In response to “The Child Care Gap,” May 2025, SAM

I’m so grateful to writer Annie Fast for taking the time to research and spotlight on-mountain child care trends. As someone who’s often felt like a lone voice advocating for families in the ski industry, it’s incredibly heartening to know these concerns are being heard and shared.

While I watch resorts race to build faster, flashier lifts (is a 10-pack bubble lift coming next?), I can’t help but sigh at the shortsightedness. All the high-speed lifts in the world won’t save the industry if we’re not also investing in the next generation of skiers and riders. As Annie’s article points out, there’s a lot to learn from looking across state lines.

This past winter, I visited Idaho and was impressed by the state’s commitment to infrastructure that serves everyone in the community—not just those chasing vertical. Brundage’s gorgeous new child-care center is a perfect example: a welcoming space that supports both powder hounds and parents serving up Cheerios between runs. Their lift upgrades show that it’s possible to invest in performance and people.

An informal follow-up to our 2024 Ski Moms Happiness Survey revealed that families would ski up to 30 more days per year—30!—if they had access to reliable child care. We’d love to dig deeper into this research, but funding for our survey dried up, another sign that this conversation still isn’t a priority for many in the industry.

So, thank you—for covering this topic and keeping ski moms and dads in focus. It matters. Let’s make sure families stay front and center, not pushed to the back burner.

Warmly,

Nicole Feliciano

Founder, Ski Moms