Okay, so I had help. I flew with my sister, her three year old daughter, Audrey, and my mom (the girls’ Mimi). I guess that is a major theme of our family. We have a village of support! Many of our adventures would not be possible (or would be more difficult) without this help, and even more specifically for this period in my life where heavy lifting is a challenge.
This trip, logistically, was not an easy one, because it involved an hour drive into Boston Logan Airport, the long process of checking bags and getting through security, followed by a five and a half hour flight to Denver, the wait for bags and a rental car, and finally a two hour drive down I-70 to Vail. We left New Hampshire to start the trek to Vail, Colorado on an early Saturday morning. I woke Zoe up around 3:30am (three hours ahead of her normal wake-up time) in order to pick up my mom at her house and get to Logan on time for our flight. She knew we were going on a very special trip to Colorado to see her Auntie Kelly and Uncle Mike, and she was extremely excited to be with her cousin once we got to Boston, so the first few hours went off without a hitch.
Thanks, in part to snacks, in part to coloring and stationary activities I brought with us, and mostly to Mimi, the girls occupied each other for most of the plane ride. There were about 100 potty trips between the two of them, but it made the time go by and, shockingly, everyone was on their best behavior. We survived getting our bags while my mom picked up the rental car, and the girls were able to get some physical energy out before we got in the Suburban for the two hour drive up to Vail. Zoe slept for about an hour in the car, Audrey for 45 minutes, and the remainder of the drive they enjoyed more snacks and chatting with all of us. Bottom line: distractions and snacks got us successfully from New Hampshire to Vail.
The entire time we were in Vail, we tried to stay on our normal feeding and sleeping schedule, yet still fit in the special activities we wanted to do. We took the girls skiing all three days we were there. Zoe LOVES to ski, so this also helped her stay on her best behavior: she knew if she wasn’t a good listener she wasn’t going to be able to go skiing. I wouldn’t say this mountain was the most convenient place to take a toddler who needs access to fairly easy terrain, but we made it work and made every part of it special. We took “bouncy bus” rides, trekked through Lion’s Head Village carrying all of our own and the girls’ gear (and sometimes, carrying the girls as well), took the gondola, and walked our way to the beginner area. Once we were there, it was skiing mecca for Zoe. She likes doing the magic carpets as well as chairlifts, and we had both at our disposal. There was a cave with some statue animals inside it that we were able to ski through, which also made for a special experience. There were groups of kids skiing through brushes which she insisted on doing as well. All of these things made for great motivation for her to want to keep going back. But, again, the snacks in my backpack were most likely the hero…keeping her happy and skiing for the morning. I will mention that her little body exhausted very quickly, and often I pulled her off the hill before she was mentally ready (read: tantrum) to make sure we could physically make the trek back to our condo. Her exhaustion I am sure was part altitude, but mostly I think due to the amount of moving we did. The walking in ski boots across snow and the village, up stairs, into busses, etc. was no easy thing for her. She did incredible with all of it, and kept a positive attitude all week. Have I mentioned she loves skiing? That doesn’t hurt.
The flight back to Boston was a bit of a train wreck for Zoe. I truly think she used up every single stitch of good behavior she had in her for the rest of the trip, and by the time we got on the plane she was just done with all of it. I think I could have done a better job to make sure there were some “new” distractions for her (I didn’t reserve any activities on the way out to Denver, so everything was already old news to her). She’s not one that can just zone out with a screen, which is my own fault for not wanting her to be exposed to them, so the headrest TVs playing absolutely anything under the sun on the JetBlue plane were no help either. We survived, though, and the pain was 100% worth the fun we had and her to be able to spend extended time with her aunt and uncle that live in Vail.
After this experience, I think I can confidently say below are my top 5 tips for taking a toddler on a ski trip.
- Be sure to be in good physical shape. Between the luggage, the toddler herself, the altitude, and the trekking all over a large mountain town, fitness is crucial. Keith and I make a habit of creating pre-ski-vacation workout plans, so this is fairly easy for me to prepare for.
- “New” toys and distractions on the plane will make the time fly by so much quicker.
- Keep that kid pumped with snacks! There is no coming back from Hangry while out and about.
- Keep to a somewhat familiar routine. If your kid bathes every night and that helps them get ready to sleep, do that. If they nap every afternoon, try to stick to that schedule. The routine will help them stay happy and excited for all of the new and exciting things. If it doesn’t happen, though… roll with it. Not everything will go off as planned. I sure didn’t plan to be sleeping in a bed with her all week, but this helped her go down at night a little better than she would have.
- All the work is worth it. It sounds hard, because it is. It sounds fun, because it is! People have seen me skiing with Zoe while she’s having a fit on the side of the hill, and literally stopped to say “keep going, it’s so worth it and it gets easier!” I hear you, good samaritan, and I will keep going, because I know how grateful I am that my parents exposed me to these types of activities early in life and that they are activities we can do as a family of three generations!
