Cross-country skiing
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
This news just came into my inbox...
The Catamount Trail Association (CTA) is one of five finalists for a $50,000 grant that could help secure some 90 miles of unprotected sections of the 300-mile-long ski trail.
Catamount Trail officials are asking skiers to visit their home page for a link to where they can vote for CTA. And you can add a vote every day! So, go on and use a disposable e-mail address from Yahoo or Hotmail and log in to vote!
These funds would be a huge boost to CTA's...[Read more]
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
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Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Cross-country skiing
I got an e-mail from the Catamount Trail Association, the caretakers of the 300-mile-long ski trail that covers the length of the state of Vermont. They are asking people to fill out their online survey so that they can prioritize their activities for the coming season.
Members and non-members alike are invited to respond. It took me about five minutes to fill it out.
I've enjoyed skiing sections of the Catamount Trail and I've made good use of my membership discount booklet at Vermont...[Read more]
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Cross-country skiing
What a difference a day makes.
On Saturday I was bundled up against the wind and cold while backcountry skiing, and by Sunday afternoon I had no hat and only wore a midweight fleece as I cross-country skied at Trapp Family Lodge nordic center in Stowe, Vermont. It was heavenly!
Before I skied, I stopped at the Stowe Coffee House, located near the three-way stop in Stowe Village. It's tucked back behind the Stephen Huneck gallery—you know, the dog art guy. I read the Sunday paper over a small...[Read more]
Monday, March 31, 2008
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & aprés, Mt. Mansfield, Trapp Family Lodge
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
Late on Thursday afternoon, we headed for Bolton Valley Nordic Center to do a couple of laps of skate skiing. Conditions were firm and very fast.
It was a good workout as I climbed the hills on World Cup. Then I employed my much-practiced wedge, or snowplow, to keep things in check during the super-fast descents.
In Bolton Valley's Nordic Blog, they reported that they had tilled and groomed the snow on 20 km with an alpine grooming machine. My skis chattered on the small grooves as I wedged...[Read more]
Friday, February 22, 2008
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Filed in: Bolton Valley, Cross-country skiing, Ski gear
Sunday morning brought more blue skies to Craftsbury, Vt., and cold temperatures at 7 in the morning. By the time we had breakfast and gathered our gear, however, things were warming up nicely. I could tell this was going to be a good ski at the Craftsbury Nordic Center.
I had been to Craftsbury once before. Over the course of two days last year, we had hit most of the trails from Ruthie's Run Extension in the northeast, to the Grand Tour trail to the southwest. I remembered enjoying a ski...[Read more]
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
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Filed in: Craftsbury, Cross-country skiing, Highland Lodge
I may have found the most scenic cross-country trails in Vermont. They are at Highland Lodge in Greensboro.
A long climb up to the Barr Hill area at 2,100 feet afforded the Skimeister and I our first visual treat. We entered a meadow that could have been found in Colorado. Giant, snow-frosted evergreens were everywhere and the ones that lined the trail had long icicles because they had been facing south toward the warm sun. In the distance we could see rolling hills and mountains.
From there,...[Read more]
Monday, February 18, 2008
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Filed in: Craftsbury, Cross-country skiing, Highland Lodge, Winter photography
Snow was the word of the day. We were headed this morning for Mountain Top Nordic Center in Chittenden, Vt., near Killington and Rutland. I had heard good things about it, so this was the time to check it out as we were heading north from Okemo.
It was snowing during our drive, and it had snowed the night before, and as we prepared to hit the trails it really started coming down! I felt kind of silly, but I went back to the car for my goggles. (Hey, vision is a good thing when you are skidding...[Read more]
Sunday, February 10, 2008
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Mountain Top
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
I recently found a little treasure in my mailbox. The Skimeister and I received our Catamount Trail Association membership cards and the discount booklets that come with them.
The Catamount Trail is a 300-mile cross-country and backcountry ski trail that crosses the state of Vermont from head to toe. Many private land owners and ski resorts allow the trail to pass through their properties. What a terrific gift to all of us skiers.
Our membership money helps to maintain this trail. As an added...[Read more]
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
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Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Cross-country skiing, 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
On Sunday, I found a nordic center that's serious about nordic skiing. We enjoyed a sunny day of good classic skiing at Ski de Fond Mont Tremblant in Mt. Tremblant, Québec. The trail network offered plenty of choices with 68 km of groomed classic trails and the conditions were excellent.
We left the welcome center at Domaine Saint Bernard and had a big mountain view of the top of Mt. Tremblant. The welcome center offered quality rentals, a wax room, restrooms, snack bar and a restaurant....[Read more]
Monday, January 28, 2008
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Mont Tremblant (Québec)
I'm happy to report that there is some fresh snow up in the mountains of northern Vermont!
The Skimeister and I headed to Bolton Valley's cross-country trails to do some classic nordic skiing today. The conditions on the groomed trails were pretty good and the fresh snow on the side of the trails measured to about five inches or so. Nice, fluffy white stuff. Of course, we would like much more to really cover up the ice-covered base that's under there, but this is a start!
On our skinny skis,...[Read more]
Saturday, January 19, 2008
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Filed in: Bolton Valley, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & aprés
With a warm, rainy week behind us at last, we headed for some groomed cross-country trails today. The Skimeister and I set our sights on the high-altitude trails at Bolton Valley, hoping there would be some decent snow cover.
We clicked into our skating skis and made our way to the World Cup loop because it had been groomed—and boy was it fast! The zippy snow made the downhill sections very exciting and the sharp corners were challenging. Still, I only hit the ground once. Not bad!
It was a...[Read more]
Sunday, January 13, 2008
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Filed in: Bolton Valley, Cross-country 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
Who says you can't get something for nothing?
Just this afternoon I was able to ski for free at Catamount touring center because I accompanied a Catamount center member. They offer this once a month as a membership perk. Sweet!
So off we went on the cross-country trails on the south side of the center. Today was in the low 40s here in Burlington and Williston, so wax-less skis were the order of the day. We had enough kick to move us along, but the downhills were pretty slow because of the...[Read more]
Sunday, January 6, 2008
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Filed in: Catamount, Cross-country skiing
Fore!
When the Burlington Country Club (BCC) turns from green to white, the members-only rules are lifted and Burlingtonians take to the course to ski and sled.
I brought my cross-country skis to BCC twice this week and enjoyed some quick exercise in a surprisingly nice environment. The course is lovely when there aren't people whacking balls around!
While Sunday was a busy day at the club—especially with droves of kids on the sledding hill—lunchtime on Friday was nearly a ghost town....[Read more]
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing
Before hitting the road for Christmas, I clicked into skinny skis and had an enjoyable cross-country tour at Catamount. The Skimeister and I met up with Father Skimeister for a 90-minute ski.
If you don't know Catamount, it's a great resource here in Chittenden County. Located in Williston, it features 35 km of groomed trails that cross open fields and snake through the woods. It's very pretty, yet it's only minutes from downtown Burlington.
Catamount now operates as a nonprofit and they...[Read more]
Saturday, December 22, 2007
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Filed in: Catamount, Cross-country skiing
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