Countdown to the Best Snow Day: Ladies Day, Feb 24!

Countdown to the Best Snow Day: Ladies Day, Feb 24!

I’ve been a ski instructor at Hidden Valley. I’ve been a parent of a ski club racer. But most importantly, I identify as a die-hard attendee of the yearly event known as Ladies Day!

Five starting reasons why you MUST go to Ladies Day at Hidden Valley

1)    The Warm Welcome: Hidden Valley Ladies know how to let their hair down. There’s no private club pretension here – just a great bunch of women who know a Snow Day isn’t just a day for kids to blow off school and steam. We’re all in the day together, and the friendliest bunch of gals you could ever meet.

2)    The Theme: This year it’s I AM CANADIAN. So get out your best red and white duds, brush off your ‘ehs’ and get ready to give new meaning to Crazy Canucks. Ah, the themes. There was Save A Horse, Ride a Cowboy in 2011 when I discovered riding a mechanical bull isn’t easy after all. I lasted all of seven seconds. The Sassy Slumber Party (well, I’ll leave that to the imagination but I don’t remember pillow fights, boys). Divas and Diamonds –I still have the coolest pink Hidden Valley ski cap from that one. We’ve had Chocolate themes, Black, White and Silver and my personal favourite, “It’s all about Me” day.

3)    The Value: How much would lift tickets, breakfast, lunch and dinner, warm up workouts, plentiful wine and other treat tastings, plus ski or snowboard lessons, a rocking great band, a welcome gift plus great elimination draw gifts (one for everybody) cost you, do you think? At Ladies Day, you get all this and more for just $135.

4)    The Snow: I’ve been to 5 Ladies Days and it’s impossible to jinx it. The sun always shines, the snow’s in great condition and there’s never a lineup at the lifts.

5)    The Big Secret: You don’t have to ski or board. I’ve had ladies join our group who never left the chalet. That’s Ladies Day. Do what you want: fun is guaranteed.

A great bridal shower or birthday gift for your best friends!

Last year, we took bride-to-be Sandy Sherban (now Little) to Ladies Day as a pre-bridal shower and it was the best gift we could have ever bestowed on her. She won a free Ladies Day ticket this year for her ‘participation’ although she doesn’t recall doing much. Memory lapses are common post Ladies Day. And the elimination draw? It’s the best and maybe the only moment of stress as you hope beyond hopes that your name will be the first to be drawn so you can take home the cream of the crop of the donated items. Maybe this year it will be a new pair of high performance skis again from Algonquin Outfitters. Or a bike (I so wanted that last year). A designer dress? Or a trip? You never know. I think I was number 96 last year and I still nabbed a really great woolen ski cap that I never would have paid for on my own.  (In my group alone we have businesswomen who run designer clothing stores and fine dining restaurants and I believe some said they would be donating this year. Oh yeah.),

Our group’s tradition: bring new blood to Ladies Day

This year, I’m playing host to a group of 10 girls. We’ve made it a tradition that everyone who comes brings a new girl to experience it. After all, why keep such a great day a secret: Everybody should experience at least one Ladies Day. Three of my crew had attended at least three times or more – the others are all newbies and come from all over Ontario. We bunk the night before at the Hidden Valley Resort (where they are kind enough to offer a reduced rate for those attending Ladies Day although it might be too late to get that rate at time of this blog’s publication). And even though some of us live right here in Muskoka we opt to stay the night after the festivities, too, because it’s the responsible… Ah, who am I kidding. The pre- and après Ladies Day party is great fun, too. A mini Muskoka holiday.

But just like Vegas, what happens at Ladies Day, stays at Ladies Day (I know a girl who crashed Men’s Day at Osler dressed as a guy wearing a helmet all day – the spy swears Hidden Valleys Ladies Day is way more fun).

It’s only two days away and I can’t wait! Give Laura at Hidden Valley a call because there are usually a few tickets left – and there’s always room for more women with positive energy who will once again this year prove that a winter day in Muskoka can be the best day of the year. See you on the slopes and at the breakfast buffet on Friday!

Norah Fountain is a Muskokan, a die-hard Chick on Two Sticks, writer, and a lover of Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area, especially on Ladies Day, the only 24-hour period during which she ignores her BlackBerry.