Charities are making it fun to raise money for their causes by bringing the fund-raisers to the ski slopes and nordic trails. Here are a few events this winter that might pique your interest.
Tubbs Romp to Stomp Out Breast Cancer to benefitVT/NH Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure3k or 5k snowshoe, walk or raceStratton MountainJanuary 28Website
Camel's Hump Challenge to benefit Vermont Alzheimer's AssociationChallenging backcountry tour around Camel's...[Read more]
Thursday, January 26, 2012
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Cross-country skiing
What a day! My friend and I went for a lovely nordic loop at the Stowe Mountain Resort Cross-Country Center today. They received six inches of snow two nights ago, and this morning it was snowing when we arrived (and continued all through our ski) and there were a couple more inches of the freshest, lightest powder. The snowflake formations were amazing!
We enjoyed a ski on the Burt Trail, which at first follows the Ranch Brook. After a quick hot chocolate break at the...[Read more]
Saturday, January 21, 2012
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Stowe
With the 2012 Stowe Winter Carnival starting today, it got me to wondering how many other towns in Vermont are holding winter carnivals this year. With a little searching, I found quite a few! You might consider taking in some of these events when you plan your ski outings or ski vacations. None of these towns are very far from ski resorts.
Stowe Winter Carnival
January 18 - 28Zany sports events, ice carving competitions, movies, kids carnival, snow golf and snow volleyball tournaments, and...[Read more]
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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Filed in: Food, coffee & après ski
We got out on the Stowe Recreation Path today for a short ski today in the cold. I wore a balaclava to keep my face warm and kept moving along to keep my body warm. It worked!
The good folks in Stowe have arranged to groom the recreation path a couple times a week for cross-country skiing. Today the classic tracks were excellent. Fresh new snow this week made the coverage great.
Today also featured the Stowe Tour de Snow and we saw families taking part in the...[Read more]
Sunday, January 15, 2012
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Stowe
On our drive home from our ski this afternoon, the Skimeister and I saw a sign that said it was 1 degree. One little lonely degree. It was a good thing we skied up the CCC Road today to keep ourselves warm!
The CCC Road is accessed from the Underhill State Park in Underhill, Vermont. There's a busy winter parking lot and you follow a road up to the state park and toward hiking trails that take you up Mt. Mansfield. The road was built by the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC).
On the drive in...[Read more]
Saturday, January 14, 2012
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Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Mt. Mansfield
We’ve seen some nice photos of fresh snow around the state. We’ll be out in it this weekend — will you?[Read more]
Friday, January 13, 2012
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Bromley, Cross-country skiing, Stowe
With some new snow falling around the state (some Vermont resorts reported that up to 5 - 7 inches fell on Thursday, and more snow is expected on Friday), this weekend should shape up to be a good one for outdoor fun! Here are a few interesting nordic skiing related events this weekend that you may be interested in checking out.
1. Watch a biathlon race
Biathlon is a sport that combines heart-pounding cross-country skiing with accurate (hopefully!) target...[Read more]
Thursday, January 12, 2012
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing
Today was all about fast, cruising ski runs at Sugarbush’s Mount Ellen. I headed over to spend some time on my alpine skis on a cloudy morning turned partly sunny midday.
I zipped down the stiff corduroy snow in the morning and stayed on the snowmaking trails, which had a solid base. At the top of Vermont's highest chairlift (top station is perched at over 4,000 feet), the trees were encrusted in natural snow and the views were great. I saw both of Vermont and New...[Read more]
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Sugarbush
The Skimeister and I got out on the trails at Bolton Valley Resort during the lunch hour and early afternoon today. We took our telemark skis and played on the packed powder ski runs, which were not very busy on this Friday.
The ski area had about four to five inches of fresh, natural snow on the sides of the trails and on less-traveled connector trails. It was fun to plow through some freshies!
The coverage on the snowmaking trails was very good and we enjoyed taking runs on the Mid-Mountain...[Read more]
Friday, January 6, 2012
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Bolton Valley
Some fresh snow fell on ski areas in Vermont yesterday, most notably at the northern resorts, and today it is darn chilly and that is just fine with me! The ski resorts are reporting that they are cranking out the snow from their snowguns and snow fans.
In other news, I came across some interesting techie news recently ... I’ve learned of two Vermont ski resorts that are now viewable with the “street view” feature that is available on...[Read more]
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Burke, Stowe, Western skiing
I found some good spring skiing conditions today on the nordic trails at the Stowe Mountain Resort cross-country center.
I was impressed by the amount of snowcover on the Burt, Bruce and Timberlane nordic trails despite our lackluster snowfall thus far this season. Within the last few days we had been messing around a bit on the trails at Bolton nordic (quite thin) and the Catamount cross-country center (snow/grass skiing) just to get some much needed exercise. But...[Read more]
Sunday, January 1, 2012
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Stowe
Ski resorts in the northern and central parts of Vermont picked up another round of unexpectedly high snowfall yesterday. Depending on location, it was on the order of 6 to 12 inches of snow! (Check the snow reports on our Vermont Ski Resorts page for details.)
Base areas first experienced some rain and then it changed to snow as the temperatures dropped through the day and, well, it just kept snowing! Today we have cold temperatures that are surely helping with snowmaking, as...[Read more]
Thursday, December 29, 2011
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Bolton Valley, Cross-country skiing, Jay Peak, Killington, Mad River Glen, Pico, Smugglers' Notch, Stowe, Sugarbush
Yay! My holiday wish was to go cross-country skiing ASAP, and my wish was granted!
An unanticipated Christmas snowfall across northern Vermont hills and mountains added up to five to eight inches of snow or so in higher elevations. So when I heard the snowplow outside my house this morning, I was excited to check in on our area nordic centers to see if we might be able to ski!
We packed up the Subaru and headed to Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, which opened up more terrain due...[Read more]
Monday, December 26, 2011
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Trapp Family Lodge
Things got a bit jollier at the end of this week when Vermont ski resorts received anywhere from an inch to six inches of natural snowfall. It really made for a beautiful day at Bolton Valley resort. I took laps in the sun on the Vista Quad chair and enjoyed looking at the frosty trees that were all around me.
I skied the available route from the summit that was made up of Sherman's Pass and Bear Run. I actually took my telemark gear out today to get more practice on...[Read more]
Saturday, December 24, 2011
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Bolton Valley
Boy there’s a lot of snowmaking going on lately! Seems like the ski resorts are opening new terrain every few days or — in some cases — every day!
Stowe Mountain Resort reported that it set a new record: “We had over 130 snowguns running continuously this past weekend.” And I saw the snowguns in action on the petite Cochran’s ski area this weekend.
All the ski resorts are talking up their snowmaking “firepower” and respect for their hard-working snowmaking teams. (A...[Read more]
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Cochran's, Craftsbury, Cross-country skiing, Mad River Glen, Magic, Northeast Slopes, Stowe, Suicide Six, Trapp Family Lodge
The Skimeister and I had an interesting day on Saturday at an adaptive nordic instructor clinic held at Bolton Valley. As large, fluffy snowflakes fell, we were learning about some of the equipment and strategies used for nordic sit-skiing.
You may recall that the Skimeister skied on a sit-ski a number of times over the last two seasons, after he blew out his knee. It was such a positive experience for him to get out into the fields and woods in the winter, that we wanted to...[Read more]
Sunday, December 18, 2011
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing
Vermont ski resorts are enticing never-ever skiers to join the wonderful community that is made up of skiers and snowboarders. (We are a special group, aren’t we!?!)
A dozen ski resorts have joined with Ski Vermont to offer a $29 learn-to-ski package in January. It’s offered on non-holiday days in January and you have to reserve in advance through Ski Vermont or the mountain of your choice starting December 19.
What’s included? How about a ski or...[Read more]
Thursday, December 15, 2011
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Ticket discounts
I knew the forecast called for a gloriously sunny Monday, so I rearranged my work schedule to get some runs in this morning instead of over the busy weekend. And I was rewarded with an uncrowded early-season ski morning at Sugarbush!
Skiers and riders were skiing the top of the mountain when I arrived. Jester and Downspout were open so I did laps on them via the Heaven's Gate chair, which goes to the top of the 3975-foot-high Lincoln Peak. Later in the morning the...[Read more]
Monday, December 12, 2011
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Fall & Early season, Sugarbush
One to seven inches of snow fell around the state on Wednesday night to help make things look a bit more wintry in Vermont. Today and tonight some areas will see snow showers.
Dipping temperatures have helped with plans for three more ski resorts to spin their lifts for the first time this weekend. Bolton Valley Resort plans to open Saturday, as does Mount Snow. Bromley Mountain plans to open on Sunday.
Mount Snow will celebrate the "first flight" of the Bluebird Express, its...[Read more]
Friday, December 9, 2011
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Bolton Valley, Bromley, Cross-country skiing, Fall & Early season, Mount Snow, Okemo
What a nice, sunny weekend. And it featured some first-of-the-season happenings today:
Stratton opened for the season Smugglers’ Notch opened for the season I got my first turns of the season today!
While it was a windy day, and lift holds were apparently an issue at Sugarbush, I was able to get some morning runs in at Smugglers’ Notch for the first time this ski season!
Smuggs opened its Sterling Lift and and essentially one long run today. I heard some...[Read more]
Sunday, December 4, 2011
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Fall & Early season, Smugglers' Notch, Stratton, Sugarbush
This time of year can really try a skier's patience. Temperatures rise and fall. Rain can sneek in, rather than snow. And sometimes we can get a blizzard. You just never know.
As we turned our calendars to December this week, some colder temperatures returned to the region — thankfully — after a warm spell. Snowmaking guns and fans could be heard at several of Vermont's ski resorts. Small armies of snowmakers were painting the ski trails white.
This weekend Stowe, Okemo and...[Read more]
Friday, December 2, 2011
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Fall & Early season, Jay Peak, Killington, Okemo, Smugglers' Notch, Stowe, Sugarbush
