Anonymous wrote:I have very fond memories of day trips to Liberty and Whitetail when the kids were little.

And I’m so glad we travelled west to ski when the kids were in elementary and middle and it was okay to pull them from school for a day or 2. We skied outside of holiday weekends and it was gloriously not crowded, and relatively affordable.

Now they’re in high school and don’t want to miss school (and work, sports). I just booked 2 hotel rooms for between Christmas and New Year, 5 nights, $12,500 (!!!). Flights are on points and we all have equipment. No lessons needed. But that hotel fee (Marriott) is painful.

Yep. We are a Disney family and a skiing family. I always laugh when people think Disney is soooo expensive - they obviously don’t ski.

I have very fond memories of day trips to Liberty and Whitetail when the kids were little.

And I’m so glad we travelled west to ski when the kids were in elementary and middle and it was okay to pull them from school for a day or 2. We skied outside of holiday weekends and it was gloriously not crowded, and relatively affordable.

Now they’re in high school and don’t want to miss school (and work, sports). I just booked 2 hotel rooms for between Christmas and New Year, 5 nights, $12,500 (!!!). Flights are on points and we all have equipment. No lessons needed. But that hotel fee (Marriott) is painful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

OK, but more times than not conditions are not good on the East Coast especially when it comes to ice for a beginners learning to ski. Most people can’t just wait until they’re sure of good conditions. They need to pre-plan a specific weekend. Our kids learned to ski in Vail and had an incredible time. Well worth the cost.

My oldest mostly learned at Whitetail and Timberline. Like someone else said, you can go to Liberty/Whitetail as a daytrip. Watch the weather/conditionas and pull your kids out of school on a weekday when it's less crowded. If you can't take a day off with short notice then I guess that won't work for you, but it will for many.

With a driving trip out to WV just be sure to check cancellation policies on lodging. If things look really bad, cancel. FWIW, Timberline has really good snow-making capabilities. Canaan Valley, less so (but is otherwise quite good for beginners).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

I guess so... places are just so horrid though. I think my young relatives fell in love with skiing because it was just such an incredible experience the first few times they did it.

My kids loved Whitetail when they were younger. They now have skied at legitimately great places but Whitetail was perfect for them starting out.

Also, don’t start out that high. Work your way up to it. What you don’t want is a BC expectation every year.

I am an expert skier and already have 3 ski trips on the calendar for this season (Vermont, Utah and Colorado) and will probably add one more. I still go to Whitetail a few times a season. Usually just ski a half day but it's decent skiing and with an Epic Local day pass it costs me $50. Agree that Whitetail and Liberty are perfect for learning. Heck, my first ski day was at Liberty back when it was called Charnita.

I grew up here too - skiied at Cherokee. I get nostalgic everytime I pass by the Linden exit on I66.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

OK, but more times than not conditions are not good on the East Coast especially when it comes to ice for a beginners learning to ski. Most people can’t just wait until they’re sure of good conditions. They need to pre-plan a specific weekend. Our kids learned to ski in Vail and had an incredible time. Well worth the cost.

.

It’s literally not well worth the cost. There is nothing about skiing that is well worth the cost. And we ski every year. Sometimes Vail, sometimes Beaver Creek, sometimes Boyne, and yes, sometimes Liberty. You can have an incredible time at Liberty with little kids/beginners. Don’t be ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

I guess so... places are just so horrid though. I think my young relatives fell in love with skiing because it was just such an incredible experience the first few times they did it.

My kids loved Whitetail when they were younger. They now have skied at legitimately great places but Whitetail was perfect for them starting out.

Also, don’t start out that high. Work your way up to it. What you don’t want is a BC expectation every year.

I am an expert skier and already have 3 ski trips on the calendar for this season (Vermont, Utah and Colorado) and will probably add one more. I still go to Whitetail a few times a season. Usually just ski a half day but it's decent skiing and with an Epic Local day pass it costs me $50. Agree that Whitetail and Liberty are perfect for learning. Heck, my first ski day was at Liberty back when it was called Charnita.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

OK, but more times than not conditions are not good on the East Coast especially when it comes to ice for a beginners learning to ski. Most people can’t just wait until they’re sure of good conditions. They need to pre-plan a specific weekend. Our kids learned to ski in Vail and had an incredible time. Well worth the cost.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

I guess so... places are just so horrid though. I think my young relatives fell in love with skiing because it was just such an incredible experience the first few times they did it.

My kids loved Whitetail when they were younger. They now have skied at legitimately great places but Whitetail was perfect for them starting out.

Also, don’t start out that high. Work your way up to it. What you don’t want is a BC expectation every year.

+1. My kids learned locally and have the best memories of going for long weekends to Seven Springs. There is so much that goes into taking young kids skiing that is unknown until you do it. What will their tolerance be for the activity? Heck, what will their tolerance be for getting ski boots on, helmets, goggles, etc? Plus half the fun for my kids when they were little was all of the apres ski options - bowling, tubing, arcade, etc.

Take the pressure off and try it out before going for the bigger trip. Because yes, skiing out west is hella expensive. A midweek day trip to Whitetail or Liberty is a perfect place to start.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

I guess so... places are just so horrid though. I think my young relatives fell in love with skiing because it was just such an incredible experience the first few times they did it.

My kids loved Whitetail when they were younger. They now have skied at legitimately great places but Whitetail was perfect for them starting out.

Also, don’t start out that high. Work your way up to it. What you don’t want is a BC expectation every year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

I guess so... places are just so horrid though. I think my young relatives fell in love with skiing because it was just such an incredible experience the first few times they did it.

Anonymous wrote:There are 5 of us and I would like to take a 5 day or so trip to Utah or Colorado this winter with lessons for 3 younger kids, nice family friendly accommodations, lift tickets, etc. I used to go a lot when I was younger, but this will be the first time for the kids. Preliminary research indicates I will spend close to 7.5k, which seems insane. What am I doing wrong?

I would absolutely not take 3 young kid who have never skied out west. Learning is that the local hills are for. Save going our west for when they are older and can enjoy the entire mountain and last most of the day.

Anonymous wrote:

And I mean I get that people are scaring you off but Killington Stowe and Sugarloaf will have perfectly acceptable snow in January and February.

Perfectly acceptable is subjective, especially for DCUM.

Sometimes the east has better conditions than a lot of the west in January and February. Sometimes the east has nothing but ice and dirt. Literally.

Ok. I have skied every year of the last decade on the east and I feel all but one year was great. That year there was a freak rainstorm in December that melted a lot and prevented resorts from having good snow in early January.

Honestly you sound like a skilitist, which is fine but you’re not giving advice to some serious skier. You are talking to a family with kids who have never skied going for their first trip. They can get what they need on the east coast and it’s like absurd to say they can’t.

-someone who has never been out west but who somehow can ski and still enjoys it without dropping the cost of a car on the activity every year

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

I just came to recommend this as well.

Anonymous wrote:I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.

Agree, and go when the conditions are good. The first few days of skiing are hard enough. A lot of kids will hate it if it's rainy or icy or very cold.

You could also go to Liberty or Whitetail midweek sometime. Missing a day of school here and there is fine, especially with young kids.

I am re-reading the OP. I would not schlep 3 kids who haven't skied before out West. I would start small and local- snowshoe is a great rec. See if you are a 'ski family', and if you are, start planning starting next year for more affordable ways to do this - collecting points for flights, planning out budgeting for passes, getting used gear, etc.