To know what to pack involves knowing where you are going and how many days will be involved. Going on a fun vacation means taking a decent variety of clothing along. But when a person goes on a ski vacation, it involves more as we have to not only pack for skiing, but for the trip to and from the resort, dining out, and evening wear – all of this needs to be known in advance before pulling out the suitcase. The important thing to know is, when packing for skiing, more is better than not enough.

The first outfit to pack is the ski “stuff” if you have them – boots, skis, and poles – and if not, the resorts rent them. Clothing involves several layers of clothing to stay warm on the slopes, and to remove when you begin to warm up. Thermal underwear, long-sleeved shirts or turtle-neck shirts, thin socks that are moisture-wicking will be the first layer closest to the skin.

The heavier layer involves sweaters, sweatshirts, water-repellant pants, thicker socks such as “smart wool” that are moisture wicking. The outer-essentials for first removal when heating up will be a ski parka, hat, gloves, muffler or neck warmer as the day goes on. Also important will be sunglasses or goggles for sun and snow glare. On ski resorts, temperatures will change a lot during the day, so even sunscreen will be important for the glare from the sun and snow also.

If you plan on going sight-seeing or go shopping, simply changing into clean dry pants and comfortable boots will be enough, or just going to the lodge for something to drink after coming off the slopes will find this clothing acceptable. The only time you will need to worry for something fancier is during the evening hours. If the town is small and quiet, the pants and shirt will be enough for the evening. BUT, if your choice of ski town is more formal, with fancier pubs and bars, then fancier evening clothing will be needed. By formal, khakis or a nice pair of pants or jeans, attractive shirts or sweaters, and a coat.

If you plan on booking a week or more, pack your clothing and personal items, then call the ski resort and tell them you are shipping your stuff to them, and have it held at the desk. If you are flying or have a small vehicle with little room – especially if several people are traveling together, this is an option for you. Shipping can be overnight, two day, or three day depending on how far it must travel. Depending on how much the box weighs, you will usually pay less than fifty dollars to ship a package in the continental United States….which is a lot less than you would pay an airline for extra baggage!

By: Mike Singh

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When it comes time for your next ski vacation, your ski packing list is an essential part of a successful trip. Very simply, there are many different things you need to pack for your ski vacation, so deciding on what to bring is no easy task. Whether you plan on going cross country skiing in Alaska, to the ever popular Sunrise Ski Resort, or anywhere else, hopefully this information will help you determine the best things to bring along on your ski vacation and help to make sure you don’t forget anything along the way.

Packing for a ski vacation is not easy, because it involves bringing along so much equipment. Think about it: if you’re just going on a vacation to the beach, you will pretty much bring along a few pairs of shorts, your swimsuit, and you’re ready to go.

However, if you’re going for an extended ski vacation, you need to bring along equipment such as your skis, boots, polls, ski pants, jacket, etc. Therefore, trying to remember everything can be quite a headache. So what’s the solution?

Keep in mind that if the ski resort is only a short distance away, and you plan on driving, packing all these things really isn’t much of a problem. However, if you plan on having a long-distance to travel, there are a couple different things you might want to consider. First of all, renting the ski equipment from the resort you will be staying at is a great choice, because this prevents you from having to bring everything along yourself.

Of course, this is somewhat of a roll of the dice, because renting often times leads to using worse equipment then if you used your own. Especially if you are an experienced skier, using rented equipment is probably out of the question; of course, if you are a beginner, this really shouldn’t make much of a difference.

If you are dead set against renting equipment, than you might want to consider shipping your equipment and clothing to the ski resort in advance of the time in getting their. This way, you can make sure that they will be there by the time you arrive.

In addition to the equipment I mentioned above, there are still some more things you might want to consider for your ski packing list. First of all, sunscreen is essential. Yes, this is very important when skiing, even though most people don’t think about it.

The sun reflects sharply off the snow and can oftentimes give you a nasty sunburn when uprotected. In addition, you might want to consider bringing along a hydration pack, which you can simply attach onto your chest so that you can have easy access to it while skiing. You’ll typically pay between $35 and $75 for a good one, but keep in mind that you can also utilize it for other sports such as hiking or even bicycling.

Another good thing to do would be to browse through a skiing magazine before you go and make sure you have all the items in it, so that you will be well prepared for your trip. This is a great refresher becasue you can find just about any kind of ski equipment imaginable in a ski magazine, so hopefully this will ensure that you remember everything.

The bottom line is, if you are going on a skiing trip in the near future, make sure that you are well prepared ahead of time. Finally, try to obtain a ski snow report before you go to ensure you will have optimum skiing conditions; if the weather looks iffy, reschedule your vacation for another time. Hopefully this information will help you with your ski packing list for your next ski vacation.

By: Kendrick Brown

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On your next winter ski vacation, you don’t need to leave the kids behind. Nowadays, children can not only take part in many winter sports, but you may find they even excel at them. Here are some tips for making your next ski trip fun for you and for your kids.

Health Considerations

Before you set off on your trip, consider the fact that some children, generally very young children, 6 and under, should not generally be exposed to intense cold or high altitudes. Children with ear problems may be miserable at a high altitude, leaving everyone in the family with a cloud over their trip. Some children with hyperactivity disorders may also not be right for a winter ski trip. A child who is hyper may not take too well to being stuck in a lodge or hotel room for long periods of time when a winter storm hits.

Choosing The Right Apparel

In order for kids to enjoy skiing safely, you must not overlook the importance of the right apparel. Since children are much smaller than adults, they will be more sensitive to the cold. Don’t forget that they are closer to the ground, so every part of their body needs to be shielded properly from the cold. Some parents may try to put their own apparel on the child, but this is a mistake. It’s extremely important for the child to have their own set of ski apparel. This is for safety first and comfort secondly. If you try and fit on a sweater or coat that has longer sleeves than their arms, this can be a safety issue with the child not being able to steer properly or the sleeve may get caught easily on other gear. These days, there are special stores dedicated to children’s winter apparel and ski gear. You owe it to yourself and your children to visit one and get the right gear for each child.

Choosing The Right Gear

Once you have the right ski apparel for your child, you need to choose the actual ski gear. This includes the skis, boots, poles, gloves, goggles and other accessories. Each element should fit your child appropriately, not be too loose or tight and be comfortable. Before each ski trip, you’ll want to check the fit of each element again, to see if the child has grown out of it, some items may need to be repurchased or refitted.

Safety First

Safety should, of course, be the #1 consideration for all parents. Children should also have extra safety gear when skiing. These include a helmet and extra pads including knee and elbow pads. Some other safety devices are also available to make skiing safer and more fun for both the parent and child, these include a fawn cushion, which is a cushion that attaches to the rear end of your child to cushion what may be many falls and a ski trainer harness which allows a parent to pull the child behind them on the slopes.

Armed with these tips, you should be able to make more informed decisions about the apparel, ski gear and safety gear. Most of all, however long your ski trip will be, don’t forget that the point of the trip is to have fun as a family.

By: Charley Lawrence

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While not on a par with Squaw Valley or Heavenly or other major California ski resorts, the Bear Valley ski area is still a prime candidate for a weekend or even an extended skiing vacation. As we discovered in early February, Bear Valley offers a surprisingly complete ski vacation experience – no frills, to be sure, but still rewarding and well worth the trip deep into the Sierra Nevada range.

If designer clothing stores, zillion-dollar condos, and Hollywood-style glitz are part of your criteria for a ski vacation, this ski area might not be the best choice. If wide-open ski runs, no lift lines and plenty of groomed snow are more important to you, then by all means give Bear Valley a try.

Coming originally from the Pacific Northwest, we could not help but compare Bear Valley to one of our favorite ski areas in Washington state – a place called Mission Ridge in a town named Wenatchee. The population in that part of the state is sparse compared with the big ski areas near Seattle, so Mission Ridge is able to offer wide-open skiing runs most days of the week.

Similarly, Bear Valley is less accessible than the many larger ski areas in the Lake Tahoe area. Bay area and Sacramento residents can drive Interstate 80 to the Tahoe area and find a selection of ski resorts a short distance off the interstate. To reach this ski area, you have to drive two-lane roads through the foothills and mountains for close to 100 miles.

But when you get there, most skiers and snowboarders will find it’s worth it. Our mid-week skiing was some of the best we’ve experienced – plenty of wide-open, groomed terrain perfect for intermediates and serviced by a number of lifts where there seemed to never be lines. It was ski down the run, get right on the chair and do it all again and again until just a few hours into our day we were growing exhausted. We probably skied in four hours what it would take us a full day to do at a resort with moderate lift lines.

There are no gondolas or high-speed quad chairlifts at Bear Valley, although there are 10 lifts altogether, mostly doubles and triples. About 1280 acres are available for skiing and snowboarding; some 100 acres are in an area where they can make snow – although at 7,750 feet, it’s likely Mother Nature will supply all the snow you need.

We mentioned the intermediate skiing because that’s our favorite – but rest assured this ski area has many black diamond or expert ski runs for those looking for more of a challenge. The day lodge is situated mid-mountain with lifts going both up the mountain to 8495 feet, and coming to the lodge from the lower part of the mountain. Most of the expert runs are located on the lower mountain.

The area’s day lodge also was wide open and easy to navigate. Instead of masses of people waiting in line to get their food and find a place to sit, we stepped right up and got our cooked-to-order Philly cheesesteak sandwiches in just a few minutes. And there was no shortage of menu options – lots of different types of food from sandwiches to Asian cuisine, from soups and salads to major meals.

But the Bear Valley experience is much more than a daytrip – or at least it should be given the time it takes to get to the ski area. For our trip we booked lodging at the Bear Valley Lodge, one of just a few hotel-type facilities near the mountain. Located about three miles from the mountain, the Bear Valley Lodge seems to be the hub of activity in the area and proved to be a good choice for accommodations. While showing some of its age – it was built in the 60’s – the lodge proved to be a comfortable, convenient base of operations. A ski shuttle bus will take you to the mountain, and you can even ski all the way back to the lodge.

When we say comfortable, we are not comparing the lodge to the high-end condos you find at most major ski resorts. The rooms at Bear Valley Lodge are more like a motel unit with two double beds a bath area and a TV/entertainment area that included HBO. But small touches – such as the bay window looking out onto the snowy landscape or the pine furniture – helped to make this feel much cozier than a motel room.

The four floors of rooms at the Bear Valley Lodge look out onto the Cathedral Lounge, a large open space in the middle of the lodge that offers guests a place to sit and read and enjoy the fire in the massive stone fireplace. Photos are mounted along the walls depicting the history of the lodge and Bear Valley ski area. Celebrities such as Spider Savich, Claudine Longet, Merv Griffin and several others are shown skiing or otherwise enjoying Bear Valley.

Adjacent to the lounge are several shops including an old-fashioned general store – with a deli to get quick sandwiches and soups – and a surprisingly complete ski shop with all of the latest ski equipment, clothing and accessories. But keep in mind this is not the type of resort where you can spend hours shopping when you’re not on the slopes; your down time here most likely will be spent in front of the fire reading a good book.

During our brief stay we dined in the lodge’s Grizzly Lounge – mainly because the other lodge restaurant, the Creekside Dining Room, was closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The lounge food was good and included a few menu items from the Creekside. We did learn that the Creekside has recently employed a well-educated and accomplished chef that has proven both creative and popular with guests – so we were disappointed we didn’t get a chance to sample the Creekside cuisine.

We also enjoyed a meal down at BaseCamp, a lodge that is just a short walk from the Bear Valley Lodge and the only other hotel-style lodging this close to the ski area. We enjoyed our meal at BaseCamp where we got to know an English waitress who had come to Bear Valley simply because the skiing is so good. The BaseCamp, incidentally, offers the lowest cost rooms in the area with “bathroom down the hall.”

There are also condo and cabin rentals available in the Bear Valley area, as well as the Tamarack Lodge further west on Highway 4. Prices in general will be less at BaseCamp, moderate at the Bear Valley Lodge and Tamarack, and more when you rent an entire vacation home.

While in the area, there are several small towns and attractions that are worth a stop if you have the time. To reach Bear Valley in winter, you’ll be traveling through the historical town of Angel’s Camp and then a similar but smaller Gold Rush town called Murphys.

But our suggestion would be to allow plenty of time for skiing. You’ll want to ski or board Bear Valley just as long as the weather – and your legs – will hold out.

AT A GLANCE

WHERE: Bear Valley Ski Resort is on Highway 4, about 52 miles from the foothills town of Angel’s Camp, and 130 miles from Sacramento.

WHAT: Bear Valley is a throwback to skiing in the ’60’s and ’70’s – no high-speed quads or gondolas but lots of wide open groomed terrain in a gorgeous setting.

WHEN: Winter always means where is lots of snow for skiing as well as many other snow sports; the area also is a popular summer recreation area with numerous lakes, hiking trails and a pristine forest.

WHY: It’s refreshing to ski where there are no lift lines and little pretense – most of the “beautiful people” went to Colorado; the home-growns stayed here. Economically, this ski vacation is quite affordable.

HOW: For more information on Bear Valley Ski Resort, phone (209) 753-2301 or visit www.bearvalley.com. For more information on Bear Valley Lodge, phone (209) 753-2325 or visit www.bearvalleylodge.com.

By: Cary Ordway

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