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Latest Trend In Ski Travel: "Procreation Vacations"

By J.D. O'Connor
November 13, 2006

You kids today. Why, back when compact discs were something you got after one couloir jump too many, we didn't need any help locating and - ahem - consumating our relationships with the opposite sex. But one ski area is catering to couples in search of the perfect time - and place - to mate.

Based on the popular "babymoon" travel packages, where newly pregnant couples are coddled and pampered and made to feel everything was going to be alright as they started down the road to family life, "the procreation vacation" was born in Jackson Hole recently.

"We took the babymooning concept, which has been very popular nationally over the last year, to the next level by offering a package for adventurous couples who are just thinking about starting a new family," said Tom Walker, director of sales and marketing at Teton Mountain Lodge. "It's Jackson Hole after all. Why not start life's greatest adventure with an active adventure?"

Well, okay, I'll bite. But if I remember my days in Jackson correctly, life's greatest adventure usually started with three or four shots of Cuervo Gold, far too much time attempting the Western Swing on the dance floor at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and a rocky trip back to the cabin for a bit of the old Grizzly Grind.

But, nope, not good enough. Today's couple's need more to get them in the mood, at $950 per person for a four night stay.

At the Teton Mountain Lodge in Jackson, staff "attends to the details of romance to make sure the mood is right" with - hold onto your hats here oldtimer - chilled champagne and chocolate in your room upon arrival, a chauffeured dogslide ride out to Granite Hot Springs, a couples spa treatment, and a candle-lit dinner for two served in your room.

How did we manage? That's four nights in a King size room with a fireplace and two days of skiing for two at the resort, and if that doesn't get you in the swing of things, pardner, there's definitely something wrong with the old libidinal power plant, if you know what I mean.

There's a serious side to this as more and more "fertility-challenged" couples are being sent away on holiday by hopeful grandparents and earnest OBGYN's who believe time and place can lead to what the couple - and extended family - all want.

The Procreation Ski Vacation is still an untested concept - though it has created something of a buzz in the few short weeks Teton Mountain Lodge has been promoting it. They'll have it available this coming season, between December and early April, and while there have been calls from curious couples - or hopeful grandparents - no one has booked yet.

If you do go, remember to slip the musher a twenty to look the other way if the urge strikes on the way out to the hot springs. And if you don't, remember there's always the Cuervo, the bar with the saddle barstools, and the Western Swing.

Good luck.

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