Trip Take: Copper Mountain
Our family wrapped up the 2023 ski season with a trip to Copper Mountain. I’d never skied at Copper, and it had been years since Mark had. Because we so often see signs for it on our way to points farther west on I-70, visiting Copper seemed like an attractive, simple Spring Break choice.
Trip Take: Jackson Hole
A week after the Moms Trip to Deer Valley, the dads jumped on a flight to Jackson, WY to ski Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR). JHMR has long been on my list of top ski destinations, and, with my IKON pass in hand and three willing skier friends, this was the best opportunity I’d had to make the trip.
Trip Take: Deer Valley
When a bunch of women used to skiing and vacationing with their kids are lucky enough to take a turn without little ones in tow, everything about the trip—from the length and character of ski days, to après, to lodging, to meal time—looks a little different.
Trip Take: Stratton
I’ve always found the regional ski wars a little silly. Easterners extol their local peaks and the gritty skills their mountains teach, while western devotees singing the praises of powder and 12,000-foot summits. Which is “better”? Who has ultimate bragging rights? My take: who cares? The reality is that skiing in the East is just DIFFERENT than skiing out west. There’s no question that western snow is easier to ski and more reliable, but northeastern skiing has its virtues.
Trip Take: Winter Park
We consider signing our kids up for lessons every time we take a trip. Z still needs the confidence to stay parallel on the steeps, and H needs to ski with kids more capable than his sister so he can be challenged and seek out real adventure. When we made the shift to Winter Park for the holiday weekend, we discovered that all-day group lessons were available for kids of all abilities, and conveniently, all lessons depart from the same base area. The terrain at Winter Park is varied and interesting, and lessons were $70 less expensive than group offerings at Sun Valley had been. We were sold.
Trip Take: Sun Valley
The Base Kamp crew just finished up winter break with five days at Sun Valley (ID). Sun Valley, still independently owned, switched its pass affiliation from Epic to Ikon last season. Since we, too, made the decision to switch to Ikon this year, trying Sun Valley made perfect sense. We knew its reputation as the great ski getaway of Hollywood’s golden age, and we’d heard lots about its legendary grooming, charming, unpretentious town, and gorgeous scenery. When we were able to find affordable, direct flights from Chicago, the deal was sealed.
Rent vs. Buy: Kids Edition
“Should I rent, or should I buy?” Every skier wrestles with this question, especially when it comes to kids gear. In this post, BaseKamp is excited to finally offer a simple, clear-cut answer to this familiar conundrum. Our answer is: it depends.
Gift Guide for Ski Families
The turkey has been eaten, and the football has been watched. Now it’s time to turn our attention to snowy December and all the exciting holidays the next month has in store! Finding the right gifts for your ski-loving family members can be tough. This year, Mark and I will share some of our tried-and-true favorites. We’ll also reveal the wintry items topping our own gift lists this season. Here’s our first collection!
Ski Trip Packing Tips
One advantage of our commitment to early season skiing was that we had fully tested our outerwear and equipment and were comfortable with it. We knew what every family member needed to pack for a long weekend of skiing. The biggest challenge was making our necessities to fit into a manageable number of bags! Taking a vacation with young kids is never easy, and traveling with ski equipment definitely increases the difficulty level. Here are some tips.
Big Mountain Adventures: Vail
With our kids now confident on skis, we were ready to explore the bigger mountains out west. Choosing somewhere familiar for the kids’ first venture west made the most sense. Having lived in Vail in the early 00's, I was comfortable with the town and the mountain. In hindsight, our decision to pick a place we knew well was a smart one: it allowed us to focus on the skiing.
All-In!
Planning for the 2020-21 ski season wasn’t easy. The mountains were forced to deal with constantly shifting local and state restrictions and fluctuating infection rates, so information (especially related to ski lesson costs and details) was vague and late coming. We had to accept early on that of our plans could be interrupted by Covid at any time. How did we make it work? Read on!
Introducing Kids to Skiing: Top Tips
Ready to get your kids skiing? Base Kamp offers our top five tips for getting started on the snow. Use local mountains, rental gear, and ski lessons to make the most of your early ski experiences and ensure the whole family is eager to return.
You’re Probably Wondering How We Ended Up in This Situation…
As Lea and I mentioned in our ski stories, we both learned to ski in elementary school and were keen to give our children that same experience. As many parents know, though, actually doing the things you want to do can be difficult, and introducing kids to skiing is a parenting double black diamond.
Stoke Show Chicago
Welcome to the Chicago Stoke Show, where Ikon, its resorts, and other industry partners treat passholders to a season kickoff to remember. Free food and drinks, swag galore, and the raffle win to end all raffle wins: read on to find out where YOU can GET STOKED for the coming season, too!
Looking Forward with Ikon Pass
Why a season pass? Why Ikon? Is the cost really worth it? We’ll take you inside our planning for the coming season and share why we selected the passes we did for our family.