Taking the Kids™
Catching Air on the Slopes
Don’t get nervous if your kids start begging for air as soon as you hit the slopes.
They’re not short of breath. They just want to jump as high off the snow as possible on a snowboard or on skis, getting in as many twists and spins as possible before landing - hopefully upright. Then they do it again ... and again, honing their tricks everywhere on the mountain and in ski resorts' terrain parks designed with these young acrobats in mind.
Even kids whose parents haven't hit the slopes in years (or ever) are lobbying for a mountain getaway this ski season. In the process, they're helping to revitalize skiing, giving the sport a new and hip image.
That's good news for the ski industry and for snow-loving parents who want their young teens to light up, not groan, at the mention of a family vacation. "It's more like a cultural movement - the freestyle attitude of surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding all together," says Hal Thomson of the ski equipment manufacturer Salomon (www.salomonsports.com).
Ski resorts are adding ever more terrain parks to accommodate growing interest. California's Mammoth Mountain (www.mammothmountain.com) has three, including one that's perfect for beginners. These areas are now so popular that National Ski Areas Association has even developed a new website, www.freestyleterrain.org to help educate consumers about their safe use.
The fact that their parents have no interest in spending all day at a mountain's terrain parks only adds to the appeal for kids. Sports Illustrated for Kids has jumped on the bandwagon, teaming with Snow Monsters, the national ski and snowboard program for kids, to sponsor The Next Snow Search competition (www.nextx.com) to find young athletes who best represent the next generation of extreme skiers and boarders. Kids 9-13 compete in events being staged at more than 60 resorts around the United States and Canada, vying for the chance to compete in the championship February at Keystone Resort in Colorado. The best part: Kids don't have to be junior champions to participate. They're judged on attitude and personality as well as ability.
At the same time, ski school directors around the country report that the burgeoning interest in "learning tricks" is drawing kids back to instructional programs. It isn't cheap, though. A full day of lifts, lessons and lunch can run over $100 per child. Perhaps a workshop could be a special holiday present—or insurance that your slopeside vacation will leave everyone smiling. Here’s just a sampling of what’s out there for young daredevils-on-snow:
- Vail has teen workshops every day this season (as opposed to just over the holidays)
- Keystone touts special "X-Pression Sessions" for teens. (Visit www.snow.com to access the Web sites for both Vail and Keystone.)
- The Canyons Resort in Utah (www.thecanyons.com) offers special terrain park clinics that teach the latest tricks to kids as young as eight.
- Smugglers' Notch (www.smuggs.com) teaches terrain park tactics to kids as young as six and holds special competitions on the weekends.
- Olympian and extreme skiing champion Wendy Fisher has scheduled special two-day "FishSki" ski camps for teen girls at Colorado's Crested Butte Mountain Resort, at Vermont's Okemo and at California's Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. (www.fishski.com).
- Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming (www.jacksonhole.com) sends advanced young skiers in its Team Extreme program out with their top pros.
By: Eileen Ogintz
