getting a phone call from the mountain nursery about 30 minutes into my first taste of temporary freedom to retrieve my screaming bundle of joy.

Despite feeling that babyhood would last forever, I now know that days turn into years without notice. Entrenched in the routine of parenthood, work and school deadlines loom. We need to make it to soccer practice, finish that math assignment, and get to bed on time. It would be easy to let the daily tasks of taking care of a family consume calendar page after calendar page, but the memories of floating through shin-deep powder or hearing my skis zip over perfectly groomed lines of white corduroy lingered in my consciousness. They made me realize I want my kids to know the thrill and camaraderie of sharing a day on the slopes, the anticipation of new fallen snow that blankets the world white, the exhilaration of perfect turns on skis.

Sharing that anticipation with the kids has ensured that they want to make the ski day happen just as much as we do. After giving our son a trail map and a highlighter to mark the trails he’s been on, he made it his personal mission to make it down every run on the mountain before the end of the year.

Opportunities for trips to Trader Joe’s and scrubbing crayon off the bathroom walls will still present themselves, but as the kids fly through their grade school years, the chances to giggle on the chairlift about our last escapade through the Stickney Glades won’t always be there. In making family time at the mountain a priority, sometimes we have to decline an invitation to a sugar-filled birthday party at the local playplace. That's OK because the pride in my son’s voice after conquering the bumps on Agassiz is a much sweeter reward. The pile of clean laundry can also wait. The glow on my daughter’s face after a race down Deception Bowl leaves us with meaningful memories that trump neatly folded clothes any day.

A Fresh Look at Skiing with the Bretton Woods Women's Alpine Retreat

Bluebird skies above and corduroy below, I rode the lift last week with a group of women who’d

taken a few days off for the Bretton Woods Women’s Alpine Retreat. We joked about how our husbands were faring at parenting without us. My husband posted on Facebook that the joke was on me because he was unloading the dishwasher and putting everything away in the wrong place. Tracey knew her clan would be eating out every night we were away. Cathy was getting phone calls from the school nurse about a playground crash.

Yet once we were on the snow, distractions fell away as we focused on the drills our coach Miki Fera had us work on.

As excited as I was to learn from a pro, before the clinic I was a bit nervous about being critiqued. I knew this was a unique chance to improve my skiing and gain more confidence on the slopes, but there’s an element of vulnerability in having someone examine your technique and provide feedback. It was a leap of faith in joining a clinic like this and hoping that I didn’t find out that I was doing everything wrong.

But not only is Miki a pro in the sense that she’s an Olympian and World Cup racer who’s traveled the world on her skis, she had an amazing ability to humbly share her love of the sport by giving me tips and techniques that tweaked the way I thought about how I moved my body and skis down the mountain.

“I want the women that join us to get confidence and see what’s possible,” Miki told me. I’ll give you a few tools, a few things you can work on. It’s just looking at your skiing from a different eye.”

Meghan McCarthy McPhaul, fellow outdoor mom and kids ski coach, picked up some tips at the retreat as well. “Its really helpful to do something like this every once in a while. You don’t always know how to correct bad habits.”  Meghan added that as a kid who grew up racing, they were always doing drills, always getting feedback, “but as an adult, you don’t get that anymore.”

At the top of the Rosebrook lift, Miki had us practice sliding along a relatively flat slope with both ankles rolled in and then both ankles rolled out. I felt like a cowboy on a horse. We giggled as we watched one another come down the hill. Later, Meghan told me that edgework was great for her to work on. “I hadn’t really thought about how much I need to work on pressuring my outside edge until we did that awkward drill.”

Yet by the time we had gotten to that silly drill, it never even entered my mind that I should feel self conscious about putting myself into a situation that might make me look silly, might even make me lose balance and fall.  Even though I hadn’t spent much time with these women before the retreat, we had some great opportunities to get to know one another. 

Miki's mom, visiting from Romania, joined us for an evening at The Spa.

The retreat started off with a wine and cheese welcome reception at The Spa, a luxurious chance to relax, have a glass of wine, and grab a chair massage in between telling stories about what brought each of us to skiing and to the retreat. 

We warmed up with some stretching in the mornings and enjoyed some painting fun on Thursday night.

For Miki, leading the retreat is a chance to do something different from being a mom, wife, and ski coach. “Being a new mom, I knew there might be other women like me that just want to get away. For some moms, it’s a way to get back into the sport. I like to be active, and it’s hard to find time to do something for myself.” She added that she knows there are also women who might not be in charge of a family, but want the companionship of skiing with other like-minded women.

That opportunity to ski for a few days with other like-minded women made me think about how different the dynamic can be skiing with just the girls. Unlike skiing with the guys, I didn’t feel the compulsion to prove myself, to prove that I belonged there. Although I’m a competitive person, I think women tend to be more supportive rather than competitive. Perhaps is it is instinctual to be more nurturing – we cheer each other on rather than talk trash.

Our duties as moms were never too far away. For this group of women, the conversation often turned to our kids and the joys and challenges of raising rippers. But for a few days, Miki’s contagious enthusiasm encouraged us to embrace our own opportunities to make the best of our ski days. I’m ready to hit the slopes again with a few things to work on, and a few new friends I know will be ready to join me.

Fun for Everyone: Family Ski Weekend at Bretton Woods

It wasn’t that long ago that I was toting a baby and a toddler to Bretton Woods, taking turns with my

husband in the lodge with the baby and negotiating to see who got to go out for the first powder run. In what seems like a miracle to me now, all four of us are now choosing from just about any run on the mountain and racing each other down.

Outdoor Dad’s brother, Brian, and his family came for a visit from upstate New York last weekend, and I observed with interest the new stage of life they are entering into with a sweet 11 year-old daughter. They confided that there was some question as to how enthusiastic their daughter would be in doing anything with her parents, let alone skiing. But if Anya was reluctant to spend time on the slopes with her parents, I never saw it. She was often one of the first ones to don her ski gear in the morning and was game for any trail we suggested.

Although we always have fun together as a family, this year’s ski trip visit seemed to fall into place so much more easily than other years, and I think it is because of the new stages in life the kids are at. Our young ones now have the ability and stamina to spend an entire day at the resort, without the need for naps or short attention spans. We did take some runs on the bunny hill to warm up, but everyone was eager to explore new terrain on the upper mountain this year.

We giggled as we explored Granny’s Grit while heavy wet snow covered our tracks behind us. We cheered each other on as we rolled over the soft bumps for their first-ever glade run on Black Forest. We glided down Two Miles Home to the Telegraph T-Bar and enjoyed the fire at the Stickney Cabin.

Anya’s mother was genuinely grateful when she told me, “It was so great to have all of us out on the slopes together.”

With a five and seven year-old, I can see that we’re entering a golden age now where the kids love to spend time with Mom and Dad, and although there are certainly squabbles about which trail we choose or who gets to sit next to whom on the chairlift, the kids are happy to be together and haven’t gotten to the stage where it’s not cool to hang with the parents. It was reassuring this weekend to see that something like skiing could bring together different ages and abilities.

Skiing can certainly be a solitary sport, but friends and family make it a communal experience. Depending on the stage of life a family is experiencing, that communal experience can morph – from those baby cave days, to mom and dad are my super hero days, to not wanting anything to do with parents, and back hopefully, full-circle, to cherishing those moments riding a chairlift together or stopping at the bottom of a run to recap our falls and foibles, our cheers and triumphs.

Don't Be Afraid of the Cold!

New England has been on the chilly side the past week or two, and we even had one morning when school was delayed for two hours because of the cold. But do we have to be confined to the indoors when it gets really cold? I don't think so. With the right gear and some common sense, there's no reason you can't have a fun day on the slopes even when the thermometer struggles to reach positive digits.

Being the Outdoor Mom, I'm obviously an advocate for getting outside whenever possible. The kids get restless indoors, and although I'd love to think we will be reading books and playing board games all afternoon, odds are the kids are going to ask to watch TV, which doesn't even enter their minds when we are out playing in the snow.

The good news is that those super-cold days are often the bluebird ones without a cloud in the sky. There have been days when the views of the Presidential Range have been so crystal-clear against the stunning blue sky that I've felt like I could almost reach out and touch the top of Mt. Washington from my skiing vantage point atop Bretton Woods.



The first step in getting outside on a cold day is making sure you've got the right gear. It doesn't have to be expensive, but investing in the best quality snow jacket, pants and mittens you can afford is a good idea. TreeTop Sports in Bretton Woods has a great selection of kid and adult apparel. Online outdoor gear sites like Sierra Trading Post and Backcountry often have great deals on last season's snow wear.

We take a lot of breaks with the kids. Kids don't have the same kind of fat layers that adults have, so they might not be able to stay out as long as adults. With all the fun going on outside, they might not want to come in, but a hot chocolate or hot apple cider break is an enticing way to take a break and fights off dehydration. Fueling up with heathy choices like a granola bar or nuts will help their bodies stay warm. We often incorporate fun destinations on the mountain into our breaks, like the Stickney Cabin, Chutters on the Mountain, or the Yurt when we are cross-country skiing.

We also keep an eye on each other for frostbite. At the top of the lift and at the bottom of a run, look for noses and cheeks that are starting to turn from that rosy-red you get from normal outside play to white or chalky yellow.  In that case, be sure to cover up the exposed area with a gaiter or mitten, and get inside to warm up quickly.

Here are a few tips on clothing and gear choices that will make being outside fun this winter:

• Layers: I'm sure you've heard the often-touted rule that layers are the best bet for outdoor play. My kids usually start with a polypro base layer, such as Hot Chillys or Patagonia.  they key here is to make sure that it's a synthetic material, like polypropylene, or wool, like products from SmartWool or Icebreaker. Polypro and wool allow sweat to "breathe," or evaporate through the fabric, so that your clothing doesn't end up wet. Even on a cold day you are sweating, and wet clothes will steal your body heat. Over that polypro layer, the kids wear fleece pants and tops, often a mid-weight fleece as well as a heavy weight one over that.

• Socks should also not be cotton.  We are big fans of SmartWool socks, but there are many ski-specific socks out there to choose from. Again, if your feet sweat and your socks get wet, it is a lot to harder for your body to keep them warm. If you have a long drive to the ski area with snow boots on, my advice is to wear a different pair of socks on the way and change into your socks when you put your ski or snowboard boots on at the mountain. Then you have dry socks to start your runs and can change back into a dry pair at the end of the day.

• Make sure your boots aren't too tight. You need to have air circulating around your toes that your body heat will warm up. It can be hard to know if you are tightening your kids boots too much - the really little ones often don't have the vocabulary to tell you how the boot is fitting.  Ask them if they can wiggle their toes around. Although you don't want the boot falling off their foot while they are on the lift (this has happened to my son!), in general you should err on the side of looser boots. Until they are older and perhaps looking into racing or more aggressive skiing, they need to be able to flex the boot anyways and don't need it to be super-tight.

• Wearing a helmet is commonplace nowadays for safety reasons, but they are also warmer than a hat, with full coverage over your ears. We love our Bern helmets. Make sure to pair your helmet with goggles that fit snugly against the helmet, so there's no gap in between the top of the goggle and the helmet and your forehead isn't exposed to the cold. 

• Mittens tend to be warmer than gloves because the fingers generate heat and warm up the entire space in the mitt. 

• Toe and Hand Warmers are great to offset that cold as well. You can pick them up at TreeTop Sports or buy a box of them ahead of time at many big box stores.  For the kids, I always make sure to stick the toe warmers on the top of their feet rather than the bottom - I think having that under your foot would be uncomfortable.

• A Neck Gaiter or Balaclava is great to protect exposed skin on your neck and face. The kids love the Turtle Fur Shellaclava, a combo fleece neck gaiter and breathable hood that keeps snow out and is easy to pull up over their chins to keep out the wind. Disclaimer on neck gaiters: I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with them - I love being able to pull that fabric up over my lower face in the cold, but breathe through it for too long and it gets wet and could freeze. I usually pull it up over my chin on the lift, but leave it down when I'm breathing a bit harder going downhill.

Go ahead and enjoy a day outside in the cold. We are hearty New Englanders, and a little dropping mercury isn't going to hold us back. 

The Case For Spring Skiing

Seems like we should have bought stock in hand and toe warmers this past winter. But now we're
ready to swap the neck gaiters and balaclavas for sunscreen and sunglasses.

Spring skiing is absolutely the best time of year on the slopes. I know this is a hard sell for many - we've lived through a cold and snowy winter and even I am ready for a change. People have bikes and hikes and golf on the mind. But why not go spring skiing or riding, while we have all this great snow on the ground?  Nearly 80 percent of Bretton Woods' terrain is still open.  

Sure, I start thinking about skiing in the fall, and by Thanksgiving I'm chomping at the bit to hit the one or two slopes that have some man-made snow. Even by Christmastime we often don't have every trail open and we're hoping and praying that the snow gods will bless us with some of that white gold.  Now here we are in April and there's more terrain open than we had in December.  Spring fever is here and we are all eager to get outside.  But why forsake skiing and riding when it is just getting so good?

We paid our dues in January, bundling up like the Michelin Man with layer after layer of fleece and down until we could barely recognize who we were skiing with.  We came inside and took frequent breaks to warm up, and we bought lots and lots of hand and toe warmers.  Now, we can unbundle and enjoy soaking in some vitamin D and working on our goggle tans.

Although it warms up considerably during the day this time of year, it's still cold at night, which means the snow hardens up.  We stick to the groomers in the morning, where the snow has been buffed up and the corduroy is soft and inviting.  This is the time of year when my strict preference for arriving for first tracks falls away.  The ungroomed stuff may take some time in the sun to soften up.  Once it does, anything that is open is fair game.

Think you don't like skiing moguls, those bumps that are created when skiers curve turns and the snow piles up into bumps? Try some soft spring bumps.  The forgiving snow allows you to practically float from side to side, and the rhythmic slide from bump to bump is one of the best feelings a skiers knows.

Mashed potatoes and corn are served up with a smile in the the spring.  No, not in the base lodge cafeteria, but out on the hill. The big pellets of snow that are formed after a warm up and then freeze make for fun sliding.  As the snow bakes the corn snow during the day, it often turns to the consistency of mashed potatoes.  We also call it hero snow, because you don't have to lay into the turn to make your ski grab like you do in firmer conditions - every turn makes you feel like a hero.  The kids had a few tumbles in the mashed potatoes - it does take some effort to push through the big piles,  but they are learning to instinctively read the snow conditions and adjust their ski pressure accordingly.

It's also a great time of year to ski if you are looking to save a few bucks.  Through the end of the season, every lift ticket, every day of the week, is $29.  And if you think the skiing bug has bit you for good, you can buy next year's season pass and ski the rest of this year for free. 

The Stickney Cabin hosted a barbecue for its end of season bash last weekend, and you can be sure we enjoyed some burgers and dogs before the marshmallow roasting commenced.

Our friend and trusted ski instructor Susan brought her three-year-old daughter out to the cabin for the first time, and she had a blast.  She cruised right up the T-bar without batting an eye, and after lunch followed Timmy fearlessly into the glades.  As I've said before, there's something about the kid posse that makes everything fun.

Don't worry, your bicycle and your golf clubs will still be waiting for you when the season ends, and unfortunately, it's going to end all too quickly.  We are going to savor every moment.

Bretton Woods Club Members For a Day

There are blissful moments when I go on vacation and say to myself, "I wish I could do this all the time!" A concierge with insider info into all the great things to do; healthy gourmet food at my fingertips; access to all the outdoor activities I love, like downhill and cross-country skiing, swimming, tennis and golf; kids' programs to keep them entertained when I need a break. Wouldn't it be great to be able to be a guest of the resort every weekend?

In fact, there is a way - the Bretton Woods Club.  We decided to see what the Bretton Woods Club's Alpine Club was all about.

Although we visited on a quiet weekday when parking close to the lodge was easy and lift lines nonexistent, it was still a treat to be able to pull up right in front of the Alpine Club, where a valet attendant quickly offered to carry our skis out onto the racks for us and then parked our car.

If we were regular members, our skis and boots would already be stored at the Club, where the attendants would see us coming, and like Norm at Cheers, "everybody knows your name" and our favorite things (skis in this case, not beer) would be out and waiting for us when we arrived. The idea of not having to schlep skis and poles and boot bags and distracted kids across the parking lot is very appealing!

After a tour of the Alpine Club, we enjoyed complimentary hot chocolate and muffins while we got booted up. It was so pleasant sitting in the overstuffed armchairs by the fire that we lingered a bit longer than usual getting ready to go out. Eileen Armstrong, Director of Membership at the Club, told us that there's always a group of members who take advantage of the first tracks benefit, and they are ready to hop on the lifts half an hour before the lifts open to the public. I'm guessing we'd definitely be part of that group that gets first tracks, whether it's for pristine corduroy or diving into untracked powpow. But this morning, we knew that once we got going, we'd be able to scoot right on to the lift from the BWC-only line.

At lunch, Bridget and Timmy eyed with interest the other kids sitting with their parents while we  enjoyed homemade mac and cheese and cooked to order sandwiches.  Eileen told us that many of the Alpine Club members are parents like us, with little rippers who are giving their parents a run for their money on the slopes. At first, she said, each family would sit by themselves at lunch, but a larger family atmosphere has grown here, and now she usually sees a posse of kids sitting together, with their parents enjoying some adult company nearby.

We focused on skiing for our vacation-week visit to the Club, but members can take advantage of all kinds of benefits and privileges, from use of the Omni Mount Washington Hotel's outdoor pool, to spa discounts, to complimentary time on the Slopeside Climbing Wall.  There are several different memberships to choose from that feature special benefits for ski, golf, and social memberships, or combinations of each.

They also offer members-only events like social mixers for adults and kid-specific programs like live animal visits or educational programs from the Mount Washington Observatory.

Skis need a tune? Just drop them off with one of the ski attendants and they'll be nice and sharp the following morning.

We love to bring family and friends with us to share our love of skiing and winter, and at the Club, members can bring along guests for just $25 a day.  Need a little more room for this guests?  Members get free two room-nights at the Omni Mount Washington Hotel (with some restrictions) and discounts on additional nights at Resort lodging properties.

Often connotations of a private club bring the notion of an exclusionary group of people that are more interested in seeing what kind of car you drive than in getting to know you.  That was hardly the case here. At the end of the day, our car was warmed up and waiting for us in front of the Alpine Club.  As we were leaving, we talked with one of the members who looked like she had kids about the same age as ours.  With a genuine smile she told us, "It really is like a big extended family here.  The kids have become fast friends, and love to ski together.  Everyone is so friendly and the staff really takes care of us here."  This unsolicited plug for the Club assured us that this is a place we really could call home.

The Club offers open houses throughout the season where you can learn more about what it's like to be a member, or you can schedule a "member for a day" visit like we did by contacting Eileen and her friendly staff to set up a personal tour.