If you and your family are in love with the mountains and snow, then a trip to a ski resort with your family must be the ultimate getaway for you. Especially the French Alps, with its numerous ski resorts, is one of the best places to visit with your family. Accessible any time of the year, the various ski destinations in the French Alps are perfect for a family trip at any time of the year. Although skiing is much more popular during the winters, you can find beautiful fields of powder high up in the mountains in the summer months also. Moreover, there are many other activities which you can enjoy with your family in the summer, including hiking, mountain biking and river rafting.
However, if you have never been to a ski vacation before, then planning, preparing and packing for a ski vacation can be a troublesome issue. If you are going on a ski vacation for the first time, then you can get in touch with the best family ski operator you can find, to plan a fun, adventurous and hassle-free family trip. But you have to take care of packing all of your stuff yourself, and packing for a ski vacation is much different than any other trip. If you are going to some random destination, you wouldn’t need to worry about specific equipment or specific clothes which you have to carry. But when going for a ski trip, you need to carry some specific things in order to have a safe trip. Here are a few must-pack things when you are going for a ski vacation with your family.
Good quality, long underwear
It might sound odd, but underwear is one of the most important things you will pack for your ski vacation. You see, you will have to wear a lot of warm clothes when you and your kids are skiing through the snow. And no matter how cold the snow is, you will surely sweat a lot when you engage in a lot of activities. Now if you or your kids are wearing poorly made, no-breathable cotton underwear, then it will get wet. And the next thing you will notice is you or your kids are suffering from severe cold. Always carry proper, long underwear made with breathable fabric when you are going for a ski vacation. Also, we suggest carrying two-piece underwear instead of one-piece ones.
Long, good quality socks
Socks will be another important addition to your packing list, and you have to make sure you get good quality socks. As you will be wearing ski-boots for a long period of time, and you will be walking through a lot of snow, chances are your feet or socks will get wet. Try and buy high-quality socks which keep moisture away from feet and do not get lumped in the boots.
Two-piece warm, waterproof, breathable outerwear
Packing a proper, high quality, warm outerwear for each of your family members is really important when you go for a ski vacation. Although one-piece suits are mandatory for snowmobiling or ice fishing, all of your family members won’t be engaging in those challenging activities. And two-piece outerwear is much easy to handle for everyone. It will be a blessing especially for your kids, and they are much easier to open up if they need to go to the bathroom. Also, make sure the material used is breathable and waterproof for maximum comfort and safety.
Sunglasses
The sunrays reflected from the powdery snow are really quite harmful to the eyes, especially for the kids. Long exposure to those reflected sunrays can seriously damage your eyes. As you will be travelling to a place which will be covered with snow, you have to pack some kind of eye protection. Sunglasses are the easiest and most easily available option. So make sure you pack some sunglasses when you go for a vacation to a ski resort.
Snow boots
Proper snow boots are really important when you go for a ski vacation. Your normal warm boots with fur or laces will not work that well in the snow. You need something which is truly waterproof to handle that much snow. Also, you will need boots which have really good grips and also Velcro straps in order to tighten them up properly near your ankle. Also, snow boots are really easy to pull on and off. They also include liners to keep moisture away from your feet, which you can take out and dry up easily.
Helmets
Skiing or snowshoeing are sports where one will most definitely fall if one doesn’t have enough experience. And a helmet will be the best friend in your head when you or your kids fall while trying these sports. You can rent a helmet at the destination, but if you have kids with you, it might be quite difficult to find a rightly sized helmet for your kids. So to be safe, it is advisable to carry your own helmets, at least for your kids. You can be sure you won’t regret the extra weight.
Mittens
Mittens are really important in order to keep the hands of your kids warm. Normal gloves do not keep your hands as warm as the mittens do. And kids find the ski gloves really difficult to wear. Your kids won’t be skiing with poles anyway. Pack some properly waterproof mittens for your kids, as they are really easy to use and they keep the hands really warm.
Walking sticks
Walking on the snow-covered tracks can turn out to be really difficult, especially for the kids. If you can remember to pack your hiking poles with you, you won’t be facing that problem ever. They will make life easier for everybody including your kids, as walking through the slippery snow will become an extremely easy task if they have a walking stick.
Hydration pack
Carrying a proper ski hydration pack is really important in order to be safe and keep every one of your family well hydrated when you go for a ski vacation. If you are skiing through a long ski-trail, you are bound to feel thirsty after some time. Regular water bottles might not work properly, as the water might freeze due to the extremely cold temperatures of these ski resorts. The water chambers of ski hydration packs are properly insulated to keep the temperature of the liquid inside at pleasing level. With a ski hydration pack, you can be sure to have access to water whenever you need.
Ski equipment for your kids
Normally you do not need to pack any equipment for skiing when you go for a ski vacation. But if you are going on this trip with your kids, then you might find it quite difficult to find proper equipment for your kids, just like helmets. That is why you will be much safer and better off if you carry your own ski equipment for your kids. That way you can be sure that all the equipment fit your kids properly so they won’t face any danger, and also your kids won’t have to miss out on any of the fun activities which you can enjoy during your family ski holiday.