Why ski trips are great for family bonding

I first donned skis when I was four years old, so it’s fair to say I’m pretty passionate about skiing. When the time came for a family, I wasted no time introducing my newborns into the exhilarating world of snowy slopes, ensuring that they, in turn, slipped on a pair of skis at the earliest possible point.

Over the years, as my three children have grown up, we’ve built up many amazing memories from our times in the mountains together.

Here’s one we all cherish. Four years ago, when we were staying in Val d’Isère, we were picked up in a 4x4 and taken along the winding road to neighbouring Tignes. When we got there, we were each handed a pair of snowshoes to strap on to our boots. Then, following a guide, we stomped and slid up a hill. It was quite a challenge in the dark, but we knew it was worthwhile as soon as we glimpsed a small encampment of Mongolian yurts dotted around a roaring fire. 

On arrival, we were greeted with mugs of soup and sat around the campfire before being ushered into one of the yurts for dinner. Inside, it was warm and cosy, with wooden tables and sheepskin-draped chairs and benches. Dinner was cheese fondue with delicious meringues and raspberry sauce for dessert. It was such a memorable evening that my children talked about it for months afterwards, always asking when we could go back.

What I’ve learned is that if the children are happy, it follows that the parents will be, too. And, even if your child is too young to ski, there are usually plenty of activities on offer, such as tobogganing, swimming and snowman-building.

There’s even husky sledding, which we tried when we went to Banff in Canada. My husband and I helped to drive the huskies while the kids sat in the sleds. My animal-loving children adored this, especially as there was also the opportunity to stroke the dogs and see their kennels.

It was such a memorable evening that my children talked about it for months afterwards, always asking when we could go back

Over the years, it’s been a pleasure to watch my children develop their skiing skills and establish their own passion for the sport. My eldest son was lucky enough to have his first ever ski trip to Jackson Hole in Wyoming, and he celebrated his fourth birthday at the resort’s famous Mangy Moose – a moose-themed restaurant. For his first day on the slopes, the ski school used something called an Edgie Wedgie – a type of plastic clip that attaches to the ski tips, encouraging the skier to keep their skis in a wedge shape. It’s the perfect skiing position for a complete beginner, and they called it ‘making a pizza’ – as opposed to ‘skis like French fries’, when the skis are kept together and parallel, which is not possible for a beginner. As my son skied down the nursery slope on his first day, the teacher called out: “Make a bigger slice of pizza, Max!” He loved it.

In fact, pizzas came into the family skiing experience more than once. Later on, our then six-year-old daughter loved the Whistler ski school so much that she was disappointed when we gave her what we expected would be good news – that she would be skiing with us for the day. This would mean she’d miss out on a mountain pizza party with her ski class – a much more exciting proposition!

One of our most recent trips was a favourite. We travelled to Champoluc from Geneva, crossing the Italian border via the Mont Blanc Tunnel. It offered everything that our family loves about skiing – the old village is remarkably unspoiled by tourism, with a handful of shops and some memorable restaurants that all of us enjoyed. The skiing is on wide and uncrowded slopes, and prices are reasonable – a fact that we parents particularly appreciated.

If you want to find an activity that the whole family can do together, whatever their ages or sportiness, nothing beats skiing in the fresh mountain air, surrounded by gorgeous scenery, and with fun activities for all ages.

Top tips for a family ski trip

Choose a resort close to an airport

The younger your children, the less likely they are to sit happily on a car or coach transfer. Resorts with short transfers such as Alpbach in Austria (50 minutes from Innsbruck airport) and La Clusaz (60 minutes from Geneva airport) make especially attractive destinations.

Pick the right resort for their age

For pre-teen children, places such as St Anton, Verbier and Saalbach-Hinterglemm are excellent choices, as they’re all lively resorts with huge ski areas and lots of atmosphere. Saalbach-Hinterglemm has the easiest skiing of the three, while St Anton and Verbier are best for more experienced skiers. For little ones, Snowmass at Aspen, and Colorado’s Vail and neighbouring Beaver Creek have ski-through adventure playgrounds and lots of after-skiing activities such as face painting, cookies on the slopes and life-sized cartoon animals skiing by.

Transfer by train instead of car

Train transfers are a good way of taking the sting out of the final stage of the journey, since you’re not tied to a car seat. The Swiss resorts of Davos Klosters, Zermatt and St Moritz are all connected to Zurich airport by rail, so these are high on my list of holiday hotspots for families.