In Praise of the Ski-Free Ski Vacation
By Nadine Jolie Courtney As a lifelong skier, I eagerly anticipated my first day on the slopes with my now three-year-old daughter, Aurelia. I set the scene as we prepared for a trip to Park City, Utah, and the Montage Deer Valley: snow angels, giggles on the bunny slope, and post-ski hot chocolate by the fire. The ski-in/ski-out resort seemed ideal for both my toddler and my never-skied-a-day-in-his-life husband, Erik. Draws include access to more than one hundred trails, an on-site ski outfitter, and rental service, plus shuttles regularly run to Deer Valley’s base lodge, about five minutes away. Montage Deer Valley glimmers at dusk. / Featured image: Soak in the views at Spa Montage. [Photos: Montage Deer Valley] But as fate would have it, a couple of weeks before we left, disaster (for a skier) struck: I severely sprained my ankle. “Should we cancel the trip?” Erik nervously asked after we learned I’d need twelve weeks of intensive physical therapy. He reminded me that his age...