From Page to Powder: A Conversation with Bluebird Day Author Megan Tady

Join us for the first-ever Ski Moms Book Club and Author Chat with Megan in early October!  Contact us via DM @theskimoms or email for an invitation.

In this episode, we welcome Megan Tady, author of the Washington Post noteworthy book "Bluebird Day," which follows a compelling mother-daughter alpine skiing duo in the Swiss Alps. From her journalism roots to becoming a novelist, Megan shares how she crafted an authentic story about competitive skiing despite not being an expert skier herself. Through extensive research, including interviews with Olympic athletes and sports psychologists, she brings depth and authenticity to her characters' experiences on and off the slopes.

Megan tells about her personal journey with skiing, from humble beginnings at Nebraski to a transformative (and terrifying) experience on a Swiss glacier that later informed her writing. She discusses how this personal encounter with skiing anxiety helped shape her character development and contributed to the book's exploration of mental health in sports. 

As a mother of two young children just beginning their skiing journey at Berkshire East, Megan offers insights into balancing family life with creative pursuits and the delicate art of encouraging children in sports while respecting their boundaries. She thoughtfully weaves in broader themes about climate change's impact on winter sports, nature's healing power, and the importance of disconnecting from technology to connect with the outdoors.

Keep Up with Megan!

Website: www.megantady.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/@megtady

Buy Bluebird Day on Amazon

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Transcript

Nicole: 0:54

Welcome back to the Ski Moms Podcast. It's season five and we're hitting the slopes. We're sharing real unfiltered stories of motherhood on the snow. From conquering the bunny hill with toddlers to squeezing in your own powder days, this season celebrates every type of ski mom. Thanks for joining us. We've got a great season lined up and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Quick little update on this episode. Sarah and I have read the book and we loved it so much that we are doing an author chat. If you're interested in joining the first ever Ski Moms Book Club and Author Chat, drop me a note, either a DM or send me an email and we'll make sure you get invited to the author chat. Coming up in late September, the ski moms are so excited to welcome Megan Tatey, author of Bluebird Day Today to the podcast. She is the author of this book and it is a Washington Post noteworthy book that follows a mother daughter alpine skiing duo set in the Swiss Alps. She is a mom of two and just recently got her kids up on snow. So welcome. Megan.

Guest Megan Tady: 2:02

Thank you so much for having me. It's so great to be here.

Nicole: 2:05

Well, we're going to assume that you are a skier and we always love to start with the ski background story. What is your origin story? Where did you learn and how did you fall in love with the sport?

Guest Megan Tady: 2:17

So I grew up in Nebraska where there was not many opportunities for skiing. The first place I ever skied was a place called Nebraski and you know, it was like an ant hill. It was very, very small. So I didn't ski much growing up. And then in college I went to Colorado for spring break and I took some lessons. I went to Breckenridge and I went to Vail and I just loved it, you know, and I was just taking more lessons to get better. And so throughout college I was skiing and I skied in Taos and other places. And then I went to Switzerland. I studied abroad in London and I went to Switzerland and I tried to ski on a glacier and I thought that I was a better, more brave skier than I actually am. And I have never had this happen before where fear took over and my leg, you know, it was so I'm, I have a fear of heights, but I had never felt before like I could just ski off the face of this thing. And it took two gondola rides to get up to the top. I got up there, everyone's just zooming past me and I felt like my legs melted out from under me and I could not move. And I, you know, I was crying, I was fogging up my goggles. I had a boyfriend at the time, you know, this was his dream to ski here. And it was just not going well. And an old Swiss ski instructor skied over to me and he was like, it looks like you need some help. And I was like, I do. And so he guided me down, you know, slow arcs all the way down the mountain. It took two hours to get down. And it really impacted how I felt about the sport for a long time. I didn't revisit it for a long time. And then I live in Western Massachusetts, so our home mountain, I guess you would say, is Berkshire East. And, you know, my husband is a skier and he was like, let's just get you up there again. I was like, I really, I have to tell you, like, I. That stuck with me. So he took me up one day and I was like, I think I should. I should start on the bunny hill. And he was like, no, no, we'll, you know, go on a green. And we got up there and I just. It still just never has clicked with me again. But I, for the book, and we'll get into the mental health aspect, was able to draw on that fear I felt at the very top of this mountain at the glacier, to sort of, you know, inject that into my character, Wylie, who grew up skiing the daughter and loved it so much. And how does this feel? Fear swooping out of nowhere when you hadn't had it before and sort of take you out and then how do you come back from that? And so I think right now I'm focused on, you know, teaching my kids and getting them feeling really, you know, comfortable. They're doing great. I mean, my six year old son is already like, I'm the best skier in the world, you know, and I love seeing that confidence in them.

Sarah: 5:24

And so you, in your book, that the characters, the mother and daughter both. I'm listening to it on audible right now, so don't spoil any of it for me.

Guest Megan Tady: 5:32

Okay.

Sarah: 5:33

They're both ski racers.

Guest Megan Tady: 5:34

Yes.

Sarah: 5:35

And so where did you draw that knowledge from? Because you have a lot of details about ski racing, but hearing your story.

Guest Megan Tady: 5:41

Yes.

Sarah: 5:42

It's not in your background.

Guest Megan Tady: 5:43

Right. When it came time to develop this story, I wanted to set a story in the world of elite sports. And I was really toying with what sport that would be. And as I was thinking about, you know, what, what sport has my. My, like Utmost respect. And what sport requires not just the physical, but the mental in a major way. And if those two aren't speaking together, you're not able to compete really. And what has also just a, a little bit of danger and ski racing. To me, the downhill ski racing really captured all of those components. And, you know, I got really lucky in sort of tapping into my network and other authors and folks and just saying, who, who knows Olympians? Who knows former Olympic downhill skiers willing to tell me what this life was like. I also wanted to explore what happens after you retire and you've put your formative years into something and maybe by 30 you are too old, quote, unquote, and you have to reinvent yourself. What does that look like? So I was lucky enough to get introduced to several downhill, you know, Olympic skiers. One of them happened to be a five, I think she's a six time Olympian, Sarah Schlepper. And she's one of the only ski racers to ever bring a kid on the World Cup. And that was really helpful for me because my character Claudine brings her daughter Wiley on the World Cup. So what, what are the unique challenges for mothers as, as athletes? And I just, I have a background as a journalist and I just really steeped myself in the research and read a ton of books and memoirs and just, you know, you know, Peekaboo street and Lindsey Vaughn just like steeped myself in it and then just pulled out the strands that I wanted to use.

Nicole: 7:42

We're big readers, both Sarah and myself, and we consider the audiobook reading a book the same as getting the old pages out and flipping them.

Guest Megan Tady: 7:52

I, first of all love audiobooks. I consider them reading as well. I always hear people apologize for listening to the book and I'm like, no, I, I always have, you know, an audiobook going. And it was such a fun process, choosing the narrator. So I, I, I love that people connect to the book. The audiobook is this, Was this your.

Nicole: 8:10

First book or have you been a professional author for a long time?

Guest Megan Tady: 8:15

As I said, I have a journalism background, so I always thought my first book would be nonfiction. And I had kind of dabbled with that. And I guess I just had a little imposter syndrome around writing fiction. And it just sort of felt like, well, who am I to write a novel? It felt like everyone was saying they're writing a novel. No one's really writing a novel. It just felt like an untouchable world to me. And a lot of the writing I was reading was very literary, lovely stuff. But it didn't capture my voice. I couldn't see myself writing it. And then I think about 15 years ago, I just started dabbling with short stories in fiction, and I started taking some classes. And my first novel is called Superbloom. It came out in 2023. It's about a massage therapist in Vermont who works at a luxury spa. And she gets a bunch of clients, and one client sort of changes the trajectory of her life. And that story came about because my husband took me, you know, on a surprise trip to a spa, and I was having a massage by a very grumpy body worker. And I was sort of like, well, what is her story? You know? And that is, there are so many.

Nicole: 9:32

Grumpy people in Vermont. It's so on brand. I mean, Sarah and I are constantly trying. I think it's because they don't want more people to move here. They do, but they don't.

Guest Megan Tady: 9:42

I know. I know. So I just. I wanted to ask her all these questions, which felt inappropriate, but I left that room not with this, you know, transformative massage, but with this novel idea flooding through me. And I went home and started writing it. And it took almost eight years to. You know, I had iterations of the manuscript, but I. It took eight years to write it, get an agent, get it published. And in that course of that, I was having my kids who are 6 and 9. I was running my writing and editing business as a copywriting business. So I was often writing around the edges of my life for quite a while. And it took me a long time to even say to friends and family, like, I want to be a novelist. It just felt so intimidating to put it out there. But then when I kind of began to grasp it a little more, things began to move a little more quickly. And, you know, now I have two books out, and I'm working on a third, and. And who knows? But I love. I love writing, and I love inhabiting these worlds that are something that I wouldn't normally, you know, do. Yeah.

Nicole: 10:52

And I love the game of creating backstories of people, you know, when you're getting coffee or you're waiting for at the airport. It's such a. It's a fun game to play with kids, too. And I think that you've given yourself license to. To do this is amazing. So we're really, really happy for you that you believed in yourself enough to put. Put it in words and then put it out there in the universe.

Guest Megan Tady: 11:15

Thank you.

Sarah: 11:16

That's.

Guest Megan Tady: 11:16

That's very kind of you to Say, I think I often, you know, a lot of women ask me for advice about writing. And I think one thing that really helped is that when I began to, I think, I think as women and moms, we often use this word sneak. Like, I'm going to sneak some writing in. Or, you know, you send a text message to a friend, can you sneak out and meet me? And there is something that is almost makes it seem like what you're doing is criminal, like you have to do it behind your family's back. And I began to notice that and sort of take it out of my, my language and putting that in front, you know, more forthright for my family and being like, I'm writing today, or mom, you know, mommy's writing. I'll be ready in a little while. Of course, you know, I hearing paw patrol in the background and it's hard to sort of turn that off. But then my family followed my lead and they were like, okay, this mom, or, you know, my wife, being in her imagination, being creative is one of our central values in our family system. And it's really important to her. And so it's important to all of us. And they, that just really shifted things. And, you know, there are trade offs moments where I'm like, I should probably be matching all the socks because where are they? Or I could do 20 minutes of writing and sometimes the socks don't get matched. But really putting that front and center for my family has been an amazing change. And I'm so grateful to have a husband and kids who are like, yeah, all right, we're following your lead.

Sarah: 12:51

That's amazing. And I, I do feel like the socks never match no matter what. So where are they? I have a whole collection of them right now.

Guest Megan Tady: 12:59

I know.

Sarah: 13:01

So I'd love to go back to the book, though. I was very interested. Like I said, I'm only in the beginning of the book, but the. But Wiley is training for a competition, and I'm wondering about, through your conversations with these World cup athletes who had since retired, if there was something about their experience that, that led you to.

Guest Megan Tady: 13:22

Incorporate that aspect in the beginning of the book. Claudine and Wylie are estranged from each other and they haven't spoken in a few years, partly because Wiley quits the sport to go to art school. And Claudine doesn't quite understand why and knows that she's had performance anxiety, but comes from a more old school, you know, different generation. That's sort of like mental toughness, like you grit, grit it out. And Wiley's sort of like. But I don't want to do that. And they just don't understand each other. So they. They've been estranged for a while. And yet I think Wiley is this physical specimen. You know, she is just an amazing athlete. She could, you know, really excel at anything she does. And she finds that she's been brought up in this sort of black and white paradigm of, you know, you either excel or you're kind of a loser. And so she doesn't know how to turn that off. And she's quit the sport. That wasn't working for her, although she misses aspects of it, but now is incorporating this other fitness competition that is also really hard on her body and hard on her mind and is having, you know, kind of requiring her to restrict food and restrict. Just have a restrictive lifestyle. And she, you know, over the course of the book, without spoilers, is trying to come to terms with why she's allowing that in her life. And is there a softer approach for her? Is she yearning for something? Is she wanting? Is she wanting food with crumb structure? You know, is she wanting. Is she wanting just more fulfillment? And I wanted her to go on a little bit of a journey on that to find out really what she's seeking and what, what if she had to answer it for herself and not this sort of controlling boyfriend in the beginning and not her mom or grandfather, what would that be? And what is she called to do? And it takes her a while to find that answer.

Nicole: 15:27

When you're building out these characters, do you create sort of a wall of inspiration where you have sort of like, she would wear this, and this is how she would take her coffee, and this is how she would wear her hair. How do you keep all of the details that make writing so rich and impactful and keeps. It creates characters that stick with us. How do you keep all of that straight?

Guest Megan Tady: 15:50

That's a really great question. I know so many authors have, you know, walls full of pictures and spreadsheets. There are, there are terms in writing that's called, you're either a pantser or a plotter. And a pantser is someone who flies by the seat of their pants as they write and another person is a plotter. They plot it all out. And I'm definitely a pantser. I. I love the element of surprise that comes up as I write. And I really delight in being like, oh, my gosh, that's what she's doing. And I. I have a general idea of this arc of the story, but in the day to day I like the. The surprise to bubble up. At the same time, it is really important to figure out the distinctive elements of each character and to know, well, what is there like a habit or a trait in the way that Wylie talks, in the way she walks, how she wears her hair. Her hair is always sort of no nonsense braids. And I knew that I. That I would have that throughout her. The storyline for her and for me, I'm just kind of tracking that in my mind and I'm working with an editor who's helping me track those things and making sure. I almost think of it as if you can picture Cinderella, the movie Cinderella, where the bird is sort of like stitching the ribbons around Cinderella when she's getting dressed and the sort of pulling that blue. The ribbon all the way through the story and making sure there's not any loose ends. And so, okay, if Clawdeen has this sort of tic or mannerism, we make sure that that's amplified later on. So, for instance, for Claudine, I wanted this story in the very background to also be a book about climate change and to can't really talk about winter and winter sports without being like, things are changing. And if we love winter and we love snow sports, we have to come to terms with it and do something. But I didn't want it to be hit. Hit you over the head with it. A manifesto. And so I had to slowly build Claudine's. You know, she's not a climate warrior in any way, but she's a person who maybe takes her own containers to a takeout to. To, you know, when she gets to go food or she, you know, she thinks, oh, that's so wasteful. So that when it comes to later on someone's introducing, you know, maybe things need to change in ski racing, she's more amenable to hearing it. And. And so we kind of have to plant those seeds early on for the reader to. To. For it to be believable for the reader, if that makes sense. I felt like that was a kind of a long answer, but no, it's. It's.

Nicole: 18:35

So you're a pantser. I like that. Those. Those two descriptions. And then do you have. You know, as podcaster, we have multiple things. We have ones that were trying to get ones that were editing and then ones were sort of in the process of. So with your writing, are you in the same way? So you are looking at your next novel? You are promoting this one, and are you maybe like editing a third? Do you live in many Spaces all at once.

Guest Megan Tady: 19:01

Yeah, I do. And you know, moments where this book was in production or was with my editor for a week or two, I'm, I could take a break, but I don't. And I sort of switch gears to work on something else and to kind of make progress on another writing project. I'm also right now doing something kind of unique and trying to co write a completely separate novel with a friend. And that's a new experience for me. I've never done that before. And so I'm learning how to write this book with someone else. And that is the whole new ball game. And it's not just how to write it, but how to work with someone and sort of send pages back and forth or what is our process, how does it look? And yeah, I'm, I'm always, I, I have, you know, I have my phone and I take my, my notes and even make little notes about. Oh my gosh, that would be an amazing title for a book. You know, I don't have the, the book idea, but I'm like, that's a great title. So I just keep a list going.

Nicole: 20:08

And I do, I want to dive into one of the themes in the book, which is anxiety. And we know that, you know, ski racers have this incredible challenge ahead of them. You know, unlike a lot of other sports, if you really can get severely injured with, with this one. So it's a topic that, you know, as parents, we are well aware of. We send our tiny kids and then they get faster and the skis get longer and things get a little bit more intense. How did you research this and what is your relationship to that theme?

Guest Megan Tady: 20:42

I've been really impressed and excited to see that mental health has more of a spotlight in sports these days. Even in the last Olympics, there were, you know, multiple athletes in all different sports kind of coming out and being very candid about their journeys. And I think even recently, Mikaela Shifrin, coming back from her injury, about to do a race and posting and saying, actually I can't. And it's my mind, my mind is stopping me and I'm not there yet. And that, I think was a watershed moment for the sport. And so I wanted to talk about mental health in sports because I'm seeing more people talk about it and I'm also seeing that there's still this sort of old school model that wants to pull people back and, and keep the conversation from moving forward. So I, you know, when I interviewed the skiers, we talked a lot about what that was like. For them. And I also interviewed a sports psychologist, Dr. Jim Taylor, and he works a lot with skiers, maybe, you know him, and he was able to, you know, sort of like, well, what are the unique challenges for ski racers mentally? And he was able to kind of go down the list for me. And. All right, if you're a parent who wants to really be in dialogue with your kid about that, if you're not Claudine, but, and you know, how would you help your kid? What would you do if the suddenly, you know, performance anxiety is sort of with them? And, and if you're a parent who's maybe getting in the way of their progress, what would that look like? And he was great. You know, he gave me a lot of, a lot of information about that. And then I was able to, you know, there are a couple of scenes where Wiley has some anxiety attacks and I was able to, to tap into my experience on that Swiss glacier and kind of like remember what that felt like in my body and sprinkle that back in. But I wanted to help to just, you know, move the conversation forward even more. And what I heard the most from people is that it's not necessarily anymore about mental toughness, it's mental resiliency and it's the ability, the ability to shift and move with whatever is coming your way. And you know, there, that's just such a metaphor for ski racing, of course, being able to shift and move with the forces and the different snow and the different weather and the, the ice and all the different things that you're getting hit with. That's gonna make the biggest difference now these days than sort of like grin and bear it.

Sarah: 24:25

Yeah, we definitely see that with our, our daughters who are ski racers, that there's a lot more focus on self care, mental health, not just saying get out there and do it again. It's like, maybe you need a break. Right. And I think the conversations changed a lot. And it's, it's probably. I'm looking forward to seeing this aspect in the book where you've got the mother who was like, do it again. Right? You know, just keep hammering away. And the, and Wiley, the daughter who's looking for a different approach because it's not working for her.

Guest Megan Tady: 24:58

It's such a tough one because as moms, we see our kids potential and we also see their passions and what they love. And so what is pushing, what is encouraging? When do you, you know, I, and this is going to be a conversation I have with myself and husband probably for many years as they, you know, even my daughter being like, I don't feel like going to my piano lesson today. Well, you, you know, this is your responsibility. You've signed up for it. You have to go. Or my son, who has some sensory integration issues, he was playing basketball this year and we realized that the buzzer sound was so loud for him during the games that it dysregulated him for the rest of the day. And he, he was saying, I don't want to do the games, I just want to do the practices. And in that instance, we're like, okay, right, that makes sense for you. And yet you need to go to your piano lesson. You know, so, like, it's a tough, it's a, it's a tough one. And I think I'm going to be figuring that stuff out for years. Maybe you have advice on how, how do you know when to encourage and how do you know when to step back? I'm not sure. I don't have the full answer.

Nicole: 26:10

If it's thousands of dollars you encourage, if it's not going to cost you anything, very easy to step back. I mean, I joke, but, you know, when you commit to something that is, you know, very expensive and a big chunk of like the family's time, I think having that conversation about, okay, you may think at age 12 that you know what you're signing up for, but we need to kind of walk you through what this is going to look like, and there's going to be not an exit ramp for you until the end of the season. And, you know, I think their brains aren't as developed as, as ours are in many ways, so they can't conceptualize what that looks like. But you do need to have the conversation. And I think the stakes get higher the older they get because then they have teammates who are all perhaps more committed than they are to X, Y and Z sport. And they're not just letting themselves down, but they're letting down a larger group. So it is a big conversation. And sports are just such a part of the fabric of our lives here in the United States and more competitive sports. I mean, it's something that Sarah and I will continuously talk about. And I'm glad that you're, you're writing about this relationship. And we certainly see within the ski racing world that pressure. If you were a world class skier, it's almost impossible to remove that from the parent child relationship. You know, one of the great gifts Sarah and I gave our children is we are not ski racers. We just love skiing, which is a vastly different relationship.

Guest Megan Tady: 27:46

Yeah, it's. It's. I can. I can totally understand the difference there. And I think what has also struck me in doing the research around elite athletes is that really the best of the best, something separates them. You know, you. You. You can have all the talent in the world, but there is something that separates those, like, elite, top crop of. Of athletes, and it is just so rare. And when I watch the Olympics, I often focus on. If I'm watching, say, you know, a race, like a running race, I often focus on cross country or something. Focus on the people who are coming in last and who probably are coming to the Olympics the best in their country. And they're also probably knowing, I'm not gonna meddle. They're looking at the numbers, they're looking at the times. They're knowing that their chances are probably really slim, and yet they're giving it their all and they're still out there and they're. They're running, and yet they're. They're just not the same as those top three people. And what separates. What separates the top from, like, the rest is something that I'm just so fascinated with. And I think there is something about the mental that makes those top people be. Be able to crest it in a way that other people just can't get there.

Nicole: 29:14

We always write a little bit about ourselves. I think it's almost impossible not to do so. Obviously, your anxiety is sprinkled into this book. How are we going to help you enhance your relationship with skiing again? I think you've got these. These two kids and a husband who want to get out there. I just don't want you to be the mom in the lodge on her laptop. So have you thought about doing a women's camper clinic?

Guest Megan Tady: 29:42

You know, I haven't, but I have to say that being out there, I mean, even just writing this book and meeting so many ski racers and meeting just skiers in general who love the sport, and I see the beauty of it, and I can feel in my body what just cruising on a green felt like. It just was so. I mean, there's just nothing like it, and the trees and, you know, a bluebird day. And so when we had our kids out this. This winter, and I was sort of walking alongside my son and catching him, and he's thinking he's the fastest in the world, I was sort of like, God, I think I probably should start here. I should be doing the magic carpet and I should be going, you know, no shame. And, like, being with the kids and starting to build this back up again because it is a really beautiful sport. There's also part of me that's like, okay, this is my husband and my kids who do this on a Sunday. And I get a Sunday to myself at home, you know, writing and doing, you know, doing my hiking and things that I love. I don't know, but I'm, I'm open and I think it could be something that I could explore. And, you know, I, I just, I love winter. And I wanted the book to be a love letter to winter. Whether you're skiing, just like getting out in it, you know, just, just really having a relationship to it and embracing all four seasons and feeling like winter comes. And that doesn't mean that you need to hibernate too. You know, get out there and do the thing that, whether, you know, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, which I like, you know, different things like that, going back.

Sarah: 31:22

To you and getting, getting yourself back on snow. Tell us a little bit about Berkshire east, which is your home mountain now.

Guest Megan Tady: 31:30

Yeah, so this is. So my kids go to school in a little town called Deerfield in Massachusetts. And the kids, when they get into the upper school, there's a ski program and they ski every week at Berkshire East. So our kids will do that when they're in the upper school. And it's, it's a lovely mountain. We had a book event there. They hosted me in the book. There are, there's a love interest for Wiley and it's Guy, who's part of an acapella singing group. And my husband was in an a cappella group and so he tapped, you know, he kind of put the bat signal out and was like singers, you know, former singers. So they, a bunch of singers came out and they serenaded the crowd, which was amazing. A ski friend of mine interviewed me and, you know, people who didn't even know about the book were kind of coming off the mountain and coming into the ski lodge and it was just a really great day. So. So Berkshire east has really, has really just been very supportive of the book, which has been awesome.

Nicole: 32:37

It's a great family mountain. I try to get there once a year. And they have a great beginner area. I will say it's nicely sheltered. Megan, I don't think anybody's going to say that there will be high speeds attained over there. So it's a nice place to learn. And, you know, we have had a couple experts on talking about fear over the years. And I thought one thing, one interesting thing that I learned was that you really never get rid of it. You learn to make friends with it and that you, you know, you sort of have. It's sort of on your shoulder. Is the visual thing maybe helping you take reasonable risks sometimes which are, which are good, but you've got to make sure that you're the one leading the conversation, not letting fear lead the conversation. I took that from our last podcast. But Berkshire east does have a great community and I'm really excited that they are getting that, keeping their commitment to those school programs going. Could you describe a little bit about the lodge and what it, the, the vibe is there at Berkshire?

Guest Megan Tady: 33:42

Oh my gosh. It's so, you know, we were in the West Lodge for my event and it's just so old school. You kind of walk in and you're like, well, this is just feels like it's the 1970s and it just is laid back. It's so low key. And there's a beautiful stone fireplace right in the middle. And you know, every weekend they also have snow tubing, which is right around the corner. And our kids did that one weekend and just bombing down, it was such a blast. And they hosted, you know, their school for s' mores and snow tubing. It was just lovely. So. Yeah, and they have a little dining area and, and food and you just feel like you've set. It's just retro. You feel like you've stepped back in time. And then the Crazy Horse Lodge, which is the bigger lodge, is just beautiful and noisy and full, you know, teeming, full of life and all sorts of, you know, ages and ranges of skiers. And they host music events and things like that on the weekends. And it's just a lovely family mountain.

Sarah: 34:44

And do they also have night skiing there?

Guest Megan Tady: 34:47

They do, yeah.

Sarah: 34:48

That gives us people a lot more access right after work and after school.

Guest Megan Tady: 34:52

These, these mountains, these ski resorts are really having to figure out how, I mean, they've always had to, but how to make things sustainable for themselves year round. And Berkshire east has really done that with this sort of mountain coaster that they have in the fall and summer and then they have this great sort of adventure course that you can do. So they're trying to offer things year round, which I think is great.

Nicole: 35:16

But it's such a gift to give your kids a mountain that they know and they feel comfortable. They know where to get their french fries, they know the lifts where they can start their day and they feel comfortable on that. They're not going to get lost. It's in a World where we're removing independence more and more from our children having a ski area like that. You know, our kids had Mohawk in Connecticut where they were growing up, where they felt empowered, safe and that made them a little bit more brave. And I think that you get that from a place like Berkshire east too.

Guest Megan Tady: 35:47

Yeah. And they're, you know, peer pressure helps. You know, they're around a lot of families who are ski families and they're seeing their friends talk about it and just it's, you know, it's incorporated into their weekends. And at first they were quite resistant that, you know, unfortunately one, one of their friends broke their leg skiing this summer, this winter. And so they were like, we're not doing that. But then slowly they were like, okay. And we were wondering about, you know, my son with some of his sensory stuff, how he would feel and the mittens and the boots and all the gear. But he did great and again is like self proclaimed best skier in the world. So you know, they're, they're on their way and we're psyched to get them moving even more next winter.

Nicole: 36:31

Yeah, and our Facebook group, we often, I think it's close to 17,000 women in there now, but that's the type of thing we are asking and answering. Which kind of gloves? For families that have kids with sensory issues. And I've seen sensory issues, ski clothing questions before come up. I don't remember the specific answers, but it is such a wealth of knowledge and sharing. These moms really want to remove the obstacles to getting more and more kids out on snow, which is really awesome. So now you're, you're ski curious. It's good to know that you have Nordic skiing and snowshoeing in your life. So you're still getting out there. You're feeling like all the seasons outside.

Guest Megan Tady: 37:13

Oh yeah. I mean just we yesterday we went and hiked Mount Skinner in, in Hadley, Massachusetts. And we have a goal of starting to do the all 3,000 footers in Vermont and New Hampshire with our kids. And so our daughter this morning was making a list of the mountains and you know, researching well which ones have the best views. And you know, again, it's one of those things where you know how much to encourage and push and how much to, to rein back. My son was just bombing up the mountain, just you know, running and we're kind of like, okay, but like temper yourself cuz you're going to be tired coming down. And of course he can't predict it and, and you know, halfway down he's like, plunked onto the trail and was like, I can't go any further. And part of our, is part of our sort of family values to be out in nature as much as we can. And when you're out in nature, you feel a call to protect it and to respect it. We want to be off our phones and off devices as much as possible. So, you know, a day on the slopes or a day hiking or somewhere else, just make sure that we are not on screens and just having that sort of digital detox. I think there's been so much science done around what being in nature does to the brain and the body and how it can restructure your mind and how it even opens up sort of pathways to forgiveness. And I wanted to play with that aspect of nature in the book and sort of draw on that science without naming the science and give Wiley and Claudine, you know, they've been hashing out these old arguments and it's not working. They're entrenched. And so what happens when you're working side by side with somebody? You have a project together or you're working towards something and you're in nature and you're in snow, you're in, you know, and the, the awe effect, when you are in awe in nature, it does calm your nervous system. It allows you to be more receptive to others and it opens up your heart for forgiveness. And there's that, you know, real science to back that up. So I wanted to play with that in the book, and I feel like we're, we're trying to do that in our own family as well.

Sarah: 39:31

Well, I love how you've woven so much of these ideas into the book. As a ski racing mom with daughters, it definitely resonates with Nicole and I. Obviously, they're not at this elite level, but we've had moments and interactions with our daughters. Right. Nicole, over the years, and I love how you wove in the, the anxiety and mental health aspect and some of the climate change. There's definitely a lot packed in there. And I'm. And, and it's some of my favorite topics as well, the Swiss Alps and ski racing. So it kind of packs everything in there. And I'm so excited to keep listening to it.

Guest Megan Tady: 40:07

Oh, thank you.

Sarah: 40:08

And we always like to wrap up. I know, you know, you're just getting back into skiing, but we always like to wrap up hearing about what apres ski looks like for you and your family.

Guest Megan Tady: 40:18

So I think that's going to be a new thing for us. You know, we haven't apres skied as a family. Although, you know, I would say the last time it was part of this whole school day thing. So we had hot cocoa, we had s', mores, it was just very sweet. So I think we're gonna have to figure that stuff out. But when we sort of apres ski after hiking, after, you know, after any of these things that we do, you just sort of revel in the endorphin high and come back and make a huge, awesome, really healthy meal and chill out and just, you know, all last night our. Because our kids reached the top, reached the summit yesterday and they were so pumped and we were also like, oh, and you just kind of revel in your accomplishment. Like, whoa, we did that. We are so strong and able bodied. This was awesome.

Nicole: 41:09

Well, we love how you are bringing your family into the outdoors and that you're sharing it through your work. Where can we find more of you? Where can we get a list of all of the books that you have? Do you have a social media presence? Do you have a website where our listeners can learn more?

Guest Megan Tady: 41:26

Great question. So I am on Instagramgtady T a D Y and I. My website is megantady.com thank you so.

Nicole: 41:37

Much for your time and your creative energy and please let us know if we can help you as you're trying to navigate this journey of getting back out on snow.

Guest Megan Tady: 41:47

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Nicole: 41:50

Hey, ski moms. We hope you enjoyed today's episode and got some great tips for your next family ski adventure. If you had as much fun listening as we did making this episode, we'd love for you to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on our latest episodes. And don't forget to rate and review us. Your feedback helps us bring you more of the content you love and helps other ski moms find our podcast. Plus, we love hearing from you. So whether you're on the slopes or just dreaming of your next snowy getaway, stay connected with us, follow us on social media, share your favorite episodes with your friends and let's keep this awesome community growing.