10 Reasons To Ski With Your Kids

Over the years skiing has become an integral part of our family.  While some dread the winter, we wait with bated breath every year to see if mother nature will bring us the snow conditions that we dream of.  This year has started with a bang with Cannon Mountain receiving over 6' of snow in December!  Cannon is our mountain of choice for many reasons.  Trust me when I say that Cannon is hands down the best area in the northeast to ski with your family.  Here are the 10 reasons that Wacky Dad thinks skiing with your kids is great for the family!


1.  Exercise - many kids become too lethargic during the winter months.  Skiing offers an 8 hours of exercise for every ski day you enjoy.  It is the best type of exercise because it is fun!

Mia Skiing at age 2 - we start them young!  

2.  The lift ride - riding up the lift gives you a chance to really connect with your kids while your enjoying something together.  For the 5 minutes we spend on each lift ride we talk about our next run, tell stories (mostly about dumb things I have done in the past), and quietly crack on some of the "Joeys" we see skiing down the mountain.  A "Joey" is simply someone who has absolutely no business being on a set of skis and they make that clear to the world with their style and grace!


3.  Winter is boring without outdoor activities - what else are you going to do?

Abigail at Bodefest 2010

4.  Toughness - skiing can instill a sense of toughness in your kids.  Bundling up against the cold and surviving multiple runs on zero degree days teaches your kids that they can thrive in a tough environment and still have fun.  Abby and I both remember her taking a top to bottom run on a bitter cold day that had most kids and adults lurking in the lodge for most of the day.  She was cold at the bottom but I made sure she knew that she had toughed out conditions that most people couldn't handle.  She is still proud of that one run.

Ailey at Bodefest 2010

5.  Meeting new friends - when you ski at family area like Cannon Mountain you become a part of that mountain's community.  Cathy, myself, and the kids have a whole set of skiing buddies we look forward to seeing every year.  Some of the relationships have even brought us together for summer activities as well.  Getting your kids together with other kids that all share a common passion for sport is a great experience for them.


6.  Building a sense of independence - For kids it is a big deal for them to go out and ride the lift alone and ski parts of the mountain on their own with friends.  Getting away from mom and dad for a while is a good thing for them and us!


7.  Coordination - skiing well incorporates a lot of different timing skills.  Skiing is great for kids balance and coordination and this sense of accomplishment makes other sports and activities seem less daunting.  For Example you might hear your kid say "If I can ski Zoomer (a tough trail at Cannon), than I can ride a bike!" 

Abby and Ailey meet Bode Miller - Born and raised at Cannon

8.  Living together in a small space - We get a seasonal rental every year near the mountain.  It is really bare bones - a 2 bed motel room with a little fridge and microwave, but it is affordable.  With 3 kids and a dog this is pretty tight but we manage to make it fun and we learn to live together in relative peace and harmony in this little domain.  I think my kids benefit from this by knowing you don't need to live in a great big house to survive. 


 9.  Learning together.  As skiers we are all always trying to improve on our style and technique.  Skiing affords us a rare opportunity to learn and perfect a physical activity as a family unit.  We share pointers, talk about how we looked on a particular run, etc.  My daughters are becoming such good skiers that dad and mom can actually take lessons from them!  When a kid becomes your teacher he or she feels a real sense of accomplishment!

The view from Cannon on a spectacular day!

10.  Having fun together - This is the most important of all of the reasons to ski with your kids.  We have a total blast every day we spend on the mountain - and we do that as a family.  When it comes down to it the best things in life happen when your with your family.  Adventuring, playing, and discovering natural beauty with your kids on such an open playing field as a ski area makes for awesome fun and great memories!




I am looking forward to spending a great winter enjoying the incredible fun that awaits!  Thank God for the seasons!


Eric Costantino
AKA Wacky Dad   

Papa Mario On Heaven - The Hereafter!

The Hight Test
That Papa Loves

My grandfather - known as Papa Mario to me, is 93 years old.  Papa is my mother's father and is definitely the true patriarch of the family.  He is an amazing man.  He still lives alone, still drives, reads without glasses, and can put red wine away with the best of us!  One of the best parts of spending holidays with the family is hearing Papa's stories and opinions on things.  He has lived through so much time that his perspective on things is often worlds away from the way we view things today.  One thing that he has been consistent on through my whole life has been his view on Heaven - or as he calls it the "Hereafter".  Watch this video for a good laugh!

After listening to this for my whole life catching this on video on my new Flip Video camera (thanks Cathy!) was a real treat.  Papa I love you.  You are one funny man!


Your Grandson, 


Eric - AKA Wacky Dad 

Sledding Before The Blizzard of 2010

Well we had our white Christmas at the Costantino Residence and we finally shut down snowmaking operations this morning.  Now mother nature is kicking in and it looks like we are all in for a treat!  Nothing like a good old fashioned blizzard to spice up vacation week for the kids.  We got some pre-blizzard sledding in this morning and shot some video while we were at it.

  After today it looks like we won't need to make snow for a while but we have a great base laid down and will be sledding on Brook Hill for months to come!  Gotta love this weather!  For all of you skiers out there if you're heading to New Hampshire for vacation be sure to check out Cannon Mountain.  They are having an incredible season and have recieved over 4 feet of snow in December alone!  Hope all of my readers out there had as great of a Christmas as I did.  A blizzard is just the icing on the cake!  Bring it on Snow Miser!    


Santa delivered 3 of these little beauties to our house this Christmas.  I was like a kid in a candy store riding this thing today and so were the kids.  I even had Mia on it - she'll be 3 in February!