ARRIVAL

ARRIVAL
We had read online that we could check into the water park at 12:30, and so we planned accordingly. We pulled up to the front entrance and saw men in orange jackets rushing toward other cards, unloading their bags and skis while the family casually walked into the resort. It looked great... Except that nobody rushed toward our car. We waited. Nothing. Finally, we drove around and around to find a parking spot in the farther periphery of the resort and carried our many bags and skis and boots in a series of tiring trips to the resort. At the first trip, we realized that we needed a cart. I searched for a cart in the foyer while watching our luggage and kids while my husband went back to the car to get more stuff. While I was standing in the foyer, I overheard a man in an orange jacket training another man in an orange jacket. He said something like "When a really nice car drives up, you run out and get their bags. If they don't tip you right away, you can put your initials on their room bill and they'll tip you later." I was shocked. Had they not run to our car because it wasn't considered "nice" enough? We had driven my 2016 Subaru Forester. Do Subarus not qualify for valet service? Nonetheless, we were determined to enjoy our stay.

HOTEL STAY
We stayed in 467 for one night. It was one of the poorest night's sleep ever due to the noise from the couple(s) in the next room. Starting at 10 pm, a man began banging on the door of our nextdoor neighbor's room, shouting "OPEN THE F-ING DOOR. I KNOW HE'S . IN THERE!" My kids were awake within minutes, asking what was happening. The shouting and banging continued for about 40 mins. It sounded like at least one of them was intoxicated. It was so unsettling and disruptive that we had a hard time sleeping.

SKI TICKETS
The craziest thing about the complementary ski tickets was that nobody could tell us what time the ski lifts started. The woman at the activity desk next to the arcade told me that the lifts started at 8 am. We checked the trail map, but there aren't times listed on the trail maps. So, we got everyone ready for 8:00. This morning, we went down to the ski rental/ski storage area, and the guy told us that the lifts start at 9 am. When I told him that the woman at the activity desk said 8, he said that he wasn't too sure but he didn't see anything happening yet. It was all very confusing! If you've ever gotten children dressed in 3 layers of ski clothes, you know that telling them to take off their layers and relax for 45 mins is not a great way to start a ski day.

SKI ACCIDENT
When we got to the mountain, we could see that it was VERY VERY windy. We figured that they wouldn't let people ski if it was dangerous. Plus, we had come for the skiing. My kids recently finished 6 weeks of ski lessons at Thunder Ridge in Patterson, NY. They've been skiing for 3 years and love to try new runs. We were all excited. But the wind was really strong. My kids were getting blown backward on their skiis. Finally, we boarded and road to the top on Bailey. About 5 mins into our run (where Birches meets Meadows), my 6 year old son was blown sideways down a snow embankment. I couldn't get to him. I tried to side step to him, but I was also struggling in the rain. He was sobbing. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. Finally, a very nice ski patrol guy in a yellow jacket came along. His name was Greg. He radioed some more crew to come to our assistance. A medic named Rich came next. Rich helped us to the bottom of the mountain. He said that with 78 MPH winds, the accident was understandable. We called it a day. All four of us went back to the resort, collected our belongings and drove 2 hours home to New York.

We had really wanted to love Camelback. It's an easy 2 hour drive from our house. Unfortunately, we didn't create any fabulous memories at Camelback this weekend. It's hugely disappointing!! I sincerely hope other families have a better experience.