We love our kids to smithereens, but every now and then, it does a mom good to escape from the family unit and regroup with the lady friends. And when those girlfriends are all rippers, Vail is the perfect getaway. I can count the number of times on one hand […]
Locals’ Guide to Hiking Highland Bowl
March 1, 2018 by 2 Comments
Slogging up the ridge at to the top of Highland Bowl with my teenager in tow made me realize, there’s got to be a better way. Three locals’ share their wisdom. Hiking Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands is a rite of passage for any diehard skier. It’s a 782-foot bootpack […]
Ski and Snowboard Gear for Hiking Highland Bowl
March 1, 2018 by 2 Comments
Hiking the nearly 800-foot bootpack up to the top of Highland Bowl at Aspen Highlands should be on your bucket list. For good reason. The descent will be unforgettable. Power, steeps, views, trees and lots of grins. But it’s not a short or easy hike. It helps if you’re outfitted […]
First Turns of the Season
November 8, 2017 by 1 Comment
Fall is more known for raking leaves and trick-or-treating than setting a metal edge to snow. I say stuff your pockets full of candy corn and sneak away while the kids are at school to make a few turns. I’m never in a rush to get out and ski when […]
What’s in Your Pack?
April 9, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It’s handy to have a backpack full of snacks, water, and sunscreen on the slopes, but is it safe to ride the chairlift with a pack? The story has already achieved legend status. In January at Arapahoe Basin, a skier wearing a backpack got snarled up on the lift […]
Head in the Snow
March 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The best way to spend Trump’s Inauguration Day was to ski powder with a posse of hard-charging women at Breckenridge. This blog is rarely political. However, I must admit that one of my favorite days on the slopes this season was the day Donald Trump was inaugurated. You know how […]
Crested Butte: Big Drops and High Speeds
March 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment
I was standing on the vertiginous slopes of Crested Butte’s double-black North Face with my son and his ski team this past February. Accessed off the North Face T-Bar, the area is like an enormous rumpled-up sheet, filled with steep cirques, cliffbands, benches, ledges, and chutes that plunge through […]
A Cold Day in Heaven
March 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Warm spring days are ahead, but let’s take a moment to reflect on those cold days on the slopes.
First Descents
December 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The first days out on snow don’t always go so smoothly. More than once, I’ve made it all the way to the lift only to discover a thick layer of storage wax on my skis. One season, my husband showed up at Copper with no ski pants. There he was, […]
Ski Flick Psych-Up
October 27, 2016 by Leave a Comment
One fall years ago, in the middle of a screening of a new ski movie from Warren Miller, my 4-year-old daughter fell asleep on my lap. It sure was an expensive nap. (PS: Yes, she was wearing earplugs to mitigate the thundering soundtrack.) As our kids have grown older—they are […]
Escape to Crested Butte
April 17, 2016 by Leave a Comment
When life gives you lemons, sometimes the best course of action is to pack up the car and head for Crested Butte. On Christmas night of this year, my 83-year-old dad had a seizure. It had been—unbeknownst to anyone, least of all him—precipitated by a raging gall bladder infection. His […]
P is for Panda
March 31, 2016 by Leave a Comment
There are five things I love about Ski Cooper: Pandas, powder, platoons, close-in parking, and prime rib nearby. It’s the perfect place to learn to ski and snowboard, get a dose of history, have an untracked adventure in a low-key way, and cap it all of with a mighty steak. […]
The Big Payoff
March 14, 2016 by 3 Comments
A decade after teaching my son Aidan to ski, he and I ripped a big line on a 45-degree chute at Breckenridge and I realized this: We have finally arrived. Earlier this season, Aidan and I had hoofed it up a goat path from the top of the Imperial Chair […]
Loveland: Where Gore-Tex Meets Good Vibes
February 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment
A weird day makes for high adventure at Loveland Ski Area. Over the holidays, I had one of my strangest days on snow, including a cosmic run-in with a Buddhist monk from Fort Collins. This day will also remain, I’m convinced, one of my most memorable days on skis with […]
Tickled Pink
March 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Grab your pink wig and butterfly wings, find a pink boa for your child, and get up to Vail tomorrow for the annual Pink Vail fundraiser for cancer survivors I once walked 26.2 miles in 100+ degree heat through dubious parts of Denver, Colo., with a group of fellow moms, […]
The Perils of Course Crew
February 13, 2015 by 1 Comment
At a ski race, whether it’s the 2015 World Championships or a Youth Ski League race at the local hill, spectators tend to focus on the ski racers. Naturally. But what of the volunteers who prep the course? It’s harder than you think. A few weekends back, I crashed in […]
What Bode Miller’s Crash Has To Do with Parenthood
February 11, 2015 by 2 Comments
Bode Miller crashed horrifically during the Super G race at the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Beaver Creek last week. He was having an sensational Bode-style run that put him 0.56 seconds ahead of the leader at the splits. The run would have landed him on the podium […]
2015 World Championships, Don't Miss It!
February 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
16 Reasons to Drop Everything and Head for the 2015 World Championships…Right Now! There are still 5 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes, and 45 seconds left before the closing ceremonies of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail and Beaver Creek. Which means you would be wise to call […]
Little Slednecks
March 26, 2014 by 1 Comment
A day at Vail’s Adventure Ridge with pint-sized adrenaline junkies means snowmobiling, ziplining, and tubing. Half a dozen kids, some as young as seven and all less than 100 pounds, sat straddling snowmobiles at Vail. Each had on a pint-sized but burly looking full-face helmet. The fellow in charge was […]
The Fudge Factor
March 1, 2014 by 4 Comments
Making good on a promise meant a very ridiculous day for this mom. There’s a very good reason I was skiing a week ago at Copper with an enormous stuffed bear on my back. Over the summer, when it was time to sign our kids up for ski racing programs […]
Lunch with Lindsey Vonn
April 4, 2013 by 2 Comments
A recent day at Beaver Creek meant girl power, inspiration from a World Cup ski racer, and a serious overdose of pink. When your child is having a pivotal life-changing moment, you wouldn’t necessarily know it. You probably won’t find out until much later. Certainly when they ask for money […]
11 Ways to Keep Little Hands Warm on the Slopes
March 22, 2013 by 1 Comment
Keeping kids’ hands warm is the Holy Grail of temperature regulation when skiing and snowboarding. When your little chickadees have toasty fingers, they’ll stay out longer and ski more—which means you get to ski more. It’s win-win. Try these tips, and if all else fails, wrap small hands around a […]
