Last week I cracked my eyes one morning in response to my alarm clock and groggily looked out the window. Realizing what I was seeing I bolted upright and grabbed my phone for a photo. It had snowed a good 4 inches overnight which meant the local ski resort, Grand Targhee, must have gotten more than that! With opening day coming fast we will take all the snow we can get.

Last year after Hawaii, we arrived back to Driggs in early January and immediately threw ourselves into ski season with wild abandon. We rented skis, signed our kids up for lessons through the local school districts, and planned to spend most of our time learning on the slopes.

It was fantastic.

And we were exhausted.

“That’s a wrap on ski season! We’ve skied on average twice a week for the last 3 months and are so impressed with how well the kids have done.”

This year we plan to take things a little more slowly. Because we came back from our east coast trip a little early (okay, A LOT early) we made the local ski swap and got used skis, boots, and poles for all the kids. With opening day set for November 16th we have at least a month and half of skiing before lessons start again in January which will give us the perfect amount of time to get warmed up and back into the swing of things.

In honor of ski season almost upon us, Sam and I sat down and came up with our top 5 reasons we love Grand Targhee and are excited to ski there again this winter.

Beginner Terrain

Grand Targhee has one of the largest beginner friendly terrains I’ve ever seen. Not only do they have a magic carpet, but they have a beginner lift that explores acres of green, kid friendly, action packed terrain.

The kids are excited to check out all their favorite trails, and I think they will spend most of December becoming familiar again with their favorite runs. The kids also love the various paths through the trees that turn technical skill practice into something fun! Those will help with their turning and handling skills in preparation for tackling some of the easier intermediate trails.

Amazing Instructors

I’m still floored by the caliber of instructors Targhee hires for their ski school. My kids LOVED it. Even after lessons were over, their instructors would still say “hi” to my kids when we ran into each other on the slopes. All of my kids have their fingers crossed they get the same instructor this year.

The #TargheeVibe

We are close to Jackson Hole, WY which draws a lot of the intense, ski vacation type people. We’ve often heard of lift lines over an hour long on that side of the mountains, while I get a little miffed if we can’t ski right back on the lift.

We have met some amazing people from all over the world riding the chair lift, but this side of the mountain is just….quieter. Its more intimate. It has soul. And its perfect.

Family Friendly

While the beginner terrain is immense and awesome, there’s also something for everyone. Sam and I have *almost* skied every blue run, haven’t really touched the blacks (and there are some good ones), not to mention the back country area around Mary’s that you have to hike to. Let’s be honest – that stuff just isn’t even on my radar yet.

The resort is also small, which far from being a disadvantage means that we can all grab separate runs and easily meet back down at the lodge. Its super easy to keep track of our kids with small Talk-About-Radios.

And the s’mores.

Let’s not forget the s’mores every Friday sponsored by the ski school. One of my favorite things last year was meeting up with the kids after lessons and all grabbing a s’more (or two, or three) on the patio before heading home. I love the friendly atmosphere and general camaraderie that exists at the resort – it makes it so easy to want to come back again and again!

With only a few days left until opening day, we seriously can’t wait to get back on the slopes and we are excited to help Grand Targhee celebrate their 50th anniversary this year! In the meantime, we’ll just keep praying that the snow comes hard and fast!

At what point do we hit official “ski bum” status? In the last 5 weeks we’ve gone 11 times for a total of about 44 hours including the 20 minute drive up and back. I think that officially counts as a part time job right? No wonder we are so tired! 🤣 Its been fabulous to watch our kids (and Sam) progress so rapidly. The kids finished up their wintersport ski school classes, and the older two are excited to try out some blue runs this week from the top of the mountain!

A couple of observations about skiing together as a family:

1️⃣ No skiing two days in a row. It takes a lot of time to get all of us dressed and up to the hill, uploaded, and then skiing. As much as we’d like to spend all our time on the slopes someone has to work to pay the bills and clean the house (maybe not that last one).

2⃣ Let the instructors take the kids up on the lift for the first time. I took Rachel (who had a panic attack) and then Cara whom we thought was ready. She really just screamed the whole way down even though she skied between my legs the entire time. 😆 At least she was smiling on the way up, right?!

3️⃣ It’s gonna be like mountain biking – divide and conquer. Rachel and Andrew are ready for some harder runs, but an adult needs to stay back with Cara. She’s gaining speed and confidence but is definitely behind the other two. And that’s okay.

4️⃣ It’s awesome but expensive. We bought our season passes early last spring before the prices went up but renting equipment (hoping to buy used at the end of the season for next year) ended up being more than we thought. See #1 for why we can’t just ski all the time.

5️⃣ Moms who take 3 kids up the the slopes by themselves should get a medal. Just saying…

Aside from skiing we are trying to make it through our school curriculum while digging ourselves out of the financial hole that living in Hawaii for 4 months created. It was worth it, but wow! We are a bit short on cash these days. Good thing skiing is paid for, so now its the cheapest thing we can do for fun!