DADE CITY, Fla. — Ten-year-old Brooke Golden may live in sunny Valrico, Florida, but now once a year, she plays a “Snow Pro” at Snowcat Ridge Alpine Snow Park in Dade City.
What You Need To Know
- Snow-tubing, snow angels and ice skating are part of the fun
- 10-year-old Brooke Golden of Valrico gives us tour of snow tube fun
- Technology under the ice and snow helps keep things chilly!
- Snowcat Ridge in Dade City is open on select dates through Feb. 26
There’s an indoor snow globe, as well as ice skating.
And a huge snowtubing hill — and that’s where Golden shines.
On the first week of December, Golden’s maternal grandparents, Ellen and Ric Garland, visit from Epsom, New Hampshire.
And Mom and Dad, Nicole and Bryant, take the whole family to the park.
At the snow tube pickup, Golden is holding her brother Ryder’s hand and dragging a tandem snow tube onto a moving sidewalk.
It slowly travels a gently sloped, 60 feet high hill, for the much steeper, speedy trip down.
And after multiple trips, the moving sidewalk is good for a breather.
“Yes it’s very bumpy,” explained Golden of the terrain challenges dragging snow tubes, “and it can get pretty heavy.”
So what happens when she gets 60 feet up?
“You do scream when you go down,” said Golden.
“I don’t scream,” said 8-year-old Ryder.
“He doesn’t scream,” his big sister reiterated for us.
“Yes, I’m the oldest,” she said.
In addition to Ryder, there is also 6-year-old Braxton and 3-year-old Case — all at the park.
And that’s why she takes the lead dragging the tubes up the hill and through the line.
And that’s why she situates Ryder first on the tandem tubes at the take-off point — without anyone telling her to do so.
That’s what the older sibling does — they help.
“Well, it’s kind of hard,” she said about laying claim her birth order super powers, “but it’s also kind of fun at the same time.”
Golden says she will try not to scream.
But the moment the tandem tubes inch over the edge — it’s all screams — all the time.
Until she can catch her breath.
“I loooooove this!” is the last thing we can make out from the top.
True to his word, we never heard Ryder.
So in her third year at the park with her family, the veteran snow-tuber Brooke Golden gives her review.
“The snow tubes are so much fun, if we told people about it, then they’d love to come,” said Golden.