At Gore Mountain, "The Topridge Triple," three new trails and a glade on Bear Mountain have been added. The lift will provide service from Straightbrook Valley terrain to the summit of Bear Mountain. The Straightbrook Valley is noted for popular runs such as "Hawkeye" and "The Rumor." "The Topridge Triple" will eliminate the need to traverse the flats of "Cloud," an area that was once the only route to access the base from the Gore Mountain summit. Win-win for everybody.

Better still, the famous Snow Monsters are coming to Jack Frost and Big Boulder Children's Ski Schools. Can there be a more fun way to learn than from guys like Snowball the Tiger and the Snowboard Beaver in a winter playground adorned with foam fantasy elephants, dinosaurs and Arches? The Snow Monsters package is a full day program packed with good stuff: a ski or snowboard lesson, equipment rental, an educational video and a lift ticket.

Best news of all? Prices have been held back to last year's or earlier levels, and a bevy of on-line specials can be had at their website, including: four lift passes for $99 (expires January 17, 2003); or Ticket Express, available all season, midweek lift tickets $28 and weekends $37.

Two new quad chairlifts highlight this season's improvements, one a high-speed quad that replaces the West Mountain fixed-grip quad, the second a fixed-grip quad that will replace the Crawford Double, which services a beginner area, and can be ridden free. A Salomon Demo Center at the base area allows guests to test Salomon's newest stuff while. On the hill, additional tower snow guns means more trail coverage, and new pipe grooming equipment will make the area's halfpipe pretty cool indeed.

Skinny skiers and snowshoers will appreciate the revamped facility that serves the incredible Nordic skiing on the grounds of The Mount Washington Hotel. You'll find a rental shop, retail shop, locker rooms for changing and storing clothing, and a new restaurant, The Presidential Grill. Nice.

Start with mini-terrain parks. C'mon - not all of us are big enough or skilled enough to ollie with the big boys.

Ktubes. They call it "extreme tubing," these tubes are steerable. No driver's license required, however.

Snow Skates and Snow Decks. Skateboarding for the snow. No bindings, no edges, no limits. Go for it, dude.

Snow Cycles. The ski bike has been around since the early '50s, according to Loon. But, folks in Switzerland have been doing this for more than a hundred years. You can ride these K2 "bikes" all day or three-hours at a time, and they'll give you free instruction on how to use them.

Sno Scoots. An extreme, BMX-style snow bike that's perfect for the downhill mountain biker or BMX enthusiast who misses the warm weather. Another all-day or three-hour deal, with free intro instruction.

Tubing for Tots. You've gotta like a place that reserves a tubing run just for the toddlers. By the hour.

Night Tubing. For eight years old/48-inches tall and up. By the hour. Find the snowplay tools at the base of Little Sister in the east basin area.

Smuggs continues its tradition of special evening programs, including "Kids' Night Out" for ages 3-11 with different activities featured on different nights: Wednesday nights - Make your own T-Shirt; Thursday nights - Fireworks and party at the FunZone; Saturday nights - Movie Night and Pizza Party.

You say you're stuck with teens in your brood? These guys have two (count 'em) teen centers. Teen Alley serves 13-15 year olds with all the teen necessities - Internet access, Playstation 2, X-Box, video games, couches, a soda/beverage bar with stools, and music and a dance floor in a club-like atmosphere. Right outside is the Snow Deck Park, with rollers, rails, a fun box and jumps for snow-deckers. The Outer Limits Teen Center - just as cool - caters to ages 16-18.

Most places won't teach kids to snowboard til they're seven. Smuggs is introducing a Learn-to-Snowboard Camp for Four and Five-Year Olds, with very low teacher-to-kid ratios.

Bromley's been operating their day care, The Mighty Mites Club, longer than anyone in the industry, where they handle kids 6 weeks young to 4 years old. When they're ready for on-snow action, Bruce the Moose's Mighty Mooses (ages 3-5) combines skiing with play in such a way that, as they put it, "makes it impossible for the Mooses to tell when the playing stops and the learning starts."

Bromley is large enough to keep most of us entertained and challenged, and small enough to keep us sane. A good choice - especially if you don't want to drive too far.

Turbo Tubing is another family-friendly feature we like. For ages five to 100, the tubing park features a handle-tow and four thousand-foot chutes, with slower tubes for younger children (height requirement: 42 inches).

And, many special evening activities events are regularly scheduled: Game Night, with interactive games, board games and card games for everyone; Movie Night, for ages 5-12; Pictures with Amos, in which children meet a friendly moose; Families in Motion, with skating and sledding; Snowshoe Safari; and Wild Card, in which a different activity is featured each week.

Another nice program: Café Breck opens for kids in the evenings. Located at The Village at Breckenridge Resort, you're can come as a family or let your kids experience KIDS B.A.S.H. (Breckenridge After Ski/Snowboard Hangout) on their own. It's open 5-9pm, Monday-Saturday, and serves up home-style adult entrees and soup and salad bar for under $10, plus a kid-oriented buffet for under $5. From 5:30-8:30pm, parents can drop off kids ages 5-12 for three hours of food, activities, and professional supervision, including face painting, games, and sledding. They recommend you make a reservation.

Breck, too, has quickly become one of the premier Burton Learn To Ride (LTR) Program Method Centers. LTR offers a unique snowboarding experience for children 14 and under that includes trampoline training worked into the snowboard lesson to enhance the learning experience, a very low instructor/student ratio, and lunch with instructors included in the price. Pre-registration is required. (Visit www.methodcenter.com.)

Another ski school feature we like: an early end to the day that leaves time for the whole family to ski another run together. Or, if you must ski to the end, Kids' Camp from 3:00-4:30 pm provides activities for kids after their lessons

Child care happens in the Belly Button Bakery and Belly Button Babies for ages six weeks to four years. Offering combined indoor and outdoor play experiences for older children and a specially-designed, separate area for infants, the Belly Button Bakery is located right next to the slopes.

Copper's Kids' Night Out program fills an evening with fun and games, videos and pizza for ages 10 and under from 5:30- 0:00 pm. Participation is free to parents who spend the equivalent of $20 per child or more while shopping or dining at Copper.

In The Village center, Burning Stones Plaza is the activity hub - a great place to watch weekly big air demos and other on-mountain events, or hear live music and see roaming street performers, event exhibitions and a nightly cyber-light show.

Utah resorts participating in the "Stay & Ski In 2003" program are: Alta, Beaver Mountain, Brian Head, Brighton, The Canyons, Deer Valley Resort, Elk Meadows, Nordic Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, Powder Mountain, Snowbird, Solitude and Sundance.

Brian Head sits on two mountains, which they've packed with 12 freestyle areas/parks. That's a lot of parks. Want to bring a first-timer? First-time skiers or snowboarders may purchase an all-day lift ticket and all-day ski or snowboard rental and receive a 2-1/2 hour Learn-to-Ski or Snowboard lesson for only $5. A "Get Better" lesson is also offered for only $5, for anyone who has skied or snowboarded at least once.

Good for Brian Head: they've created Navajo Mountain, which is solely dedicated to children. The Navajo playground includes little volcanoes, berms and rollers. Of course there's a Snow Tubing Park, day care and all the other requisites.

One more unique idea: How about a Ski Las Vegas Package deal? Brian Head is about three hours' drive from Vegas and, for as little as $155 per person in the early season you can combine these two very contrasting worlds with two nights at each place, including lodging, lift tickets, show tickets and, if needed, you can add air and ground transportation.

Take note of the new, longer superpipe. At 400 feet long with 17 foot walls, this is one serious pipe. Don't want to attempt the monster? Settle in for a hot toddie at the Lodge at Big Springs and watch the action from the comfort of the sundeck. The kids will love it! Also look for more terrain features all over the mountain that the whole family can enjoy.

On the snow, the learning area has been redesigned, as well and now offers 20% more terrain than before. It is less steep than its predecessor, and comes complete with its own moving carpet. For parents who don't want to get outdistanced by their kids, the 3-Peat For Success program is worth checking out. This three-day package includes lessons, rentals and lift tickets, and those who complete the program are rewarded with a free lift ticket and membership to the Mountain Access Club. With benefits such as $10.00 off 8-hour tickets, a free lift ticket after every five visits, and the ability to go straight to the lifts, the Mountain Access Club ensures that participants stay loyal to the sport and to Mountain High.

Archived articles relating to KidzResorts:

• KidzResort Reviews
  
• Article: Family Value Destinations
  
• Article: Charming Holiday Destinations