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NEW KIDS' TRAIL MAP HIGHLIGHTS BIG FUN FOR
SMALL FRY
Crested Butte, CO- To make the slopes even more fun for children this year, Crested Butte Mountain Resort followed the lead of some true experts - its kids. These pint-sized specialists might not yet know long division, but they've conducted exhaustive field studies in the area of on-mountain play.
Young skiers and boarders have perennially searched out jumps and "whoopdedoos", found shortcuts through the aspen groves and invented new ways to play on the slopes. This year the ski resort is building on some of those discoveries. A revamped Kids' World Corral, new tubing hill and special kids' trail map headline the changes.
"We are focused on the experience of young skiers and snowboarders because that's our future," said Charlie Farnan, director of Crested Butte's Mountain Schools. "If we get them started in a fun, safe, learning environment, they will be skiers and snowboarders for life."
The improvements include:
o The Kids' World Corral has been reoriented and renovated, with a Magic Carpet for kids to ride 150 feet up the gentle play slope. The new configuration doubles the length of the Magic Carpet, so young skiers can make fast friends with their new playmate - gravity.
o Youngsters will have their own trail map this year, highlighting kids' favorite trails and features on the mountain. The map will be easier for children to read, filled with color and characters. Over time, trail crews will enhance the most popular children's areas on the mountain. "Historically a lot of our trails for kids are places that they found for themselves," Farnan said. "With a little attention, we can make them even more kid friendly."
o Families will gather at the top of the Painter Boy chairlift for many reasons this year, with a new tubing hill next to the Kids' Terrain Park and Camp 4 Coffee. Parents can take a break and sip their lattes in the sun while the kids laugh their way down the junior-sized tubing hill or ski and snowboard on introductory jumps, rails, tabletops and a quarterpipe. "The Kids' Terrain Park is already a big seller; it has everything you'd find in a regular terrain park, but it's kid sized," said Ellen Osterling, manager of Kids' World. "That whole area at the top of Painter Boy will be a great draw for families."
o Kids' Night Out programs will be even livelier this year, with torchlight parades, tubing down the slopes and marshmallow roasting over a portable fire pit, Osterling said. The traditional Kids' Night Out pizza parties will alternate with cookouts around a new barbecue grill.
As always, young skiers and boarders might get to shake paws with Bubba and Betty on the slopes. These loveable, larger-than-life bears (who ski, telemark and snowboard with remarkable agility) got a prime-time makeover last year, but still love to frolic with their young fans. Bubba and Betty might slip away for a hot chocolate around the fire when the lifts close, but kids can keep on playing, with a lighted tubing hill at the base area that stays open into the evening.
The most important thing that will NOT change this year is the heart of Crested Butte's Kids' World.
"The reason Kids' World is so successful is that our instructors have a lot of kid in them," Farnan said. "They haven't lost that kid spirit and sense of humor like so many adults. The kids want to be with our instructors; they want to come back."
Osterling added, "Our strength is still in our personal feel, the one-on-one interactions and the bonds people form over the years. When kids come back year after year and get to know the same instructors, they feel so much more comfortable. And parents can call me personally if they want to talk. People tell us it feels so much warmer and more personal than the crowded megaresorts."
Kids' World offers programs for young people ages 3-16, with a nursery for infants as young as 6 months. Programs encompass beginners to rippers, with tag-a-long lessons and evening activities as well. Of course, the larger setting of Crested Butte also suits families, with shops, restaurants, ski terrain and recreation options for all ages and tastes, in a safe, convenient, pedestrian-friendly community.
"Crested Butte is just about perfect for families," Osterling said. "Some families have come back every winter for so many years that we've become part of their kids' lives. One of the little girls I taught to ski eventually became an instructor here. I love seeing lifetime friendships develop with our kids."
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