Skip, ski & save

My Mom allowed my brothers and me to skip school and ski - but not to stay home for the common cold. Playing hooky meant playing in the literally sense. I love her for that and treasure our family ski days. She is a cool mom - to this day. My husband & I had our moments when we took the kids out of school for an educational ski vacation... midweek slopes, new mountains, snowy science and geography lessons - right?! You certainly broaden your kids' horizons and they learn a lot while traveling - our that's how we justified it! Add the reality that you save money and have the slopes to yourself when you travel non-holiday and ski midweek and its almost irresistable!

Our friends at Liftopia are celebrating the 2nd Annual #PlayHookyandSkiWeek March 4-8...with great lift ticket deals...giving you further encouragement to skip work, or school, and go skiing!

See Heather's ski blog on Liftopia's discounted lift ticket prices.... and plan your "powder flu" day soon!

And check out our Top 10 New England Ski Resorts  for your next ski getaway in New England, and our Top 10 Western Ski Resorts for Families. Be a cool parent and book a memorable family ski trip to the snowy mountains, as long as your kids' grades are above average!

See you on the slopes...not at work or in school! 

Best thing to happen to me on skis...

My friend said picturing me sidelined with a broken leg mid ski season was like taking candy from a kid (or crack from an addict, but I should edit that). Skiing is my thing, for sure. I love it, I write about it all winter (and much of the summer). Downhill skiing kind of defines me, and 90% of my facebook friends and photos. And never before had it been taken away from me. I'd seen it happen to many ski friends and family members including my husband Greg and my beautiful daughter Aspen - who blew their knees skiing. So when the MRI indicated a fractured tibia, a part of me cracked too. I didn't burst into a fit of tears, or get mad (couldn't very well stomp out of the ortho office in a huff). I just got quiet - and calculated the Doctor's prescribed six weeks.

Ironically, I injured my knee skiing the Twister Trail (ha, ha, very funny) on day 4 of an 11 day ski media trip. I knew immediately it was bad, that I had done some damage, maybe bruised a bone. But I kept skiing, kept going on our ambitious multi-ski resort road trip. It was hard enough admitting to my husband Greg that I had hurt myself, never mind facing more ski PR people with my situation. "Hi, I'm a professional ski journalist, see my notepad and my knee brace..no really, I'm fine."

So I was confined to groomed cord for the next seven days. These were not doctors orders, just self-preservation. Thankfully Telluride, Durango and Wolf Creek all served up white carpet for me - plus some sweet fluffy powder at Telluride that I was able to float on for some fantastic ski photos by Greg.

I see now how people question my skiing with a fracture (unbeknownst to me) - the photos are all smiles, snow and scenery (no grimace)! Not sure if that makes me a martyr or a maniac? Please don't answer that, its purely rhetorical. Stairs and getting in and out of my ski bindings was harder than skiing, if that's any consolation or explanation. For the record: Greg was my binding enabler, or accomplice.

Two comments caused me the most contemplation:
First, the ski patrol at Telluride said "You have been skiing for 43 years and never been injured? You're pretty lucky." Really?!

Secondly, there was my big brother who said, "Sis, this is actually the best thing that could have happened to you!" What?!

Okay, I get it. Skiers injure their knees. This is my dose of downhill humility, though maybe not lucky or the best thing ever. I will come back, I will demonstrate more compassion for others who have overcome far greater ski injuries than me (shout out to Lindsey Vonn). And I will appreciate the sport I love so much - even more. Just for the record: I already loved skiing a lot! It's my addiction - like candy only sweeter with less calories. Take a run for me. See you on the slopes (3/15, but who's counting?!).

Reprinted from Heather's ski blog on Boston.com

Southwest Ski Safari

Not everyone can keep up with our LuxurySkiTrips.com and FamilySkiTrips.com pace...ok, its more like a race. Its pretty hectic when Heather & Greg, the chief editor and photographer, take a ski media trip. Picture hauling all your ski gear (planes, trains and automobiles) plus laptops, cameras, notepads. You hit the ground running, skiing on your arrival and departure days - which often requires changing into your ski boots and clothes in the rental car. Imagine staying in 6 different hotel properties in 11 nights! That's right. Just when you get the lay of the land on one ski resort trail map, its on to the next  of 7 mountains. No complaints - just no dust on us!

Oh, then there are the meetings with each marketing director or PR person at each resort, for coffee, drinks, dinner - whatever their pleasure. We make every meet and greet on time and ready for anything  - although we secretly (its out now) prefer the first tracks chairlift chat followed by a high elevation lunch with our new ski peeps. Heather can takes notes on the fly - her handy notepad is always in her ski jacket pocket, and Greg's camera is always good to go. Even better is when ski resort personnel show up in bright colors for phoot shoots - since otherwise its Heather starring in all our ski photos...so she packs severaljackets (roygbiv of ski attire).

Our latest ski safari in Southwest Colorado, we skied at Arapahoe Basin, Purgatory Durango, Telluride, Crested Butte, Monarch Mountain, Silverton Powdercats, and Wolf Creek in 11 days, bringing new snow whereever we go. We loved them all and could have stayed for a week at each, but that's not how we roll. We drove 1,000 miles through 14 mountain passes of spectacular mountain mesas, Colorado canyons, red rocks, with splendid 14,000' peak scenery - spending an entire 11 days above 7,000' in elevation - a lofty itinerary to say the least (never mind with a fractured tibia on day 4/11 - but that's another story)!

See our Southwest Ski Safari in Colorado and see if you are game for our ski beat!  But please don't send you resume.