Some years ago, I left Ben, 4, with a cup of cocoa in a base lodge and set off for the summit chair for a run down a black diamond trail. I had taken off his boots to ensure he wouldn’t wander off.

The plan seemed to be working fine until I got back to the lodge and found an empty table where last I had seen Ben. I also found no mittens, no hat, and – worst of all – no boots.

Heart pounding, I clumped to the summit lift as fast as my boots would go. Yes, the attendant said, a small boy had gotten on the lift moments earlier. “Call the summit,” I said. The lift attendant there spotted him two chairs from getting off, hung up the phone, leaned out of the lift shack, and snared Ben as he started to ski down the unloading ramp.

He acquired the nickname “Mad Dog” among area workers. And I didn’t leave him alone for some years to come.

With the right approach, a ski vacation with the children can be a dream time for the whole family; without planning, it can be your worst nightmare.

Experiences like the one with young Ben has led to these suggestions:

Pick the right mountain for the family’s skiing ability; it should offer terrain for all levels and interests.

Choose warmth over style. Cold kids are not happy campers. Dress as if the chairlift is going to break down at the worst possible moment, leaving you swinging high in the cold mountain air.

No hungry kids. Staying warm on the snow requires lots of fuel.

Pace the family through the day. Trails are usually best in the morning: The snow has been groomed overnight and not skied off or into moguls (although children love moguls).

Make sure everyone has a ski buddy. If the children are old enough and skilled enough to ski safely by themselves, they should understand absolutely they are to stay together, look out for each other, and not lose anyone.

Pick a time and place to meet – for cocoa, for lunch, at the end of the day.

Although most resorts gear up for families, Smugglers’ Notch in Vermont’s Green Mountains sets the standard for being child friendly. SKI Magazine ranked the area no. 1 in North America for family programs in the magazine’s 2006 reader survey.

“There are really two things that are important,” Barbara Thomke of Smugglers’ said.

“The first thing is going somewhere where everyone finds something that’s interesting to them. If you go away somewhere and you really like to ski steep trails and there aren’t any, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re a kid and you like racing, that’s what you’re going to look for,” she said.

“The other part of the recipe is you need activities, with times and places, that families can just do together that they don’t have to think up. You need a schedule of things to choose from that are fun that they can go and do,” she said.

From Smugglers’ and beyond, here are some possibilities for family ski vacations ranging from a few hundred dollars for a midweek getaway at a local area, to several thousand for a five-day stay in Utah.

Smugglers’ Notch offers everything-included five-night packages for a family of four (two adults, two children) at a range of prices, depending on when you go. Christmas and March school vacations are $2,560; while non-holiday/non-peak periods are the bargain at $1,740. (www.smuggs.com)

At Hunter Mountain in Hunter, N.Y., two and a half hours from New York City, midweek lift and lodging packages start at $89 a night for an adult, based on a two-night minimum stay. Children 12 and under stay and ski free. That works out to $890 for a five-night midweek stay-and-ski package for a family of four in a one-bedroom liftside condo, or $990 in the area’s Kaatskill Mountain Club.

The area has a new 33,000-square-foot learning center that has helped change the makeup of the skiers who frequent Hunter. “Hunter used to have a hard skiing, hard partying crowd that skewed young, skewed male,” Hunter’s Rob Megnin said. “Now with the learning center we have seen so many families coming here.” (www.huntermtn.com).

Belleayre Mountain in Highmount, N.Y., in the Catskills about 2.5 hours from New York City, is operated by New York State. Adult lift tickets are $37 midweek, and a child 12 or under skis free with each paying adult. Lodging is available through a network of private inns, cabins, motels, hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and other lodges. (www.belleayre.com).

Whistler Mountain in British Columbia, a destination resort with 8,100 acres of skiing and terrain for every taste, has packages starting at $1,398 for a family of four (two adults and two children 12 or under). That’s based on a rate of $699 for one adult and one child, January 2-26, 2006. Like most areas, Whistler also offers other incentives: Book before January 17 and receive five $20 vouchers good in area restaurants and businesses. Visit during Discover Whistler Days (January 16-February 12 and February 27-March 12) and get 50% off ski and snowboard lessons. (www.whistlerblackcomb.com).

Bretton Woods, New Hampshire’s largest ski resort and home of the historic Mount Washington Hotel, was ranked no. 1 in the state for family programs in the SKI Magazine readers poll. Bretton Woods has a Hobbits Ski Program that offers comprehensive skiing services for children, from nursery and daycare to ski school and snow play programs.

“The Hobbit programs make getting out on the snow a fun experience,” said Bretton Woods’s Martha Wilson. “We also have apres ski just for kids, so mom and dad can have a cocktail and the kids get to go to programs like the one we run with the AMC Center with live animals. We have magicians and cake decorating, kid camp at the hotel, pizza parties – or kids are always welcome in the hotel dining room.”

Starting January 2, five nights lodging at the hotel will cost $2,646 (including tax) for a family of four (two adults and two children 12 or under). And hotel guests get a break on lift tickets. (www.brettonwoods.com).

At Vermont’s Jay Peak, two adults and two kids 14 and under can stay five nights midweek at the Hotel Jay for $1,687. This includes lodging and skiing for the whole family, lessons for the adults, and free daycare for children ages 2 to 7. (www.jaypeakresort.com).

At Steamboat in Steamboat, Colo., midwinter (January 4-February 15) two adults and two children would pay $3,700 for a ski vacation that includes airfare, lodging, ground transfers, lift tickets, and rentals. The same vacation during regular season (February 16-March 26) is $4,900. The prices are based on Kids Fly Free, Kids Ski Free, and Kids Rent Free deals offered by Steamboat. (www.steamboat.com).

At Solitude outside Salt Lake City, Utah, a family vacation for two adults and two children staying five nights and skiing five days would cost $3,275.

Mark Bennett of the Salt Lake Convention and Travelers Bureau likes to point out that travelers from the East Coast can hop an early flight to Salt Lake and be skiing by noon and, on the journey home, ski in the morning and catch an afternoon flight that gets them home in the evening. “And if you haven’t skied Utah powder,” Mr. Bennett said, “you’ve really got something to look forward to.” (www.skisolitude.com).

Mr. Leo, a member of the Eastern Ski Writers Association, has been a ski writer for 25 years.