Amelia getting ready to ski- but I think those are my skis!

My older girls and their cousins getting ready to tear up the slopes.

Believe it or not the slopes were open!

We were up in the Poconos for New Year’s Eve. I had my doubts about the conditions, since it has been so unseasonably warm and there has been no snow. Of course on a daily basis I really have enjoyed the absence of snow. Snowstorms mean shoveling and cleaning off cars- all things I really don’t enjoy. Nevertheless, when it comes to skiing it is a necessity. So the lack of snow made me  nervous about whether it would be worth it to go skiing. But my worries were all for naught there was snow, the man-made kind, and we were able to ski. Most of  the trails were open, but not all.Even with the trails open it was a little sad to see the snow stop abruptly at the edges of the trail and for the woods to be completely bare in between the trails. Snow conditions were also sort of mushy- which reminded me a little of spring skiing.

Skiing is a great family sport. There aren’t many activities that the your whole family can do together. You also get to be outside and beat those winter blues, if you can stand the cold. We usually go to Jack Frost/Big Boulder in Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania. With one lift ticket you have access to both mountains. Both mountains are relatively small which makes it nice for families with beginner skiiers. My 11 and 8 year olds can ski all of the trails and my 4 year old is definitely working on it. We usually stay at Jack Frost because Big Boulder is geared towards snowboarders, but there are ski trails there as well as great snow tubing chutes.

I know skiing can be an expensive sport but if you have a 4th or 5th grader you can take advantage of the PA ski for free program. Pennsylvania offers a program for 4th and 5th graders which gives them three free lift tickets for several different mountains in PA. It is a great program that I used when my oldest was in fourth and fifth grade. A great way to save a little money. New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont have similar programs for fourth and fifth graders, but I never took advantage of those since we mostly ski in the Poconos.