Skiing at Blue Mountain, Ontario

Blue Mountain - 2 hour drive from Toronto

One activity which our whole family can enjoy together is skiing! We try to make it to the ski hill every year around Christmas time when our older son is home for the holidays.

Lift Ticket Rates at Blue Mountain

However, as if it is in the movie, something invariably happens each time that dampens our spirit. I remember a few years back, during one of the skiing trip, our car was towed away when one of us must get back to Toronto at a certain time.

South Base Lodge

Last time when we were skiing and having a good time, Er's front tooth was chipped causing him much anxiety as he was due back to work in New York right after the holiday.

This year, we looked forward to our family skiing trip but unfortunately, Jonathan came down with a cold and unable to join us. So the three of us drove to Blue Mountain for our skiing trip.

Blue Mountain, the highest peak in central Ontario, is a two hour drive north west of Toronto.

 It is not a hill for aggressive skiers but good enough for people who are desperate to get out of the city to ski.

One of the trails at Blue Mountain

We used to put up with the eight hour drive to Mount Tremblant in Quebec or Lake Placid in New York when our sons were little and could ski for 3-5 days.

Looking down from the top of Blue Mountain ski hill

Nowadays, they are only willing to travel for two hours for a day of skiing, so this is good for us as long as the family can spend some time together.  

Breathtaking post card snow scenery

We knew that going to the main lodge would be very busy as we went the day after Boxing Day. So my husband dropped us off to get lift tickets while he parked our car at the South Base lodge. The lineup there was much shorter.

We were very lucky as it had been cold for the past week. But the day we went skiing, the temperature was perfect, hovering at minus 1 degree and it was foggy so that we did not have the bright sun blinding us when we went down the hills.

In fact the weather was so mild that skiers did not mind having their refreshments outside.

The scenery on the ski hill was breathtaking! With the soft breeze blowing on our faces, the cool winter air was refreshing and invigorating.  After a few months cooping indoors, this outdoor skiing activity is my most favorite and enjoyable thing to do!

I was nervous at the beginning since this was the first time we skied this season. But I was able to get down the blue hills without a lot of difficulty. You never know how your body would react when you fall while skiing.

 I did fall a few times on more challenging runs but I was not hurt. I guess my regular exercise classes help my body to be more flexible so when I fell, it was not bad at all.

The lights came on shortly after 4p.m. for night skiing

Since we started late, after 1p.m. in the afternoon and Er. had to get back to Toronto by 7p.m., we did not take any breaks at all. We just kept skiing and made as many runs as possible.

There were some splits on the runs and we were separated at the first run. I waited at the bottom of the hill for my family for about 20 minutes and they found me later. I must remember to bring my cell next time in case we get separated, we can text or call each other!

Skiing is a great winter family activity!!!

We love skiing! This is one activity our whole family can always do together.

As long as we are healthy and strong enough to do it, we will always be skiing on the hills during the holidays. We are grateful that we can have fun together as a family!

R.T.
Blue Mountain near Collingwood
Boxing Week, 2013