skiing in canada..need advice

[mummydoc]

we are looking to go the first week of january and will be taking dd1 aged 9 who is already pretty good, and dd2 aged 4.5 - it willbe her first time. we are used to going with uk based big package companies who provide wrap round childcare . i cannot make head nor tail of the childcare options in usa or canada non of the big companies ( neilson/crystalfinest who we have used before in europe) seem to explain it very well. would we be able to get dd2 into some kind of lessons for a couple of hours followed by a creche for the afternoon ? and what hrs do the ski schools run for the older kids ( had heard from my bank manager ! that ski school runs 10 until 3 ) we also need advice on family friendly accomadation / resorts.

Think the ski school generally is 10 - 3 ish.

Some places amuse them after the lesson and/or take them earlier.

The 4 year old will either be in full day lessons or 1/2 day with daycare - bit depends on the resort.

We have skied with kids in Smugglers Notch in the US - very good childrens stuff, but poor snow when we went.

In Canada we have been to Big White, Sunshine, Silver Star and Tremblant. Tremblant will be very cold in January.

They all offer slightly different arrangements on child care / ski school - check out the web sites and then call and talk to the staff at the ones you like the look of - they are always very helpful. Big White and Sunshine do the lessons and day care thing.

If you fancy any of these I can suggest where to stay.

NB it will be VERY COLD - we were in Vermont in Feb and one day the slopes were closed due to risk of frost bite!. The best advice is to get 3 more layers than you think you will need (esp for hands and feet) and buy loads of those instant hand warmers.

Stowe ski school was 0930 to 1530 with lunch incl - little ones less skiing and more playing inside it looked like. You should book it direct with the ski school as the package companies will not have taken into acount any exchange rate changes which benefit us on this side of the atlantic!

I would heartily recommend Stowe as a family friendly place and the instructors for all of us were fab, but do not fly to Boston or New York if you go there. Avoid terrible US immigration queues by flying to Montreal - it is a 2 hr drive to Stowe, you do pass across the border but it is blissfully quick and no queues.

agree with jicky re Big White (have been a season ticket holder there for years) - good free kids entertainment in the evenigns too. Or Silver Star which isn't far away and owned by the same people. Both of those will do a combo of skiing/childcare.

If you're looking at January, then Silver Star/Big White would typically not be as cold as the Banff area resorts in Canada or the New England/Quebec ones on the east coast.