Thanksgiving Skiing!

Feels like winter. I don't know about you, but I am thinking Black Friday should be redubbed White Friday!

Cold temperatures and snow are sweeping across the nation, predicted to continue this Thanksgiving week. Mother Nature has obviously flipped the weather switch to winter. Skiers can give thanks this year as Turkey Day will be particularly chilly, and Black Friday more and more ski resort in the East & West are open for skiing and riding. 

18 New England ski resorts have already opened for skiing and riding this November, compared to only 9 at this time last season. Out west, Grand Targhee Wyoming is wide open with fresh snow, as is Wolf Creek Colorado. Big Sky Montana already has significant base and opens Thanksgiving day, ahead of schedule.

In New England, Killington has the most trails open (29), Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Minae are skiing on 21 and 22 trails each. New Hampshire's Bretton Woods, Loon, Waterville Valley, Wildcat are all open, Cranmore will reopen Friday. Vermont has the most ski resorts currently spinning lifts: Killington, Stowe, Okemo, Mount Snow, Stratton, Smugglers Notch and Sugarbush. Bromley and Jay Peak will re open Friday. Wachusett in Massachusetts is open, Jiminy Peak will reopen Friday.

Wouldn't you rather celebrate White Friday in the mountains on fresh snow and fresh air, than the BlackFriday rat race?! Burn calories from over stuffing yourself on Thanksgiving day.

Stay tuned for Black Friday lift ticket deals, call 'em White Sales, in your inbox in the next few days as ski resorts lure away from the shopping mall blow outs to their snowy alpine slopes!

Happy snowy Holidays!   See you on the slopes. Heather @ FamilySkiTrips & LuxurySkiTrips

Lindsey Vonn's ski verdict twists in the knee

Our Family Ski Vacation and Luxury Skiing Vacation blogs have moved, follow us at Luxury Ski Vacations and Family Ski Vacations! Thanks!

Nov 19, 2013 at Copper Mountain in Colorado, Lindsey Vonn left the ski slopes in a ski patrol sled. Hardly the exit she has been training for. Vonn was training downhill and had just tweeted a great photo catching air on her Head skis. @lindseyvonn Catching some air today in Downhill training @gopro #headwhatsyourlimit.

The next day's ski training she crashed. Vonn was seen standing after the fall, non weight bearing and with support from coaches under both shoulders before being loaded into the patrol sled to be sent for a diagnostic MRI.


Lindsey Vonn, our great girl hope for the U.S. Ski Team, had successfully returned to the slopes a few months ago,  following extensive rehab and recovery from her dramatic knee injury (MCL, ACL, fractured tibia, etc) on February 5, 2013 at Schladming Austria. After that horrific accident, Vonn was medevac'd off the mountain, then flown home on Tiger Wood's private jet to the Sports Medicine Ortho Clinic in Vail, Colorado- her hometown.

Tom Kelly, US Ski Team spokesperson, said the ski patrol toboggan was standard procedure. 29-year-old Vonn saw her Vail doctor and a statement was issued today, Wednesday, that she partially tore her ACL and  strained a  ligament in that same right knee, in addition to shoulder contusions and mild facial abrasions.

Lindsey Vonn was expected to make a return to World Cup ski racing next week at Beaver Creek, with further plans to compete in Sochi Olympic Winter Games in February 2014, defending her Downhill Gold Medal. Now that is all a big question mark.

Sunday night Lindsey Vonn was spotted with boyfriend Tiger Woods at the Chiefs-Broncos game. Last week Woods and Vonn were seen skiing at Breckenridge Colorado.

Stay tuned for word on what Lindsey's ski future is... and her dating status...we still contend she should dump Tiger the cheater, and focus on not dumping on the slopes.. ouch!

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Ticket To Ride & Ski this November

Typically November is my least favorite month, its dark, no leaves left on the trees, and daylight savings doesn't really SAVE any daylight - it just takes it away from 4pm and moves it to 6am..whatever.  And then there's the #NoShaveNovember trend... I am all for men's health awareness but not a big fan of facial hair, scraggly beards, macho mustaches, goat t's - not for me! Skin to win is my motto.  Grooming is the new social media. Even the Red Sox knew when to shave off their beards.


The one promising aspect of November is that ski season is coming. November means ski resort openings, Warren Miller movie showings, Ski Shows in major cities (my personal favorite is the Boston Ski Show Nov 14-17)  where ski resort reps give out swag, lift tickets and you get to meet your ski icons like Seth Wescott, Dan & John Egan, Wayne Wong, and US Freestyle, Snowboard and US Ski Team racers on their road to Sochi Russia's Winter Games. Cool!  

This year's Warren Miller movie Ticket to Ride looks like just the ticket to get stoked for ski season with ski celebrities and pro snowboarders like Maine snowboarder Seth Wescott, freeskier Colby West, US Ski Team's Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso, legendary ski mountaineer Chris Davenport, and the beautiful Gretchen Bleiler. This 64th Warren Miller Entertainment film takes you to exotic ski locales like  Valdez Alaska, Montana’s Big Sky, Switzerland's Eiger in theJungfrau, and the remote mountains of  Kazakhstan, Iceland and Greenland.

For November skiing, make tracks next weekend at Killington, Sunday River and Loon. In the Western Rockies,  you can ski at Loveland, Arapahoe Basin, Copper, and  Keystone. Europe has skiing at Solden Austria, Zermatt and Saas Fee Switzerland and Tignes France.

Instead of NoShaveNovember, how about GoSkiNovember?! See you on the slopes.