Smitten by Baldy

“My son grew up riding this hill,” she confides as we ascend the Eagle Chair, a sturdy double that allows time for some good conversations between runs. “It’s a safe family hill with a really cool vibe. And wait till you ride the terrain.”

From the summit, I can see why you’d let your kids loose here — all of the resort’s 35 trails funnel back to the base. We traverse east along Baldy Trail toward what appears to be an ocean of clouds with “islands” of distant peaks poking up through the mist. At 7,000 feet we’re above the valley gloom, with postcard alpine views illuminated by a pale winter sun.

But when my husband, daughter and I follow Terry into the rollicking glades of Chix Dig It and, later, Ponderosa Glades (where we find plenty of powder stashes a whopping four days since the last big dump), we quickly realize the scenery is just gravy. Baldy’s main course is the compact 600 acres of terrain, served up over runs that range from groomed cruisers to tight chutes for thrill seekers and, after a big storm, open trails of virgin snow with perfect fall lines, like The Face and The Kettle, for practising powder 8s.

"The mountain is really set up to have beginner, intermediate and even advanced skiers,” says Bryce Beckett, a Baldy instructor who teaches regular and adaptive lessons. He spends Saturday afternoon helping our autistic son Bennett get more comfortable turning right on the gentle grades of beginner trails Beaver Tail and Jolly Jack, accessible from the Sugarlump quad chair.

“I hear it from a lot of people that they like Baldy over other mountains. It's a good atmosphere. Everyone who works here is so genuinely here, and it pours out into the skier experience,” he says.

It does. We return the following day to snowy skies and big smiles from everyone on the mountain. We ski easy trails with Bennett and sneak in some powder turns with Avery. Somewhere in between, Baldy has become our hill, too, at least for a weekend.