Name two creatures with webbed feet and large orange bills that love snow, eat small fish, but would never eat small kids making French fries. Stumped? “Okie” of Okemo and “C-more” from Cranmore, the powder loving Penguin mascots, is the correct answer.

Who has long legs, wears fur and fleece, loves to ride and ski, and has a big pointy rack on top? Perplexed? The answer is “Amos” the moose-mascot from Sugarloaf.

Are we having fun yet? One more…who has big ears, is admittedly cheesy and his name rhymes with sledder (thus ruling out Ross Perot)? That would be Ascutney’s mouse mascot “Cheddar.”

Before I had kids, I thought you had to have a quad to make the list of worthy ski areas. Upon further review, and having two kids to entertain, I now recognize that you have to have a mascot to be a real family ski resort.

It took the ski industry a few decades to recognize what Walt Disney knew from the start. That is, resort employees come and go, mascots are the real deal when you are looking to hook a family to come year after year.

My kids still remind me of how much they love PigDog, the highlight of their ski day at Bromley. Fuzzy friends breathe life and loyalty into otherwise basic base lodges and standard ski schools. Kids adore characters (expect for the occasional timid toddler that finds a 6-foot mouse terrifying).

Mascots make people happy with their silly smiles and their warm fur. Smugglers’ cast of characters, including the big cheese Mogul Mouse, have been making kids giggle for decades, and have helped earn the Vermont resort perennial top billing as “the” place to go for skiing families. Their band of bears, mice and moles make a child’s experience playful and positive in an otherwise unfamiliar, even unnerving, environment.

Amos the Moose is about 16 years old (in moose years), and his story connects him to Sugarloaf, along with his lumberjack friend Pierre and his gal pal Blueberry Bear (who gave birth to a blueberry Muffin about five years ago). Kids at the Loaf can ski Moose Alley and visit Amos’ cabin tucked in the woods, a huge thrill for the younger set.

Frostie the Snowmaker arrived on the scene at Smugglers’ Notch eight years ago when the Family Snowmaking Learning Center debuted. The stuffed snowman mascot educates kids, big and little, on how ski area snow is made – science meets snowsports, a little education on vacation.

As a parent, I appreciate a mountain mascot that can use his (or her – equal opportunity amongst the four legged) magical power to pass along a positive safety message. Who would you rather listen to: an oversized fluffy white Bengal tiger on a snowboard, or a red-crossed ski patrol with a mangy beard?

My advice to ski resorts, if you don’t have a mascot – create one, or adopt the National Ski Area Snow Monsters as your own, like Sunday River and Sunapee have done. Of course, having a 6-foot furry costume in a ski school locker is not sufficient. Characters need to be out and about, pressing their furry flesh, welcoming families on arrival, waving to kids at daycare and ski camp, and gathering by a bonfire every afternoon – like Billy Bob Bear and Mogul Mouse do at Smugglers.’

My advice to parents, visit Snowmonsters.com with your kids. This is one of the few indoor surfing sites I condone. Snowboard Beavers and Blizzard Babies reinforce the skiers’ responsibility code. They tell tales of bad things that can happen when you ski closed trails, ski too fast, or without a buddy. The fun but informative ski clips include guest appearances by Picabo Street and Aretha Franklin.

When it comes time to plan your family getaway, don’t under estimate the power of a powder pig or a penguin. Mascots can make a ski vacation a little more magical.