Alpine skiing
Ah, nearly Labor Day. It's about time to lock in to the best deals available on season passes and skiing discount cards in Vermont.
The Skimeister and I are planning to ski around Vermont resorts and the backcountry a lot this winter, but we also want to ski Smugglers' Notch at least eight times or so, so we looked into the the Bash Badge Plus. The best price is had when you bag the badge before Labor Day.
This discount card allows the holder to buy $25 ski tickets during the season. The...[Read more]
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Bolton Valley, Burke, Cochran's, Jay Peak, Mad River Glen, Season pass, Smugglers' Notch, Stowe, Sugarbush
Skiing marathons, ice harvesting and a Wassail Weekend are all on the list of Vermont's Top 10 Winter Events for 2008/2009. The list is issued by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce after judges comb through hundreds of snow-season festivities—big and small.
Take a moment to chill out this summer by perusing these Vermont winter events. Of note to skiers and riders: This year marks the 27th running of the Craftsbury cross-country skiing marathon; there's a nordic ski race benefit in Stowe; and the...[Read more]
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Burke, Craftsbury, Cross-country skiing, Killington, Trapp Family Lodge
Interesting news, eh?
The Canadian owners of Jay Peak ski resort in northern Vermont have sold the four-season resort to a group of American investors. The investors include longtime Jay Peak president Bill Stenger.
Mont St. Sauveur International Inc., based in Québec, has owned Vermont's northernmost resort since 1978. The ski area is known for its high annual tallies of snowfall, challenging glade skiing, and for having the state's only aerial tram.
Mont St. Sauveur International owns six...[Read more]
Thursday, July 3, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Jay Peak
Skiers who took the time to drive to Colorado's Arapahoe Basin on Sunday had a powder day to close out their ski season. Yes, it had snowed a couple of inches the night before at the higher elevations around the Continental Divide, which the ski area straddles.
A-Basin was the first to open for the 2007-2008 season on October 10, 2007, and the last to close.
Sounds like American ski resorts had a great year all around. The National Ski Areas Association reported earlier this month that...[Read more]
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Spring skiing, Western skiing
"It's not quite over yet." So says Sugarbush ski resort, which will open up on Saturday so they can say that they skied into May. The same goes for Jay Peak resort. Both Vermont ski areas are running a lift and a couple of trails for a spring-skiing ticket price of $25.
Sugarbush will run the Super Bravo lift for skiing on the Valley House Traverse, Stein's Run and Coffee Run. They say that skiers may need to walk a bit at the end of Coffee Run to get back to the lift. They'll be serving up a...[Read more]
Friday, May 2, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & aprés, Jay Peak, Spring skiing, Sugarbush, Ticket discounts
If you still haven't got your fill of skiing this season, this is your last weekend to hit the slopes in Vermont. Ski Vermont reports that these areas remain open:
• Jay Peak - Open Sat & Sunday, 4/26 - 4/27 for intermediate and advanced skiers
• Mount Snow - Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 4/25 - 4/27
• Sugarbush - Open through Sunday, 4/27
Check for links to their springy snow reports and driving directions on the Vermont Ski Resorts and Snow Conditions page.
In my inbox this morning,...[Read more]
Friday, April 25, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Jay Peak, Mt. Snow, Spring skiing, Sugarbush, Ticket discounts
Nothing like a cheap lift ticket to get people out on the slopes! Stowe Mountain Resort had a rare ticket deal yesterday: bring two cans of food for the Vermont Food Shelf and you could ski for $20. With yesterday being the last day of lift service at Stowe, the Skimeister and I just had to go.
I used to work and live in Stowe years and years ago, back when there actually was a guy named Perry Merrill. OK, not that long ago. Working for the mountain company was not as glamorous as it seems,...[Read more]
Monday, April 21, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & aprés, Spring skiing, Stowe, Ticket discounts
Corn snow and creamees in one day—now that's what I call heaven.
The Skimeister and I and three friends hit the slopes of Jay Peak in the northern reaches of Vermont for a fabulous day of spring skiing yesterday. This week's weather is amazing, so we all decided to play hooky and make the most of the incredible late-season snow cover.
The high-speed quad wasn't open, so we took a handful of runs off the tram, which normally has a long liftline during the season. Not so this week.
The views...[Read more]
Thursday, April 17, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & aprés, Jay Peak, Spring skiing, Ticket discounts
A short list of things that are 30 feet tall or long:
1. A 30-foot-tall scale model of the Sears Tower built with Jenga blocks at Northern Michigan University: faculty.nmu.edu/ims/sears1.htm
2. The meat-eating dinosaur called Torvosaurus cf. tanneri, a "Savage Lizard" found in western Colorado; 30 feet long, standing 8.5 feet tall at the hips, and tipping the scale at about 5,000 pounds:...[Read more]
Monday, April 14, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Backcountry skiing, Jay Peak, Spring skiing, Stowe, Ticket discounts
OK, you've got to check this out: NOAA reports there are 98 inches of snow still left on the summit of Mt. Mansfield, here in Vermont. 98 inches on April 7!
I got out on the trails at Bolton Valley yesterday and enjoyed some super spring skiing in the bright sunshine. And I wasn't alone. It was Bolton's last day of operation, despite having abundant snow, so everyone was getting their last rides on the lifts. They even kept the Vista Quad open until 5 p.m. for the die-hards.
The corn snow...[Read more]
Monday, April 7, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Bolton Valley, Spring skiing
I think I mentioned before that I'm spoiled rotten. Well yesterday the Skimeister and I made the most of a blue sky afternoon by skiing from 2 to 4 p.m. at Bolton Valley. We knew the weather was looking rough today so we moved around our work schedule to accommodate the sun! (It's now raining/snowing in Burlington, Vt., but it is supposed to be all snow over 2,000 feet.)
The spring skiing was quite good. The snow had turned into soft corn snow in most places. We really set our edges in the...[Read more]
Friday, April 4, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Bolton Valley, Spring skiing
Well it seems really early this year, but Easter weekend is here! We're going to do some skiing this weekend. Are you?
If you are headed to the slopes in Vermont and want to enjoy a unique tradition, roll out of bed extra early on Sunday to take in a sunrise Easter service. The ski resorts hold these at the top of the mountain, so if the weather is good you can get an inspiring view, and a nice early morning ski run.
So far, the weekend weather is looking clear and lovely (what a treat!) But...[Read more]
Thursday, March 20, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Smugglers' Notch, Stowe, Sugarbush
With sunshine in the forecast for today and early Tuesday, and mixed precipitation called for later this week, the Skimeister and I took the afternoon off to go play at Bolton Valley, Vt. I took my Völkl skis out for some exercise and he sharpened up his Burton snowboard.
I knew the scenery would be terrific because of the clear skies and the ice-covered trees I had seen the day before, but I thought the skiing would be only mediocre. On this point I was pleasantly surprised. There were up to...[Read more]
Monday, March 17, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Bolton Valley, Food, coffee & aprés
Solitude, a 50-year-old ski resort in Utah's Big Cottonwood Canyon, is billed as a best-kept-secret kind of ski area. For this reason, we decided to ski Solitude on our last day of our trip because it fell on a Saturday. We figured this was a good plan because droves of skiers from Salt Lake City (only 45 minutes from the slopes) could be hitting the larger resorts in the area.
I'm not saying that Solitude is small, but it's just more manageable and you are able to explore much of the mountain...[Read more]
Monday, March 10, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Western skiing
Wow! This place has got to be one of the most scenic places to ski anywhere. Alta ski area in Utah is perched high in the Wasatch Range and it seemed that in every direction you get a view of a high peak. No wonder my seventh-grade teacher Mr. Tewksbury raved about this place.
Thursday was our first bluebird day during our Utah ski trip and we spent it on Alta's slopes. The Skimeister and I enjoyed left-over powder plus about five inches of new snow. Not too shabby, eh?
Here's the catch: The...[Read more]
Friday, March 7, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Western skiing
Today we spent the day exploring Brighton ski resort in Utah. We were skiing on a little bit of fresh snow from the day and night before, and a whole lot of base from an above-average season for Utah ski resorts.
The weather threw a little sun our way, in between clouds and snow squalls. The Skimeister and I took the opportunity to first check out the new Milly Express lift on the south side of the resort, and we ended up skiing off of every lift except for the bunny slope.
Mt. Millicent...[Read more]
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & aprés, Western skiing
Well the Skimaven has taken a field trip to Utah. Yup, a long way from Vermont. Now I'm skiing at 9 to 11,000 feet instead of 2 to 3,000. I can feel it when I bend over to buckle my boots!
The Skimeister and I started our Utah ski trip with Snowbird today. We took the tram right off the bat to get to the top of the mountain. We did laps in Mineral Basin all morning, enjoying powdery conditions in most places. This part of the resort is on the back side and it features wide, open slopes and a...[Read more]
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Western skiing
I hate to rub it in, but I just had a great Friday afternoon of skiing in powder and packed powder conditions at Bolton Valley, Vt.! And, now wait for this, it was a bluebird day to boot!
Vermont enjoyed a hearty helping of fresh snow this week—with more to come this weekend—so I left work behind and spent the afternoon skiing in the sunshine.
Boy, was I glad that I did.
There was still some powder to be found in Bolton Valley's glades and due to cold temps, it had remained light and fluffy....[Read more]
Friday, February 29, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Bolton Valley
Come and get it! Vermont just enjoyed a nice snowstorm this week with up to 16 inches of powder (so far) covering our cars, homes and mountains. Yeah!
I admit I love to sweep off my car after a snowstorm. Hey, I'm a skier!
I persuaded the Skimeister to take an hour break from his Web development work this afternoon to do a nordic tour at Red Rocks Park here in Burlington. It's a wooded park that is situated on a bluff overlooking Lake Champlain.
It's pretty amazing that you can be within...[Read more]
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Backcountry skiing, Cross-country skiing
Did you know that Burlington has the largest Mardi Gras celebration in New England? Yes, snowy and oh so cool Burlington, Vt.!
We Vermonters are hardy folk, so we pile on the layers and stand in the cold to catch some of the thousands of beads, chocolates and Moonpies (those tasty little things) that are thrown at us. And we have a blast doing it.
Magic Hat brewery plans the event, now in its 13th year. Held on Saturday, February 23, the parade route starts on Main Street and heads north...[Read more]
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & aprés, Stowe
Burke Mountain in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont used to have a jingle that went something like this: "Ski Burke, Vermont's northern star, Ski Burke!" I used to hear it on the radio and I wondered what Burke was really like. Now I know. It's a mountain that essentially has one lift, but it's a lift that serves nearly 250 acres of terrain that is a heck of a lot of fun!
The Skimeister and I joined four other Vermonters—Karen, Ken, Nicole and Pete—for a Friday ski. Yes, we played hooky from...[Read more]
Monday, February 18, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Burke, Ticket discounts
I'm spoiled rotten. I got to stay slopeside at Okemo this weekend.
My friends, Jennifer and Dan, have a condo there that allows you to walk out the back door and click into your skis. You do have to go down to the bottom lifts to access the mountain, but that's a small price to pay to roll out of bed and ski. Thanks, guys!
We even bought our tickets at the base area on Friday night to avoid standing in the ticket line on Saturday morning. This is a very good strategy if you can swing...[Read more]
Sunday, February 10, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Okemo
Don't you love it when the National Weather Service reports:
...PERIODS OF MODERATE TO OCCASIONAL HEAVY SNOW EARLY THIS MORNING ACROSS MUCH OF THE NORTH COUNTRY...
It's been snowing this week and things are looking white and beautiful again in the Burlington, Vermont, area. The mountains have received several inches of snow over the last few days. Yee-hah!
Burke Mountain Resort sent out a Powder Alert on Wednesday, encouraging people to play hooky from work. Would have loved to, but...[Read more]
Thursday, February 7, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Burke, Catamount, Cross-country skiing, Jay Peak, Mad River Glen, Ticket discounts
Middlebury College squeaked by the University of Vermont to win the UVM Winter Carnival in Stowe, Vermont, this weekend. The Skimeister and I caught some of the nordic action on Saturday, which featured zippy 1.2 km sprints.
These were really short, fast races and from the meadow at Trapp Family Lodge you could see the racers for nearly all of the course. Real fun to watch! I just had to go inside once for a $1 cocoa to defrost. Ahhhh...
At a UVM aprés-ski event, UVM Director of Skiing Bill...[Read more]
Sunday, February 3, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Cross-country skiing, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
Snow is on its way this weekend, but not before a potential mix of precipitation on Friday. Hopefully Mother Nature tosses out more of the white stuff than sleet!
The ski resorts are currently reporting good conditions and they are offering an abundance of open trails and lifts. Check the snow report links on my Vermont Ski Resorts page before you go. By Saturday you may be pleasantly surprised with reports of fresh powder up high in the hills!
This weekend is UVM Winter Carnival Weekend...[Read more]
Thursday, January 31, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Cross-country skiing, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
I traveled to the Great White North this weekend to have some winter fun at Mont Tremblant, Québec.
Saturday dawned with clear, blue skies so we braved the cold and headed to the mountain early to catch the best snow conditions and sunshine. I could tell the Mont Tremblant crew had been busy grooming and making snow that night. The first runs of the day were terrific.
Tremblant is a multisided ski mountain—including the Versant Nord, Versant Sud, Versant Soleil and The Edge. We followed the...[Read more]
Sunday, January 27, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Mont Tremblant (Québec)
A tip of the ski hat to Bode Miller of New Hampshire, who took this weekend's combined trophy at the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbuehel, Austria, and eclipsed Phil Mahre's American record for most World Cup wins—a record which has stood since 1983.Here's an interesting tidbit: Miller, Mahre and Bob Cochran (a UVM grad who was on the US Ski Team in the '60s and '70s) are the only Americans to have won the Hahnenkamm trophy. In Kitzbuehel, Miller finished 14th in the slalom after taking second in the...[Read more]
Sunday, January 20, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing
If those twits at Heavenly, Vail and Beaver Creek send me one more e-mail ...
Their multimillion-dollar marketing machine keeps sending me mouth-watering photos of the three to 10 feet (that is not a typo) of snow that has piled up on their totally fabulous resorts in the last week. A photo in a Beaver Creek, Colo., e-mail even showed a skier (or what you could see of him) with a snorkel.
Please don't laugh, it just encourages them.
Normally, this would not phase me, but we've been...[Read more]
Friday, January 11, 2008
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Bolton Valley, Burke, Catamount, Craftsbury, Cross-country skiing, Jay Peak, Mad River Glen, Stowe, Western skiing
Today I buckled into my aging, but lovable, Tecnica ski boots (this is the year that I'm getting new boots—and I mean it this time!) and saddled up my Völkl skis to remember what it means to really carve a turn.
Having grown up as a downhill skier, I feel so much more confident with my heel attached to my ski and my boots pushing back against my shins as I flex and crank out some turns.
Bring on the bumps! Bring on the powder! I've got my downhill equipment on!
The downhill runs at Bolton...[Read more]
Sunday, December 9, 2007
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Filed in: Alpine skiing, Bolton Valley
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