With today’s high-speed lifts and ski slopes buffed to baby’s bottom smooth,
you can easily have ten by ten (10 runs by 10am). Maybe “après ski” needs to
be redefined for our fast-paced, short-interest society. A plate of nachos
and a TV screen may not be entertaining enough for the multi-tasking,
must-do-it-all weekend warriors.
Resorts recognizing this trend are adding amenities away from the snow to
amuse you after you have carved out your alpine time. This is good news for
folks with aging knees, for teens with nanosecond attention spans, and for
non-skiers that tag along on ski trips but find base lodge bench warming to
be less than stimulating.
Okemo understands that skiers, and non-skiers alike, want fun beyond the
fall line. The Ludlow
Okemo
Stowe has my kind of après, shop till you drop
on the Mountain Road. But for a
healthier way to end your day – The Swimming Hole is a fantastic place for
indoor water play. Modeled after a classic Vermont red barn, this
community project with a competition-size pool was funded by Jake Burton –
giving it immediate cool factor. Parents will find a wading pool and a kid-size waterslide. Non-skiers, or
anyone who didn’t get enough cardio on Stowe’s Front Four, can join a
circuit training or fitness class. Day and week passes are available for
Stowe vacationers.
If gravity gets you down on the slopes (so to speak), the Antigravity
Complex (AGC) at Sugarloaf is the place to “hang” after skiing. AGC is a
world-athlete training facility, part of Carrabassett Valley Academy’s campus where the
private student skiers and snowboarders work out, practicing aerials and
maneuvers indoors before taking it up onto Comp Hill. AGC is open afternoons
for the public to use the rock climbing wall, the trampoline with harnesses,
the wooden skateboard bowl and park, plus basketball courts and a running
track.
The Sugarloaf shuttle can take you from your condo to the complex for free.
AGC is 20,000-feet of athletic action, all for reasonable fees ($4-$8). And,
you never know when you might bump into CVA’s next Olympic bump skier on the
weight bench. All this antigravity comes with a heavy liability release
form, not much different than skiing (have you ever read the back of your
lift ticket?).
If skiing at
Sunday River is not a big enough
day for you, try the Sunday River Zipline at South Ridge or ice skating or
tubing at White Cap. Bethel's “Big” on Route 26 has plenty of indoor games to further
amuse you. The Big Adventure
Center
lets you shoot your teenagers (its legal because its laser tag), scale the
rock climbing wall, or play a game of mini-bowling. Big is a huge hit with
kids, and big boys that like toys, especially in the evening. Big stays open
late most nights, 10pm, and costs about $19 for all the venues for two
hours. If the arcade and animated setting is too much for you – you can drop
the kids off and go next door to the Briar Lea for a Guinness while your
game players exhaust themselves (and their allowance).
New Hampshire's Gunstock
has the most exhilarating Zipline in the East, a perfect compliment to your
day carving Gunstock's scenic slopes is soaring above the ski trails on the
longest zip span on the continent.
Bretton Woods also has a
Zipline Canopy Tour for adrenaline seekers, as well as dog sled rides.
So next time you are in the
mountains, wrap up your skiing so you can have more après amblings. It makes
for good water cooler chat on Monday that you carved White Nitro then banked
turns on Maine’s biggest skateboard park
all in one day, or bashed the bumps on Okemo’s Stump Jumper before bogeying
Pebble Beach.
