Spring skiing
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
No Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après, Ole's, Spring skiing
This week I've seen sap buckets collecting their precious liquid. I've seen a ski technician working on his motor boat. And I've driven through mud to skate through corn snow. It must be spring skiing time in Vermont!
This weekend has been absolutely gorgeous. I was supposed to be in Colorado, but the clear blue skies and warm sun made me feel like I was there anyways!
The Skimeister and I loaded up the car on Saturday and went to check out Blueberry Hill Inn cross-country center in Goshen,...[Read more]
Sunday, March 7, 2010
No Comments
Filed in: Blueberry Hill, Cross-country skiing, Spring skiing
When you arrive at Ole's nordic center in Warren, Vermont, you can't help but notice the ski lodge looks a bit like an air traffic tower. And the orange windsocks make you really start to suspect something.
Ole's is in fact a small airport during the summer months. But to those who don't know any better, this cross-country center just seems to have a big, wide, snowy field right out its back door.
When I arrived on Wednesday afternoon, local children were wrapping up their school skiing...[Read more]
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
No Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Ole's, Spring skiing
The recent extraordinarily warm weather in Vermont has been great for biking and yard work, but not so good for skiing. This past weekend I packed up my gear and headed to Stowe. No, not for skiing, but for a wonderful bike tour around town.
Stowe's got a scenic recreation path (about 7 miles long with 11 bridges!) and rather quiet dirt roads. I like to plan out a loop up and down hills and around town so I can take in all the views.
Mt. Mansfield still was snowy near the summit and on...[Read more]
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Spring skiing, Stowe
Here's the latest on late-spring skiing in Vermont. The resorts are the usual suspects at this time of year...
Killington is still open. They hope to ski into May.
Stowe is open until Sunday, April 19, which is the Stowe - Vermont Food Bank day. Bring at least two non-perishable food items and ski for $35.
Jay Peak is still in operation. They have pond skimming this weekend.
Sugarbush plans to stay open through Sunday, April 26. Depending on snow and weather, they may re-open for May 2-3....[Read more]
Thursday, April 16, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Jay Peak, Killington, Spring skiing, Stowe, Sugarbush
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 their chairs at the top of the lift.
I dressed for winter conditions...[Read more]
Monday, April 13, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & après, Smugglers' Notch, Spring skiing
You know it's April in Vermont when on the way to skiing you stop in to look at a lawn mower.
The Skimeister and I saw a used reel mower (you know, the human-powered kind that your grandparents may have had) in Craigslist so we arranged for a look-see. We were lukewarm on the mower, but we really enjoyed our late-afternoon runs at Smugglers' Notch today.
The highest parts of the mountains in northern Vermont have continued to receive some snow. At the very top of Sterling Peak (the only lift...[Read more]
Thursday, April 9, 2009
4 Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Smugglers' Notch, Spring skiing
Mother Nature is not ready to let go of winter yet here in Vermont. On Saturday night and Sunday morning, northern and central Vermont ski resorts reported about 7 inches of new snow. For some resorts, such as Bolton Valley, this snow came in time for their final day of operation for this ski season.
Stowe, Jay Peak and Sugarbush ski resorts all reported about 7 inches in the last 48 hours. This morning Sugarbush encouraged skiers to hit the trails early today because "immature snow" (aka...[Read more]
Monday, April 6, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Jay Peak, Killington, Okemo, Spring skiing, Stowe, Stratton, Sugarbush
Believe it or not, many Vermont resorts picked up a few inches of snow early this week. I skied in it a bit late Thursday afternoon in the Bolton Valley backcountry trails.
With the warm temperatures and sunshine we have been having it was like skiing through sticky mashed potatoes. But there continues to be a lot of snow in the woods at this higher elevation and we had fun making the most of it. Although, we had to cross a stream to finish our descent on Gardner's Lane. There's a lot of...[Read more]
Friday, April 3, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Ascutney, Backcountry skiing, Bolton Valley, Jay Peak, Killington, Mt. Snow, Okemo, Smugglers' Notch, Spring skiing
The Skimeister and I went to Bolton Valley Resort on Friday afternoon for an afternoon spring ski on the backcountry trails. I wasn't completely sure what to expect back there, but the snow was very soft and there was still a lot of it.
I noted that trying to make telemark turns on soft snow that hadn't been traveled recently was challenging. It's much easier when you are doing alpine skiing and you are on well-trodden moguls.
Even still, I was able to make a handful of decent telemark turns...[Read more]
Saturday, March 28, 2009
1 Comment
Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Bolton Valley, Spring skiing
Our Wednesday afternoon ski at Smugglers' Notch, Vermont, turned out to be terrific.
It's that strange time of year when it remains cold at night—setting up the snow so it's very firm in the morning—yet it gradually softens to corn snow and even gets a little slushy in the afternoon. We worked through lunchtime and then headed up to the ski resort to ski in some of that springtime corn snow that can be so much fun.
Every once in a while I'd come upon some slick, hard-packed surfaces. These...[Read more]
Thursday, March 26, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, 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
No Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après, Spring skiing, Stowe
Today may usher in springtime, but I'm still planning on some time on the snow!
The weather has been lovely and will continue to be for much of the next five days or so. The National Weather Service is calling for increasing clouds on Saturday evening and a chance of rain or snow on Sunday morning (20 percent chance, they say). Otherwise, we're looking at sunshine on the ski slopes of northern Vermont!
It is really nice to be able to ski in light layers and slather on the sunscreen at this...[Read more]
Friday, March 20, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Cross-country skiing, Spring skiing
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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & après, 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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après, 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
No Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après, Spring skiing, Trapp Family Lodge
Well this looks like it will be a lovely spring skiing weekend here in Vermont. If you look at the weather report, you see a bright sun smiling back at you day after day. Very nice.
We'll probably go to Stowe, Vt., to do some nordic skiing at one of their cross-country ski centers. (There are a handful to choose from!) I'll be sure to pack sunglasses and sunscreen, and some snacks to enjoy in the sunshine somewhere. Doesn't that sound great?
Have you noticed that sleds have become more...[Read more]
Friday, March 13, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Cross-country skiing, Spring skiing
I enjoyed the rare treat of skiing above the clouds today. This doesn't happen too often in Vermont. It is very impressive!
We arrived at Smugglers' Notch for a morning of some skiing and thought it was going to be a cloudy day. The weather report had called for partly sunny skies, but it didn't look like it from the base lodge.
About two-thirds of the way up the Madonna I chair, the sun started breaking through the foggy clouds. We broke through to bright sunshine and we could look down over...[Read more]
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
2 Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Smugglers' Notch, Spring skiing, Winter photography
Ah, March. It can be an amazing snow month both here in Vermont and in the West. (I'm typically out for a western ski week at this time, but not this year, unfortunately. We're keeping to a budget!)
But with the recent cycles of cold and snow followed by warm weather and rain, Vermont's snowpack is now shrinking. On Saturday, the warm temperatures made for some terrific spring skiing at Smugglers' Notch. I just hope that we can get some more snow and cold weather to keep us skiing in corn snow...[Read more]
Sunday, March 8, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Smugglers' Notch, Spring skiing
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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Spring skiing, Western skiing
As I pack to make a short family visit to Colorado, I'm daydreaming of snow-capped peaks and blue skies. The Rocky Mountains are in a league of their own and I can't wait to see them again.
I stumbled across this interesting photo site recently at www.archives.gov/research/ansel-adams/. It's a National Archives site that shares some of Ansel Adams' photos of our national parks in the 1930s and 1940s.
Apparently, the US government commissioned Adams to document the parks, but World War...[Read more]
Friday, May 30, 2008
No Comments
Filed in: Spring skiing, Western skiing, Winter photography
We've had a gorgeous morning in northern Vermont. When I drove home yesterday after work, however, I looked toward Bolton Valley ski resort and beneath the lifting clouds I saw ski runs. White ski runs.Turns out the upper elevations were blanketed with snow yesterday. Stowe Mountain Resort reported about 5 inches fell on the top of the mountain. Not that I don't trust them, but I proceeded to the NOAA site and yes, there is about 18 inches at the stake near the summit of Mt. Mansfield. I...[Read more]
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
No Comments
Filed in: Mt. Mansfield, Spring skiing, Stowe
"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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & après, 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
No Comments
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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & après, 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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Food, coffee & après, 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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Backcountry skiing, Jay Peak, Spring skiing, Stowe, Ticket discounts
This morning I saw a moose! At first I thought it was a horse, but quickly I realized it was a large moose and he or she was on the move.
Now you might ask why this is so exciting. Well I didn't see the moose in the woods or along a dirt road. This guy was crossing the four lanes of Kennedy Drive in South Burlington!
For those of you familiar with South Burlington, Vt., you know that it is highly residential. There are nice small chunks of woods but really there are a lot of condos and...[Read more]
Thursday, April 10, 2008
No Comments
Filed in: Jay Peak, Spring skiing
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
No Comments
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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine skiing, Bolton Valley, Spring skiing
•
