Anonymous wrote:Jackson Hole for a first ski trip is a little ambitious. For skiing bs y steps are best. I would recommend a localish hill- Canaan, Timberline or Snowshoe.

OP, I mentioned Nub's Nob up top. If the snow happens to be good, it's a great place to learn to ski. The bunny hill with chairlift doesn't require a lift ticket and the ski school and rental are right there. It's a small comfy resort. I am the person who grew up skiing at major resorts around Lake Tahoe. I also have experience skiing in Western PA, NY, Vermont and Canaan Valley. I am not a fan of Vermont skiing - too icy. Although my kids learned there.

A 4 year old should try to go skiing. That's a typical starting age. Ski school/group lessons might be good.

I could explain Michigan logistics to you - it's not as crazy as it might sound. And with cooperative weather it could be affordable and novel.

I have Steamboat Springs on my list if I ever decide to plan a trip to Colorado.

Jackson Hole for a first ski trip is a little ambitious. For skiing bs y steps are best. I would recommend a localish hill- Canaan, Timberline or Snowshoe.

Anonymous wrote:My 9 yr old had a sleepover for his bday...so jealous.

Yeah and Cici’s pizza. Didn’t think about a trip to Jackson Hole?!?!

It's surprisingly costly to get to Tremblant. I would like to combine it with QC at Xmas but that doesn't work for us schedule-wise.

My 9 yr old had a sleepover for his bday...so jealous.

I just dont' think of Tremblant as a place it is worth flying to--we drove from DC area when kids were young and it was fine and there is a cute village there but can't believe its worth the cost when there are better places to ski out west.

OP here. I feel lucky to afford this trip! We’re not aiming for luxury and we’ve actually avoided skiing until now because of the sticker shock.

The dogsledding costs are comparable to Disney tickets. I also don’t enjoy hosting kids’ birthday parties and prefer a trip when it makes sense

For a 9yo? Do you fly your personal plane?

Would you suggest Jack London books for a DS8?

OP here. Thanks so much! This is very helpful. The places I’m looking at for dogsledding in both locales take children as young as 4. Maybe there are different intensities—I need to do more research.

I have a younger DS4 who won’t try skiing yet so I’m more focused on the overall wintry fun aspects and ease of the trip, but would like some ski lessons for birthday boy.

It looks like there is free “hill” skiing at Tremblant, which could be great.

But I’m worried Tremblant will potentially be more stressful because we have to get there from the Montreal airport and the weather will be colder. In JH we could do everything from one hotel , no driving

All I have to say is that after reading a ton of Jack London as a kid, dog sledding would have been an absolute dream. What a cool trip! But do they really take 9 year olds?

I've been to JH and would not recommend it for a kid's first time. I love JH but one needs to be a more experienced skier to have a good time on the mountain. OTOH, we had a great dogsledding adventure when we went to JH. Wyoming is beautifu, as are most ski areas. It may be the same price as Tremblant to get to but JH for everything else is pricier than many other places, and that is saying something when we are talking about ski resorts.

I haven't been to Tremblant but I do know that East Coast skiing is icy, in general. I don't know if those are the best conditions to learn to ski either.

I would look at Alta(not Snowbird) or Solitude and Brighton in Utah. Those mountains have lots of terrain for beginners. Solitude has lots of lodging available in the form of condos right in the village. Alta has lodging in the form of hotels that are a bit pricy but include breakfast and dinner in a fairly decent restaurant. We've stayed at the Goldminer's Daughter. Park City is also an option with a great ski town but the mountain itself has issues, mostly due to the management. Also, the Utah resorts have the advantage of being really close to SLC.

Another option I would recommend is Steamboat Springs CO. You can fly into Denver and take a shuttle or rent a car to get to Steamboat.(3 hours from Denver and you need an AWD car) Steamboat has a fantastic ski school for beginners. There are also lots of options for lodging hotels or condos or houses. Steamboat is also a great ski town. You can fly into Steamboat but it is more expensive. I do believe that one of the airlines has a non-stop directly to Steamboat out of IAD during the winter. It may only fly on certain days.

I've never been to either but I have been to French-speaking Canada in the summer. I think that would be really fun for a kid to make it an international trip.

I grew up skiing in the Sierras. I would do Lake Tahoe area over someplace more remote like Jackson Hole. But I have no idea about dogsledding.

If by any chance you'd be willing to drive, and are like an old school skier, I'd recommend Nub's Nob in Michigan. It's not fancy or big but it is homey and has easy starter runs. Michigan has dogsledding kennels.

Wyoming is way nicer although I would have thought it more expensive overall

DS8 would like a snowy trip for his upcoming January birthday. Would hopefully do a dogsledding excursion and his first ski lessons. Surprisingly, airfare and accommodations are similar for Wyoming and Tremblant. Which would you pick? DH and I have never been to either region. Thank you!