Ski Vermont 2013 Magazine

IT’S ALL ABOUT MOM.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 A HIGHER EDUCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 WINTER IN ITS ORIGINAL STATE. . . . . . 25 PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.. . 29 ALSO: GET YOUR GLIDE ON

$29 BEGINNER LESSONS FARM-TO-TABLE RECIPES + MORE

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID BURLINGTON, VT PERMIT NO. 19

I REALIZED Vermont is a state of mind.

Experience the best of Vermont & Green Mountain Coffee® by visiting our Visitor Center and Café, 1 Rotarian Place, Waterbury, VT WaterburyStation.com

© 2011 2 GMCR

At Green Mountain Coffee, we know how important it is to have a moment to focus on what really matters. That’s why we make delicious coffee worth savoring.

GreenM Gre enMoun enM ountai oun tainCo nCoffe ffee.c e.com 4

skivermont.com

2013 ISSUE

DITOR E Jason Gibbs DESIGN Methodikal, Inc. PRINTER Lane Press COVER PHOTO Dennis Curran CONTACT INFO Ski Vermont P.O. Box 368 Montpelier, VT 05601 T: 802.223.2439 F: 802.229.6917 www.SkiVermont.com —Ski Vermont —Ski_Vermont On the cover: You. Winter. And the perfect view.

2 FRESH TRACKS Sharing the love.

20 A HIGHER EDUCATION

Minivan. Mountain. Moment. Repeat.

Story by Luke Stafford

4 VERMONT HAPPENINGS Your guide to winter events.

25 WINTER IN ITS ORIGINAL STATE The inspiration of innovation.

Story by Peter Oliver

6 GET YOUR GLIDE ON

Slide along, self-propelled.

Story by Sam von Trapp

29 THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Mixing business with pleasure.

Story by Mike Hannigan

8 SKI-CABULARY

Speak the local language.

Story by Sarah Neith

11 CHEAP & EASY

$29 Beginner Lessons.

Only in January. Only in Vermont.

36 FROM OUR FARMS TO YOUR TABLE

Recipes from Ski Vermont’s best chefs and most memorable restaurants.

52 TIMING IS EVERYTHING The après-ski scene.

Story by Pete Biolsi

Story by Jason Gibbs

15 IT’S ALL ABOUT MOM

Why more and more women are choosing Vermont.

Story by Iseult Devlin

Courtesy of Justin Cash

PUBLISHER SKI VERMONT Sky Foulkes, Chair Parker Riehle, President Jason Gibbs, Director of Marketing

60 ALPINE AND NORDIC SKIING FACTS AND STATS

Get the details on Vermont’s diverse array of skiing and riding destinations.

SkiVermont.com

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FRESH TRACKS

SHARING THE LOVE

YOU’RE NOT SURPRISED TO READ THAT… You’re thinking: People who live in a state that has nearly six months of winter, produces the most winter Olympians, has the most skiing and snowboarding academies in the country, gets by far the most snow in the East, has the world’s most powerful snowmaking system and has no square inch more than 45 minutes away from a big mountain resort should naturally be obsessed with winter. Right?

OK, maybe you’re not thinking that…but we are more than willing to admit that it is true. We love winter. From border to border, we live and breathe an authentic mountain lifestyle.

The one, and only, thing we love more than living this lifestyle is sharing it with you.

WE’RE HERE FOR YOU… From getting the kids out of bed and fed and off to school each morning to the demands of your job, you’re working harder than ever. We understand. You deserve relief. You’ve earned a break. And Vermont has exactly what you need.

Embracing the purity and simplicity of the mountains, and the opportunities they offer to relax and recharge, is what we are all about.

In Vermont, one size does not fit all. Vermont is custom tailored for you, your family and your friends.

The menu of options is enormous. From classic New England

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experiences to world-class luxury, we offer something for everyone. No other winter destination has the depth or breadth of options, or the consistency of quality. No place is better prepared to provide the experience that you deserve.

WE’RE LISTENING… You have a vision of the perfect winter experience.

We get it. We hear you.

It’s a casual and elegant retreat, with quaint villages, big mountains and perfect snow. It’s the welcoming smile of warm people who are devoted to exceeding your expectations, and who genuinely enjoy your company. It’s a unique experience that is rich with culture and punctuated by outrageously delicious, and locally produced, foods.

It’s authentic. And, at the end of the day, it inspires and rejuvenates—sending you back to your daily life energized and looking forward to when you will once again return.

We have that vision too. Vermont—our entire state—is dedicated to providing you with what you need to make this vision, your vision, a reality. Every day we roll up our sleeves and get to work, making innovative enhancements that make your mountain experience even better.

We believe in being better in all that we do and all that we provide. We believe in a future filled with great memories made in the mountains. And we believe there is no higher calling in life than the sharing of our love of the mountains, winter and Vermont. That’s who we are.

You can count on Vermont to deliver the experience that you imagine and that you deserve. We won’t let you down.

Courtesy of C. Nelson James/MHF

In Vermont, a deeply ingrained need to slide and glide on snow influences most aspects of our daily wintertime lives. We check the weather compulsively. We get giddy at the mere chance of snow, downright uncontainable on snowy nights and hypercharged on bluebird days. Our passion for snow—or more specifically, for enjoying it—isn’t a hobby; it’s a way of life.

There’s Snow Place Like Stratton “Great Slopes, great prices, great on everything!”

Kim J.

“Great family resort. The best in the Northeast.”

Darlene D.

“You can’t beat Stratton!”

Denis C.

www.stratton.com

1.800.stratton

FRESH TRACKS

2012–2013 MOUNTAIN HAPPENINGS BOLTON VALLEY RESORT

JAY PEAK RESORT

MAGIC MOUNTAIN

HAPPY HOLIDAYS December 17–25, 2012

THE SECOND ANNUAL COLLEGE WEEK January 6–11, 2013

NEW YEAR’S BASH December 31, 2012

www.boltonvalley.com/things-to-do/events-calendar

jaypeakresort.com

www.magicmtn.com/eventscalendar.php

COLLEGE DAYS January 7–18, 2013

FARMERS’ APPRECIATION DAY January 25, 2013

50 YEARS OF MAGIC RETRO DAY & PARTY February 9, 2013

www.boltonvalley.com/things-to-do/events-calendar

jaypeakresort.com

www.magicmtn.com/eventscalendar.php

BOLTON AFTER DARK Every Saturday starting in January

JAY PEAK AND SKI THE EAST’S EXTREME COMP March 16–17, 2013

WINTERFEST 2013 February 23, 2013

www.boltonvalley.com/things-to-do/events-calendar

www.magicmtn.com/eventscalendar.php

jaypeakresort.com MOUNTAIN DEW VERTICAL CHALLENGE March 16, 2013

www.boltonvalley.com/things-to-do/events-calendar

JAY PEAK’S 39TH ANNUAL BEACH PARTY March 30, 2013

jaypeakresort.com POND SKIMMING March 23, 2013

MIDDLEBURY SNOWBOWL NCAA DIVISION 1 ALPINE SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS March 6–8, 2013

middlebury.edu/about/facilities/snow_bowl

www.boltonvalley.com/things-to-do/events-calendar

MOUNT SNOW RESORT BROMLEY MOUNTAIN RESORT

BUD LIGHT MARDI GRAS February 9–10, 2013

FAMILY FRIDAYS Every Friday this 2012/13 Winter Season, excluding holiday periods

www.mountsnow.com/events

www.winter.bromley.com/news/calendar MLK MONDAY MADNESS January 21, 2013

KILLINGTON RESORT

www.winter.bromley.com/news/calendar

RAILS 2 RICHES, KILLINGTON RESORT December 8, 2012

SPRING FLING WEEKEND March 23–24, 2013

www.killington.com/winter/activities/calendar

www.winter.bromley.com/news/calendar

COLLEGIATE WINTER GAMES January 7–11, 2013

BURKE MOUNTAIN RESORT

www.killington.com/winter/activities/calendar

ANNUAL POND SKIMMING CELEBRATION April 2013

NOR’BEASTER March 22–31, 2013

www.skiburke.com

www.killington.com/winter/activities/calendar

WINTERBIKE AT KINGDOM TRAILS March 2013

MAD RIVER GLEN

www.skiburke.com

ROLL BACK THE CLOCK DAY January 29, 2013

www.madriverglen.com/?Page=calendar.php MAD RIVER VALLEY RANDONEE RALLY February 3, 2013

www.madriverglen.com/?Page=calendar.php NORTH AMERICAN TELEMARK FESTIVAL March 9–10, 2013

www.madriverglen.com/?Page=calendar.php MAD RIVER GLEN TRIPLE CROWN MOGUL CHALLENGE March 23, 2013

www.madriverglen.com/?Page=calendar.php 4

SkiVermont.com

CLOUD NINE NUPTIALS February 14, 2013

www.mountsnow.com/events VERNAL ETERNAL Late February through early April

www.vernaleternal.com

FRESH TRACKS

MOUNTAIN TOP INN & RESORT EASTERN CUP RACE (NORDIC) January 12–13, 2013

www.nensa.net/calendar/ ANNUAL PAINTBALL BIATHLON January 26–27, 2013

www.mountaintopinn.com

OKEMO MOUNTAIN RESORT SKI MAGAZINE SUPER DEMO December 8–9, 2012

www.okemo.com/okemowinter/ourmountain/events/ calendar.asp OKEMO FAMILY NEW YEAR’S EVE December 31, 2012

www.okemo.com/okemowinter/ourmountain/events/ calendar.asp LIGHT THE NIGHT RAIL JAM March 9, 2013

STOWE MOUNTAIN RESORT

SUGARBUSH RESORT

STOWEFEST DEMO DAY December 8, 2012

COMMUNITY DAY October 6, 2012

www.stowe.com/activities/calendar/

www.sugarbush.com/vermont-activities-events/calendar

75TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Season-long events

13TH ANNUAL NATIONALLY SANCTIONED ICE CARVING COMPETITION January 26, 2013

SUGARING TIME FESTIVAL March 17, 2013

www.picomountain.com/winter/the_mountain/events

www.stowe.com/activities/calendar/

RIKERT NORDIC CENTER

STOWE DERBY February 24, 2013

www.okemo.com/okemowinter/ourmountain/events/ calendar.asp

PICO MOUNTAIN

NCAA DIVISION 1 NORDIC SKIING CHAMPIONSHIPS March 6–9, 2013

www.rikertnordic.com ROMANCE HALF-MARATHON March

MAD TRIATHLON May 11, 2013

www.sugarbush.com/vermont-activities-events/calendar

www.stowe.com/activities/calendar/

STRATTON MOUNTAIN RESORT COLLEGE WEEK January 9–13, 2013

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE RACE TO THE SLAYTON PASTURE CABIN January 19, 2013

www.trappfamily.com

www.stratton.com/events

www.rikertnordic.com RIKERT WOMEN’S DAY TBD

TUBBS ROMP TO STOMP OUT BREAST CANCER January 26, 2013

www.rikertnordic.com

www.tubbsromptostomp.com/vt/

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH RESORT

24 HOURS OF STRATTON March 23–24, 2013

BREWFEST December 8, 2012 and March 30, 2013

www.sugarbush.com/vermont-activities-events/calendar

NENSA TD BANK EASTERN CUP /UVM CARNIVAL February 2–3, 2013

www.nensa.net RELAY FOR LIFE NORDIC STYLE March 16–17, 2013

www.relayforlife.org/nordicstylevt

www.stratton.com/events

www.smuggs.com DISNEY FAMILYFUN WINTER CARNIVAL February 21, 2013

www.smuggs.com For more information on these events and to find out what else is going on, head to SkiVermont.com/events-and-deals

SkiVermont.com

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by Sam von Trapp

N

ordic (aka cross-country) skiing has many benefits— and there is no better place to kick-start, or cultivate, your love of this welcoming and reinvigorating sport than in Vermont. The experience of our winter woods—taken in at your own pace—is like no other.

If you’re new to winter activities, Nordic skiing and snowshoeing offer an ultra-easy introduction to loving winter. If you’re a frequent skier or snowboarder, Nordic sports offer a new twist to sliding on snow.

The many benefits of sliding along, self-propelled, surrounded by nature, are profound. Whether it’s the energizing exercise, the inspiration of winter flora and fauna, or the surreal climatic creations of Mother Nature, Nordic skiing can relax and revitalize you.

Recent evolutions in equipment have made it easier to explore all that Nordic skiing has to offer. Race skis continue to get faster and lighter, recreational touring skis have become more versatile and user-friendly, and backcountry skis can easily be confused with downhill telemark skis when a skier is seen ripping powerful turns in powder—only to ascend again to go find more.

Waxless touring is currently the most dynamic, and fastest-growing, side of Nordic skiing. Skiers can get out 6

SkiVermont.com

for an amazing workout, enjoy a leisurely tour or descend significant vertical, all on the same set of gear. Whatever your goals, there’s a Nordic skiing experience perfect for you.

Don’t get me wrong; I love to alpine ski. But I strive to achieve a balance between alpine and Nordic skiing in my winter schedule. That’s what loving winter is all about. Speaking of balance, Nordic skiing is a great way to develop a finely honed feel for the snow and improve balancing techniques necessary for both alpine skiing and snowboarding.

Vermont is fortunate to have some of the finest Nordic skiing in the world—that’s why my family started the nation’s first Nordic skiing resort here.

Come join our ranks and discover for yourself the benefits of one of the greatest sports in the world. It’s never too late to start skiing the way the sport originated.

And mark your calendars for Saturday, January 12, 2013, when more than a dozen Vermont ski areas will offer free Nordic skiing lessons, rental equipment discounts and free trail passes for the day.

Ed. Note: Sam von Trapp is the son of Trapp Family Lodge founder Johannes von Trapp and grandson of the legendary Maria von Trapp of Sound of Music fame.

He’s an avid outdoorsman, alpine and Nordic skier and all-around great guy.

Sam and his wife Elisa live in Stowe.

Courtesy of Justin Cash

GET YOUR GLIDE ON

hoto © Brian Mohr/EmberP

SKI VT 2012 Winter Ad_Layout 1 7/11/12 9:26 AM Page 1

KIDS SKI FREE WITH THE 5TH GRADE PASSPORT

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FRESH TRACKS

www.trappfamily.com

Winter in Vermont rocks. It’s a way of life, an opportunity to get outdoors, to be healthy and active, and to share amazing experiences with friends and family.

Saving money–that rocks too. The Ski Vermont 5th Grade Passport program lets all 5th graders ski and ride for free, and fall in love with winter in its original state. Learn more and sign your future Olympian up at skivermont.com.

NEED A LIFT?

BIG MOUNTAIN SKIING & RIDING

Packed with Value for the Whole Family Ski to your door lodging from $79* per person/night

boltonvalley.com | 1.877.9BOLTON *Dates and restrictions apply. Call for details.

You don’t have to leave winter in Vermont behind when you head home. Before your memory melts away, scoop up the latest and greatest Ski Vermont poster to adorn your wall. Grab the one that speaks best to your day on snow, or make the entire collection yours. We’ve got you covered at SkiVermont.com, where you’ll find pricing details and how to place your order.

SkiVermont.com

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Ski Vermont’s

Ski-cabulary: A Guide to Understanding the Slang of Your Mountain Cohorts by sarah neith

Whether you’re a free-heeler, two-planker, or knuckle-dragging shred head, you don’t want to get caught speechless on the slopes. So just for you, our snow-loving friends, we’ve identified some of the strangest and most interesting phrases used on the mountains of Vermont.

Free-heeler – A telemark skier, defined by his or her

equipment and turning style. Telemark bindings allow the heel to move separately from the ski, and telemark turns are led with the heel flat on the downhill ski, while the uphill ski is pulled beneath the skier’s body with a flexed knee and raised heel.

Giant Slalom – Nope, it’s not a big fish. The giant slalom is

a technical event in alpine ski racing where gates are spaced apart at a greater distance than in a regular slalom but a smaller distance than in the Super G.

again dropping down a fall line, getting air and doin’ a daffy…hopefully in a neon one-piece.

Jibbing – Possibly born out of urban and suburban

boredom, jibbing was created when skiers and snowboarders alike found that you could have snow-sport fun on other surfaces found around the yard, town or city.

Jibbing is basically sliding down just about anything that isn’t snow, such as rails, boxes, downed limbs, old cars, trash cans, concrete walls—you get the point.

Off-Piste – Some like to take the road less traveled.

Grom – Pulled from surf culture, grom is a term defined as

one who is young and skilled in ripping, whether on skis or a snowboard. A grom usually hangs in the park but will probably show you up on the trail as well.

Hero Snow – Hero snow is identified when the skier

experiences an effortless feeling of turning. Skis engage and carve through hero snow like a warm knife through butter. Simply put, it makes you feel like an amazing skier who can go anywhere and do anything. It may even make you a hero.

Hotdogging – Since neon is back, we’re bringing back

hotdogging! Before perfect parks dotted resorts, skiers and riders did tricks on trails, preferably in full view of spectators. You still might see someone every now and

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On snow, this is called off-piste. Technically it’s defined as existing or taking place on snow that has not been compacted by track, but the term is more often used as skiing virgin snow off regular trails.

Peel-away – Yes, it happens when it’s warmer, but it’s not what

you may think. Peel-away is a way to describe perfect spring conditions. It’s when the snow warms up just enough to create a soft velvety top layer that literally peels away from the base.

Schussing – To schuss is to ski in a straight line down the

mountain. This is surprising, as upon hearing the word one might envision old-school skiers with tight turns, legs pressed together, feet in leather boots, sporting a Nordic sweater. Whatever the word conjures in your mind, it clearly has a nostalgic ring. “Schuss,” a ski-wearing cartoon

BIG MOUNTAIN TERRAIN SMALL MOUNTAIN CHARM Whether it’s challenging steeps and glades or smooth cruisers and gentle learning terrain - you’ll find it all at Pico Mountain. Pico’s vertical drop of 1,967’, taller than 80% of ski areas in Vermont, will excite even the most selective of skiers and riders.

Pico’s central base area, featuring a cozy lodge with stone fireplaces, makes it easy to stay connected with family and friends throughout the day. When it’s time to recharge you’ll find a variety of fare including homemade waffles, hot sandwiches and kidfriendly food options to keep you going. Pico Mountain is open Thursday - Monday and peak periods from mid December through March.

Open THURSDAY thru MONDAY & PEAK PERIODS 52 trails ° 7 lifts ° 1,967’ vertical Go to picomountain.com/skivermont to check out our latest deal.

Offers will change throughout the season, so check back often.

©2012 Killington/Pico Ski Resort Partners, LLC.

W12-13_SkiVermont_AD.indd 1

character, was even an unofficial mascot at the 1968 winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France.

Shred the Gnar – Gnar is just a shortened version of

gnarly, signifying everything that is awesome and most likely referring to massive amounts of the white stuff falling from the sky. To truly shred the gnar you need only impress your friends with sweet floating turns, maybe do a trick or two and deliver many elated whoops.

8/31/2012 2:58:52 PM

in as possible from open to close on Saturday and Sunday, and then trekking back Sunday night. We salute their efforts and dedication by bestowing on them the title Weekend Warrior—it is reserved for those with optimal stamina and an insatiable craving for snow. We salute you, Weekend Warriors.

Yard Sale – To scatter one’s equipment along a ski trail,

most likely immediately after a big biff on a bump run.

Double ejection binding release and stranded poles are required. Price tags are not.

Steez – Style and ease combine to define steez. Whether you

apply personal style to your apparel or pull a trick with slickness and grace, steez is applicable. Examples: “Jessica’s looking steezy today!” or “Parker’s corked 720 had mad steez!”

Weekend Warrior – In the “real” world, most of us have

a nine-to-five, Monday-through-Friday work schedule and a family to feed and entertain. We get through it by working for the weekend, and dreaming of the adventures we’ll have after the clock reaches 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Certain people go the distance and get the most out of their weekends by packing up the family fun wagon on Friday, making the trek to the mountain resort of their choice, getting as many runs

Want to take it even further?

Create new skiing and snowboarding slang and post it to our Facebook page for optimal spread. If it’s legit—and makes us laugh—you might even score some awesome swag. (Swag: Free prizes and promotional items such as posters, magnets, hats, water bottles, etc.) We look forward to “speaking” with you all season long.

SkiVermont.com

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Book your Ski+Stay now at

OKEMO.COM (800) 78 OKEMO

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defies gravity.

Courtesy of Mount Snow

FRESH TRACKS

$29 FIRST-TIMER LESSONS!

CHEAP & EASY. ONLY IN JANUARY. ONLY IN VERMONT. Vermonters are downright evangelical about convincing neverever skiers and snowboarders to become lifelong believers in the world of winter. We’re winter’s first and most dedicated missionaries, a ragtag crew of skihovahs witnesses. (Don’t bother Googling it, we made it up.) And, in 2013, we’ve set out to build a record-setting number of new enthusiasts, one life-changing lesson at a time. But we can’t do it alone. We need you.

SO, WHAT’S THE DEAL? All year long, resorts offer incredible discounts for first-timers and lifelong learners looking to improve their skills. But get this: In January, first-time skiers and snowboarders can get a full lesson filled with high fives and fist bumps, state-of-the-art rental gear and a beginner lift ticket for just $29!

SAY WHAT? Seriously. $29. Only in January. Only in Vermont. We’re not making this up. We don’t joke about things like this. That’d be sacri-ski-legious (don’t bother Googling this one either).

Indeed, far from being sacriskilegious, this $29 deal is totally for real. That’s how much we want converts. First-timers just need to sign up at www.skivermont.com/learn.

SHARE THE LOVE There are thousands of souls to save, my friends—and we need your voice in the choir to save them.

want to love winter. People you cannot, in good conscience, allow to wander through life not understanding the freedom and exhilaration of this devotion.

Maybe you have a boyfriend or girlfriend (or both…we’re cool with that too) who doesn’t fully appreciate the spiritual rejuvenation of a pilgrimage to the mountain. Maybe there are people in your crew, your office or your actual church who can be saved. Whatever the circumstance, whatever the reason, this is your chance. Save them.

Liberate them. Change their lives forever!

Just go to www.skivermont.com/learn and sign them up. Then, ditch them with us for a few hours, we’ll work our magic, and presto—you’ll have someone who shares your love of winter.

And our skiing and riding family will be one step closer to total global domination.

We’ll even reward you with a chance to win an amazing trip from www.bringafriend.org!

WHY VERMONT? We think you know the answer to that. Sure, you could take a skiing or snowboarding lesson at some other mountain in some other state. But why would you? It’s only $29. Only in January.

And only in Vermont, home to winter in its original state.

It’s all carved in (virtual) stone at www.skivermont.com/learn.

Let’s face it, if you’re already a skier or snowboarder (or maybe you swing both ways…we’re cool with that), you know people who need this conversion. People who, deep inside, you know

Can I get an Amen?

SkiVermont.com

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FRESH TRACKS

INSIDER GEAR GUIDE STEEZ FOR YOUR NOGGIN: The low-profile RED Commander Helmet is made for your daily abuse, while anon’s M1 Goggle gives you Magna-Tech™ capabilities for swapping out lenses on the fly. www.redprotection.com | www.anonoptics.com Helmet: RED, Commander Goggle: anon, M1

WE ARE IN HOT PURSUIT OF FUN: The new Pursuit HP Ti is a hard-charging, high-performance carving ski loaded with horsepower for technical expert skiers. World Cup technologies and titanal sandwich construction provide rock-solid stability and confident edge grip. Power Turn Rocker combines subtle tip rocker with traditional camber, delivering the explosive power of World Cup race skis combined with more playful carving for adrenaline-pumping, hard-snow performance. www.rossignol.com

LITTLE MISS MUFFET HAS NEVER BEEN SO SCARED: The Silent Spider 62 is one of the most versatile skis Fischer produces and is perfect for the New England winters. The ski will fit in a track for use at your favorite Nordic Center but is just the right width for making your own track out the back door. The new Off Track pattern, a full metal edge and shorter lengths for control make it a New England favorite. www.fischerskis.com

Any season. Any reason.

Follow us

CAN I GET A SHOW OF HANDS: New this season, the Exodus glove is a premier style within Kombi’s Lifted collection.

A strategic combination of ripstop nylon, three-layer softshell and a goatskin leather palm create a protective yet flexible barrier against the elements. Hands stay warm and dry with a waterproof/ breathable Gore-tex® insert, Primaloft® insulation, and plush high-pile fleece lining. The Dual-Pull cuff closure system provides a snow-proof seal. www.kombiltd.com

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If you’re not being yourself ... who is going to be You? We like to keep it simple. In our world, there are two kinds of people – those who like to get outside for some fresh air and maybe a few turns, and those who live for, and get the most out of, every minute they spend in a cold mountain environment. We make gear for the second group. The ones who don’t mind – and sometimes actually prefer - taking the harder way; who understand that in order to get fresh tracks coming down, you sometimes have to make them going up. People who like to break trail, and think a lunch consisting of freeze-dried beef stew on the Jet Boil is fine cuisine. People who get their stuff dirty, sweaty and sometimes bloody. In other words, mountain athletes.

Courtesy of Justin Cash

In Vermont, It’s All About

By Iseult Devlin More and more women are choosing Vermont in the winter, whether they ski or not. The reason? Vermont’s mountain resorts have more to offer women than just snow. Whether it’s womenspecific events and programs or zip lines, snowshoeing and spa treatments, ski resorts have become premium playgrounds for the entire family— especially Mom. Rumson, N.J., resident Dorothy Bailey used to take her family to Steamboat, Colo., for a week each year, before deciding the kids needed extra time on snow. So the Bailey family rented a place at Stratton Mountain Resort and her children—Lizzie, Rachel and Sam— started seasonal programs.

“Our children were not getting enough instruction and wanted to be able to come up to Vermont both for vacations and on weekends so they could get more instruction and have the same instructor,” says Bailey, whose children

are all under the age of 12. She’s giving them a gift by helping them become skiers for life, she adds.

“Vermont was a better fit for us, and we realized we didn’t have to go out west to have a great ski experience and get really good training,” she says. Last winter the family skied every weekend until the end of the season. In addition to having abundant natural snow, Bailey adds, “Vermont is so accessible and they do a really good job with snowmaking.”

But it’s not all about the kids.

Bailey enrolled in a seasonal skiing program for women so she could improve her own technique and keep up with her offspring. “That’s what motivated me to really step up my game,” she says. “There are so few sports you can enjoy as a family, and I wanted to be able to enjoy skiing with my kids.”

Taking lessons changed Bailey’s entire

outlook on winter. And she’s not alone.

For Jenny Steingart, trying the sport of skiing in her 40s required some coaxing.

“After I took some lessons, I fell in love with skiing,” says the New York City resident and mother of three. “Having watched my kids learn new things reignited my own desire to participate in new activities.”

Linda Scott, another New Jersey skier, watched her kids progress year after year.

“Why am I not taking lessons?” she asked herself last winter. “You can only get so far with pointers from friends.”

She treated herself to a private lesson in Vermont. “I got the best instruction I have ever had, and the more I take lessons, the more confident I feel and the more I want to go,” she says.

New modern gear specifically designed for women also helped Scott. “If I’m going to ski with my family, I should SkiVermont.com

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Single skier photo credit: Brian Mohr/EmberPhoto.com Single chair photo credit: John Williams

Skiers are drawn to Mad River by the feeling of a true wilderness experience unsullied by money, pretense or pomp... Mad River Glen is simply the last great place where skiing is stripped to its bare and sublime essence. It is far more than a ski hill- it is an ideal, a belief, that echoes in the heart of every true skier.

- A MRG Skier

www.madriverglen.com

Make the Pilgrimage

be totally comfortable and not in pain,” she says. She does acknowledge, however, that choosing spa and gym activities at a resort is also an excellent option for women. “If you’re not skiing, there’s nothing better than a day at the spa as an alternative,” she says, noting, however, “a part of me wanted to be out there with my kids.”

The beauty of a winter vacation in Vermont is that most resorts offer off-the-mountain activities such as yoga, aromatherapy, spa and wellness treatments, and access to gym facilities.

Many of these programs are developed especially for women.

In addition, for those seeking a unique thrill, there are also non-snow-related mountain activities like zip lining and riding mountain coasters. Many resorts have tubing, snowmobiling and dog sledding as additional alternative activities. Jay Peak Resort even built a 50,000-square-foot indoor water park where you can enjoy a poolside book and, thanks to the retractable glass roof, bask in the sun.

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

“Now that I’ve come out of my winter shell, I’m fully engaged and doing more fun outdoor winter activities than I ever imagined.”

“I had no skiing experience, and that was the biggest impediment” to getting excited at the prospect of a ski vacation, says Boston resident Maggie Seelig, whose husband grew up skiing. She reluctantly went on a vacation to Stowe Mountain Resort when invited by a friend and immediately got hooked on the entire experience.

Instead of skiing, Seelig discovered snowshoeing, thanks to some daily sessions organized at Stowe to get her started.

Coupled with the resort’s additional offsnow amenities, the experience led Seelig to develop a new love of winter.

“Now that I’ve come out of my winter shell, I’m fully engaged and doing more fun outdoor winter activities than I ever imagined,” says the mother of three children under the age of 8. “I go with a group of friends—it’s been awesome. It’s so aerobic: I start out [all bundled up] with lots of layers and then peel them off like an onion.”

Seelig and her husband were so motivated by the experience that they

invested in partial ownership at Stowe Mountain Lodge. “We have some real family memories happening here,” she says, adding that the children can roam around the resort on their own with friends, giving her and her husband downtime for romantic dinners and other special experiences.

But beyond the romance, discovering a love of winter and making family memories that last a lifetime, there are winter experiences in Vermont that allow women to focus on…themselves.

Casual group gatherings for women, like Seelig’s snowshoeing experiences, can be found at many resorts.

Smugglers’ Notch Resort has the Mountain Experience camp, offering a fun option for women. “It’s a small group with a laid-back mountain tour atmosphere,” says Karen Boushie, Smugglers’ public relations director.

Groups meet daily from 10:00 to 3:00, so it’s perfect timing for snow sports school drop-off, she notes.

When it’s time to step it up a notch, SkiVermont.com

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BROMLEY MOUNTAIN: Mom’s Day Off, 2/8/13.

Show a picture of your kid and ski or ride all day for a $15 donation to the S.W. Vt. Regional Cancer Center Breast Care Program.

Courtesy of Deshler Photography

KILLINGTON RESORT: Gold Medalist Donna Weinbrecht returns for another season of Women’s Weekend clinics, including a kickoff party, meals and instruction.

MOUNT SNOW RESORT: In March, Girls’ Day Out is a freestyle snowboarding clinic for ages 13+, with optional yoga session.

OKEMO MOUNTAIN RESORT: Women’s Alpine Adventures has been entertaining women for 15+ years with the Seven Steps to Success clinic.

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH RESORT: The Mountain Experience Camp is a laid-back mountain tour from 10:00 to 3:00 so moms have time to drop the kids at “school.”

STRATTON MOUNTAIN RESORT: Join Stratton’s Green Mountain Women’s get-together every Wednesday for guided skiing and riding, plus instruction.

SUGARBUSH RESORT: Women’s Ski Discovery Camp is a multiday event with instruction by U.S. Ski Team racer Lisa Densmore and guest coach John Egan.

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE: The annual Ladies Nordic Ski Expo takes place in early January, but usually sells out by mid-December (register at catamounttrail.org).

THE WOODSTOCK INN & RESORT: Women’s Wellness Weekend, April 26-28, 2013, with healthy lifestyle tips, exercise, spa treatments, and culinary and wine events.

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SkiVermont.com

there are a variety of women’s camps for all abilities, featuring instruction, friendship and personal pampering.

Vermont also offers the opportunity for women to ski with, and learn from, stars—an Olympic gold medal winner, extreme skiers and former U.S. Ski Team members. For example, mogul champ Donna Weinbrecht, who won a gold medal at the Albertville Olympics, returns to Killington this year to lead mogul clinics for women. But don’t worry, it’s not all about moguls.

“The focus is to provide a nice, safe environment and lots of camaraderie to learn new skills on how to be efficient in moguls and have fun with it,” Weinbrecht says. She covers turn shape, tactics, approach, absorption and visualizing a route. “We work on absorption skills by going across the hill and techniques in the flats getting the body to [work on] a sinking motion pretending there are moguls.”

Not ready for a mogul clinic? The Women’s Ski Discovery Camps at Sugarbush feature former U.S. Ski Team racer Lisa Densmore, whose enthusiasm can get almost anyone to challenge herself. Women are divided into groups called the Daring Divas, Carve Queens and Bump Betties.

Densmore, who has instructed 5,000 women in her clinics since 1991, teaches women to draw on their skills and other aspects of their lives to overcome terrain on the hill. “Don’t worry if you make one or two bad turns, just keep going,” Densmore explains. “Push your personal envelope—that’s one of the things that makes you better as a skier.”

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Women’s Camps and Other Mom-Friendly Events

At Okemo’s Women’s Alpine Adventures clinic, director Maria Tomaselli, honored as one of the country’s top instructors

by Skiing magazine, has been helping women ski better for more than 15 years.

“Once they put on that Mom label they start thinking about everyone else— they never get to be selfish,” she says.

Tomaselli’s Seven Steps to Success clinic tackles issues that keep some women frozen in their tracks.

“When they step out of their comfort zone and see that they can do it, they conquer the fear of the unknown and new things open up,” she explains, adding that she arms women with tools, information and skills to build confidence so they can reach new heights.

Whether you want to come to Vermont to improve your skills, try something new, give your children a gift for life— or just be pampered—there’s a mountain resort in Vermont waiting for you.

white noise is music to our ears. have you ever heard the sound of a million snowflakes colliding? the silence is deafening. six mountains. 140 trails. 750+ skiable acres. backed by the planet’s most advanced snowmaking system. that’s the nature of the beast.

the nature of

the beast killington.com/skivermont

HIGHER EDUCATION Courtesy of Deshler Photography

BY LUKE STAFFORD

This is the classic tale of skier-meetsVermont. They fall in love and the skier ends up applying to colleges in Vermont to be near the Green Mountains. After graduation, the relationship may hit some rough patches, with the skier moving west for a year or two to f“ ind himself.” In the end, though, the skier swoons back to Vermont'’s embrace. The house, the Subaru, the career and the family swiftly follow. And they all live snowily ever after.

My story begins with a mid-March trip to Stratton Mountain Resort. I was 14 and had never set foot in Vermont. My mother piled my brother and me and all our snowboard gear into our Dodge Caravan and we set off north from New York on I-87. I stared out the window as the median, colored a pale brown and devoid of any snow, whizzed by. Perhaps my many years of retelling this story have enhanced the next part a bit, but I swear to you that the moment, the exact moment, we crossed the border into Vermont, it started snowing. I know— the romance of it is enough to make you nauseous, right?

Well, it gets better.

That night would see a one-foot snowstorm. I spent the next day seeking and destroying every patch of fresh powder I could find on the trails. The skies cleared and the sun came out on the second day, and for the first time I saw how big and beautiful a ski mountain could be. When we got home to New York that night, I tacked a Stratton trail map to my bedroom wall. There it hung, beneath a Nirvana poster, until I left for college four years later.

I applied to a handful of colleges all over the Northeast, but deep down I knew that Vermont would be my new home.

Saint Michael’s College offered a strong journalism program, so it was a no-brainer when I received the “We’re delighted to inform you...” letter in the mail. I moved into Joyce Hall on a scorching late-August day, leaning my Original Sin snowboard in the corner of the cinder-block dorm room. Outside my fourth-floor window, peeking above the dining hall roof, was a tantalizing view of Mount Mansfield.

I met the girl who would become my wife a few days later (I know, nausea. Again.) She was a Pennsylvania girl living on the next floor down, and I needed to “borrow a book” from her roommate. Months later I discovered that she had had a parallel experience falling in love with Vermont. Her first trip to the state was to Smugglers’ Notch Resort. Just like me, she had applied to a handful of schools and chosen one in Vermont.

For the next four years, Stowe Mountain Resort was our playground. My new friends and I would powwow when it was time to pick classes for the next semester and massage every bit of scheduling nuance to maximize our time on the snow.

My masterpiece occurred senior year, when I arranged all my classes to fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was left with five

uninterrupted days per week to ride, and my Tuesday evening Intro to Theater Lighting teacher was none the wiser.

So how close is my story to yours at this point?

“When I was 8, my parents packed up the family minivan and took my brother and my sister and me on a family vacation to Smugglers’ Notch Resort,” says Laura Huffman, who now lives in Milton, Vt., and works in South Burlington. “That week was a game changer as to how I would spend...my adult life and career.” A decade after that trip, Huffman looked at colleges all over New England, but applied early and was accepted to Champlain College in Burlington. “I skied as many days as I could without affecting my grades too much.”

Seeing a pattern here? Minivan trip north...transformative mountain experience...Vermont college.

I ask Sarah Andriano, director of undergraduate admissions at Champlain College, if she keeps official statistics on incoming freshmen who took minivan trips to Vermont ski mountains at a young age. The college does not keep such records. “But I see quite a number of students who have become aware of the possibility of college in Vermont, because of the experiences they had growing up while visiting,” Andriano tells me.

College students’ passion for skiing and snowboarding is obviously not lost on administrators; all Champlain students are eligible for a season pass to nearby Sugarbush Resort for just $100, and every mountain offers college students deeply discounted passes. Andriano and I chat for a few minutes and I quickly learn that…guess what? She too grew up out of state, visiting the Quechee Club ski area with family on weekends.

Most of us formulate our grand plan to get a higher education in Vermont early in high school. But sometimes, destiny swoops in at the last minute. “When I was in high school, I was considering Central Connecticut State University to set myself up for a boring life working with computer drafting systems,” Brian Wilcock, a Connecticut native and lifelong skier, tells me.

Fate would intervene, however, leading him to a Lyndon State College booth at a college fair. He attended the fair as an excuse to get out of class. “After visiting Lyndon and seeing the view of Burke Mountain from the campus, I was hooked.” Wilcock graduated from Lyndon’s Ski Resort Management program this past May. Don’t be surprised if he’s VP of mountain operations SkiVermont.com

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Courtesy of Deshler Photography

MINIVAN MOUNTAIN MOMENT REPEAT

at Burke Mountain Resort someday.

minivan trip to Stratton Mountain.

Alas, for most of us non-natives who fall in love with Vermont, the postgraduation freak-out is inevitable.

Impulses to experience other places are seemingly inevitable. Is one of the other 49 states calling to me like Vermont did? Am I destined to move on?

At this stage, your Vermont story may have veered from mine. Maybe you didn’t come in a minivan, but on a school trip. Maybe you went to Green Mountain College instead of Champlain.

Maybe you settled elsewhere but still get your Vermont fix with weekend ski trips and holiday vacations. Or, maybe your first child was a boy, born on a steamy August morning. But the variety is what

My wife and I found those siren calls too alluring and moved west, first to Oregon and then to Colorado. For two years we filled our lives with classic early 20s adventuring, taking mundane ski resort jobs along the way to feed our snow addiction.

Huffman, too, would head west, living in Minneapolis for a little more than two years. “As I entered my third summer I was at a crossroads in my personal and professional life,” she says.

As with Wilcock’s college fair, fate intervened, this time in the form of a family reunion at Huffman’s beloved Vermont resort. “Three weeks after I came back to Minnesota, my U-Haul was packed,” she says. Huffman made it back to Vermont and now works in the fashion industry in a South Burlington office that overlooks a duck pond.

You probably know where my story goes from here. I returned to Vermont after a few years of wandering out west. My wife and I were married on a rock in the middle of a Vermont river. I started a business in Brattleboro, which is doing well. A few years ago, my first child was born. It wasn’t snowing the night she came into the world, but I imagine that when I retell the story 20 years from now, my daughter rolling her eyes after hearing it for the 189th time, I will claim that it was during the blizzard of the century. One fact will remain certain, though: That child would never have been born on a chilly January night in Vermont if it had not been for that

makes it your Vermont story. We all have that singular experience—our first trip to a Vermont ski mountain—that defines our relationship with the state for a lifetime to come.

This story has a future, too. My second Vermont-made child is due to be born in late February. No doubt, it will be snowing that night. And maybe, just maybe, our new minivan will be waiting in the parking lot.

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Courtesy of Greg Petrics

WINTER IN ITS

ORIGINAL

STATE

BY PETER OLIVER

what makes vermont so special? it’s not like all the other guys.

From its inception—statehood came in 1791—Vermont has woven into its cultural fabric a unique combination of independence, ingenuity, adaptability and toughness that matches its rugged mountainous landscape. That rare mix has also characterized the evolution of the state’s winter-sports industry.

Much of this arises from the special relationship Vermonters have long had with the land. Whether buttressed by the agricultural economy of Vermont’s early years or the ski and tourism economy that has more recently been the state’s

lifeblood, Vermonters have always valued a balance between sustaining their rural landscape and deriving sustenance from it.

But also deep within Vermont’s cultural character lies a creative and innovative temperament ideal for taking on challenges and harvesting opportunities. Hence, Vermont has achieved more important winter-sports industry advances than any other ski state.

In fact, downhill skiing as we know it today was essentially born in Vermont, in 1934. Like most great expressions of ingenuity, America’s first ski lift came about through a process of progressive collaboration, with inspired minds working together. And that’s where our story begins…

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It was a great idea, but the tow didn’t always function as flawlessly as hoped— at least not at first. The Royces, after all, were innkeepers, not mechanical engineers. Their motivation was to attract visitors to fill inn rooms, not launch the lift-serviced ski industry.

Interested in advancing the idea, local ski instructor Wallace “Bunny” Bertram bought the rights to operate the tow, and American skiing was forever changed when he relocated the tow to another nearby hill to create the Suicide Six Ski Area in 1936.

Similar tows quickly appeared elsewhere in Vermont, and new ideas for uphill transport featuring higher speeds, greater distances and higher capacity were soon in play. The first chairlift in Vermont (the 26

SkiVermont.com

second in the U.S.) was erected at Stowe in 1940.

The moral of the story: A few clever Vermonters cultivating a few clever ideas were the catalyst for the blossoming of an industry.

fter World War II, Vermont skiing boomed with dozens of new ski areas. Some of Vermont’s legendary ski area pioneers—visionaries like Roland Palmedo, who was the force behind Stowe and Mad River Glen, and Walt Schoenknecht, developer of Mount Snow—brought to their projects a classic Vermonter’s sensibility of making the most of the opportunities the stunning, mountainous landscape presented.

A

By the 1960s, Vermont had become well established as an international epicenter of downhill skiing—the model that states around the country would emulate.

Skiing in Vermont became fashionable among the upper crust as Rockefellers, Kennedys and other famous families frequently visited. More importantly, average citizens started arriving by the thousands on ski trains and by automobile. Skiing was hot.

Local skiers boosted the state’s international profile. The Shaw family

Vermont skiing was thriving, which naturally led to the introduction of more innovative ideas. In the mid-1960s, Johannes von Trapp, proprietor of the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, saw a void that needed filling. Riding lifts uphill to enable speeding downhill on skis was certainly appealing, but it wasn’t the only way to appreciate the beauty of Vermont’s extraordinary winter landscape and plentiful natural snow.

ross-country skiing in the U.S. in the 1960s was all but nonexistent, basically a college and high school sport. But from his lodge, located well above the valley floor and thus uniquely situated to benefit from abundant snowfall, von Trapp launched the nation’s first crosscountry ski resort.

C

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Courtesy of the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum

oodstock-area innkeepers Robert and Elizabeth Royce had heard of a simple mechanical device capable of transporting skiers uphill. Intrigued by the idea of doing away with the drudgery of hiking up the mountain to enjoy downhill thrills, the Royces contacted David Dodd from nearby South Newbury to construct a 900-foot rope tow driven by the engine of a Model A Ford, and local farmer Clinton Gilbert agreed to allow the Royces to erect the tow on his nearby farm hill.

W

in Stowe began producing a succession of world-class racers; Pico’s Andrea Mead, twice a gold medalist at the 1952 Olympics, became an early American ski hero; and in 1964, Stowe’s Billy Kidd became the first American to win an Olympic downhill medal. This tradition of Olympic champions continues today; in fact, Vermont—home to the most ski academies of any state in the country— has produced more winter Olympians than any other state.

Already using a network of old logging roads as walking and riding trails for

summer recreation, von Trapp put that trail network to use in the winter as well.

He bought 30 pairs of skis and a dozen pairs of boots in the first year for rental gear, set up shop in the lodge garage and, according to von Trapp himself . . . “nothing happened.”

Undeterred, in 1967, he hired the personable Norwegian cross-country instructor Per Sorlie and expanded the rental fleet to 100 pairs of skis. And . . . the rest is history. Not only did enthusiasm for cross-country skiing take off at the Trapp Family Lodge, interest spread far beyond. Today, there are more than 30 cross-country ski areas in Vermont. And although major cross-country “destination” resorts now appear in states like California, Colorado, Montana and Washington, it all began in Johannes von Trapp’s lodge in Vermont.

rustic, classic Vermont. But its impact quickly became profound and global.

Like the first ski lift and the first crosscountry ski resort, the first snowboard reshaped winter sports.

ermont ingenuity has been applied not merely to developing new ideas but also to finding solutions to existing challenges. The emergence of widespread snowmaking is a powerful example.

V

The idea of using extensive snowmaking to supplement natural snow was born in Vermont. In the 1960s, when machinemade snow was a novelty at most areas, Bromley Mountain was able to trumpet the world’s first million-dollar snowmaking system. The reason: Bromley needed to offset the melting effects of the sun caused by a predominantly southern exposure.

The birth of snowboarding follows a similar narrative. Jake Burton Carpenter was living as a ski bum near Stratton in the mid-1970s. There, he came up with the idea of the first snowboard, a modification of something called a Snurfer. Working out of a barn, he created the first prototype, and Burton Snowboards was born in 1977.

The story—a guy with a novel idea fiddling around in his barn—is very

The increase in snowmaking coverage was swift and dramatic. Today, with more than 85 percent of Vermont’s skiable terrain covered by snowmaking, the state boosts the most powerful system anywhere.

The result is a longer season with more reliable conditions. In fact, Vermont has snowmaking coverage on 1,000 more acres than New Hampshire has total skiable terrain. In a few short years, the challenge

18281 ©Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc. 2011 Cows: ©Woody Jackson 1997

Courtesy of Burton Snowboards

As a state, Vermont picked up on Bromley’s snowmaking lead, with a

commitment unmatched in any other region of the world. Substantial natural snow is a Vermont blessing; more than 250 inches fall on the state’s mountains in an average winter, and many mountains receive more than 300 inches each year.

But occasionally Mother Nature can be inconsistent. A couple of unusually low natural-snow winters decades ago mobilized Vermont resorts, and now skiers and snowboarders can be assured that conditions in the state, regardless of the impish mood swings of the snow gods, will always be reliable.

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Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Courtesy of the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum

was met and the problem was solved. But don’t expect Vermont to stop there.

less than a quarter-mile from the main parking lot. The drive past the resort on Route 242, between the towns of Jay and Montgomery, remains classic, pastoral Northeast Kingdom.

n more recent years, Vermont resorts have tackled a new challenge. Rural character and natural beauty are at the core of the state’s appeal to visitors. Such iconic Vermont images as the clapboard ski lodge with roaring fireplace and creaking pine floors against a backdrop of snowcovered and forested mountains still endure. But increasingly, many travelers expect modern resort accommodations, amenities and attractions. The recent challenge: bringing Vermont resorts up to modern standards while preserving the idyllic traditional surroundings.

Ski areas like Okemo Mountain Resort and Stowe Mountain Resort have also grown dramatically without infringing upon the traditional character and enterprise of neighboring towns. In many ways, growth has augmented that character. Within a few minutes of world-class resort luxury, the picture frame is easily filled with scenes of cows huddled near a barn, classic covered bridges, and warm and welcoming villages. That kind of integrated balance—deluxe and rural, modern and traditional, elegant and rustic—is hard to find elsewhere in the ski world.

The answer has been a creative mix of vision and sensitivity to the environment, culture and economy. Jay Peak Resort is a prime example. Two large hotels, a four-season water park, an ice hockey rink, and a golf course have come on line in the last three years. But the new development has been so effectively tucked into its surroundings that it remains essentially invisible until you are

Groundbreaking ideas aren’t just born, they are inspiration carefully cultivated. From liftserviced and cross-country skiing to snowboarding and snowmaking, throughout modern skiing history, winter’s most significant and innovative advances have repeatedly been made in Vermont by people inspired by winter in its original state. And there’s no doubt they will continue to be.

I

groundbreaking

ideas aren’t just born,

they are inspiration carefully cultivated.

28

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THESE ARE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

By Mike Hannigan

SkiVermont.com

29

There’s a liftie at a mountain where I ski a lot, and if you didn’t see him moving and breathing, you might reasonably suspect that he’s been dead for a good 10 years.

He looks like he might be made out of a combination of stone, dirt and ice, the exact proportions unclear. His face is hard, the skin rough and tough from years clearly spent outside, with the driving snow, the shining sun, and the big storms of Vermont’s winter making a permanent imprint on his face, like rings accumulating inside a tree.

He’s obviously a stoic Yankee, descended from generations of other Vermonters making a living from the land. And as such, he’d definitely not be the first person to strike up a conversation. But every time I get on the lift, and ask him how his day is going, he stares at me hard for a moment as the chair swings around behind me, and finally a bright smile breaks through his granite façade. “Great,” he says.

“Great day to be alive.”

Then away I fly on the chair, with a few minutes to kill before my next run. It’s something I always think about in those moments of quiet: Who is the person behind the granite mask? Who does all that hard, unglamorous work? In short, as the old Sesame Street song goes, who are the people in my neighborhood?

of a regular, punch-the-clock, nine-to-five job. Vermont’s vividly changing seasons and weather feed into that preference too.

Poisson isn’t a guy who was meant to sit behind a desk. “No, not really. That doesn’t suit my personality so much. I’ve got a little office. But the part that I love is the handson stuff. I like working with the land—the trees, the soil, the rocks, the water.”

One of his colleagues told me that Poisson approaches snow and trail work with the same attention that a monk would use to tend to rocks in a Zen garden. After briefly being taken aback by the concept, he rolls it over in his mind before finally agreeing. “We just put out what we’d like to ski on at the end of the day. That’s a nice compliment.”

I decided to find out.

Larry Pierce is a groomer operator

I quickly discovered that it’s not easy to get a group of people so reticent to open up about themselves. That Yankee exterior is tough to crack; questions about why they do what they do are met with a shrug or a modest smile, or more often than not, a bone-dry sense of humor.

You’re more likely to hear clichés like, “Oh, I’m just one part of a team …” than you are to hear one of these guys take credit for what they do.

But once you dig a bit, and ask the right questions, and build some trust, then you start to get a better picture of who these men and women are.

What I found is the backbone of every ski resort. It’s not the chairlifts, or the snow guns, or the lodges, or the ski schools, or the snowcats laying down their carpets of perfect corduroy. No, it’s the people who run those mechanical beasts and populate those snow-covered structures that make the resorts run.

And as dependent as ski resorts are on the snow that falls from the sky and blows from the guns, at the end of the day, it’s all about people power. Without these reliable men and women, none of us would be skiing and riding. It’s that simple.

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There are first tracks, and then there are First Tracks. And with all due respect to those of you who pride yourself on being early to bed and early to rise just to snag that coveted first chair on a powder day, Mike “Fish” Poisson has you beat.

Somewhere around the strike of 4:00 a.m., Poisson is rolling out of bed and into his car, to start the trip toward Stowe from his home in Craftsbury, about 40 minutes away. Powder junkie? Sure, if it’s the backcountry and it’s his day off.

But today it’s neither, at least for Poisson.

Today is just another day of work—and another day of a labor of love—at the Trapp Family Lodge.

Poisson doesn’t really have a title, or at least one he cares to recall, so we’ll call him minister of trails and chief snow officer at Trapps.

“I love my job, I’ve got to say,” Poisson says. “It’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.

I love working in the woods. I have a good strong crew. Being in the woods, there are pressures to get certain tasks done, but there’s a little bit of freedom to it.”

One thing I heard described over and over again is the love of change and suspicion

at Sugarbush Resort. When you’re done with skiing for the day, he’s one of the guys up on the hill preparing the slope for the next day. Their headlights shining out in the darkness are one of the few signs of their existence to the average guest.

Pierce is clearly a native Vermonter, with an accent to match and a sense of humor as dry as peeling birch bark. When I tell him I wanted to talk to him because he’s the longest-tenured employee at the resort, he gives a resigned sigh. “Ayuh. I don’t know—is that good or bad? I guess it’s all right. If I didn’t like it I wouldn’t have been here for 40 years.”

Forty-one if you want to be exact; he’s been on the job full time since 1971. “Over the years, I’ve just kind of grown to love that mountain up there. It’s just beautiful to be up there. I can’t really explain it, but I’m happy and content when I’m up there.”

Despite his passion for the mountain, Pierce prefers to enjoy it via snowcat, not boards; he doesn’t ski or ride. He tried it a couple of times back when he was a teenager, but it didn’t take for him. But he clearly adores tuning up the surface for those who do love it. “Once I get in there and start working the snow, I’m good. It’s fun. It’s instant gratification. You can see the product that you’re putting out. It’s

sort of like mowing grass—you can see your lawn looking better and better.”

Working from 4:00 p.m. to midnight doesn’t give Pierce much of a chance to interact with guests, but when I ask him what he’d say to them, he doesn’t hesitate.

“Have a good day, and enjoy the product.”

Pierce isn’t alone up there in the dark behind the roaming headlights. Casey Murphy grew up at Sugarbush. His dad, Jack Murphy, was one of the founders of the place. “This will be my 15th year working there. I was basically a resort rat.

From the time I was 6, I had to go to the mountain. Now I’m a groomer operator, and I run a winch cat,” Murphy says.

“It’s a lot of darkness, but when the sun comes up, it’s some of the best views in the world. A lot of times I’m up on top of Mount Ellen; I’m the only one out there, and it’s really beautiful.”

I asked him if he always thought he’d be working here at Sugarbush. “My dad…always told me not to rely on the weather to make a living, but I saw that he loved what he did and thought that’d be pretty cool to do.

“I love it. I think you have to love it. You’re not going to get rich at it, but I consider it one of the best jobs in the world.”

Allison Thorner also grew up at a

Vermont resort. Her grandfather founded Magic Mountain, and the family did everything around the resort. “Food, first aid, marketing, cut the trails,” she notes proudly. “My father could be driving the garbage truck, teaching skiing or running the lift—all in one day!”

After roaming around for a while, she came back to Vermont because, she says, it was in her bones. Today she runs the Bogner Boutique at Stratton, recently renamed the Dancing Bear. Thorner isn’t your typical ski resort employee. She readily admits that she’s a bit over the top, which makes her current gig a good fit. “You’d notice if I showed up,” she says. “Just the energy.”

You might also notice her in the summer, cruising around Stratton on her Vulcan SkiVermont.com

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800 Classic motorcycle.

And although she might not seem like your typical resort employee, her motivations for doing what she does and living where she lives are ones I heard again and again.

themselves on the mountain and posting the results on YouTube and Vimeo. The skiers and riders hucking themselves in the terrain parks aren’t the only ones who get psyched. The people who serve them enjoy seeing it, too.

“We’re modest, you know. We just try to mix business with pleasure as much as possible, and just have a complex and interesting life as best we can.”

“Growing up at a ski area in Vermont, it really is never-never land. And then I decided, after experiencing the rest of the world, that never-never land is pretty darn nice,” she expounds. “There’s nothing better than being at a place that people come to because they want to. They’re not getting their appendix removed, or paying the bills, or buying a refrigerator. They’re coming to play. Here, in Vermont, it’s not a matter of what you need, it’s what you want, my dear.”

Tony Chiuchiolo should know. A

Chris Clements started his journey

Most of the people I met were pretty closely tied to nature. Some seemed practically made from bark and snow.

Despite that, a few appeared to revel in the idea of overcoming Mother Nature, particularly when it comes to making snow. Justin Thoelke has been making snow at Smugglers’ Notch Resort for 15 years or so, and takes pride in laying down the white stuff.

through the mountains of Vermont cooking French fries in the winter of 1982, and has worked his way up from there. Today, he’s the director of food and beverage services at Jay Peak Resort, and loves the fact that the work, like the seasons, is “always changing, always different.

“What appeals to me is that there’s not one day that’s the same. Every day is different; this isn’t a job that you clock into nine to five and then you’re gone on the weekend. It’s not a normal life, and I like not having a normal life.”

Despite his love of change, there’s one thing that doesn’t change: the love of a good powder day. I asked him if skiing has become a chore or just feels like work, but Clements shook me off. “Absolutely not. I get just as excited for snow as our guests get.”

In a field where every day is different, the advent of immediate feedback via the Internet has been the biggest change of all, particularly with people filming 34

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former pro rider, he now oversees a major park-and-pipe program. All that feedback and engagement fuels the creativity of the staff—inspiring changes and better experiences for the guests.

“It’s huge. It’s just great seeing people who love our sports and seeing them be creative. It’s the best feeling in the world to sit down and see a post with a link to a video…and it’s amazing to be part of that.”

“I love my job. You start with nothing and four days later, with the help of the groomers, it’s all white with snow and you’ve got people skiing down and having the time of their life on the snow that you just made.”

Those snowmakers get to play with some pretty serious horsepower, something that can get addictive. Dave Heath is the mountain chief up at Jay Peak, overseeing grooming, snowmaking and other parts of mountain operations. For skiers and riders, snowmaking ensures they’ll always have the adrenaline rush of skiing and riding. For Heath, the snowmaking itself provides the adrenaline.

“The creativity involved in that is huge,” he says. “You’re making something out of nothing every single day. The volume of snow that we produce, it’s just amazing what happens. If you haven’t made snow, you just don’t know the feeling of being out there producing that kind of magic—going from bare ground to a 2,000-foot trail covered with two and a half feet of snow in three days. It’s an unbelievable event.

It charges you up to be able to do that.

It’s challenging and very rewarding. It’s dangerous. It’s risky. It’s powerful. There’s all kinds of excitement involved. It gets into your blood. A lot of guys thrive on that.”

Although a few of the people I talked to were following in the footsteps of their parents, most fell into the field unexpectedly. The park-and-pipe guy thought he’d be a cop. The snowmaker thought he’d be a teacher. But most of them have been making their living on snow for decades now, and show no signs of giving up the habit.

Craig Panarisi runs the Snow Sports

School at Stratton and has worked at topflight resorts all over the country. He’s been on the Professional Ski Instructors of America demo team, and he’s even trained Navy SEALs on backcountry skiing techniques. He put it to me best.

“When I was a little kid, I wanted to work on a trash truck. I wanted to be the guy who stood on the back and threw the trash cans in. My parents were like, ‘Yeah, we’ll talk about that when you get older.’ I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but as soon as I went skiing, I knew damn well that I wanted to ski, and I wanted to ski every day.

“A lot of people think it’s fun, but they’re like, ‘It’s not really a real job.’ But I have people here working for me like the top prosecuting attorney in New York City, who works as a race coach. They’re important people and they make a lot of money. Doctors and lawyers and dentists.

They’re incredible. Some of these guys are brilliant, and I can’t believe they come here to listen to me.

“I think they like being part of the crew.

They have a key to the locker room.

They’re inside and they’re cool. And maybe a big exec doesn’t normally see him- or herself as cool, because they’re the boss. But here they can celebrate some of the little things like hanging out in the locker room and having a can of PBR with the local, full-time employees.”

At the opposite end of the state, Heath works with a lot of people who make this their full-time calling, especially in an area like the Northeast Kingdom— where the natural beauty and snowfall are abundant, but jobs can be scarce.

“A lot of guys up here, their DNA is the same genetic makeup as the land and everything that exists up here, so we fit in pretty good,” Heath says. “It’s our homeland and we’re born into this, so a lot of people up here have a really strong work ethic, and they take a lot of pride in themselves and their work.

“It comes out of our colonial history,” he explains to me. “People worked with the seasons. You had to know how to sugar, you had to know how to fix your own equipment, heal your animals and your family, how to grow your food. It’s really in our genetic makeup that we’re born with the tendency to take care of a lot of aspects of our lives and [those of] others.”

When I was first told about Heath, he was described to me as a sixth-generation Vermonter, sugar maker, logger, gardener, hockey stud, and rock star. I couldn’t help but imagine a “woodchuck” Renaissance man clad in hunter plaid or blaze orange.

When I asked him about it, he gave the response I had heard from so many of these folks, quiet at first and not apt to talk about themselves.

“I’ve got a few of those skills,” he eventually admitted. “We’re modest, you know. We just try to mix business with pleasure as much as possible, and just have a complex and interesting life as best we can. We deal with the good and bad, and keep on rolling.”

Indeed. Roll on, people.

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Courtesy of Chris Nelson

FROM OUR FARMS

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TO YOUR TABLE

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Vermont is a bountiful place. For centuries the deeply rooted relationship between the people of this rural state and its generous land has been carefully cultivated, growing stronger with each new generation. It is a labor of love to which Vermonters generously devote their time and energy. And it is a piece of our culture that is carefully guarded. The end result is a more authentic and delicious experience for you.

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In resort restaurants, private homes and communal halls throughout Vermont, the farm-to-table movement thrives. With locally raised meats and vegetables, and freshly foraged fiddlehead ferns and wild mushrooms, Vermont’s culinary masterminds are delivering supreme farm-fresh cuisine.

To whet your appetite, we’ve provided a few of our favorite recipes. We encourage you to try them at home. Heck, you should feel free to experiment with them, too. Have no fear. We are all about innovation, culinary and otherwise.

We hope you’ll jump into Vermont’s farm-fresh culinary experience with both feet. After all, it is our farms—and our mountains—that define so much of what makes Vermont the special place that it is! Rest assured, there’s always a seat for you at our table.

You can find many more recipes from Ski Vermont’s best chefs and most memorable restaurants at www.skivermont.com/recipes.

Courtesy of Burke Mountain

Bon appétit!

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bromley mountain

Marinated Portobello Mushrooms INGREDIENTS

8 medium portobello mushrooms 4 oz mayo & 4 oz pesto 4 oz balsamic vinegar 4 whole-wheat wraps 8 oz gouda cheese 8 oz shredded carrots 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped 1 red pepper, sliced DIRECTIONS

Remove the gills and stems from each mushroom with a spoon, and slice caps. Combine mayo and pesto in a small bowl and set aside. Pour balsamic vinegar in a medium bowl, adding pepper, kosher salt, thyme and rosemary to taste. Toss mushroom caps in balsamic mixture and place in oven at 350 degrees for 8 min. While the mushrooms are in the oven, prepare wraps with the pesto mayo, gouda cheese, lettuce, carrots and peppers. When the mushrooms are done, place on top of cheese, wrap and enjoy!

burke mountain

Apple Turkey Burger INGREDIENTS

4 strips Vermont applewood smoked bacon 2 oz Vermont maple syrup 2 oz whole-grain mustard 2 lb Stonewood Farms ground turkey 2 oz chunky Vermont applesauce 4 oz Cabot cheddar cheese 4 oz maple dijonnaise Locally baked rolls DIRECTIONS

Glaze bacon with maple syrup and mustard. Bake at 350 degrees for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Once cooled, chop the bacon and set aside. Mix the ground turkey, applesauce, and bacon. Form into 8 oz patties. Grill turkey burgers to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Melt sliced Cabot cheddar over turkey burger. Serve with maple dijonnaise on a locally baked roll.

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killington resort

Wobbly Barn Kurobuta Pork INGREDIENTS

1 cup red grape tomatoes 1 cup fresh artichoke hearts, quartered 1 cup Cipollini onions 14 oz center-cut Kurobuta pork chop 2 Tbsp arugula pesto (see below) DIRECTIONS

Cut the grape tomatoes in halves. Layer on a sheet pan, seed side up, and drizzle with olive oil and a little salt and pepper.

Cook in oven with no fan at 200 degrees until mostly dried.

Toss quartered artichoke hearts with just enough olive oil to coat, and season with salt and pepper. Roast on a sheet pan at 300 degrees until dark, golden brown.

Peel onions; cut in halves; coat in olive oil, salt and pepper; roast at 300 degrees until they are cooked through and golden brown. Combine the three roasted items, toss well and keep warm.

Season the pork chop with salt and pepper and grill on a char broiler, constantly flipping and turning it. (Char adds good flavor as long as it does not take over the entire taste of the chop.) Cook to about 120 degrees. There will be color in the meat and it will be delicious.

Place your chop on whatever starch you have prepared for the dish. Arrange the roasted vegetable medley that you have kept warm around the dish. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the pesto (see below) at the base of the bone and serve.

ARUGULA PESTO 4 cups packed baby arugula 2 Tbsp minced fresh garlic 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese 2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts 3 cups extra-virgin olive oil INGREDIENTS FOR

ARUGULA PESTO Combine first four ingredients in a food processor. Once the mix is fairly smooth, slowly drizzle the extra-virgin olive oil in until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

DIRECTIONS FOR

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Courtesy of Magic Mountain

magic mountain

Black Line Brew Pub Smokey Maple Hot Wings INGREDIENTS

1 can chipotle in adobo 1 Tbsp garlic 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1 cup maple syrup 2 Tbsp smoked Vermont maple syrup Seasoned par-baked chicken wings DIRECTIONS

In food processor fit with chopping blade, place chipotle, garlic, and salt and pepper. Pulse to break up chilis. Add some water to the can of chipotles to get all the goodness out of the can. Add water to processor. Blend again. Add brown sugar, blend.

With processor running, slowly add in the maple and smoked maple. Puree until smooth. Drop par-cooked wings into a 350-degree fryer. Fry until crispy, drain. Toss wings in sauce and serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing and a side of crunchy veggies.

mad river glen

Cabot Cheese Fondue INGREDIENTS

Courtesy of Mad River Glen

1 oz oil 1 Tbsp garlic, minced 1/2 onion, diced 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 tsp dried mustard 2 tsp dried thyme 16 oz Otter Creek Black IPA 2 lb Cabot sharp cheddar cheese, cut in small dice 2 Tbsp flour 2 cups sour cream DIRECTIONS

Combine first 6 ingredients in pan. Sweat onions, deglaze with Otter Creek IPA, bring to a simmer. Start adding cheddar, using a whip to keep mix from scorching. When all the cheese is incorporated, add flour to thicken, keeping the simmer going. Finish with sour cream and salt and pepper if needed. Serve with sliced baguettes.

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Where every day is a bluebird day.

The sun is shining, the sky is blue and your cheeks are rosy from your first corduroy run of the day. You grab a hot cocoa while your kids toast s’mores at the top of the tubing hill and wonder why you just can’t wipe that smile off your faces. This family escape is one for the ages thanks to the East’s best snowmaking, grooming and terrain parks. Not to mention how easy it was to get here. Mount Snow: Where every day is a bluebird day.

Midweek Ski & Stay from $62

per person / per night.

Based on a two night stay for two adults and two children twelve and under at Snow Lake Lodge. Tax and service charge not included.

America’s Only Six Passenger Bubble Chair

800.245.SNOW MOUNTSNOW.COM

Courtesy of Mount Snow Resort

mount snow resort

Maple–Red Curry BBQ Sauce INGREDIENTS

40 Vermont tomatoes, split and cored 1 white onion, cut in small dice 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups apple cider vinegar 1 cup chicken stock 2 cups Corse Farms maple syrup 4 oz molasses 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp dark chili power 1 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 cup red curry paste DIRECTIONS

Season tomatoes with salt, black pepper, and olive oil, then roast in 275 degree oven till tender.

Sweat onions and garlic in a sautĂŠ pan until translucent, then deglaze with cider vinegar. Add stock, maple syrup, molasses and spices to vinegar. Simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk in red curry paste.

Puree all ingredients until smooth, thin with hot water as needed. Pass through fine mesh chinois and then puree again.

Yields 2 quarts.

okemo mountain resort

Coleman Brook Tavern Mushroom Soup INGREDIENTS

1/4 pound butter 3 Tbsp olive oil 2 carrots, peeled and diced 2 Spanish onions, cut in small dice 12 shallots, minced 8 garlic cloves 2 1/2 lb portobello mushrooms, diced 8 oz shiitake mushrooms, diced 4 oz chanterelle mushrooms, diced

2 gal chicken stock 4 Tbsp tarragon, chopped 6 Tbsp thyme, chopped 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped 2 cups milk, warmed 2 quarts heavy cream, warmed 1/4 cup sherry 5 Tbsp truffle oil

DIRECTIONS

In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add oil, carrots, onions, shallots and garlic, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes. Add stock, bring to simmer, and cook for 45 minutes.

Stir in herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper. Blend in batches, adding warm milk and cream. Finish by drizzling with truffle oil and sherry.

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Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

smugglers’ notch resort

Steak And Cake BLUE CHEESE RISOTTO CAKE 2 cups Arborio rice Zest of 1 lemon 1 Tbsp garlic, minced 1 Tbsp fresh parsley 1 tsp shallots, minced 3 eggs, beaten 4 oz Bayley Hazen blue cheese 1 cup flour Juice of 1 lemon 2 cups panko bread crumbs INGREDIENTS FOR

BLUE CHEESE RISOTTO CAKE Cook rice with garlic and shallots. Cool to room temperature. Fold in Bayley Hazen blue cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest and parsley. Form into 5- to 6-oz cakes. Dip the cakes in beaten eggs, then flour, then in panko bread crumbs. Pan fry until golden brown on both sides.

DIRECTIONS FOR

STEAK AND VEGETABLES 4 local hanger steaks (flank or skirt steak may be substituted) 4 cups fresh baby spinach 16 fresh asparagus spears INGREDIENTS FOR

STEAK AND VEGETABLES Season steaks liberally with salt. Grill to desired temperature. Sauté spinach with butter until tender, then drain excess liquid. Submerge asparagus in boiling water for 2 minutes.

DIRECTIONS FOR

PINOT NOIR GASTRIQUE 1/2 cup pinot noir wine 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1 cup sugar INGREDIENTS FOR

PINOT NOIR GASTRIQUE Combine ingredients in small saucepan. Reduce over medium heat until syrup-like consistency is achieved.

DIRECTIONS FOR

PLATING Place wilted spinach in the center of the plate. Add risotto cake on top of the spinach. Lay steak, sliced across the grain, over the cake and add asparagus on top. Drizzle with pinot noir gastrique.

DIRECTIONS FOR

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Smugglers’ notch Vermont has more ways to create lasting memories. planning your Winter family vacation with Smuggs is easy!

Scan the Qr code or visit our website to begin building your family’s tradition of fun.

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HANDCRAFTED IN VERMONT SINCE 1991.

www.woodchuck.com

Courtesy of Stowe Mountain Lodge

stowe mountain lodge

Signature S' mores Cookies INGREDIENTS

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 1 cup whole-wheat flour, spooned and leveled 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature (Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. cultured butter is wonderful for this recipe) 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar 2 large eggs (we use extra-large, farm-fresh eggs from Maple Meadow Farms) 8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 30 squares 15 large marshmallows, halved horizontally DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse oats until finely ground. Add flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; pulse to combine.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, scraping down sides of bowl. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture just until combined.

Drop dough by tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Top each with a chocolate square. Bake just until lightly golden, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven; heat broiler. Top each cookie with a marshmallow half. One sheet at a time, broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, but not too cool—you still want them gooey! Yield: 30 cookies.

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stratton mountain resort

Charred Corn Fritters with Maple Mustard Dipping Sauce INGREDIENTS

2 or 3 fresh ears of corn 2 Tbsp olive oil 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup fine cornmeal 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1/2–3/4 cup milk Shortening or oil for a deep-fat fryer

DIRECTIONS

Peel corn and lightly brush with olive oil, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and place on hot grill to lightly char the kernels; allow to cool.

Preheat the fryer to 350 degrees. When corn is cool, stand on end and use a sharp knife to remove the kernels. Place to the side in a small bowl.

Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix the egg and 1/2 cup of milk in another. Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry, and adjust the consistency with the remaining milk if the mixture seems too dry. Fold in the charred corn, and check that the oil temperature is 350 before frying. Drop by rounded spoonfuls into the hot oil and cook for 4–5 minutes, turning the fritters over so that both sides cook evenly. Cool on a towel-lined plate, and serve with Maple Mustard dipping sauce (below). Serves 12.

MAPLE MUSTARD DIPPING SAUCE Combine 1/2 cup whole-grain mustard, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard and 1/2 cup Vermont maple syrup.

DIRECTIONS FOR

sugarbush resort

Ski Vermont Farmhouse Potato Chowder INGREDIENTS

12 oz Vermont potatoes, peeled 1 quart chicken stock 3/4 cup Vermont cider 1 link hot Italian sausage 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 small Spanish onion, cut in small dice 2 stalks celery, cut in small dice

1 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 lb Vermont potatoes, cut in large dice 1 tsp whole leaf dried marjoram 1 tsp whole leaf dried basil 1 tsp kosher salt Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Simmer peeled potato in chicken stock and cider until very tender. Puree in blender.

Slow roast hot Italian sausage until cooked through. Chill, pulse in food processor, not too fine. Add sausage to pureed soup mixture.

Sweat onion and celery in vegetable oil until translucent. Add smoked paprika and cook an additional 3 minutes, stirring often. Add vegetable paprika mixture to pureed soup. Add cream to soup mixture.

Simmer large dice potato in salted water until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water. Add to soup mixture. Add marjoram, basil, salt and pepper to soup. Bring soup back to simmer. Serves 4 to 6.

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SkiVermont.com

If you’ve never skied or snowboarded before, our First Timer to Life Timer lesson package will take you from beginner to awesome. Our awardwinning program includes 3 days of beginner lessons, rentals and lift passes. And when you complete your instruction, you’ll get a season pass, good for the remainder of the season. All for just $255.

Learn more at www.sugarbush.com/bebetter

REACH FOR

NEW HEIGHTS. PEPSI, the Pepsi Globe and LIVE FOR NOW are trademarks of PepsiCo, Inc.

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Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

TIMING IS EVERYTHING VERMONT’S APRèS SKI SCENE by pete biolsi You know the story…

The clock on the side of the lift shack reads “4:00” as you slide through the gate and nose up to the “load here” line. Your legs burn in waiting as the quad clangs and moans its way around to scoop your weary crew up for one last run. It’s been a good day.

The distant knocking of chairlift seats being flipped up behind you confirms it. As the chair approaches the summit, a chill of excitement rushes through your body, tingling down to your halfnumb toes. It’s not a sudden change in the weather, or the onset of frostbite, but the encouragement of what awaits at the bottom.

You’re first to launch off the chair as it reaches the top of the SkiVermont.com

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Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

TAPPING THE SOURCE The home brewing movement has exploded in the last decade or so, and home brew shops are popping up everywhere as more and more people are experimenting with the art. When it comes to hop-handling, it never hurts to talk to the pros. We asked some of Vermont’s best brewers for a few tips on how to get going and how to ensure you are crafting a great beer.

Dave Hartmann, brewmaster at Long Trail Brewing Company, advises starting on the Web. “The American Homebrewers Association has a lot of online resources,” he says. “A simple search would bring up dozens of other good sources for home brewers.”

Harpoon Brewery’s Jamie Maxwell says, “There’s a ton of great books out there. Two must-haves that come to mind are Charles Papazian’s The Complete Joy of Homebrewing and Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion by Michael Jackson (not the late pop icon).” He also recommends finding a nearby ally: “Talk to your local home brew shop. The people running it know what they’re doing.”

“Home brew clubs are becoming popular,” notes Jamie Griffith, brewer at Trapp Family Lodge Brewery. “There’s a handful throughout the state, like Green Mountain Mashers, a 40-member group in Northern Vermont, and many more in states from which our skiers and snowboarders hail.”

Ready to “hop” in? Keep it clean! All three experts emphasized the importance of using good sanitation procedures throughout the process. Don’t let a little bacteria stand between you and a great batch of brew.

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A few other tips from our conversations: When it comes to brewing, Maxwell says, “Don’t skimp on the equipment.… To produce a great product, you need great equipment.” Hartmann notes, “If you’re interested in funky yeasts; spontaneous fermentation; or brewing with spices, fruit or other odd ingredients, focus on cellars—fermenting vessels, yeast propagating, et cetera.”

In the “knockout” stage at the end of boiling, Griffith says, “Heat exchange is crucial. If the wort coming through is too hot, it will kill the yeast and consume the sugars. This is really the only part of the process where you want to introduce oxygen.”

Trapp’s Brewery uses an oxygen stone; Griffith describes it as “like giving the yeast a Red Bull and firing up the fermentation process right away.”

During fermenting, Maxwell advises a little trial and error.

“Experiment with cellaring locations in your house to find the best places for keeping temperature within the recommended range for the recipe, and always ferment in the dark.”

Griffith doesn’t want new brewers to be scared off. “It’s important to remember it’s just beer,” he says. “I think that gets lost when some brewers feel they’re painting a Picasso and have to create a perfect masterpiece. Don’t take it too seriously, and have fun.”

Now there’s something Vermont skiing enthusiasts unquestionably know how to do.

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

mountain, and in a few short turns you’ve left the rest of the pack in a snowy wake. There’s no use for wide arcing turns on this run, and you lack the patience for stringing together an elaborate route to the base in a last-ditch effort to prolong the day’s remaining vertical. There’s only one thing on your mind now: the first sip of the perfect beverage.

The sun is setting over the peak and the afternoon air cools with every passing minute. The light is flat, giving the snow surface a faint bluish glow. You slide into the base area and ditch your gear in a nearby snowbank. It’s a chaotic scene of poles, skis and snowboards that have been hastily abandoned for the warm retreat of the bar. As you clomp your way across the equipment-strewn battlefield, nothing about what you see comes as a surprise—4:15 on a Saturday looks the same at just about every Vermont resort.

A thick layer of fog blurs your goggles as you pass through the first set of doors into the lodge. As you slide them back on your helmet, your eyes focus on the nearest set of taps. The room’s orange glow and the warm embrace of crackling fireplaces welcome you like an old friend. At the bar, a fleet of brightly colored and decorative tap handles beckon you.

“Good day out there?” asks the bartender, who sports a deep, seasoned goggle tan. Clearly he’s had no difficulty reaping his workplace rewards. Meeting his hand halfway across the bar to receive the cold glass, you nod, with wide eyes and a grateful grin. The look on his face acknowledges your deep, yet unspoken gratitude. “Cheers,” he adds with a knowing smile.

BINDINGS TO BREWS ON-MOUNTAIN BARS

CASTLEROCK PUB (Sugarbush Resort) CUZZINS (Mount Snow Resort)

You turn to face the door, where droves of rosy cheeks and runny noses are packing in off the hill. Scanning the room for a familiar face, you spot the last open seat near the window and quickly secure it to await the rest of your party. Even in their absence, there’s no feeling of loneliness.

There’s something comforting and familiar about the atmosphere...not the wafting odor of gloves on heaters or the pungent aroma of liberated feet, but a distinct feeling that you belong. You’re among friends. You’re part of a community—an exclusive club of triumphant mountain-goers.

You sink back into your chair to observe your surroundings and enjoy a few sips from your glass in quiet, reflective satisfaction. You slip between the room and vivid replays of the day’s highlights. After a few minutes of serenity, the sound of boisterous voices crashing through the door snaps you back to the lodge. Your entourage spots you and they make their way over, laughing and patting one another on the back victoriously.

You know the next part...where your friends go on about what you missed, how you should have been there, the crowning moments of that last run you so readily surrendered—but they don’t. Taking pause to notice the empty glass in front of you, their faces adopt a jealous sort of emptiness, and without

GONIFF’S DEN (Magic Mountain) GRIZZLY’S (Stratton Mountain) JAMES MOORE TAVERN (Bolton Valley Resort) LAST RUN LOUNGE (Pico Mountain) LONG TRAIL PUB (Killington Resort, Snowshed Lodge) MORSE MOUNTAIN PUB (Smugglers’ Notch Resort) RICHARDSON’S TAVERN (Woodstock Inn and Resort) SPRUCE CAMP BAR (Stowe Mountain Resort) TAMARACK GRILL (Burke Mountain) TOM’S LOFT TAVERN (Okemo Mountain Resort) TOWER BAR (Jay Peak Resort) WILD BOAR TAVERN (Bromley Mountain) SkiVermont.com

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a word they about-face and form a line marching straight for the bar.

With a fresh round on the table, you launch into it as a group. The accounts of soft turns, tight treelines, daring drops and other personal bests from the day vie to outdo one another. It’s an open forum, and eventually the conversation segues to reminiscing about past adventures and scheming grand plans for the next great adventure. All the while, the conversation is paced by a steady cadence of clinking glasses.

Maybe it doesn’t unfold this way every time. That’s OK. But the fact remains, what happens après (French for after) skiing, riding or otherwise sliding on snow is a distinct part of the total experience. Without it, we’d simply get off the hill, de-layer, pack up and drive off into a snowy night.

But why do we do it? What is it that drives us to migrate so habitually from chairlift to barstool? Approaching your

friends with this question might invoke awkward silence or sideways glances. So perhaps it’s best we confine this query to the pages of this magazine. These, at least, are a few factors we can all relate to.

The food. Let’s face it, most après fare doesn’t exactly come with a dietitian’s seal of approval, but few things compare to the satisfaction a basket of fries can provide.

It reinforces the rewarding power of the après-ski experience. Every time I order a bacon platter (or two) at Jay Peak’s Tower Bar, or a dozen or so barbecue jerk wings at Tom’s Loft Tavern at Okemo Mountain Resort, a little voice inside whispers, “Dive in...you’ve earned it.”

The drink. Vermont takes deep pride in its local products, beverages included.

Mountainside watering holes are a great place to expand your palate. Plus, odds are pretty good that you’ll belly up next to an aspiring home brewer, distiller or alchemist of sorts who’s more than willing to talk the talk over a pint of Long Trail Ale, Woodchuck Hard Cider or specialty cocktail made with Triple 8 Vodka—the

official après libations of Ski Vermont.

The atmosphere. Any time of year and with or without a special cause for celebration, après-ski is a lively scene. At Mount Snow, a certain one-man band has led the Cuzzins crowd in bar-wide singalongs, and live acts regularly keep the Grizzly’s dance floor moving late into the evening at Stratton Mountain Resort. And you haven’t lived until you’ve experienced Killington Resort’s Wobbly Barn–one of many great après spots along the mountain’s access road. Introduce trivia, karaoke or any live sporting event to a room full of après enthusiasts and just see what happens. You’re in for a good time.

The experience is pure. Après-ski culture doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care if you’re a “boarder” or “two planker,” what brand you ride or whether you can stomp 540s in the park. It’s inclusive, it’s timeless and it’s fun to boot. Or to de-boot, as it were.

And after last chair, it’s the best reason to get to the bottom.

The Official Spirit of Ski Vermont!

888vodka.com 56

SkiVermont.com

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FIRST TRACKS

12 8

JAY PEAK

C a na da

10

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH

Maine

Vermont

BURKE

6

21

STOWE

N e w Yo r k

22 26

M a s s ac h us e t t s

BOLTON VALLEY

5 20

C o n n e c t i c ut R h o d e Is l a n d

3

COCHRAN’S

New Hampshire

11

13

MAD RIVER GLEN

P e n n s y lva n i a New Je r s e y

Atla ntic Oc e a n

SUGARBUSH 17 2

19

NORTHEAST SLOPES

MIDDLEBURY SNOW BOWL

23

1

PICO KILLINGTON 15

SUICIDE SIX

14

16

BY TRAIN

BROMLEY

MAGIC 27

Two Amtrak routes operate between Washington, D.C., New York City and Vermont, providing daily passenger service to many of Vermont’s mountain communities. For information, log onto Amtrak.com or call the resort you plan to visit.

7

STRATTON 24

MOUNT SNOW 18

HOW DO YOU GET HERE? Vermont resorts are an easy, convenient drive from anywhere in the East. Interstates 89, 91, and Vermont Route 100, the fabled skiers’ highway, provide excellent access to our mountains and villages.

OKEMO

9

D e l awa r e

BY CAR

29

28

Maryland

25

4

BY BUS

Green dots correspond with Nordic ski areas listed below.

NORDIC SKI AREAS

The official Nordic partner of Ski Vermont.

1. Blueberry Hill

16. Okemo Valley Nordic Center

2. Blueberry Lake Cross Country

17. Ole’s Cross Country Center.

3. Bolton Valley Nordic Center

18. P rospect Mountain XC Ski Center

4. Brattleboro Outing Club

19. Rikert Nordic Center

5. Catamount Family Center

20. Sleepy Hollow Inn Ski & Bike Center

6. Craftsbury Outdoor Center

21. Smugglers’ Notch Nordic Center

7. Grafton Ponds Nordic Center

22. Stowe/Mt. Mansfield XC Center

8. Hazen’s Notch

23. Strafford Nordic Center

9. Hildene Ski Touring Center

24. Stratton Mountain Nordic Center

10. Jay Peak Ski Touring Center

25. Timber Creek XC Ski Area

11. Kingdom Trails

26. Trapp Family Lodge XC Ski Center

12. Memphremagog Ski Touring

27. Viking Nordic Center

13. Morse Farm Ski Touring Center

28. Wild Wings Ski Touring Center

14. Mountain Meadows XC Ski Area

29. Woodstock Inn & Resort Nordic Center

15. Mountain Top Inn & Resort

Catamount Trail

Vermont Transit, part of the Greyhound system, connects Vermont communities with Boston, Montreal, New York and other regional and national destinations. Call 1.800.231.2222 for information.

BY AIR

With excellent air service, Burlington International Airport is a convenient point of access to northern and central Vermont resorts. Major air carriers include Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, United and US Airways, and Porter out of Toronto. For those who prefer charter flights or have a personal aircraft, Heritage Aviation is ideal. Visitors to central and southern resorts often fly to Albany; Boston; Hartford; Manchester, N.H.; Newark, N.J.; and Rutland, V.T. Gateway cities for international visitors include Boston, New York, Montreal, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Rental cars are available at all airports, and many resorts offer ground transportation.

SkiVermont.com

59

ALPINE

BURKE MOUNTAIN

COCHRAN’S SKI AREA

JAY PEAK RESORT

KILLINGTON RESORT

East Burke, VT 05832 www.skiburke.com

Richmond, VT 05477 www.cochranskiarea.com

Jay, VT 05859 www.jaypeakresort.com

Killington, VT 05751 www.killington.com

General Info:............888-BURKEVT Snow Conditions:.......866-496-1699 Reservations:...........888-BURKEVT Fax:............................802-626-7310

General Info:.............802-434-2479 Snow Conditions:.......802-434-2479 Reservations:............................... — Fax:............................................... —

General Info:.............802-988-2611 Snow Conditions:.......802-988-9601 Reservations:............800-451-4449 Fax:............................802-988-4049

General Info:.......... 800-621-MTNS Snow Conditions:.... 800-621-MTNS Reservations:......... 800-621-MTNS Fax:............................802-422-6113

Vertical:................................. 2,011’ Trails:.......................................... 46 Trail Acreage:........................... 270 Lifts:.............................................. 6

Vertical:.................................... 350’ Trails:............................................ 8 Trail Acreage:............................. 15 Lifts:.............................................. 3

Vertical:................................. 2,153’ Trails:.......................................... 76 Trail Acreage:........................... 385 Lifts:.............................................. 8

Vertical:................................. 3,050’ Trails:........................................ 140 Trail Acreage:........................... 752 Lifts:............................................ 22

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 216 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 80% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 6 of 6

Snowmaking Acreage:................ 10 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 66% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 3 of 3

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 308 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 80% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 8 of 8

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 602 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 80% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:.22 of 22

NORTHEAST SLOPES

OKEMO MOUNTAIN RESORT

PICO MOUNTAIN

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH RESORT

Rt. 25, East Corinth, VT 05040 www.northeastslopes.org

Ludlow, VT 05149 www.okemo.com

Killington, VT 05751 www.picomountain.com

Smugglers’ Notch, VT 05464 www.smuggs.com

General Info:.............802-439-5789 Snow Conditions:.......802-439-5789 Reservations:............802-439-5789 Fax:............................802-228-4558

General Info:.............802-228-1600 Snow Conditions:.......802-228-5222 Reservations:.........800-78-OKEMO Fax:............................802-228-4558

General Info:............ 866-667-PICO Snow Conditions:...... 866-667-PICO Reservations:........... 866-667-PICO Fax:............................802-422-6113

General Info:.............802-644-8851 Snow Conditions:.......802-644-1111 Reservations:............800-451-8752 Fax:............................802-644-1230

Vertical:.................................... 360’ Trails:.......................................... 12 Trail Acreage:............................. 35 Lifts:.............................................. 3

Vertical:................................. 2,200’ Trails:........................................ 119 Trail Acreage:........................... 651 Lifts:............................................ 19

Vertical:................................. 1,967’ Trails:.......................................... 52 Trail Acreage:........................... 265 Lifts:.............................................. 7

Vertical:................................. 2,610’ Trails:.......................................... 78 Trail Acreage:........................... 310 Lifts:.............................................. 8

Snowmaking Acreage:................ — Snowmaking Coverage:.............. — Lifts Serving Snowmaking:........... —

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 605 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 97% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:.19 of 19

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 199 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 75% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 7 of 7

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 192 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 62% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 8 of 8

60

SkiVermont.com

ALPINE

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Vermont’s Sun Mountain

BOLTON VALLEY RESORT

BROMLEY MOUNTAIN RESORT

Bolton Valley, VT 05477 www.boltonvalley.com

Manchester Ctr., VT 05255 www.bromley.com

General Info:.............802-434-3444 Snow Conditions:.... 802-434-SNOW Reservations:........... 877-9BOLTON Fax:............................802-434-6850

General Info:.............802-824-5522 Snow Conditions:.......866-856-2201 Reservations:............800-865-4786 Fax:............................802-824-3659

Vertical:................................. 1,704’ Trails:.......................................... 71 Trail Acreage:........................... 300 Lifts:.............................................. 6

Vertical:................................. 1,334’ Trails:.......................................... 45 Trail Acreage:........................... 178 Lifts:............................................ 10

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 180 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 60% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 5 of 6

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 151 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 85% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:.10 of 10

MAD RIVER GLEN

MAGIC MOUNTAIN

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE SNOW BOWL

MOUNT SNOW RESORT

Waitsfield, VT 05673 www.madriverglen.com

Londonderry, VT 05148 www.magicmtn.com

Middlebury, VT 05753 www.middleburysnowbowl.com

West Dover, VT 05356 www.mountsnow.com

General Info:.............802-496-3551 Snow Conditions:.......802-496-3551 Reservations:............................... — Fax:............................802-496-3562

General Info:.............802-824-5645 Snow Conditions:.......802-824-5645 Reservations:............802-824-5645 Fax:............................802-824-5199

General Info:.............802-388-4356 Snow Conditions:.......802-388-4356 Reservations:............................... — Fax:............................802-388-2871

General Info:.............802-464-3333 Snow Conditions:.......802-464-2151 Reservations:......... 800-245-SNOW Fax:............................802-464-4141

Vertical:................................. 2,037’ Trails:.......................................... 45 Trail Acreage:........................... 120 Lifts:.............................................. 5

Vertical:................................. 1,700’ Trails:.......................................... 43 Trail Acreage:........................... 190 Lifts:.............................................. 4

Vertical:................................. 1,050’ Trails:.......................................... 17 Trail Acreage:........................... 125 Lifts:.............................................. 3

Vertical:................................. 1,700’ Trails:.......................................... 80 Trail Acreage:........................... 588 Lifts:............................................ 20

Snowmaking Acreage:............... 20 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 15% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 3 of 5

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 133 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 70% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 4 of 4

Snowmaking Acreage:............... 56 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 45% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 3 of 3

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 472 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 80% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:. 20 of 20

STOWE MOUNTAIN RESORT

STRATTON MOUNTAIN RESORT

SUGARBUSH RESORT

SUICIDE SIX SKI AREA/ WOODSTOCK INN

Stowe, VT 05672 www.stowe.com

Stratton Mountain, VT 05155 www.stratton.com

Warren, VT 05674 www.sugarbush.com

Woodstock, VT 05091 www.woodstockinn.com

General Info:.............802-253-3000 Snow Conditions:.......802-253-3600 Reservations:............800-253-4SKI Fax:............................802-253-3406

General Info:.............802-297-2200 Snow Conditions:.......802-297-4211 Reservations:......... 800-STRATTON Fax:............................802-297-4395

General Info:.............802-583-6300 Snow Conditions:.......802-583-7669 Reservations:..........800-53-SUGAR Fax:............................802-583-6390

General Info:.............802-457-6661 Snow Conditions:.......802-457-6666 Reservations:............866-448-7900 Fax:............................802-457-3830

Vertical:................................. 2,360’ Trails:........................................ 116 Trail Acreage:........................... 485 Lifts:............................................ 13

Vertical:................................. 2,003’ Trails:.......................................... 96 Trail Acreage:........................... 625 Lifts:............................................ 11

Vertical:................................. 2,600’ Trails:........................................ 111 Trail Acreage:........................... 578 Lifts:............................................ 16

Vertical:.................................... 650’ Trails:.......................................... 23 Trail Acreage:........................... 100 Lifts:.............................................. 3

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 485 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 90% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:.11 of 13

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 594 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 95% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:.11 of 11

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 405 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 70% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:.15 of 16

Snowmaking Acreage:............... 50 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 50% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 3 of 3 SkiVermont.com

61

NORDIC

Resort

Location

E-mail & Website

Phone

Toll-Free

Fax

Trails

Machine Tracked/ Skating Terrain

Instruction/ Rental

Blueberry Hill Ski Center

Goshen, VT 05733

info@blueberryhillinn.com www.blueberryhillinn.com

802-247-6735

800-448-0707

802-247-3983

75km

60km/40km

Y/Y

Blueberry Lake X-C

Warren, VT 05674

www.blueberrylakeskivt.com

802-496-6687

-

802-496-6687

30km

30km/30km

Y/Y

Bolton Valley Nordic Center

Bolton Valley, VT 05477

info@boltonvalley.com www.boltonvalley.com

802-434-3444 x1076

877-9BOLTON

802-434-6870

100km

26km/26km

Y/Y

Brattleboro Outing Club

Brattleboro, VT 05302

personalbest1@yahoo.com www.brattleborooutingclub.com

802-254-4081

-

802-257-3537

33km

25km/18km

Y/Y

Catamount Outdoor Family Center

Williston, VT 05495

landj@catamountoutdoor.com www.catamountoutdoor.com

802-879-6001

888-680-1011

802-879-6066

35km

20km/20km

Y/Y

Catamount Trail Association

Burlington, VT 05401

info@catamounttrail.org www.catamounttrail.org

802-864-5794

-

802-864-5710

483mi

-

N/N

Craftsbury Outdoor Center

Craftsbury Common, VT 05827

stay@craftsbury.com www.craftsbury.com

802-586-7767

-

802-586-7768

135km

85km/85km

Y/Y

Grafton Ponds Nordic Center

Grafton, VT 05146

info@graftonponds.com www.graftonponds.com

802-843-2400

800-843-1801

802-843-2245

60km

30km/30km

Y/Y

Hazen’s Notch Association

Montgomery Ctr., VT 05471

info@hazensnotch.org www.hazensnotch.org

802-326-4799

-

-

70km

40km/0km

Y/Y

Hildene Ski Touring Center

Manchester, VT 05254

info@hildene.org www.hildene.org

802-382-1788

800-578-1788

802-362-1564

15km

12km/3km

Y/Y

Jay Peak Ski Touring Center

Jay, VT 05859

info@jaypeakresort.com www.jaypeakresort.com

802-988-2611

800-451-4449

802-988-4049

20km

20km/20km

Y/Y

Kingdom Trails

East Burke, VT 05871

info@kingdomtrails.org www.kingdomtrails.com

802-626-0737

-

802-626-7310

50km

50km/50km

N/N

Memphremagog Ski Touring

Derby, VT 05829

info@mstf.net www.mstf.net

-

-

-

30km

30km/30km

N/N

Morse Farm Ski Touring Center

Montpelier, VT 05602

info@skimorsefarm.com www.skimorsefarm.com

802-223-0090

800-242-2740

802-223-7450

25km

20km/25km

Y*/Y

Mountain Meadows XC & Snowshoe Ctr.

Killington, VT 05751

basecampvt@mac.com www.xcskiing.net

802-775-0166

800-221-0598

802-747-1929

40km

40km/40km

Y/Y

Mountain Top Nordic Ski & Snowshoe Ctr.

Chittenden, VT 05737

stay@mountaintopinn.com www.mountaintopinn.com

802-483-6089

-

802-483-6373

60km

40km/40km

Y/Y

Okemo Valley Nordic Center

Ludlow, VT 05149

info@okemo.com www.okemo.com

802-228-1600

800-78-OKEMO

802-228-7095

22km

22km/22km

Y/Y

Ole’s Cross Country Center

Warren, VT 05674

ski@olesxc.com www.olesxc.com

802-496-3430

877-863-3001

802-496-3089

50km

50km/45km

Y/Y

Prospect Mountain X-Country Ski Ctr.

Woodford, VT 05201

ski@prospectmountain.com www.prospectmountain.com

802-442-2575

-

-

45km

35km/30km

Y/Y

Rikert Touring Center

Middlebury, VT 05753

www.rikertnordic.com http://go.middlebury.edu/rikert

802-443-2744

-

802-388-2871

50km

30km/30km

Y/Y

Sleepy Hollow Inn Ski & Bike Ctr.

Huntington, VT 05462

info@skisleepyhollow.com www.skisleepyhollow.com

802-434-2283

866-254-1524

802-434-2283

40km

30km/25km

Y/Y

Smugglers’ Notch Nordic Center

Smugglers’ Notch, VT 05464

smuggs@smuggs.com www.smuggs.com

802-644-8851

800-451-8752

802-644-2713

30km

18km/26km

Y/Y

Strafford Nordic Center

Strafford, VT 05072

info@straffordnordicskiing.com straffordnordicskiing.com

802-765-4309

-

-

20km

10km/20km

Y/Y

Stowe/Mt. Mansfield XC Center

Stowe, VT 05672

info@stowe.com www.stowe.com

802-253-3688

800-253-4754

802-253-3406

75km

35km/35km

Y/Y

Stratton Mountain Nordic Center

Stratton Mountain, VT 05155

jpugliese@intrawest.com www.stratton.com

802-297-4125

800-STRATTON

802-297-4117

30km

10km/10km

Y/Y

Timber Creek XC Ski Area

West Dover, VT 05356

vtcxc@sover.net www.timbercreekxc.com

802-464-0999

-

802-464-8308

14km

14km/14km

Y/Y

Trapp Family Lodge XC Ski Ctr.

Stowe, VT 05672

www.trappfamily.com info@trappfamily.com

802-253-5755

800-826-7000

802-253-5757

100km

55km/55km

Y/Y

Viking Nordic Center

Londonderry, VT 05148

skiandstay@vikingnordic.com www.vikingnordic.com

802-824-3933

-

802-824-5602

35km

35km/30km

Y/Y

Wild Wings Ski Touring Ctr.

Peru, VT 05152

wwxcski@myfairpoint.net www.wildwingsski.com

802-824-6793

-

802-824-4574

28km

28km/0km

Y/Y

Woodstock Inn & Resort Nordic Center

Woodstock, VT 05091

email@woodstockinn.com www.woodstockinn.com

802-457-6674

866-448-7900

802-457-6699

60km

50km/20km

Y/Y

*Weekends by appointment

62

SkiVermont.com

AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PARTNERS.

Courtesy of Greg Petrics

A V I A T I O N

64

SkiVermont.com

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Photos Š Blake Jorgenson