Food, coffee & après ski
I love the long daylight hours that we enjoy at this time of year. However, because of this light, I woke up way too early on this Sunday morning. I peer out the window and what do I see? Snowflakes are blowing around in the stiff breeze.
We surely are enjoying highs and lows when it comes to spring weather lately!
Luckily, I knew the forecast for this weekend wasn't looking good so on Friday afternoon I headed out to Stowe, Vt., for a bike ride. The sun was shining and I needed to be in...[Read more]
Saturday, May 8, 2010
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Filed in: Food, coffee & après ski, Ski towns in summer, Stowe
Food, coffee & après ski
I love the long daylight hours that we enjoy at this time of year. However, because of this light, I woke up way too early on this Sunday morning. I peer out the window and what do I see? Snowflakes are blowing around in the stiff breeze.
We surely are enjoying highs and lows when it comes to spring weather lately!
Luckily, I knew the forecast for this weekend wasn't looking good so on Friday afternoon I headed out to Stowe, Vt., for a bike ride. The sun was shining and I needed to be in...[Read more]
Saturday, May 8, 2010
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Filed in: Food, coffee & après ski, Ski towns in summer, Stowe
Maple syrup: Oh, how sweet it is.
When you are out and about Vermont this weekend, stop into a sugarhouse that's participating in Vermont Maple Open House Weekend.
Sugarmakers are found all over the state -- from the Massachusetts line to the Canadian border. They will show you how they make their sticky, sweet jugs and bottles of golden maple syrup. You may also get a free sample, too.
For details, check out this Web site: www.vermontmaple.org
Also keep on the lookout for signs that point...[Read more]
Friday, March 26, 2010
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Filed in: Food, coffee & après ski
On the Sugar Road at Trapp nordic center today — the first day of spring — we heard birds chirping away, saw families out enjoying mild temperatures, and watched die-hard cross-country skiers try to make the most of a melting ski surface.
With the extraordinary stretch of warm weather we have had lately in Vermont, Sugar Road — Trapp's major thoroughfare — is melting down in a big way. In many places we had to tip-toe around muddy or rocky spots. Otherwise we were scraping along frozen...[Read more]
Saturday, March 20, 2010
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Spring skiing, Trapp Family Lodge
Sunny spring skiing continues in Vermont today and Saturday. Wow, it's been an incredible stretch of sun and soft snow. All this corn snow can make a skier hungry!
A local weekly newspaper is talking up a small dining renaissance in Jeffersonville, Vermont, the home of Smugglers' Notch ski resort.
Seven Days recently wrote about some interesting new restaurant options and menu changes at the Mix Café and Bakery, Stella Notte, Hearth and Candle and The Brewski:...[Read more]
Friday, March 19, 2010
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Filed in: Food, coffee & après ski, Smugglers' Notch
Can it get any better than this?
The Skimeister and I hit Ole's cross-country center in Warren, Vermont, this afternoon for a ski tour. It was absolutely gorgeous out. No clouds. Warm temperatures. And the snow was still firm in many places because of our cold evenings and excellent grooming at Ole's.
I was on skating skis while the Skimeister took to the trails in a sit-ski. He rented it recently so he could get out skiing despite a major knee injury that he sustained last month. Yup, he...[Read more]
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Ole's, Spring skiing
Bumps were the order of the day at Mad River Glen today. Soft bumps and smushed snow in between them. It was a fun day to play in the moguls.
There was great coverage at Mad River today after the big storm this week. But it wasn't light Utah snow — more like Sierra cement. You really had to ski where others had skied. In order to ski the crud on the sides of the trail you had to do jumping turns. So I was not skiing in the woods today, that's for sure.
The sun was out when my friends and I...[Read more]
Friday, February 26, 2010
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Mad River Glen
The kids that go to Middlebury College have it good. They can ski at the Middlebury Snow Bowl and the Rikert Ski touring Center; both are owned and operated by the college.
To get to Rikert from Middlebury, we drove Route 125 up and along the Middlebury River, through the micro-village of Ripton, and then to the college's scenic Bread Loaf Campus. Rikert nordic center is based in one of the barns on this historic summer campus known for its writers' conference. The mustard-colored historic...[Read more]
Monday, January 25, 2010
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Rikert
If you read this ski blog enough, you might get the idea that I like pairing a skiing outing with food or drink. Yes, I'm a sucker for après ski. When you read some of these reviews you can see why; in Vermont we've got a plentiful selection of places to tempt a skier after hitting the hill.
These recent articles don't cover the entire state, so feel free to chime in with some of your favorite places to eat and drink après skiing.
1. This Seven Days article gives the skinny on some...[Read more]
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
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Filed in: Food, coffee & après ski
When it comes to skate skiing, I'm sure glad that I had years of experience as an instructor of first-time alpine skiers. Why? Because long before I tried skating, I had already mastered climbing up hills quickly — with skis on — using a herringbone.
After I did a snowplow demonstration or chased down a wayward student, I would head uphill to regroup with the class — stepping from ski to ski in a wide "V." I put these hard-earned skating skills to work today as we explored Blueberry Lake...[Read more]
Sunday, January 17, 2010
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Filed in: Blueberry Lake, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski
I skied this afternoon at Bolton Valley in some super-light snow that had fallen in the last 24 hours -- and it was as tasty a treat as a Fluffernutter sandwich.
In fact, light, fluffy snowflakes were falling the whole time I was skiing; it seemed to make each run a little better. On the less-traveled trails and in the glades off of the Timberline Chair, I was playing in some fun powder. I noticed at times that I wasn't able to see my skis as I made a small wake through the snow. I'd guess...[Read more]
Friday, January 8, 2010
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Bolton Valley, Food, coffee & après ski
A bluebird day. Darn cold, but blue!
The trees on the ridges around Bolton Valley looked like they were frosting decorations on a cake. We went for an end-of-the-afternoon ski on the backcountry trails at Bolton. Blue sky, squeaky snow, and white trees; it was gorgeous.
There were a few more inches of snow since this past weekend, so waterbars were better covered and more frozen, as well, with the recent cold snap. I think we only had to step over one of them this time. The base is...[Read more]
Friday, December 18, 2009
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Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Bolton Valley, Food, coffee & après ski
In the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont — the corner of the state nestled next to the New Hampshire and Canadian borders and easily accessed by Interstate 91 — one small ski town has found a winning solution for maintaining tourism throughout the year.
In East Burke, Vermont, home of Burke Mountain ski resort, landowners and business people have teamed up over the years to create an incredible network of mountain biking trails. They call them Kingdom Trails and they attract bikers from...[Read more]
Sunday, August 23, 2009
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Burke, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Ski towns in summer
I must be getting hungry. Perhaps that's why I'm dreaming about hitting some farmers' markets this weekend!Farmers' markets are a wonderful resource in Vermont ski country. And increasingly in Vermont, you can graze at one of these markets in the winter as well as the summer months.In the summer you'll find starter plants for your garden, then delicious veggies straight from the farm, fabulous baked goods, locally raised meats and handcrafted cheeses, handmade products and artwork. In the...[Read more]
Friday, June 19, 2009
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Filed in: Food, coffee & après ski, Ski towns in summer
[For Easter 2010 sunrise service information, follow this link.]
We did it. We were out the door on Easter Sunday by 5:15 a.m.
The Skimeister and I wanted to attend our first-ever Easter Sunrise Service, and it would be atop Sterling Mountain at Smugglers' Notch.
At 6-ish, we loaded the lift with about 70 other people. The light was faint, but it wasn't dark at this hour. People had skis, snowshoes and plain old boots. The lift crept along because they had to extract the non-skiers from...[Read more]
Monday, April 13, 2009
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Smugglers' Notch, Spring skiing
We had another gorgeous skiing day on Saturday. It's been an incredible stretch of sunny weather for Vermont!
I wanted to go cross-country skiing so I looked at options that were at a higher altitude, where the snow coverage was still good. In the villages the sun has melted off much of the snow.
I decided to go to Stowe Mountain Resort's cross-country center, which is situated at about 1,500 feet or so. It has remained chilly in the mountains, especially overnight, so I was not in a huge...[Read more]
Sunday, March 22, 2009
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Spring skiing, Stowe
Must be the luck of the Irish. We had a beautiful day of spring skiing at Stowe today!
Stowe had special $35 lift tickets for St. Patrick's Day, so the Skimeister and I — and several hundred other people — made tracks for Mt. Mansfield.
Blue skies ruled the day. We loaded the gondola about 9 a.m. We didn't think the runs off the quad were soft, and we didn't see anyone skiing Liftline or National until late morning.
Gondolier and Perry Merrill were already quite soft. We took a number of...[Read more]
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Mt. Mansfield, Spring skiing, Stowe
On Sunday I went to see if there was any snow at the Smugglers' Notch cross-country center. Nope. None. Nada. The sun had melted many areas and what little was left was all ice.
For some reason the attendant at the nordic center didn't realize that there wasn't enough snow to cross-country ski on. They were renting snowshoes, which weren't really needed either; you could just walk the trails in some decent boots. The Smuggs Web site also made it seem like there was plenty of skiing there. I...[Read more]
Monday, March 16, 2009
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Mad River Glen, Spring skiing, Stowe, Ticket discounts
What a day!
Saturday was a warm and sunny day to strap on some skis. Enjoy our photos from Trapp Family Lodge Nordic Center, where spring conditions prevailed and the sap buckets were collecting maple sap. The snow cover was very good, and conditions called for waxless skis or Klister wax (very, very sticky stuff!).
In the afternoon we stopped in to see what was new at the West Branch Art Gallery, next door to the Rusty Nail. We then had a maple latté at the Stowe Coffeehouse near the...[Read more]
Sunday, March 15, 2009
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Spring skiing, Trapp Family Lodge
Today was a gorgeous day to be on the slopes in Vermont. The Skimeister and I bought the Bash Badge Plus at Smugglers' Notch this season, which gives you free early- and late-season skiing (and $25 tickets in between), so we rearranged our work to hit the mountain for part of the day—sans credit card.
There is still a lot of snow up there. The snowfall from a couple of days ago still clung to the shady side of trees, and the snow was still rather soft to ski through in glades that do not get...[Read more]
Thursday, March 5, 2009
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Mad River Glen, Smugglers' Notch, Ticket discounts
Today I had the best powder day EVER in the East.
Sugarbush is among the Vermont resorts that were hammered by snowstorms and mountain snow showers over the last several days. Yet, on the heels of the major storm on Sunday came wild winds on Monday. The wind closed the lifts at Sugarbush by 10 a.m. on Monday. Bottom line: We would have fresh tracks and nicer weather to enjoy today. The Skimeister and I could not pass it up.
We got to Sugarbush's Lincoln Peak area about 8:30 a.m. and picked up...[Read more]
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Sugarbush
Seems like several Vermont resorts are celebrating anniversaries this year. Killington is turning 50, Sugarbush is 50 and Trapp Family Lodge's cross-country center has turned 40. To commemorate four decades of skiing, Trapp Family Lodge cut a new trail and named it "The 40 Year Trail." I would have called it the Back 40, but hey, they didn't ask.During what must have been a 14-km loop, the Skimeister and I tried out this new trail on Saturday morning and also skied for the first time on Hare...[Read more]
Monday, February 9, 2009
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Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
Saturday dawned with clear, sunny skies and the Skimeister and I cemented our plans for the day over breakfast. Despite the expected drop in temperatures during the day, we would head over to Stowe, Vt., to tackle the lower Steeple trail. It would my first time on this backcountry skiing terrain to the west of the Stowe Mountain Resort nordic center, and to the south of Mt. Mansfield. It's a historic Vermont trail that I had read about in David Goodman's "Backcountry Skiing Adventures" book,...[Read more]
Sunday, January 25, 2009
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Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Mt. Mansfield, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
Friday afternoon update: The Skimeister and I took a longish lunch and did some cross-country skiing at Catamount nordic center in Williston, Vt. The coverage was good. My poles punched through about five inches of snow on the side of the trails. So, the higher elevations should have even better snow conditions!
Bundle up and have fun this weekend. Many Vermont ski resorts are nearly 100 percent open now.
Now onto winter carnivals, which take on two forms in Vermont. The first is a collegiate...[Read more]
Friday, January 23, 2009
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Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Backcountry skiing, Burke, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Okemo, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
Depending on where you live in Vermont, you woke up this morning to temperatures in the order of -24 or -17. It was so cold last night that my house let out some very strange sounds. (Hope the siding is still attached.)
So, needless to say, this is not skiing weather. In fact, Bolton Valley Resort did not offer night skiing this week due to the cold. Over in northern Maine, Big Rock ski area closed for a couple days citing the dangerous wind chill.
This is the kind of weather that when you go...[Read more]
Friday, January 16, 2009
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Filed in: Bolton Valley, Food, coffee & après ski, Stowe, Sugarbush
I thought I'd share a few photos with you from Stowe and the Trapp Family Lodge cross-country center. I had a really fun and informative day of nordic skiing on Saturday as part of the first-ever Catamount Trail Association's Ladies Expo. More than 100 women descended on the center to get coaching in classic and skate cross-country skiing and backcountry ski techniques.
Everyone I spoke with had a terrific day. The sun was out most of the day and we were doing all sorts of drills so we...[Read more]
Sunday, January 11, 2009
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Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
Well things aren't looking great this weekend as far as the weather is concerned. What a shame—we had such great snow before Christmas!
Here in the Champlain Valley there's a lot of melting going on. The snow is making a racket as it slides off our roof. The mountain forecast for northern Vermont even calls for rain before temperatures cool off on Sunday night, with snow showers following on Monday and Tuesday. Ah, patience is a virtue.
I've been meaning to share this article from the New...[Read more]
Saturday, December 27, 2008
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Filed in: Food, coffee & après ski
"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 / downhill skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Jay Peak, 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 / downhill skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, 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 / downhill skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Jay Peak, Spring skiing, Ticket discounts
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 & après ski, Mt. Mansfield, Trapp Family Lodge
