Winter can be a depressing time of the year for many people.
Psychological evidence points to the reduction in daylight which has a negative affect on many people.
The best cure for these symptoms is to get outdoors and enjoy the splendor of the season.
This brings us to your ski trip.
If you have never been on a ski vacation, you are certainly in for a treat.
Here are a few guidelines to ensure it will be a success.
The Best Time of Year The best way to approach this, is to look at some of the pros and cons.
Skiing in the prime time of the season (November/December/January) has the best snow conditions (fresh, deep, powdery, etc.
), entertaining holiday festivities, and is a beautiful time of the year in the mountains.
On the negative side, you will have slightly more crowds and higher prices to deal with.
Springtime skiing offers more sun, less crowds, and plenty of package deal discounts.
The negative is less snow, and a weather system that will have you too warm one minute, and too cold the next.
Is there any true advantage of one over the other? Not really.
It's all a matter on your own preferences and budget.
Where to Go Finding the best ski mountain is the next decision.
Considering that you are fairly new to the skiing scene, you are probably going to want a resort that offers a smorgasbord of alpine, downhill, snowboarding, and cross-country skiing.
Here are five of the top world-class resorts in North America: The Blackcomb Ski Resort in British Columbia, Canada is the official venue for the 2010 Olympic games, offering 400 inches of snow and over 200 mountain trails.
The Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming has thousands of acres of both chartered and unchartered ski terrain.
The Alta Ski Resort next to Salt Lake City features a relatively even split of 35 percent advanced trails, 40 percent intermediate, and 25 percent beginner.
Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont offers some of the best alpine trails in Eastern U.
S.
, with over 480 acres of designated ski terrain.
For the West Coast, nothing beats California's Squaw Valley USA.
Choose Your Lodge The best ski lodges offers true ski-in/ski-out access to the slopes.
Your proximity to the slopes and lifts should be paramount if your ultimate goal is to get in as much skiing as possible.
Out of the way lodging is often less expensive during the prime of the season, but the headache of getting to and from the slopes daily, may not be worth the small savings.
What to Pack The most important packing points of your ski trip, will be to pack various layers of clothing, which will enable you to bundle up when cold, and strip down when warm.
Such clothing options should include both thin and thick "smart wool" socks, thin turtle necks and thicker sweatshirts and sweaters, and a good pair of water-proof pants.
Also include a good jacket/parka, hat, gloves, scarf, and a good sunscreen.
If you aren't renting equipment, you will need boots, skis/snowboard, and poles.
And don't forget your toothbrush!