Living the Life

What is Living the Life? It’s a series of experiences specific to different types of families achievable through ownership in Expedition Lodge. Whether you have young children just learning the values of winter in the Sierra, a handful of teenagers anxious to bring up their friends to their new mountain hideaway, or empty nesters with family members returning at key times throughout the year, you’ll find Expedition Lodge, its services and amenities and the amazing environment in and around Kirkwood will create a lifetime of memories and stories to be told for years to come. 

Take a look at how these families “Live the Life” at Expedition Lodge: 

The Miller’s, Menlo Park, three children under the age of 12. 

Steve Miller has been a lifelong skier, and met his wife Jill on the slopes 15 years ago. They’ve introduced their young children to skiing over the past few years, and chose Expedition Lodge for the large units, location so close to the lifts, restaurants, ice rink, tubing hill and village atmosphere. Through their Expedition Lodge concierge they’ve met the great staff at Mighty Mountain, and their kids are becoming good skiers much more quickly than they could have imagined. In fact, their oldest son, Jack, 11, is ready to join Kirkwood’s incredibly successful JETS program, where Jack will be placed with other kids of the same skill and enjoy all types of skiing, including parks, racing, the mountain’s secret spots and more.  

What Jill likes best about Expedition Lodge is that it feels like her home, with plenty of room for the kids to be entertained inside when not on the mountain, at the tube hill, ice skating or building a snowman out of the four feet of fresh snow that fell overnight. She also enjoys having the family in for lunch, giving the kids a chance to warm up between runs.  

The Miller’s discovered Kirkwood Summer in 2007, and their kids are active participants in community children events and enjoy the climbing wall, zip line, ropes course, disc golf, mountain biking and horseback riding. While not a once-a-week golf addict, Steve enjoys a round of golf every few months with friends, and invites another couple with small children up for a July weekend full of mountain events while he and his buddy sneak away for a day of golf at the beautiful Genoa Lakes course in Nevada, taking in the incredible scenery on Scenic Highway 88, with two stop signs between Kirkwood and the historic town of Genoa, just 45 minutes away. 

Both Steve and Jill are fitness enthusiasts, so each morning in Expedition Lodge starts off with a workout in the top-of-the-line fitness center, coffee in their private club, and a chat with Mike, the Expedition Lodge concierge, on where to find the best powder; Mike gives him the inside line, and Kevin “Coop” Cooper, head of Kirkwood’s retail and demo centers, has set aside a pair of the highest rated powder skis for Steve and Jill to try while the kids are ripping up the fresh powder with the pros at Mighty Mountain. 

Steve and Jill have found the Expedition Lodge calendar to work well for their family, as they spend three long weekends a winter in Kirkwood, plus two separate weeks in the summer months while the kids are out of school. They’ll likely exchange for vacations in Mexico over the coming years. Steve also uses the unique “Powder Suites” once a month, as he pays close attention to Kirkwood’s “Powder Alerts,” grabbing one night and a day with close friends to take advantage of those famous Kirkwood four foot snowfalls. 

The Miller family is truly “Living the Life” at Expedition Lodge. 

The Jenks, Santa Cruz, four children ages 17-23 

While Mike and Sarah Jenks were hot on the prospect of owning in Expedition Lodge, it was really their four children, who range from a senior in high school to a new college graduate, who made the decision. It was the size of the four bedroom residences that mattered most, but the three boys think they’ve died and gone to Heaven when they can hit the Wall and drop in for the fourth quarter of the Cal-Stanford game, all in a matter of less than 50 feet. 

With three out of four in college with long winter breaks, the use plan of Expedition Lodge works perfect for the Jenks. They book at least a week in January, another over the kids’ Spring Break, and fill in short stays early and late to take advantage of the generous open time in November, early December and April, where the boys relish the deep snow, warm sun and party atmosphere! 

While the winter is still prime time, the Jenks’ fearsome foursome are hard core mountain bikers and golfers. It’s not unusual for them to have 10 young adults in their Expedition Lodge home in the summer, with the boys ripping up the mountain bike park and the girls heading to Tahoe for some beach time and shopping in the nearby outlets.  

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning and the bulls are off to Genoa for an intense golf tournament among friends, followed by a stop in Nevada’s oldest bar, a dip in the hot springs in Markleeville, and finally back to the Kirkwood Inn for a steak dinner, paid for by the day’s losers on the links.  

Next month, the schedule looks similar, except Bob, the Jenks’ oldest son, has been watching the Lake Tahoe Concert Calendar closely, and booked tickets for the hottest show of the year at Harvey’s Outdoor Concert Ampitheatre. The entire family decides to go, and the night is one to remember. 

The Jenks have figured out how to “Live the Life” at Expedition Lodge. 

The Parker’s, Dublin, three grown children. 

Stan and Jessica Parker have been coming to Kirkwood for years, looking at a variety of real estate opportunities, but it wasn’t until they discovered Expedition Lodge that they had found the perfect match. After successful careers they have more free time than in previous years, and have taken advantage of Expedition Lodge’s generous use plan to spend five weeks a winter in Kirkwood. They save their reserve time for bringing up their children’s families, so each of them picks time that is ideal to create a third generation of avid Kirkwood loyalists. They use the unbooked summer time to come up for fishing, hiking and relaxing, and exchange their two planned summer weeks for trips around the world through the Registry Collection. 

The lifestyle for the Parker’s and their large family could not be more perfect. Half of the grandchildren are a little too young yet to ski, so the parents take turns hitting the slopes and watching the kids, which could not be more convenient with Expedition Lodge at the base of five chairlifts. The grandkids can’t wait to get the grandparents out on the tubing hill, and everyone gathers around the ice rink enjoy hot toddies while the youngters spin on the ice.  

Stan and his sons hit the links at Genoa Lakes a few times each summer, and the entire family – all 15 of them – enjoy group horseback riding and fly fishing with their favorite guide, Kirkwood’s resident pro, Jon Copeland. 

The Parker’s have perfected “Living the Life” at Expedition Lodge. 

Click here to check out our Podcasts including "Living the Life".