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that its magazine recently featured a variety of trees found
on the ski trails, including the yellow birch, paper birch, and
sugar maple. The piece includes details on which trees grow
at various elevations and leaf sizes and colors.
Smugglers’ winter nature programs include the Maple
Snowshoe Trek, which puts snowshoers on ski trails for a
guided tour through a variety of maple trees. Participants
learn to identify the trees and learn about the techniques
involved in maple sugaring. They leave with a sample of
syrup, an understanding of how it’s produced, and knowl-
edge of the trees that produce it. The trek is $48. A shorter,
family program related to maple trees is $25 per adult and
$15 per youth, and all prices include snowshoe equipment.
Year round, Smugglers’ offers ArborTrek zip line canopy
tours with guides sharing insights on local ecology, natural
history, and tree identification. The tours start from a plat-
form in a large hemlock and follow a brook through mature
stands of hemlock, white birch, and maple. The cost during
winter is $87.50 plus taxes and fees.
“There’s nothing like being up in the trees to encourage
interest in the forest,” noted Karen Boushie, public relations
director for Smugglers’ Notch Resort.
Smugglers’ nature programs support increased visitation,
Boushie. “My sense is that folks on vacation at Smugglers’
are looking for a variety of experiences. The fall visitor who
learns about trees on the ArborTrek zip line may decide to
return and alpine or cross country ski in the winter,” she said.
A guide discusses the origins of syrup with a captive audience participating in the Maple Walk THE GREAT MATHEMATICIAN IN UTAH
naturalist tour at Smugglers’ Notch. Many Utah ski resorts promote tree and wildlife identifica-
tion—and general nature education—via Ski Utah’s “Math
COURTESY SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH RESORT and Science in the Mountains” program for fourth graders.
Teachers are encouraged to share with their students Ski Utah’s
Another California area, Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows 18-page program detailing the “water, rocks, trees and animals
at Lake Tahoe, offers a free kids’ mountain map denoting (that) are all part of the mountain environment.”
on-mountain sites featuring educational information on
trees of the region and nature facts. The map is part of the This ties in with a long-running Ski Utah program that
“Squaw Kids” and “Alpine Kids” learning programs. has successfully introduced alpine snowsports to more than
100,000 students who widely acclaim the trip to be the best
All these California ski areas also offer summer programs field trip of the year. The materials are synchronized to pro-
that include nature hikes and tree identification activities. This vide information in the changing environments as the stu-
reflects the popularity of trees in California, where instead of dents’ buses travel toward Utah’s various ski areas, including
having an Arbor Day the state has Arbor Week, March 7-14. details on “forested areas with mixed evergreen and decidu-
Wording from the arborweek.org website specifically refer- ous trees to sub-alpine conifer forests.”
ences the benefits of trees to cities and towns but just as easily
applies to the mountain environment: “Trees are a valu- Beyond programs for young students, many Utah ski
able economic asset…and play a role in energy conservation, resorts offer nature programs targeted to adults. The Alta
improving air quality, protecting water resources, providing Environmental Center, for example, offers a free “Ski with a
habitat, and contributing to the overall health of residents.” Ranger” program on weekends and holidays on a groomed
run off the Sunnyside and Cecret lifts, as well as a monthly
THE SYRUP STORY IN VERMONT “Snowshoe with a Naturalist” program. All tours deliver an
In Vermont, trees are so popular at Smugglers’ Notch Resort
36 | NSAA JOURNAL | FALL 2016
