Skiing With The Burke Brothers

By Heather Burke, Boston.com Correspondent

I am too intimidated to play tennis with my brother in law, or soccer with my nephew, or crew with my niece. Some sports are just too competitive and don’t play well for family relations… but skiing does. Riding the chair with my husband and his brother this weekend at Okemo Vermont was perfect. Our conversations flowed nicely on the ride up, as we caught up about our kids, work and holiday plans. But the highlight was sharing the snow, the gorgeous frosted trees that lined the ski trails, carving turns together – we were each having our own individual fun – but it was shared. I can’t think of another sport that you can enjoy for hours, in the company of family members and friends that is so pleasant and powerful…. and that is one of the reasons I love skiing.

Maybe it was the convivial atmosphere of the orange bubble, Okemo’s new Sunburst Six chairlift that invites conversation and gives everyone’s complexion a happy orangey glow. Goggles come up as the orange bubble comes down and encapsulates skiers and riders in their bubble for the swift six minutes to the summit. As you feel the heat from the leather seats warm your buns, you are burning to comment on this cool chairlift. But we also shared a fixed grip chair, the Sachem quad at Okemo, and the same pleasantries were exchanged, though we all admitted we missed those heated leather seats and the bubble cover.

Okemo was a beautiful skier’s snow globe this weekend. Without fail, some of my best ski days are those shared with family members – daughter, brothers, uncles, cousins, son, parents, grandparents… you get the snow drift. I hope you get out skiing with your family this holiday this season.