When ski vacation thaws, head to the spa, hot tub and shops
Too warm to ski? Hit the pool or hot tub. No snow on the slopes? Try “Nordic walking” or a eucalyptus body wrap.
When Mother Nature takes the “winter” out of winter sports, skiers and snowboarders need other options. And most ski resorts have plenty of them.
When there’s rain or little snow in Stowe, many skiers and snowboarders head to the shops and restaurants.
But visitors aren’t discouraged from skiing in the rain.
“The best day that I ever had in my history of skiing was in a torrential rainstorm, because the snow conditions softened up and it was fun,” said Mike Colbourn, vice president of marketing and sales.
But rain may only be tolerable for die-hards.
Knowing that skiers and snowboarders may want a break, Stowe builds in a day off from the slopes in its ski packages. “We’re acknowledging the fact the weather may not cooperate, and their bodies may not cooperate,” Colbourn said.
At Okemo Mountain ski area, in Ludlow, there’s no shortage of options for ski-less days. Visitors can swim, skate or play racquetball, or tune up their summer games at a 9-hole putting green or virtual golf.
Yoga, pilates and craft classes are also available for adults. But if being outdoors is the priority, guided Nordic walking takes participants into the “Notch” using ski poles.
Just over the mountain from Smugglers’ Notch, the Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa claims to have one of the few masters in Nordic walking who takes people on guided walks.
But when it’s rainy or cold some visitors might rather indulge in the spa.
“A lot of times, this is a great, comfortable place to come because sometimes it is 20 below zero and people just want to come and sit underneath the waterfall and get a nice heat wrap or different type of massage that’s going to make them feel comfortable,” said Spa Director Jesse George.
Topnotch Resort and Spa and the Trapp Family Lodge — home to the von Trapp family made famous in the “The Sound of Music” — also offer spa treatments for skiers’ and snowboarders’ weary muscles.
When it’s crummy outside at Killington, “the spa goes ballistic,” said spokesman Tom Horrocks.
When the weather’s not skier friendly at Maine’s Sugarloaf USA, visitors can head to the Antigravity Complex owned by the Carrabassett Valley Academy and the town of Carrabassett Valley, which has a climbing wall, skate park and bowl, Olympic-quality trampolines, weight room and aerobics room.
They also have the option of spa services, including massages, a sports and fitness center, with indoor-outdoor hot tubs, swimming pool, gym and an Internet cafe.
Stowe Vt Spas / Spa Ski Resort/ Vermont Spa Resorts
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