The last time I skied Blue Mountain was shortly after having skied for many years out West, at Big White, Apex, and Whistler/Blackcomb. I was a little snobbish about the hill back then. It was a big hill, but not as high as the mountains of the coast and the Okanagan. Blue Mountain is wide, I thought, but not very high.
This time, I very much enjoyed skiing there. In reality, the runs were probably just long enough. Even in the big mountains it is rare to ski from top to bottom. You usually stick to a section, and only ski the whole way down at the end of the day. We were at Blue Mountain on their busiest weekend of the year, Family Day weekend, and I was able to do a run, and get back up the hill in about ten minutes. The singles line always moves quickly.
I made the decision to go to Blue Mountain about a month ago. I enrolled the kids in a half day ski camp for 3 to 5 year olds, and I told my parents to come up from Oakville to meet us there. I had been hoping to get in two days of skiing, the second day with my father, but it did not work out that way. My dad fell ill earlier in the week, and was not at his best. Also, the weather was windy and cold on Sunday. We got some good skiing in on Saturday. Monday would have been a great day too, but we had to head back home to Sudbury. It is a four hour drive.
We stayed at the Blue Mountain Inn. The rooms are nice. No bathtubs, but we took the kids to Plunge, at the Westin on Sunday, so they did not need a bath. We also picked our hotel for its indoor pool, but we never took advantage of it. Next time, we might think about chalets or rooms with kitchens so we do not spend $300 on food for the weekend. The restaurant at the Inn serves a great breakfast, but $14 for the buffet each morning is a little steep. We went à la carte, and saved some money. The Pottery restaurant is overpriced for dinner, and not satisfying. We had a better supper from the bar next door called Jozo's.
Our first evening, we went into the Village to find a restaurant only to discover the Firehall Pizza co., highly recommeded in Today's Parent, was closed (due to a fire, it seems). The C & A Steak Company was also closed. Maybe they have the same owner. The other restaurants had waits between 30 minutes to over an hour. We decided to try our luck at the Pottery restaurant, but you needed reservations. In the end, we ordered room service from Jozo's, the bar restaurant. We made reservations the following night for the Pottery, but were disappointed with our meals.
My issue, and why I am not a big fan of eating out often, is the lack of wholesome foods on menus. There is a lack of vegetables. Most meals are starchy or heavy on the meat. Almost everything comes with fries, and it costs extra to substitute a salad. The only vegetables at Wild Wing, aside from the carrot and celery sticks were "greens" (iceberg lettuce), tomatoes and red onions. Sad. I like a good restaurant, but I have to order things I do not make at home, often better.
The "waterpark", called Plunge, at the Westin was fun, but I do not recommed it for kids over 10 years old. The inside is a kids playstructure, in the water. There is also a large, shallow swimming pool that is nice and warm. You can go outside, even in the winter, if you choose. There is a short water slide outside, and rope swings, and a hot tub. I did not venture outside. It was too cold for skiing (for me with my Raynauds), there was no way I was going outside in my bathing suit.
The kids loved it, and I think this was the highlight of their weekend. My daughter wanted to go swimming as soon as she saw the pool in the hotel. She probably could have stayed in the water a lot longer at Plunge. My son started getting cold after an hour and a half. We paid for a three hour pass. Maybe people can stick it out for a day in the summer, if the weather is nice, and you read deckside. In the winter, three hours is pushing it.
We almost went skating, but the wind picked up Sunday afternoon, and the snow was blowing about. We brought our skates, but they also rent skates if you do not have any. We were looking into doing some Paint Your Own pottery, but they kiln the pieces overnight, and they would not be ready until the next day at 4pm by the earliest. My daughter was heart broken, but now we know for the next time.
As for the skiing and the kids camp, they were great. I took the $99 ski and rental package which comes with a one hour group lesson. The times are not posted, but it is a group lesson, depending on how many people show up, and it is the final stage after the Newbie Circuit lessons (which go up to stage 5). I was told lesson were at 10:30, 11:30 and 3pm. There was a mix up, and I ended up waiting on top of Big Baby for 15 minutes by myself. I finally gave up, and then the organizer said he woud make it up to me because he meant to meet on top of the bunny hill.
I ended up getting a mini private lesson, two runs down the green hill, with an instructor whose client had not shown up. However, he was reassigned at 1:30pm, and I did not bother trying to get someone else to teach me. It was probably was not worth getting the $99 deal. You have to pay $10 extra for a helmet. If you know how to ski, rent the equipment and get the lift pass separtely. With a helmet, it costs $104 as opposed to $109 for the package I paid for. It is only worth getting if you need the beginner (they called it refresher) lesson. The meet ups were quite disorganized, even when I was there on time there were no instructors, and one guy tried to explain I had to pay extra for the lesson. It clearly says on the sign and in the pamphlet that the lesson is included, just not when or where the lessons are.
My husband did the Newbie Circuit, but only had instructors show up for the first three stages. The first two stages were super easy. In the end, he just went down the green hills by himself, and figured out the physics on his own. It is nice to have someone show you how to stay in control if you have not been on skis for a while. However, even after a seven year absence from skiing, I was able to ski like before very quickly. It was a good thing I started working out last month because I had the strength to not get too tired by the end of the day. A second day might have done me in though.
Do take advantage of the ski valet service included with the rentals. Someone took my husband's skis, and he signed out some new ones. Turns out his skis were returned around the time he got the new ones, but you are responsible for the skis of they are stolen. The valet service is like a coat check for you equipment. It does not cost extra if you are renting.
My kids seemed to enjoy their lessons. Unfortunately, no one spoke French. They said this is not an issue for the very young kids, as it is mostly actions. My son did not grasp that he had to put his hands on his knees, and kept falling backwards. Both he and my daughter had goofy grins the whole time, but said they would not like to do it again. My daughter did not like falling, but she felt that way about skating last year, and she likes it this year. I am hoping this will change. Maybe next year we put them in a full day camp.
My only issue was that my son wandered off at the end of the lesson. He saw me, but when I went to the left where the pick up section was, he continued to the right. No one stopped him, and it was not until they signed out my daughter did we realize that my son was no longer in front of the instructor. I had to chase him down, still in his class pinny, and bring him back to the left to sign him out. At least they asked me for the code word, although, I could have snatched him away when he had escaped. He was not listening to any of the instructors because his English is not strong.
My parents showed up right around noon on the Saturday, and they watched our kids for the afternoon. It worked out perfectly because we were able to finish skiing for the rest of the day, and my parents got to spend time with their grandchildren. They ended up taking them back to the hotel. My husband and I got to get some skiing in. On Sunday, since it was too cold for me to ski, and I did not feel like going alone, I was able to spend the day with my family as well.
I was being a bit of a control freak prior to the trip because it had been so long since I had skied, and it was the first time for the kids. We were going to a place I knew nothing about. However, now that we've been, and gotten into the swing of things, I think this is something we could do for years to come. It is an easy way to get some skiing in without having to travel out of province, or leave for a long vacation. Hopefully next time I will be a little bit more relaxed.
Blue Mountain is a great family resort. I recommend checking it out. I hear it is also fun in the summertime.
By the way, Blue Mountain Inn is at the North end, and there are no rentals there. Great if you have your own equipment. Rentals are at Central and South Base Lodge.
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