By Steph
This past weekend was a flurry of preparing for winter in my house. We’ve already pulled out the snow clothes long ago, as we’ve been getting snow off and on since October. This weekend was more of putting the final touches on so we’re ready to go when ski season begins at the Steamboat ski resort. First up was going to the local showing of Warren Miller’s Ticket to Ride movie. This used to be a rite of passage for me and my friends growing up. It was a time to really start anticipating the upcoming ski season, and get excited for the snow to come. I haven’t been to one of those shows in years, and this marked the first (hopefully annual) Wilson family excursion to the movie. Our girls loved it, and were dancing in their seats to the music and were laughing at the funny ski scenes.
Later in the weekend we picked up our ski passes at the Steamboat resort ticket office. Passed around our necks, we then headed to buy helmets for both kids at the Christy Sports ski shop up at Gondola Square. They have been a partner of the ranches for a couple years, and provide our guests who want to go skiing at the resort with a great rental and retail experience. It was nice to experience their top-notch service myself, and reminded me why we send our guests their way.
So, the kids are all set. We’re ready for winter. In fact, they’ve already put their cross country skis on and cruised around our yard, making jumps, falling down, rolling around. Kid are like puppies in the snow.
That was a long opener to talking about gearing up for your winter family vacation, but while I was preparing my family for winter this weekend, I was also fielding phone calls from families looking at coming to Vista Verde for their winter vacation. One family from Florida asked the question that so many ask, “What gear do we need?” It is a bit of a mind boggle when you live in flip flops and t-shirts for most of the year. So, here is one mom’s thoughts on what you need to make your kids comfortable during their winter vacation at Vista Verde:
- Snowpants- for kids, get some bib type overall snow pants. Put it this way, when kids roll around in the snow, bibs will keep the snow from going down their pants. Nuff said.
- Boots- this is the area to spend a little more money to get them warm and waterproof boots. They’ll be in them day and night, so this is important.
- Jacket- If you have a good water-resistant jacket already, you can always layer underneath it to keep your kid warm.
- Long underwear- Cotton is bad in the cold weather. So, get wool (we love Smartwool) or some sort of wicking/breathable synthetic long underwear. This will keep your little critter toasty and warm.
- Fleece- Almost everyone has a fleece sweatshirt. This is great for the layer that goes on top of the long underwear.
- Socks- Invest in 3-4 pairs of good wool socks. Nothing beats wool in the snow!
- Gloves- You will not regret getting a warm and waterproof pair of gloves for you kiddo. I prefer mittens as they keep their little fingers warmer. They even make some that go a little ways up the arm, so you can keep the snow out again. Kids get into the snow (literally) more than we do as adults, so being able to tuck the mittens in under their jacket, or having a long sleeve on the mittens so they go up their arm a bit will help keep their hands warm and dry.
- Hat- Don’t need to get fancy here. Just a nice, warm hat to keep their little head warm. Oh, and bring some sunglasses too!
With all that, you’re pretty well set. If there isn’t a ski shop near you, this stuff can all be found online at places like REI (they had a pair of kids snowpants on sale for $39.99 today!) or LL Bean. Or, you can check out our local friends at Christy Sports. Remember, you can do laundry while you’re here, and things also dry out really fast in our dry climate. If your kid went really crazy in the snow that day and got their boots wet, just put them by the heater at night, and they’ll be dry in the morning.
If you’re thinking about planning your winter vacation at Vista Verde, just give us a call and we can help give you more winter vacation planning tips! 800-526-7433.