My family is pretty close, but even though most of us ski, I can only remember one day where the whole Blanchard gang was on the slopes together. My brother and I have spent countless days lapping our favorite lifts at Canyons and Brighton and my mom still tries to sneak in a sunny day or two at Alta each year, but when it comes to all of us, together, skiing – “rare” is close, “almost never” is closer. It’s not for lack of desire, we all love the mountains, but we’ve never had an offer that fit. With that on the brain (as age and health making the possibility less and less likely), I thought I’d search out a few ways resorts have been and will be catering to families this year:

I must say, however, that I was surprised by how few family-specific offers I found. Deals for large groups of 10+ were commonplace, but families had very little custom tailored to them.

Sundown Mountain
Family Weekend – January 7 & 8, 2012 (Saturday All Day & Sunday until 1 pm)
Pretty simple, buy an adult lift ticket and get any children’s programs, passes, or equipment rentals at half price.
http://www.sundownmtn.com/index.php/families

Smuggler’s Notch
Treasures Child Care
It’s $85 bucks a day for kids to spend that day at “Treasures” but they treat these kids like kings. For those parents that want a relaxing day on the slopes and have the cash, an interesting add-on to have on tap.
http://www.smuggs.com/pages/winter/kids/6-weeks-3-years.php

Marquette Mountain
Family of Four Ticket Pack
Snag four lift tickets for four people. Either 2 adults and 2 kids or 1 adult and three kids, either way, the off er is valid any weekend or holiday the entire season.
http://www.marquettemountain.com/Familyof4Package.php

Marquette Mountain
Family Frolic Sunday
Pring in the internet coupon and spend Sunday afternoon on the slopes for $59. Three people can ski (one must be an adult) at that price with extra family members tagging along for $17 a piece.
http://www.marquettemountain.com/Familyof4Package.php

Bromley
Family Fridays
Bromley already has a $44 midweek/non-holiday lift ticket offer that they let you add kids to for $15 a piece (up to 3). Mom, Dad, and two kids comes out to $118.
http://winter.bromley.com/tickets/vermont-ski-packages-deals-specials/

Panorama Resort
Sensational Family Ski Package
Stay for five nights with two kids, get breakfast for the whole family every morning, free unlimited tobogganing, and free kids lift tickets. Prices are $135 for a studio per adult, so at $260 a night, it’s a week long family ski vaca for about a grand.
http://www.panoramaresort.com/Kids-Are-Free

Steamboat
Kids-Only Terrain & Lifts
This isn’t an offer, per se, but having 5 lifts that are kids only would make parents’ hearts beat a little easier during the day. A smart idea, if you have the acreage, lifts, and staff to pull it off.
http://steamboat.com/plan-vacation/family.aspx

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.