Resorts & Mountains > Trapp Family Lodge
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
2 Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Spring skiing, Trapp Family Lodge
Resorts & Mountains > Trapp Family Lodge
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
2 Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Spring skiing, Trapp Family Lodge
A friend and I took quite the cross-country skiing tour at Trapp Family Lodge today. We skied up to the cabin, around the hill called Roundtop and then down to the maple sugarhouse to see the sugaring in progress.
We arrived when the nordic center opened at 9 a.m. I had seen some blue sky on my drive up Route 100, but by the time I put my boots on, the clouds had moved in. We would see a few minutes of sun later during our outing and luckily not a drop of rain or sleet. I made use of my...[Read more]
Saturday, March 13, 2010
1 Comment
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Spring skiing, Trapp Family Lodge
What a gorgeous day it turned out to be in Stowe, Vermont, today. I headed to Stowe with two goals in mind: check out some of the 2010 Stowe Derby race action and then take a ski myself.
The 16km race course starts atop Mt. Mansfield and wends its way down into town to follow the recreation path all the way to the church in Stowe Village. Just think — most skiers do all this on skinny skis.
It was fun to see how they actually got people through the course — having to cross a couple busy...[Read more]
Sunday, February 28, 2010
2 Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
Vermont ski resorts are reporting between one to 8 inches of fresh snow this morning — the farther north you go, the higher the total. Some resorts have been getting a little bit of snow every day this week.
This will be an exciting weekend around Stowe, Vermont. The University of Vermont Winter Carnival takes place Friday to Sunday with both alpine and nordic ski racing.
The alpine events are at Stowe Mountain Resort, while the cross-country races are at Trapp Family Lodge. We're planning...[Read more]
Thursday, February 4, 2010
1 Comment
Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Cross-country skiing, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
The two largest cross-country centers in Stowe, Vermont, are in the midst of a tiff over a forest trail that connects the nordic centers.
Because of the falling out between the Trapp Family Lodge and neighboring Stowe Mountain Resort, the Ranch Camp trail will not be groomed for at least part of its length — causing skinny-skiers to think twice about moving between the two resorts.
And the Catamount Trail Association is now saying that those who want to ski the Catamount Trail, which follows...[Read more]
Monday, December 21, 2009
3 Comments
Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Cross-country skiing, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
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 ski, Spring skiing, Trapp Family Lodge
Wow—along with some amazing new snow (it kept snowing yesterday in the mountains of Vermont), there are some hot skiing competitions happening here and abroad, as well.
As for the snow, Bolton Valley is reporting an overnight total of just over a foot, on top of the 6 inches from yesterday! Sugarbush is also reporting 17 inches in the last 48 hours. Yeow! I'm going to have to go out for a "business meeting" in the backcountry this afternoon.
Check this NOAA site for details on additional...[Read more]
Friday, February 20, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Backcountry skiing, Bolton Valley, Cross-country skiing, Sugarbush, Trapp Family Lodge
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
2 Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
This weekend's UVM Winter Carnival 2009 brought fast skis and fit racers to the courses at Stowe Mountain Resort and the Trapp Family Lodge. We caught some of the action at the Men's 10K Freestyle cross-country race on Saturday at Trapp's.
It was the inaugural event on Trapp's newly designed race course. It starts in the field right outside the cross-country center and proceeds down the practice slope, then sharply left and over to a long hill near Deer Pond. From there, the course switchbacks...[Read more]
Sunday, February 8, 2009
No Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
The snow remains in great shape here in Vermont. Yesterday the Skimeister and I took a quick cross-country ski nearby and the coverage was excellent. It was very chilly, however, so we retreated to the warmth of our home rather quickly.
The weather will warm up by Saturday, when we expect to watch nordic ski racing in Stowe at the UVM Winter Carnival and ski around Trapp Family Lodge's cross-country trails.
With Valentine's Day coming up next week, I thought I'd share this article about...[Read more]
Thursday, February 5, 2009
1 Comment
Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Cross-country skiing, Okemo, Stowe, Sugarbush, 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
1 Comment
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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Backcountry skiing, Burke, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Okemo, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
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
No Comments
Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
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
1 Comment
Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Burke, Craftsbury, Cross-country skiing, Killington, Trapp Family Lodge
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
No Comments
Filed in: Cross-country skiing, Food, coffee & après ski, Mt. Mansfield, Trapp Family Lodge
I love checklists. It gives me great satisfaction to tick things off as I complete them. Yesterday I had the pleasure of checking off the Bolton-Trapp Trail on my skiing to-do list for this season. It was the first time I had done this backcountry excursion and it was tiring, but extra snowy and fun!
The Skimeister, his step-mom and I dropped a car on Nebraska Valley Road in Moscow (a section of Stowe), Vermont, before driving to our starting point at the Bolton Valley nordic center. The car...[Read more]
Sunday, March 2, 2008
No Comments
Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Bolton Valley, Catamount Trail, Trapp Family Lodge
The Catamount Trail Association (CTA), the group that cares for the 300-mile trail that runs the length of Vermont, got some good press a couple of days ago in the Burlington Free Press.
The article is not online (sorry, the Free Press site is extremely lame) but it reported that the organization is hosting the most ski trips and events this winter than ever before. About 30 individuals are leading nearly 60 ski tours.
The tours are rated for different abilities and you must sign up in...[Read more]
Friday, February 22, 2008
No Comments
Filed in: Backcountry skiing, Bolton Valley, Catamount Trail, Trapp Family Lodge
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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine / downhill 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
No Comments
Filed in: Alpine / downhill skiing, Cross-country skiing, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
