Snowmass in Aspen, Colorado, previously a winner of FTF’s Top 10 Getaways for Tiny Travelers award, gets a fresh look in 2015.
If Aspen’s high class village of gourmet restaurants, elegant shops and galleries will enhance your skiing pleasure, then Snowmass, one of the town’s four ski mountains (Aspen, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk), is the top choice for skiers with tiny travelers.
Located in the Treehouse Kids’ Adventure Center, a state-licensed infant care facility staffed by enthusiastic and energetic personnel including a licensed nurse, offers care for children 8-weeks to 4-years-old. Groups divided by age meet in themed rooms in a preschool setting with a full range of age-appropriate indoor activities including arts’n’crafts, music, puppet shows and waterplay. Cubs on Skis offers group lessons for 2 1/2 to 4-year-olds and includes indoor and outdoor play and an introduction to skiing. Potty-trained 3 and 4-year olds participate in group ski lessons, and 5 and 6-year-olds have the option of ski or snowboard lessons. Older kids (7-12 and 13-17) participate in ability-appropriate lessons as well, and private lessons are also offered.
Reservations for the day care are imperative and are encouraged to be made seven days in advance. The day care and ski school operate daily from 9am-4pm. Drop off as early as 8am can be arranged. If the facility is filled to capacity, parents are referred to a list of screened babysitters who are also available during the evening hours. Members of the childcare staff at Snow Cubs may also be contacted to babysit.
Challenge Aspen, for skiing children at least 4 years old with special needs, is a unique learn-to-ski program whose specially-trained staff work on a one-to-one basis with each child. They also have a kids’ program for skiers and snowboarders from ages 5-12 and a teen program for kids 13-17. Extreme Sports Camp employs specially trained instructors to work with children and teens on the autism spectrum.
Another real plus for parents are the ski in/ski out accommodations at Snowmass. The terrain is predominantly for the intermediate skier, but there are two beginner runs as well as plenty of opportunity for advanced and expert skiers at such locations as “Hanging Valley.”
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