The North Face

Feb 08 | Pete Athans: refuse, reduce, re-gift, reuse, repurpose, and recycle: all in a smart phone app!

By Athlete Parents

It all started at the beach, with my 4 and 6 year olds, as they were building a magic beach house on a beautiful Pacific Northwest beach. As they collected wood for their house, they started to notice the plastic. There was just as much plastic on the beach as driftwood. In fact, what they thought was wood often turned out to be long pieces of PVC pipe. We made a movie about our discovery and the resulting awareness-raising art that came out of it: http://teamcora.com/about/

 

Two years later, we’re working with a team of innovators to help solve this problem. We’re developing a smart phone app to help people re-think their stuff, step in to a more sustainable frame-of-mind, and get closer to zero waste. A zero waste lifestyle isn’t as hard to achieve as some might believe, and it has an immediate impact on the environment.

 

The aim of the CORA (which means circle in Tibetan) app is to help people positively change their habits, simplify their buying practices, and re-think their stuff. We’re pioneering new paths through our overwhelming material culture to help people pare down, avoid excessive packaging, and reduce the amount of waste we generate. I’d say it makes sense to take note from the lessons learned while on expedition: pare down so you tread lightly on the Earth. It’s more efficient. You’ll have less baggage, too.

 

CORA will be a free resource, providing great tips on how to refuse what you don’t need, reuse what you have, repurpose it into useful things, fix those items that are broken, or gift them to those who could use them. Most of what you don’t want can benefit those in need, or could even be repurposed by an enterprising Etsy artist or local business. These are the connections we’ve created, linking you and your neighbors to each other, keeping thousands of items out of our landfills.

 

How Does A Mobile App For Zero Waste Work?

Your broken ceramics may be a treasure to a nearby mosaic artist, or the woven plastic bag your cat’s food comes in is coveted by a small business that makes reusable bags. Don’t throw your hard-to-recycle ice trays and shower curtain rings away: your local humane society needs them. Turn your plastic mesh produce bag into a great pot-scrubber. You’ll never need to buy ziplock bags again if you learn the easy way to wash and dry them. The CORA app will help you see your stuff in new ways and connect you with neighbors near and far who could use what you’re trying to get rid of. We can also tell you exactly where just about anything can be recycled, so your waste footprint can get closer to zero.

 

If you want to start a small business that upcycles a certain material people normally throw away, we’ll connect you with folks happy to give you their unwanted stuff. Or, if you simply want to know where your nearest landfill is so you can trash your unwanted things, we’ll take you there, through images, video, and articles, so you’ll know exactly where your stuff ends up and how it gets there.

 

CORA Means Circle in Tibet

Imagine a world where all the waste loops in your community are connected to benefit everyone. We could stop the use of fossil fuels to make virgin plastic pellets that are used to make unnecessary new and single-use plastics. If we refuse those plastics, and reuse what we already have to make better products and benefit others, we might even make a dent in the amount of plastic pollution found in the environment. If, as NOAA claims, millions of pieces of plastic enter our oceans every day, we can each do something to stop the flow of plastics into our waters. Most of the plastics are unnecessary packaging or single-use items like straws, water bottles, plastic bags, and bottle caps. Mixed in with the common debris are items we find in our homes, cars and offices: pens, plant pots, tampon applicators, lip balm, yogurt containers, light switch covers, and baby binkys.

 

Your First Step: Help CORA

With your help, our CORA app can fill the gap and enlighten people across the nation. Please come learn more about CORA at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/464119894/cora-transform-your-trash-to-treasure. Help fund, with like-minded people, our effort to tackle the stuff of our lives, divert it, and prevent unnecessary new plastics from entering the oceans each day. In the meantime, you’ll feel good about reusing what you thought was trash, or passing your unwanted things on to those in need or someone who can transform it into a treasure. Spread the word and share our Kickstarter page on your Facebook page!

Feb 06 | Michael Wardian :: checking out the wild in his backyard

By Athlete Parents

Hey Everyone,

It has been a busy fall and start of winter and the boys are growing and getting more and more into our adventures.

We have had a few adventures lately and this was a trip to the National Zoo in Washington, DC.

Herewith boys and Jennifer crossing to enter zoo:

   

Herewith the guys at the Pizza Garden, which is at the bottom of the hill the National Zoo sits on.

 

The boys love to visit the Cheetahs and only last night they told us they wanted to get a Cheetah to practice their running in order to "get faster", not sure where they get that from. 

Herewith the guys checking out the Cheetahs (after a long wait, he didn't want to come out):

 

+++

It was terrific day as the Zoo and besides the Cheetahs, we visited the: Reptiles, Monkeys, Pandas, and Seals.  We saw a lot of other animals also but those were the big ones.

We are excited for the next adventure and will keep you posted.

Cheers,

The Wardians (Jennifer, Pierce, Grant, Mike)

 

Feb 01 | Max Lowe shares his experience on being the son of two extreme TNF mountaineers

By Athlete Parents

Growing up as the son of two of the world’s most renowned alpine and high altitude mountaineers has been no ordinary childhood. Since I was a small boy, my father Alex Lowe was off in the mountains for more of my life than he was around me. On October 4^th 1990, 7 days before my second birthday Alex became the 40^th American to successfully reach the summit of the famed Mount Everest. I flew as a toddler to Thailand with my mother to meet my returning father, making my first intercontinental travel as a two year old. Since that first trip to meet up with Alex,  I have ventured with my family to many other wild places in this world along with Alex and later Conrad. 

 

I have gotten used to meeting people and having them ask “Lowe like Alex Lowe the climber?” As I move through life, I am continually amazed by the people I cross paths with who truly knew my father and looked up to him as a hero, not only for his prowess as a climber but for his integrity, compassion and life loving nature as a person. I was first exposed to the magnetic effect that Alex had on people after he died in 1999. An avalanche on Shishapangma, a peak high in the Tibetan Himalaya took his life. Over the next few months, my family received hundreds of consoling letters from friends, coworkers and even people who had never met Alex, sharing how he had influenced or impacted their life. To me he had always just been my dad. Of course he was my hero, but I didn’t know him through his accomplishments as a professional athlete, but through every day life. Early mornings, ski days, practicing violin together and post cards and trinkets I received from far reaches of the globe. I am continually building on who my father was as I meet people he befriended from all over the world. In this sense, as well as just being my dad, he will remain an inspiration for me throughout my life. 

           

In April 2001 my mother Jennifer Lowe married one of Alex’s best friends and climbing partners Conrad Anker. Interestingly enough, Conrad holds a very similar position in the climbing community. He is an esteemed and highly respected alpinist in the climbing community, owning a large number of first accents and difficult successful summit bids. It had actually been Conrad who secured Alex a position with The North Face all those years back. Having Conrad fill the father position in my life over the last 11 years of my life has been spectacular. We have continued traveling the globe as a family, following Conrad to places his adventures led him. Conrad has played an integral part in my development into the young man I have become. From encouraging me through school to college graduation, to helping me develop myself as a photographer he has become my hero and mentor in many senses. 

I also have to give credit to my wonderful mother who through all the expeditions and months of travel my fathers and stepfathers jobs demanded was able to raise my two brothers and myself into the young men we have become. Jennifer has remained home as the backbone of the family structure that has remained even through all of the chaos of living in a family of professional mountaineers. 

Growing up in the shadow of these two amazing individuals, Conrad Anker and Alex Lowe, has been a trip and a blessing. Definitely different from your average upbringing in the US, but I would have it no other way. My fathers and mother have showed me the door into my passion for the outdoors, and the insight to explore the world for more than what meets the eye, and for that I thank them. 

 

Jan 19 | Hilaree O'Neill :: Road Tripping Installation #11

By Athlete Parents

We drove the 400 mile stretch of Highway 50, also known as the Loneliest Highway, in one day. 

http://ponyexpressnevada.com/pony-express-loneliest-road.html

It was tough to do not so much because of the distance, but because of all the amazing things we saw and all the potentially cool places to stop. The amazing thing about this road trip is that it’s brought me to some really cool parts of the country. Even though I haven’t exactly had a lot of extra time to really explore the places I’m passing through, I know I want to come back. As a skier, it would be an amazing trip to come back to some of the mountain passes along Highway 50 and try for some winter ski traverses.  It looked like there would be some good adventurous rock climbing in the spring or fall and also just remote places to camp and explore and let the kids run wild.

Not only was the drive well beyond my expectations, pulling into the Great Basin National Park ended up being one of my favorite stops on this 4500 mile road trip. 

http://www.nps.gov/grba/index.htm 

Partly because there were no crowds and the camping was incredibly relaxed, partly because it was such an unexpected surprise but mostly because of the cave tours and how excited Quinn was about spending an hour climbing through massive cavern after massive cavern in the Lehman Caves.

"The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time."

-Henry David Thoreau

We spent two nights in the park and most of that time was at the main center where the Ranger station, restaurant and Lehman Caves are located. The kids obviously loved the caves, even though I was really nervous to take them on a guided, structured tour. Quinn only strayed from the group a few times and neither of them tore down any stalagmites or anything so, all in all, it went pretty well.

When I make a trip back to this area, I would really like to climb 13,065 ft Wheeler Peak and explore the limestone arches and cliffs that lie within the park. Truly, though, this was one of the best surprises of the trip and an amazing National Park.

Packing up the camper and the kids this time, I realized we only had one more stop before heading home. From the Great basin we were driving due east across southern Utah to a friend’s place in Boulder, Utah. Again, this was a slice of the country I had never seen before but had heard lots about. There is a high concentration of National Parks in this part of the country- Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, Zion. I was excited about the drive though this wild and scenic area. Also, my very good friend, Kasha Rigby, was at the end of the drive and I always love any chance I get to see her.

Jan 05 | Hilaree O'Neill :: Road Tripping Installation #9

By Athlete Parents

Alas, another excerpt from the never ending road trip. I left off in my last blog with hood River, Oregon; a fabulous place of water, mountains and sunshine. The hardest part of leaving Hood River, however, was that I was on my own again, just me and the two boys, our truck and our pop-up camper.

Just about all of the driving we have done on this epic journey has been on rural, single-lane backroads and going from Hood River to Crater Lake National Park was no different. I love this kind of driving but my boys were still too young to appreciate it and I often just wished I was going 80 mph on the freeway but freeways never seemed to go where I wanted to go. At any rate, our drive took a total of about 6 hours with a few stops for leg stretching and eating.

http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm

http://www.craterlakelodges.com/

For years, I had heard about Crater Lake National Park, about it’s incredible beauty and wildness but I really had no expectations upon arriving in the park. When we reached the first overlook I was totally blown away with how big the actual lake was and how crystal blue the water. 

We were really lucky to get a good campsite in the park. August is a busy time of year and. Although Crater lake isn’t one of the busier National Parks, I still think we were really lucky. It took a while to get the whole campsite set up. It’s tough with one person to manage all the things that go into camping plus keep an eye on two toddlers who always seem hell-bent on beating each other up.

The campsites are really pretty nice – spacious and private. The only problem was that in this part of Oregon, at this time of year, it is very dry and so the campsite was predominately covered in a lot of fine, dry dirt that my boys seem to think was amazing to throw and roll in and even eat; all things that I was helpless against stopping.

In our two days in the park we ventured on some beautiful trails and hung out along the rim with groups of other tourists. Quinn and Grayden were too small to hike the challenging trails that led down to the lake so someday we will have to make our way back. I also could only imagine coming to this park in the winter. The main lodge is open all year and I would love to stay in the lodge and ski tour all around the area. The skiing from the rim down to the lake would be incredible and the Crater Lake Lodge is simply amazing.

Our time in the park was too short but after a few days of camping with the kids I was ready to visit some more friends. Packing everything and collapsing the camper and strapping the kids into the truck was total chaos but my next stop was Truckee, CA and the Zellers’ house- good friends with two boys of their own.

Dec 19 | Megs Pischke on Why she makes Traveling with her Family a Top Priority

By Athlete Parents

To start I have been SO blessed with a career that has taken me around the world and back. I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to travel, and take my kids. I can't imagine not having them with me on my amazing adventures! 

It's definitely not always easy when your schlepping carseats, luggage, managing airport time, ect, but so worth it when you know you are giving them a gift to open their minds and hearts.

I remember Leighlis first travel. She was one month old, and we were driving from Colorado where she was born, to our home in British Columbia. I decided that we were going to call her carseat her “adventure chair”, and that I didn’t want to put her in it if she was crying or upset. So that’s how the week of travel went. If she wanted to hang out in the Chinese food restaurant in Spokane, or continue walking circles in a field in Montana, that’s what we did, no car seat drama. And perhaps it worked because by the time she turned one she had been to Costa Rica twice, to Quebec, Alaska, and 5 other States- all in her adventure seat with a smile!

What I have loved to watch transpire in my daughter when traveling is that there is no black and white definition to the world around her. I mean that there is no poverty, colors to peoples skin, etc.,  Its just one big community to her. And everyone is her neighbor. She really thinks that Costa Rica is “next door”, as she gets into her pajamas at grandma and grandpas in Colorado, then sleeps through the rest of the trip (security and all) down to Costa.

There's so much for her to learn and experience out there- and for me to learn with her. Bringing your kid along in your travels really keeps you in the moment and brings out the childlike wonder in yourself!

 

 

Dec 14 | Cedar Wright :: Rumble in the Jungle

By Athlete Parents

Wow, looking back on my trip to Malaysia with Lucho Rivera it seems like a fuzzy surreal dream!  Was it real at all?  One clue that it was not in fact a dream is that a month later stings from the humming bird sized wasps that inhabit Tioman Island Malaysia are still not completely healed!  With a treacherous, hot, humid, and spiky jungle full of poisonous creepy crawlies standing between us, and our goal of climbing The Dragon’s Horns, this trip would have been many peoples worse nightmare, but I feel so fortunate.  Another amazing trip to a remote nook of the world with an incredible first ascent achieved, but for me that's not the greatest success of this expedition.  

Our greatest achievement was that by partnering with Big City Mountaineers, and with the generous support of The North Face, Lucho and I were able to raise over six thousand dollars in the name of our climb that will go directly to getting under resourced urban teens out onto week-long expeditions in the wilderness.  I hope that not only have Lucho and I brought awareness and financial support to B.C.M., but that we have highlighted the importance of getting kids “unplugged”, away from their electronic filled worlds, and out into nature.  B.C.M. isn't the only organization dedicated to this wonderful and transformational work, and I encourage people to get involved with local organizations in their area that promote and enable our youth to explore the natural world. Check out The North Face’s outdoor focused online community www.planetexplore.com which partners with a ton of great organizations focused on getting more people outside more often!

If you like the film, or think what Lucho and I did was kind of cool, it’s not too late to donate in the name of our climb here: http://www.summitforsomeone.org/main.php?page=4&climber=8058

I've seen first hand the power of getting a city kid into the wilderness, and the reality is that right now, less and less kids are connecting with the outdoors which I find not just sad but scary.  My expedition partner Lucho Rivera is a perfect example of why organizations like B.C.M. are so awesome.  He grew up in a rough and tumble neighborhood in San Francisco’s Mission district and was by his own account, headed for death or jail before he was exposed to the wonder of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada.  His tiny bubble of reality was burst, and that first backpacking trip changed the course of his life.  Instead of being caught up in a neighborhood gang, or worse, he has evolved into an environmentalist, is a successful climber, and most importantly a quality and caring person.  Now, Lucho brings the positive energy of his experiences back to his neighborhood in the Mission, and his love for adventure and exploration is contagious. 

I hope that my two part film "Rumble in the Jungle" captures some of the adventure and beauty that is why I love being outdoors and exploring the natural world.  Maybe there is a kid about to push play that will be inspired to log off the internet when they are done and go out and PLAY!  Stay tuned for Part Two of Rumble in the Jungle in time for the winter Holidays. 

In part one, after a whirlwind three day travel sequence Lucho and I find ourselves on Tioman Island staring up at the mythical "Dragon's Horns." It was hard to believe that only one of the huge jungle spires had been climbed...until we started the approach...then it made more sense. But after some epic jungle bushwhacking which culminated with me being attacked by giant hummingbird sized wasps, we someway, somehow, managed to summit the unclimbed Dragon's Horn on our first full day on the island. We topped out at night and endured a wet open bivy.  Man what a great trip!!!

Cheers!!

Cedar Wright

 

Visit http://www.summitforsomeone.org/main.php to learn more about Big City Mountaineers

Learn about other initiatives The North Face is taking to get more to Never Stop Exploring: 

http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/get-outdoors/

Dec 08 | Pete Athans :: Life With Less Laundry

By Athlete Parents

How often do you do your laundry? Americans launder clothes way too often. And we use too much detergent, according to the Wall Street Journal. We’ve started re-thinking our laundry scene here at home. After spending much time living in villages in the dustiest parts of the Himalaya, one looks at laundry a little differently.

First, water has to be collected and carried to your fire to be heated, if you’re going to be a purist. Otherwise, a nearby stream will suffice. Secondly, you have to hang it up to dry and inevitably those clothes get full of wind-blown dirt and dust as they drip dry. Then, I learned an amazing lesson about laundry while living 6 weeks in Kathmandu. I noticed people don’t waste energy wringing out the wet clothes and linens to hasten drying. The water must be put to use! Laundry is often hung right over the vegetable garden to drip-irrigate precious veggies. So, come summer, our family hangs our dripping wet laundry (no spin cycle used) over our tomato plants and we never need to water them.

Phortse-Bound

Meanwhile, back in the village once your laundry is dry and you finally put on your so-called clean togs, within seconds those clothes can get pretty “dirty.” But dirt ain’t dirty! We’ve all learned to bring brown clothes to wear in Nepal so dirt can be hidden. The dirt isn’t the problem that ultimately makes you want to launder your clothes. It’s the bodily stuff humans produce on clothes (smells notwithstanding) that become one’s standard for washing. And if your animals somehow get their stuff on your clothes, (cows, yaks, horses, chickens) then it’s time to wash. Otherwise, a little dirt isn’t worth the effort to wash and one learns to wear clothes for many days, if not weeks when you’re on expedition, before having the time and commitment for washing.

Even here in the States, we’re becoming more water-conscious. Levi-Strauss Co. gets it: In a recent article in the New York Times, Levi-Strauss is admitting to the amount of water they’ve used in the past to stonewash their jeans. And now they’re sewing tags in clothes to tell consumers to not wash their jeans so often (by the end of their life, your jeans will have consumed 919 gallons of water.) In fact, if you want to kill those yucky microbes, Levi-Strauss recommends you throw ‘em in the freezer for 24 hours. One jeans-wearing guy is reportedly swearing off washing his denim-trous…ever. He’s already a year down that road.

But for us, the issue has become more about plastic. Yep, plastic is in your laundry and one of my favorite scientists today, Mark Browne, has determined that on average a single garment will shed 1900 fibers of microplastic per wash into your gray water. The problem is woven in our favorite polypropylene pants or tights, or poly-wool blend sweaters. If it’s made of plastic, it’s shedding plastic, and those microfibers are showing up on every shoreline on our planet. It’s become a very real concern to marine biologists and toxicologists who are finding that microfibers are ingested by many marine species and are likely making their way into our own food stream.

So take a close look at your dryer lint. It’s those fibers that are making their way out of your washing machine and into our waters. If you’re a died-in-the-wool purist about your clothes and only wear organic cottons and fibers, you’re doing wonders for the planet. The Fibershed Project is a fine example of lessons learned when you truly look at clothes, how they’re manufactured, where they come from, and the amount of energy, water, and toxins used to make them. The Fibershed folks promote looking at which fibers can be sourced in your own bioregion.

Laundry Solution? Wear No Clothes.

Whether your concern is toxics, water conservation, social justice, or buying and/or sourcing local there are also those who are committed to  zero waste laundry practices. Our friend Rebecca, at Rockfarmer has a great DIY laundry detergent recipe we’ve used for several years. And Biokleen’s 10 pound powder detergent in a box (buy it bulk through Azure Standard, along with all your other bulk needs) is also great on the environment. But it’s not going to be fully zero waste until we can sort out the problem of plastic micro-filament shedding into the environment.

We’re working on getting funding to develop a filter to stop the plastics from leaving your washer and entering our waters. Our hope is that the clothing manufacturers who produce the poly-blends might be the ones interested in contributing to this effort. Lint in your dryer is a resource for some (I know one explorer who saved his for months before heading out into the hinterland and he used it as firestarter for a journey across the Tibetan Plateau,) but lint in your washer is a potential endocrine disruptor for marine species and ultimately ourselves.

So, the next time you see me or members of our family and we’re looking a little “dirty,” you’ll know we’re stretching our standards a little, wearing those clothes just a little longer before contributing further to a growing problem in our oceans.

Journey to Kagbeni

 

Dec 05 | Snow Safety :: The Inside Scoop with the Hans Saari Fund

By Athlete Parents

NOTHING is better for teenageritis than spending time in the backcountry. Skiing, climbing, backpacking, hunting, whatever it takes to get kids into the mountains, burning off energy and having a blast. For the past five years The North Face has supported the Hans Saari Memorial Fund (www.hansfund.org) with annual Youth Ski Mountaineering Camps in the Teton Mountains of Wyoming. A major part of these youth camps focuses on staying alive in avalanche terrain.

 

If only I was 15 right now.

 

I became obsessed about the mountains at age 11. By crazy luck my parents encouraged and supported my mountaineering. Sometimes they loaded my pack on Friday night and shipping me off for the weekend with the local alpine club. Throughout high school I drove to the mountains every weekend, driving five hours each way from the wheat fields of eastern Washington. If I didn’t make it to the mountains because of rain, or botched plans, I did the regular teenage things: parties, driving around and returning to class on Monday feeling drained. The mountains were everything, and they still are. Since then my life has become dedicated to the mountains and I’ve become an internationally certified mountain guide, IFMGA. Whether working or not working I spend all my free time in the mountains. What else would I do?

 

I wish every kid could experience the mountains like I did. The problem is mountains are known to be dangerous. In winter that danger increases with avalanche hazards. With the advent of wide skis and the opening of ski area boundaries, youngsters have an ever-increasing ability to easily place themselves in harms way.

 

Mountain professionals know that avalanches are the single most difficult aspect of the mountains. Nothing compares. Not climbing a 20,000-foot mountain. Not skiing 50 degrees. Not going 30 hours without sleep on a mountain face. Nothing is as dangerous as being in avalanche terrain and not knowing.

 

The good thing is that avalanches follow some basic principles. If kids learn and follow these principles they can play safer in the mountains than at home. Avalanche safety for kids begins with learning how to use avalanche companion rescue gear, just in case something goes wrong. To avoid getting into bad situations we teach kids how to observe the mountains for dangerous avalanche conditions. These dangerous conditions are called red flags and include factors such as wind transporting snow, whumphing, shooting cracks, and terrain where avalanches are most likely to occur. Finally we learn about that ugly monster called The Human Factor. The most important Human Factor skill is knowing when to call it a day and turn around when the avalanche red flags are screaming DANGER. Turning around even when the sun is shining and the powder is deep.

 

Teaching kids these avalanche safety skills is fun and doable, but they need the opportunity. The Hans Saari Youth Ski Mountaineering Camps provide ski mountaineering mentorship from mountain masters such as Andrew McLean, Bean Bowers, Nat Patridge and Bela Vadasz. Students are taken into the mountains and taught the skills necessary to enjoy a lifetime of enjoyment in mountains. The focus is helping young skiers stay safe while skiing hard and learning about the dangers that exist in the backcountry.

 

This year's Teton Camp is scheduled for mid-June 2012. For more information on participating with the Jr. Ski Mountaineering Youth Camps log onto www.HansFund.org

 

Joe Stock - Hans Saari Memorial Fund Board Member

IFMGA Mountain Guide

 

Nov 29 | Kit DesLauriers :: Fun on a Kid's Level

By Athlete Parents

Starting kids early on the path of being a skier needs to be about fostering a fun experience if you want them to want to ski.

 First things first, don’t push it.  Kids attention spans are short so don’t expect to be on the slopes for more than two runs on the bunny hill and you might be pleasantly surprised but at least not disappointed.  I know it sounds like a lot of work for two runs but they learn quickly and once it’s fun for them it will last longer.

Secondly, just like each one of us each child is an individual, fun in the snow for my little girls might look different from your boys’ interpretation.  But if they aren’t against going out skiing on any given day (see above!) then consider how to make it more fun for them. 

Are they into a particular toy that they don’t want to leave in order to go skiing?  Let them take it along. Dolls and dinosaurs love to go outside equally.  A backpack can make it easier to carry more than one.  After all, don’t we put our adult toys in packs?

I like to break up the morning, or even the ski run, into sections and take lots of breaks to play, make snow angels, eat gummy bears on the chair lifts, make mini snow caves for our stuffed animals…

A ride on our sled stashed in the woods at the bottom of the hill is a fun and efficient way back from the slopes and what better way to multi-sport your outing?

Be silly, be in the moment, enjoy the fact that they still love to be with you because before long they’ll be non-stop charging the mountain with their buddies.