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FAMILY FUN IN THE NORTHEAST KINGDOMA Year ’Round Vacation Resortby Shirley Moskow
Then we enrolled Jacob and Sarah for lessons. Children as young as three may attend Ski Camp, which includes a morning lesson, an indoor lunch break with their class, and an afternoon skiing session that concludes in the clubhouse watching cartoons. That gives parents who are delayed on the slopes some leeway if they are a few minutes late picking up their children.. And since day care is available for infants, six weeks and older, parents can enjoy a worry-free ski vacation. Smugglers’ also is authorized by the Boy Scouts to certify individual scouts or troops to receive merit badges in alpine and cross-country skiing. Jacob was gung-ho. As soon as he donned skis, his enthusiasm outpaced his skill. He would gladly have tackled Madonna Mountain, at 3640 feet site of the highest of the resort’s trails. Sarah, on the other hand, was more cautious. She is not interested in sports. She put on her skis reluctantly and with great trepidation. When they slid under her, although it was only a few inches, she let out a terrified yelp. She asked to go swimming instead. But she had agreed to take at least one lesson, and a bargain is a bargain. Their Level I class set off for Sir Henry’s, the beginner slope, with Martha, a friendly instructor. “Have fun,” I called after them. Frankly, it was much a prayer as a wish. I wasn’t sure whether Sarah could have fun. While Jacob just bounded ahead, she looked very worried.
That night, Sarah wrote a thank you note to Martha. On the outside, she drew red skis and black poles. Inside, she wrote, “Martha, thank you very much for teaching me to ski. I LOVE skiing, one of the only sports. Thank you for taking extra time out to get us even better. You’re a great teacher; and a very nice person.”
By evening, we were all pretty exhausted, enjoying a delicious kind of tiredness. We felt lethargic and relaxed. Stress seemed a foreign country. We had planned to eat dinner out. There are several fine restaurants in the area, and Smuggler’s Notch offers a good choice of reasonably priced places to eat. However, we opted instead to purchase a few things at the country store and eat-in. In addition to two TVs, Jacuzzi, and fireplace, our modern two-bedroom condominium on the side of the mountain offered a winter wonderland view and a kitchen thoughtfully furnished with everything a cook might need. Later, we hopped aboard the free shuttle to the pool, and while we watched snow twirling in big flakes outside, the children enjoyed swimming. We awoke to a pristine world. Several inches of packed, white powder glistened in the sun. Early risers were already on the slopes. Their bright ski clothes created a kaleidoscope of color. It was a great day to be out-of-doors. We always bring back a vacation souvenir. It can be a trinket or curio. Sometimes it’s something better, an experience that becomes a bookmark in our family history, a memory savored in the retelling. Our family ski weekend was such a time. The children are already saying, “remember when.” They remember “when Sarah was fearful of putting on skis and now she loves skiing.” They remember “when Jacob thought he could ski the big mountain without lessons.” And they remember, enjoying a winter and summer sport, “when we went skiing and swimming on the same day.” Best of all, they remember the fun we shared as a family. Shirley Moskow www.smuggs.com |
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Nine-year-old Jacob wanted to learn how to ski. His sister,
Sarah, 12, is more timid. She wasn’t sure about skiing, but she was determined
not to be left behind, especially when she learned that the resort we were
going to had an indoor pool under a big bubble. Swimming in a pool surrounded
by snow tickled her imagination. And so we set off after school on a crisp
Thursday in January for a weekend vacation at Smugglers’ Notch. 
The award-winning family resort is tucked into a corner of
Vermont known as the Northeast Kingdom, where the Green Mountains provide year
‘round recreation -- leaf-peeping in fall, bird-watching in spring, hiking and
hayrides in summer, and nature walks in every season. But this was winter and
we had come for skiing.
Nevertheless, the children and adults surfing on snow-boards
were having so much fun that I thought Jacob might change his mind. He didn’t.
On Friday morning, we headed straight for the ski hut stocked with an amazing
variety of rental equipment. In fact, we were bewildered by the choices. We
explained to the staff, who appeared to be mostly college-age students, that we
were novices. They offered lots of encouragement as they outfitted us with
everything we needed, from skis and boots to helmets. They even answered our
questions, while taking time and care to make sure that we were fitted
comfortably and properly. 
When they returned for lunch, however, they glowed. It
wasn’t just the fresh air and exercise. Jacob was excited about having learned
skills that would permit him to ride on the chair lift and ski a higher
mountain. Sarah was thrilled to find that she could overcome her fear. With
Martha’s patience and encouragement, she had discovered that skiing is fun.
They both had a wonderful time. 
After another lesson the next day, the children rode the
chair lift and skied from mid-station. They seemed born to ski. They were so proud of their accomplishment that
they wanted me to join them and see what they had learned. I hadn’t been on
skis in more than 20 years, but to please them I took an adult lesson.
Afterwards we skied together. I had a good time, too, although I must admit to
being embarrassed as toddlers no higher than my hip whizzed by when I fell in the
soft powder. Still, I wasn’t the oldest student in my class. That honor
belonged to an English couple in their seventies who had looked forward to
trying downhill skiing on their first trip to New England.