Travel: Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek resort has three focuses—Family, Service and Luxury—all of which show up in the cute village, plush hotels and easy to navigate mountain. The Colorado haven, just moments from Vail, offers an extensive ski and snowboard school for beginners of all ages and features a number of terrain parks and intersecting runs right for all abilities. What’s more, aside from holiday weekends, you’ll rarely be stuck in a lift line (this destination is one of Colorado’s best-kept secrets) and most slopes are groomed nightly, which means the only uneven terrain you’ll encounter are the carefully sculpted moguls.

After a long day on the slopes, the newly renovated and expanded Allegria Spa, at the Park Hyatt, is a necessary stop. With dozens of treatments and an offering of soaking pools, rain showers and steam rooms, the mountain-themed 30,000 square foot facility ushers in relaxation and relief for sore muscles. (I had a traditional Shiatsu massage from a therapist there named Jerry, and it was truly one of the most heavenly hours.) For dining, Beano’s mountain cabin can’t be beat. A snowcat-drawn sleigh will deposit you and yours deep in the woods at this Western-cuisine standout. (Or, if you feel like roughing it like my friends and I, you can snowshoe in from the Beaver Creek Nordic Sports Center.) Chef Steve Topple prepares fish, vegetables and exotic game in delicious new ways. Take for example the crowd favorite of this past weekend: Elk Wellington, in which the tender meat was wrapped in a pastry crust and served with a huckleberry sauce and sweet potato puree.

As the Beaver Creek tagline explains, this is not exactly roughing it.

Travel: Park City, Utah

This morning I conquered one of my fears—downhill skiing, a sport I haven't attempted in at least a dozen years, probably more. I tested the runs at The Canyons Resort in Park City, UT, a ski area that really rocks for beginners and advanced skiers alike. Whereas most ski areas offer beginner runs only at the bottom of the mountain, with the views and fancy gondolas and trams reserved for the more challenging runs, at The Canyons has easy and hard runs all over the mountain, which means skiers of all levels to share the best parts of the peak.

I was fitted for a pair of 4FRNT skis, outfitted in some comfy, cute gear from Powderhorn—all of which has Western, snow-chic flair—and enrolled in ski school. My instructor, Stefan, had me gliding down the mountain in no time, teaching me to connect turns, conquer steep slopes and stop on a dime. For me, it was a good lesson in more than just skiing. I also realized that it's never too late to learn something new.