Ski Vermont 2012 Magazine by Methodikal, Inc.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. . . . . 8 GOOD AS GOLD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 WE'RE BRINGING SEXY BACK. . . . . . . . . . . 54 ALSO: STAY CLASSY, VERMONT

APRÃ&#x2C6;S FOR EVERYONE IT'S A FAMILY TRADITION + 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

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.

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skivermont.com

2012 ISSUE

DITOR E Jason Gibbs

2 FRESH TRACKS

Winter in its original state.

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.

We’ll change your life forever. Story by Mike Hannigan

8 ROAD TRIP VERMONT

Choose your own adventure. Story by Luke Q. Stafford

43 GOOD AS GOLD

Vermont’s Olympic medalists go big to give back. Story by Peter Oliver

DESIGN Methodikal, Inc. PRINTER Lane Press

36 SAY "AHA"

12 APRÈS FOR EVERYONE

Vermont’s unique apres-ski settings. Story by Pete Biolsi

48 IT'S A FAMILY TRADITION Making memories that last a lifetime, or longer. Story by Andrew McKeever

18 STAY CLASSY, VERMONT Attainable luxury in the Green Mountain State. Story by Mike Hannigan

54 WARNING: WE'RE BRINGING SEXY BACK Couples weekend or cougar hunt, we’ve got you covered. Story by Jen Butson

26 VERMONT FARM TO TABLE DINING Growing faster than fiddleheads in May.

60 ALPINE AND NORDIC SKIING FACTS AND STATS

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

Story by Iseult Devlin

Courtesy of C. Nelson James/MHF

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

SkiVermont.com

FRESH TRACKS

WINTER IN ITS ORIGINAL STATE

A place that is simultaneously casual and elegant, relaxing and reinvigorating. Where warm, friendly people take pride in inviting you into their small, unhurried and close-knit communities; take seriously their commitment to deliver a positive—sometimes life-changing—experience; and have a way of life defined by the mountains that surround them. That’s winter in Vermont.

Vermonters live and breathe an authentic mountain lifestyle. We appreciate all things local. We are faithful to our traditions. We are innovative by nature, and by necessity. And, perhaps most importantly, we love to have fun—lots of fun. Sure, we can be a little quirky. A life inspired by mountains— and influenced by the most snowfall in the East—will do that to you. That’s part of our charm. We’ve been at it—winter, that is—for a while. We just love it. In the 1930s, six of Vermont’s current ski areas began operations. The nation’s first J-bar was installed at Bromley. America’s first ski patrol was established at Stowe, and, in 1940, the country’s first major chairlift began to turn there. Over the next several decades, Vermont added 12 more of its current resorts to the lineup. Altogether, we have more alpine (18) and Nordic (30) ski areas, and more skiers and snowboarders, per capita than any other state. It’s no wonder that over that same period in history, we revolutionized winter with pioneering advancements in guest services, ski school instruction, grooming and the science of snowmaking. In the 1980s, when big hair and puffy sleeves prevailed, school supplies were tucked safely in a Trapper Keeper and everyone was asking, “Where’s the beef,” Vermont was playing a defining role in the early days of snowboarding. In fact, the Suicide Six Resort in Pomfret was the first resort in the United States to allow it.

SkiVermont.com

When Stratton Mountain Resort introduced snowboarding in 1985, only 5 percent of ski areas in the country permitted it. Today, Vermont has produced more than half of the nation’s most successful Olympic snowboarders and is home to Burton Snowboards, the leading snowboard manufacturer, founded by Jake Burton Carpenter. Though very proud of its bona fides, Vermont will never be content to rest upon its laurels. An opportunity to make things better is, to us, an obligation. So we roll up our sleeves and happily get to work. This ethic accounts for our continuous emphasis on improving the winter experience we offer, and the same approach, combined with extraordinary mountains and abundant snow, is why Vermont remains the most popular winter destination in the East and the third most visited in the United States—after Colorado and California. Not bad for a state with just 625,000 residents. Our state is dedicated to providing the authentic winter experience that you imagine. Think of that for a moment: An entire state rallied around this objective. Not a handful of resorts or communities in one region, but an entire state. That’s what makes the difference. Indeed, tourism is a substantial part of our economy—for which we are very grateful. At the end of the day, however, it’s a labor of love. We love winter in Vermont and we love to share it. As you read through this edition of Ski Vermont Magazine, it is my hope that if you remember only one thing, it is that authenticity makes the Vermont experience better, and more complete, than any other. It’s a recipe as pure and simple as our maple syrup. So, that’s it. The rest is up to you. You are in control. But when you choose your next adventure—when you imagine that perfect winter experience—we hope you’ll choose Vermont, winter in its original state.

Courtesy of C. Nelson James/MHF

Imagine the perfect winter experience: A pure, unspoiled escape with big mountains and great snow, valley farms and steepled villages.

FRESH TRACKS

2011–2012 SKI VERMONT CALENDAR OF EVENTS DECEMBER

JANUARY NIGHT RIDERS SERIES Bolton Valley Resort

December 3, 2011

Wednesday nights in January 18 – March 7, 2012

RAILS 2 RICHES Killington Resort

VERMONT SKI MUSEUM ANTIQUE CLASSIC Trapp Family Lodge and Resort

December 10, 2011

January 8, 2012

STOWE MOUNTAINFEST Stowe Mountain Resort

WINTER DEW TOUR Killington Resort

December 10, 2011

January 19–22, 2012

FAMILY NEW YEAR’S EVE Okemo Mountain Resort

7TH ANNUAL PAINTBALL BIATHLON Mountain Top Inn and Resort

December 31, 2011

January 22–23, 2012

Courtesy of Justin Cash

17TH ANNUAL BREWFEST Smugglers’ Notch Resort

FIRE AND ICE FESTIVAL Stowe Mountain Resort

January 21, 2012 TUBBS ROMP TO STOMP OUT BREAST CANCER SNOWSHOE Stratton Mountain Resort

January 28, 2012

75 years of putting kids first. Brand New Kids’ Center featuriNg

• New 3000 square foot facility just for kids • Learning area makeover with new kids’ cabin • New covered carpet lift

Vermont’s Sun Mountain www.bromley.com Route 11, 6 miles from Manchester, Vermont 802-824-5522 Conditions: 866-856-2201 4

SkiVermont.com

FRESH TRACKS

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

13TH ANNUAL CASINO NIGHT Smugglers’ Notch Resort

TD BANK BILL KOCH FESTIVAL Middlebury College Snow Bowl

February 4, 2012

March 2–4, 2012

23RD ANNUAL POND SKIMMING CELEBRATION Burke Mountain Resort

April 7, 2012 THE US OPEN SNOWBOARDING CHAMPIONSHIPS Stratton Mountain Resort

OKEMO SLUSH CUP & TUG-O-WAR Okemo Mountain Resort

February 23, 2012

March 4–11, 2012

April 7, 2012

10TH ANNUAL MOUNTAIN MARDI GRAS Jay Peak Resort

USSA HOLE SHOT (SBX NORAM TOUR) Killington Resort

WINTER BREWERS FESTIVAL Mount Snow Resort

February 27 – March 2, 2012

March 6–8, 2012

April 7, 2012

15TH ANNUAL CASTLEROCK EXTREME Sugarbush Resort

SUGARBUSH ADVENTURE GAMES Sugarbush Resort

March 10, 2012

April 14–15, 2012

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

DISNEY AND FAMILYFUN MAGAZINE WINTER CARNIVAL Smugglers’ Notch Resort

POND SKIMMING Bolton Valley Resort

March 24, 2012 REGGAEFEST WEEKEND Mount Snow Resort

For more information on these events and to find out what else is going on, head to SkiVermont.com

March 23–25, 2012

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.

52 trails ° 7 lifts ° 1,967’ vertical 866-667-PICO W11-12_VSAA_Pico_Ad.indd 1

picomountain.com 9/20/2011 1:03:29 PM SkiVermont.com 5

SKI VT 2011 Winter Ad final_Layout 1 8/17/11 10:46 AM Page 1

KIDS SKI FREE WITH THE FIFTH GRADE PASSPORT

hoto © Brian Mohr/EmberP

FRESH TRACKS

Nature ’s Therapy

100km Cross-Country, Snowshoe & Backcountry Trails on over 2500 acres Equipment Rentals & Instruction Cutting Edge Backcountry Demo Center Destination Trailside Cabin for a Fireside Lunch or Snack European Inspired Accommodations & Cuisine

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.

A little of Austria. A lot of Vermont. Stowe, Vermont

800-826-7000

www.trappfamily.com

Saving money, that rocks too. The Ski Vermont 5th Grade Passport program lets all fifth 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?

Ve rm on t’s Mo st Af for da ble Big Mo un tai n Fa mi ly Sk i Va cat ion 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. 6

SkiVermont.com

Ski to your door lodging from $79* per person/night 300”+ natural snow annually 71 trails of alpine skiing & riding, 3 Terrain Parks, Vermont’s most extensive night skiing & riding Nordic Center & Full Sports Center Located less than 30 minutes from Burlington *Dates and restrictions apply. Call for details.

FRESH TRACKS

BUSY KIDS ARE HAPPY—AND TIRED—KIDS

Okemo opened the Timber Ripper last winter, and it quickly became a must-do among families visiting the resort. “Although skiing is why people come to Okemo, Tim and I feel that being in a winter wonderland gives kids a chance to ‘feel the snow’... in every way—from riding the Timber Ripper mountain coaster, to making snow angels, to exploring the Bigloo igloo,” says Diane Mueller, co-owner of Okemo along with her husband, Tim. “We all remember being kids. Snow is magical.” Okemo is just one of the many ski resorts in Vermont offering family-friendly attractions, in addition to kids’ ski and snowboard programs. Not only do these extras keep kids from whining “I’m bored,” they also tire them out—an added bonus for parents who would no doubt enjoy a few quiet hours to themselves. At Jay Peak, the Pump House Waterpark is scheduled to open in December 2011. Attached to the renovated Hotel Jay (scheduled to open in January 2012), the huge indoor water park will have a standing surf wave, slides, and—parents take note—a giant hot tub adjacent to the bar. Not that Jay needed more activities to tire out the kids. After a day skiing “Kitz-a-bushel” (Kitzbuehel) and Derick Hot Shot—her first black-diamond mogul runs—my 10-year-old daughter passed up a family game of Scrabble to go to bed. Before 9:00 p.m. Smugglers’ Notch, which has built its reputation as an inveterate kids’ playground, has so many off-slope attractions that it’s exhausting just reading the list. Last winter, Emmett Gilbert, age 8, declared the FunZone the “best thing ever,” especially ping-pong, inflatable racecourses, and giant slide, while his 5-year-old sister Gracie liked the mini playhouse. My daughter had a similar reaction. After a day exploring Morse Mountain— including the glades—and an evening in the FunZone, she fell asleep shortly after dinner. As we packed to leave the next day, she asked if we could live there. And we never made it to the zip-line canopy tour, which opened last winter for ages 8 and up (like flying through a snow cloud, we heard). Sugarbush runs Winter Adventure Camps for kids ages 4 to 17.

Courtesy of Nancy Cook

Last winter, 8-year-old Ben Spiro was at Okemo skiing with his mom. Even though they’re novice skiers, the two were having a blast in the half-pipe. Then Ben spied the Timber Ripper, a year-round roller-coaster-like ride that drops—and swoops— more than a half-mile down to Jackson Gore’s base area. “It was awesome!” says Ben, who especially liked the ride’s steep climb to the top.

The little kids (ages 4 to 6) ski or snowboard in the morning, then build snow forts, track animals, ID trees, and go on scavenger hunts in the afternoon. Older kids (ages 7 to 17) who are comfortable skiing or riding at least intermediate terrain will be guided into some of Sugarbush’s wildest terrain, like Castlerock Peak and the backcountry of Slide Brook Basin, where instruction covers topics like bumps, air, trees, and safety, as well as decision making, group management, and backcountry survival and rescue. The adventure camps run during the December holiday week, as well as President’s Day week in February. And if the kids are still full of energy, the health and racquet club has a climbing wall and inflatable bounce house. Every Vermont resort has a terrain parks—except Mad River Glen, which is its own giant au naturel terrain park. But for snowboarders, the Stash at Killington stands out. Every feature is made of natural materials, and riders can even jump and jib off the full-size Sugar Shack, though it’s probably best not to tell Mom beforehand. Mount Snow has an entire mountain dedicated to terrain parks. Carinthia is the only all-park mountain face in the East, with eight park areas over five miles of trail. The parks feature rails, jumps and pipes of various sizes, and the area also has a tree skiing zone. At Bromley, it’s hard not to like the Unforgiven boardercross course. The wide-open course is easy enough for kids still skiing in a wedge, is hard enough for riders looking for speed and air, and has enough banked turns and whoop-de-dos that parents just might yell, “Wheee!” And next thing you know, parents will be going to bed early too—or not. – By Peggy Shinn

SkiVermont.com

ROAD TRIP

VERMONT Choose Your Adventure...By Luke Q. Stafford

You are a road warrior. All week long, you watch the clock at work or school, counting down to Friday afternoon. Finally, the time comes. You stuff your car to the gills with gear, extra layers, some snacks and, of course, a few of your most trusted fellow road warriors. The familiar “click” of your ski rack locking into place means the weekend is officially here. You are hitting the road. Your destination: Vermont. First, you need some tunes to see you through your journey. Something upbeat to keep you energized, but mellow enough so you can carry on a conversation with your fellow warriors. Radiohead? Nah, too moody. Arcade Fire? Perfect. (The band’s first album, Funeral, cued up to track 2). You pull out of the driveway with a smile plastered on your face because there’s a Nor’easter bearing down on the Green Mountains. A foot or more, you’ve heard. The sign for the interstate is illuminated in your headlights like a waving battle flag, calling you to the front line. You pull into the gas station and dart inside to freshen up your coffee with a bold roast. “Storm’s comin’,” the cashier chirps, nodding to the north. You say you’ve heard a foot or more. He has heard the same.

As you stand outside your car, waiting for the gas tank to fill, you hop around, partly because it’s 24 degrees and you’re trying to stay warm, but mainly because you’re so jazzed to hit the highway, to leave work and deadlines behind, to charge the mountaintops and leave no patch of fresh powder untracked. The pump clicks stop. There’s no time to wait for the printout. You jump back into the car and ask “Ready?” to your mates. You fire up the GPS on your smartphone. Buckle up—it’s road trip time.

WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE? CHOOSE FROM THE FOUR ADVENTURES BELOW. DRIVE SAFELY ON YOUR JOURNEY. AND GOOD LUCK. IF YOU’RE A GLADES GURU, TURN TO PAGE 35 IF YOU’RE A FREESTYLE FIEND, TURN TO PAGE 53 IF YOU’RE A DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND DOMINATOR, TURN TO PAGE 17 IF YOU’RE A FAMILY ON THE MOVE, TURN TO PAGE 47

SkiVermont.com

Join the Fun! Celebrate 50 years of Mountain Friends and Freedom.

1-800-stratton

stratton.com/vermont

Courtesy of Dennis Curran

FRESH TRACKS

LEARN TO SKI AND SNOWBOARD MONTH THIS IS YOUR YEAR The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines skiing as “the art or sport of sliding and jumping on skis.” To skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts, it is much more. It’s a lifestyle, a culture and, for many Vermonters, a passion. This winter we are devoted to sharing this passion with more people than ever before—and that includes you! Nationally, January is the official Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month. Vermont will add its voice to the “learn to” choir by rolling out some fantastic and outrageously affordable options. In the Green Mountain State, however, just one month devoted to you would never do. Call us old fashioned—we’re romantics. Our commitment to converting you from a “never ever” to a lifelong lover lasts all season long. All of our resorts offer special Ski and Snowboard School deals and custom packages from December through April. That’s five solid months of good lovin’. But who’s counting? The world’s best skiing and snowboarding pros, along with terrain specially designed for beginners, make Vermont the best place to experience the thrill of learning to ski or ride. This professionally guided experience will lead you right from arrival to the après-ski party—and our coaches know where to find all the best parties. A first-class fiesta, wrapped up in a life changing lesson, is exactly what you can expect from a state that produces so many Olympic athletes and is home to the most skiing and snowboarding academies in the country. Best of all, after your first lesson, you’ll be hooked– thinking about your next time, all the time. That’s good, because all we think about is your next time too. You had us at hello.

SHARE THE LOVE If you’ve already been bitten by the bug, or graduated from Ski School with high honors, then this is your chance to share the love. Encourage your family and friends to sign up for a lesson. Better yet, hook them up with one! Our pros will teach them to make turns, while you take some runs with the varsity squad. When they’re ready you can show them all that Vermont’s mountains have to offer—along with your best moves. MIX IT UP Maybe you’re a skier who has never been on a snowboard. Now’s the time to give it a try. Or if you’ve always wanted to learn to telemark ski, rip the bumps, ski the trees or land a killer trick, this is your year. Whatever your skiing and snowboarding goals, Vermont has a pro who will help you reach them. ONE STEP AT A TIME If you want to glide with less gravity, Nordic (cross-country) skiing or snowshoeing lessons also offer an ultra-easy introduction to learning to love winter and sliding on snow. The solitude of Vermont’s winter woods is an experience like no other. You will not only experience beautiful scenery and the serenity of the backcountry, but reap significant health benefits from these “gateway” activities. Mark your calendar for January 7–Winter Trails Day–when more than a dozen Vermont ski areas offer free Nordic skiing lessons, rental equipment discounts and free trail passes. LEARN MORE Find all the facts on our money-saving Learn to Ski and Snowboard programs at skivermont.com. Share the passion, try something new, and learn to love winter.

SkiVermont.com

APRÈS FOR EVERYONE BY PETE BIOLSI

Courtesy of C. Nelson James/MHF

TIMELESS TAVERNS The Brewski, Jeffersonville, Vt. The Matterhorn, Stowe, Vt. Every ski town needs a place where you just feel “at home.” Split by only 15 minutes in the summer, the Brewski in Jeffersonville and the Matterhorn in Stowe become isolated harbors when the high mountain pass of Smugglers’ Notch Road closes for winter. Both the Matterhorn and the Brewski offer up a traditional ambiance where you immediately feel compelled to swap stories with the locals, lifties, ski patrollers and instructors who frequent their taps. At the Brewski, a massive cast-iron woodstove thaws out weary skiers limbering up to local music. Knock back some Trout River drafts, take advantage of the free pool and darts, and hail the Smuggs shuttle bus back to your suite. But be sure not to leave without sampling the dry-rub wings.

When the lifts close and it’s time to belly up to the bar, you’ve generally got two choices: Ski straight to the nearest on-hill pub for instant gratification, or head back to your room, freshen up, and make it a true night out. Thankfully, Vermont resort towns, and their abutting villages, offer a plethora of establishments to please every entourage.

“The Horn,” as the locals call it, expands on the ski pub classic, with a chic sushi lounge and a wood-fired oven for great pizza and wings (Ladies, it never hurts to chat up the pizza guy). Several well-stocked bars offer Vermont microbrews, sake, and martinis mixed with locally distilled Sunshine Vodka. Try the Matterhorn Roll or jump on the Japanese Spicy Boat for a sushi and sashimi feast. Then let the area’s hottest bands get your groove thing going. But don’t be surprised if you see your ski or snowboard instructor showing off some different moves.

For the ski-in crowd, on-mountain bars provide minimal lift-to-stool friction, allowing garbed guzzlers to quickly treat themselves after chasing last chair. (See the accompanying list for the top watering holes that allow ski and snowboard boots.) For the night-out crowd that paces off-snow indulgence with a hot shower and a new outfit, follow this treasure map to some of the most distinctive après-ski settings you can find in the Green Mountains.

SMALL TOWN, BIG BEER Waterbury, Vt. This small town is perfectly triangulated between Sugarbush, Bolton Valley and Stowe resorts. Home to many of the region’s professional recreationalists, the community also hosts three of the state’s best watering holes: the Blackback Pub, Reservoir Restaurant and Alchemist Pub and Brewery. Together, they form a sort of beer-muda triangle.

X MARKS THE APRÈS

Owned by a local fly-fishing guide (Blackback is a nickname for brook trout, the only stream-dwelling trout native to New England), the Blackback Pub serves only the finest craft beers—including multiple offerings from the Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, Vt.—along with a top-shelf whiskey selection. Add great wine, Vermont artisan cheeses, panini sandwiches on fresh local bread and an owner/bartender/flyfishing guru who knows as much about beer as he does fishing, and it’s a must-do on your après list.

FAMILY FRIEND Jay Village Inn, Jay, Vt. Just 10 minutes from Jay Peak, this 15-room inn is a perfect rest stop for families or couples returning from Vermont’s only tram-accessed slopes. But don’t let the northern generosity and ski cabin decor fool you: This isn’t your average small-town B & B. It’s a surprisingly lively après retreat. The portions are generous and the atmosphere is homey. Grab a tall chair at the pub for a dinner such as the applewood smoked BLT with sweet potato fries, and sip on a handful of Vermont nectars, including Woodchuck Cider—the official hard cider of Ski Vermont. If you plan to attempt the “ghost wing challenge,” book a room— you’re going to need it. 12

SkiVermont.com

Across the street you’ll find the Reservoir, a bustling 99-seat restaurant with 37 draft beers—including a full selection of Long Trail Brewing Company beers, the official après-ski beer of Ski Vermont. With an expanded menu that includes a mammoth one-pound local beef burger dubbed the “Truck

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Driver,” weekend entertainment, and a warm, friendly staff, this place can really rock. And, just a few doors down from both the Blackback Pub and the Reservoir, you’ll find the Alchemist Pub and Brewery, one of Vermont’s numerous brewpubs specializing in handcrafted beer and casual pub food with hippy-friendly fare. LOCALVORE’S LANDING American Flatbread, Waitsfield, Vt. Vermonters love local; that’s why they ski, drink and grow their own. If it’s pizza, beer and atmosphere you’re seeking, American Flatbread is bound to exceed your après-ski expectations. Nestled in the valley below Mad River Glen and Sugarbush, this is a haven for craft beer and delicious, wood-fired pies made strictly with local, farm-fresh ingredients. The tap selection is one of the few to include libations from Lawson’s Finest Liquids, a bit down the road in Warren, Vt. Whether you were able to ski the Glen or not, you’ve earned a filling, fun and family-friendly evening out simply by venturing to the Mad River Valley. Try the Punctuated Equilibrium or anything from the specials menu. You’ll be a localvore forevermore. HYBRID HOUSE Wobbly Barn, Killington, Vt. Only in a Vermont mountain town could a steakhouse and nightclub coexist in perfect harmony. This hotspot for the 21+ crowd is known for its “high-altitude entertainment” and thumping upstairs nightclub. Voted one of the top 10 après-ski destinations by Boston.com, the Wobbly Barn is as much a place to find an 18-ounce Delmonico as it is to find a new sweetie. Treat your date to a steak, and then purchase your next-day lift tickets directly from your server. The best part: It’s not even a song’s-length drive from the gnarly terrain at Killington Peak. In fact, don’t bother driving. If you’re staying locally, ring the Wobbly Wagon (800-VIPBARN), and it’ll pick you up. Looking for a quiet dinner experience? Get there early. Then, stay late. DOWN-SLOPE DANCE HALL Snow Barn, West Dover, Vt. A long day of Carinthia Park sessions or charging the north face at Mount Snow is best rewarded with a night of beer and live music. Located just a quarter-mile from the base, the Snow Barn is one of the most active music venues in southern Vermont. Filling the stage with nationally touring acts, local DJs, and popular cover bands throughout the season, this is the place to go when you just need to get down. You’ll find camaraderie in the strong local contingent as well as pub grub and Vermont brews, including many of the best brews from around Vermont. After you’ve mastered the ring toss, order up a take-out pizza for late-night snacking back at the ranch. But beware the air hockey hustler—she’ll take your quarters every time!

BINDINGS TO BREWS ON-MOUNTAIN BARS

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

THE LIGHTNING FAST SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB™ 10.1. OPERATE AT BLISTERING SPEEDS WITH VERIZON 4G LTE.

The new Samsung Galaxy 10” Android tablet delivers the best multimedia sports experience with blazing speeds and maximum portability.

• Built for true multi-tasking with Android™ Honeycomb • Full internet experience with Adobe® Flash® technology • Ultra-slim and razor-sharp - only 8.6mm thick • Unmatched mobility - only 20 oz • 16 GB User Memory (On Board) • Blaze through the web up to 10x faster than 3G

Activation fee/line: $35 IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: Subject to Cust. Agmt, Calling Plan, rebate form & credit approval. Up to $350 early termination fee & add’l charges apply to device capabilities. Offers & coverage, varying by svc, not available everywhere; see vzw.com. Limited-time offer. Restocking fee may apply. Rebate debit card takes up to 6 wks & expires in 12 months. © 2011 Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC (“Samsung”). Samsung and Galaxy Tab are both trademarks of Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and/or its related entities. Screen images simulated. © 2011 Verizon Wireless.

FRESH TRACKS

INSIDER GEAR GUIDE: HEADGEAR NOT TO FEAR: A special collection of team endorsed RED and anon product combinations that have been paired together for optimal style, fit and airflow ventilation. www.redprotection.com | www.anonoptics.com Helmet: RED, HI-FI Rock Romance Goggle: anon, Figment Rock Romance

TWINS ARE ALWAYS FUN: This easy-to-ski, hard-to-categorize all-mountain twin can be found slashing secret pow-shots, ripping hardpack and bumps or touring the backcountry just the same. Combining PowderTurn rocker, Centered Sidecut and 98mm waist, the S3 delivers equal parts float, maneuverability and edge grip for confident performance on every aspect of the mountain. The S3’s playful versatility and ease-of-use has earned it multiple ski-mag awards including Editor’s and Skier’s Choice for 2011. 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

A GLOVE THAT FITS, MINUS THE BRONCO:

Any season. Any reason.

Nordic Ski & Snowshoe Center 60kmTrails f Lessons & Rentals Sleigh Rides f Dog Sledding Family Fun f Casual Dining

Chittenden, VT | 802.483.2311 | www.mountaintopinn.com

The Guide glove was designed in collaboration with Kevin Quinn from Points North Heli-Adventures. The combination of Softshell and Leather creates a comfortable and durable glove. The open mid-length cuff is designed to slip on and off without extraneous gauntlet pulls. The adjustable wrist strap helps lock the glove in place. Outstanding performance combined with a simple design. www.kombiltd.com SkiVermont.com

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

double Black Diamond Dominator You flip the switch to engage four-wheel drive as you build up speed on the interstate’s on-ramp—it’s snowing furiously by now and you’ll have to stay sharp, and drive safely, if you’re going to make it to Burke Mountain tonight. You connect to Route 91 and continue north, barreling your way into Vermont’s sparsely populated Northeast Kingdom. Even though there are residents in this corner of the state, you feel like you’re entering a strange wilderness, where the snow is deep and fluffy and all for you. Your car door plows the top layer of snow when you reach your slopeside condo rental a few hours later. It’s coming down even heavier now, and you trudge through knee-deep snow to your room—the trek complicated only slightly by the cooler of essential provisions in your hands. The snow has stopped when you awake the next morning at 6:15. You estimate a full 24 inches has piled up on the grill on the back deck, meaning even more snow awaits on the double black diamond tree runs of Caveman and Throbulator on Burke’s steep eastern slope and Birches and the Jungle on the western slope. At precisely 8:17 a.m., you’re at the summit. You lead the way through Throbulator for a warm-up run, powder spraying you in the face the entire way. On the way back up the Willoughby lift, you notice a skier directly beneath you dropping small cliffs and navigating craggy outcroppings like a Himalayan mountain goat. You realize they’ve dropped the ropes on Fox’s Folly, Burke’s notoriously steep and rugged double black. For the next two hours, you show off for the lift riders, hooting and hollering as you zigzag the powdery, nearvertical obstacle course. Your legs are burning by lunchtime, so you spend the rest of the afternoon on the western slope, discovering powder stashes in the Jungle, smiling at your good fortune on such a beautiful day. The next morning you shove off early, driving west on Route 2 toward Warren, Vermont. You’re headed to Sugarbush Resort. With three mountain peaks near 4,000 feet, it’s bound to have lots of steep and deep options after Friday night’s storm. Your fellow thrill seekers want to hit the Bush’s steepest double black, F.I.S., first. You’re savvier than that, though. You know that Castlerock peak, the Bush’s all-natural peak (it never sees manmade

snow), is experiencing a rare combination of fresh snowfall and morning sunshine. You explain the strategy to take Castlerock by storm, and everyone follows. You charge down Rumble like a rhino on the lam (no need for a warmup run today). You take a few more runs down the boulderstrewn trail under the double chair—and the silence from riders above assures you that you’re on your game today. They’re awestruck by your skills. In the afternoon, you and your crew take the short ride from Sugarbush to Mad River Glen. The skier-owned co-op’s legendary trails—like the do or die bumps of the Chute and Grand Canyon—coupled with the new snow, and the nation’s only single chair, are the perfect way to punctuate a weekend of total black diamond domination. You and your co-conspirators top it off with a farm fresh Vermont dinner, some local microbrews, and a brilliantly formulated plan to call in sick to work the next day. Mondays are for chumps anyway. You’ve always wanted to hit Magic Mountain, southern Vermont’s hidden gem, so after a good night’s sleep in the Mad River Valley, you head south on Route 100. At 9:08 a.m., you’re sipping from a Green Mountain Coffee cup as you take the ride up Magic’s red chair. Fifteen minutes later, at the exact time you’d normally be explaining strategy tactics around a boardroom table, your heart thumps as you peer over the cliffs of Black Magic, a pantspeeingly rugged double black diamond. “We skipped work for this?” one of your companions quips. You don’t answer. You’re already dropping the first cliff.

IF YOU’RE A GLADES GURU, TURN TO PAGE 35 IF YOU’RE A FREESTYLE FIEND, TURN TO PAGE 53 IF YOU’RE A FAMILY ON THE MOVE, TURN TO PAGE 47

SkiVermont.com

STAY CLASSY, Attainable luxury in the Green Mountain State by Mike Hannigan George Gershwin’s song Summertime has been covered countless times since he penned its lyrics back in 1934, but with all due respect to George, he missed the boat. It’s wintertime where the living is easy, especially if you point your car north toward Vermont. From the Massachusetts border north to the Quebec border, our state boasts an incredible mix of luxury winter properties, where you can relax, unwind and be pampered. If you watched the HGTV Dream Home show on TV last year, it will come as no surprise that Vermont is home to such incredible abodes. The Dream Home in Stowe was decked out with the finest features, a gorgeous location right at the base of Spruce Peak, the ultimate in architecture and furnishings, and even some sweet Ski Vermont posters throughout the downstairs ski dorm and living room. Basically, it was everything a skier or snowboarder could want, and more.

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Defining the ultimate in luxury is a bit like defining art; beauty, and pampering, are in the eye of the beholder. It might be a Nordic retreat in the middle of the woods, or it might be a slopeside sanctuary, complete with spas, gourmet dining and all the finest touches. Either way, Vermont has you covered. After all, you work hard. You deserve a place where you can blow off some steam, shred some powder and reconnect with the-artist-formerly-known-as-you. But you don’t have to win a national contest to live the Vermont winter high life. Heck, you don’t even need a trust fund. Ski Vermont Magazine has gone out and done all the hard work for you, finding exceptional vacation opportunities throughout the Green Mountain State. Presented in the following pages are five amazing spots where anyone can temporarily live in the lap of luxury. All you need is a reservation, a car, and a desire to live the good life, winter-in-Vermont style.

STOWE MOUNTAIN LODGE @ STOWE MOUNTAIN RESORT

Stowe, Vt. Stowe’s always been known as a hub for discerning travelers, and the Stowe Mountain Lodge does nothing to diminish that reputation. Opened in 2008, the sixstory resort features architecture inspired by the turn-of-the-century summer camps created by New England’s great families. Each of the Lodge’s 312 rooms has been custom designed as a respite from the demands of your everyday life, with plush furnishings, soothing amenities, and oversized windows and balconies that let you soak in the views of Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak. When you’re not ripping it up on Stowe’s legendary terrain, you can enjoy fine dining at Solstice and a relaxing massage in the Spa & Wellness Center. And if that’s not enough pampering for you, the Lodge’s Front Four condos bring it all to another level of luxury, with separate lounges and elevators, and your very own concierge. Go ahead, you deserve it.

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MOUNTAIN AIRE LODGE @ THE MOUNTAIN TOP INN & RESORT

Chittenden, Vt. Looking to throw that ultimate party in the woods? The Mountain Aire Lodge is built to entertain and comfort, with a gourmet kitchen and room for 18 of your closest friends. Inside, the newly constructed lodge boasts post-and-beam construction and hand-planed white oak floors. Outside, a pleasant dilemma awaits you: turn right, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got 10,000 acres of National Forest waiting for you. Turn left, and you can enjoy everything the Mountain Top Resort has to offer, including dogsled rides, snowmobile tours, horse-drawn sleigh rides, and 60 kilometers of trails at the Nordic Ski & Snowshoe Center, one of the oldest in the country. Either way, you win. The Lodge even has radiant floor heating, so your tootsies stay pampered too.

SkiVermont.com

LEDGEWOOD YURT @ KILLINGTON RESORT

K illington, Vt. Those nomadic Mongolian tribes that invented the yurt a couple thousand years ago surely never enjoyed an experience like this. The Ledgewood Yurt offers gourmet dining with a sense of adventure, and one of the most unusual, and luxurious, experiences you can have at Killington. To begin, you’ll hop on a cat-towed sleigh for a 20-minute ride to the yurt. Soon, you’ll see lights twinkling through the trees, your first sign that civilization awaits you in the woods. Step inside and you’ll be greeted by the warmth of the fire and the cool sounds of live jazz, followed by five courses of local ingredients from Executive Chef Justin Blais to please your palate. The sleigh leaves at 6:00 p.m. and you’ll need a reservation, but the food is as adventurous as the terrain, so don’t miss out.

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CLAY BROOK & THE LINCOLN LIMO @ SUGARBUSH RESORT

Warren, Vt. Sugarbush loyalists like to say that life is better in the Mad River Valley, and it’s hard to argue with them. For your snow-filled pleasures, the resort offers the Lincoln Limo, a 12-passenger luxury cabin cat tricked out with a flat-screen TV and outrageously comfortable seats. On powder days, you can beat the lift lines and grab the ultimate in fresh tracks. Or for dinner, ride the cat up for a gourmet feast at Allyn’s Lodge and then ski and snowboard down under the stars. When you’re finally done for the day, rest your head at Clay Brook, Sugarbush’s luxury accommodations, complete with a heated outdoor pool and double-barrel hot tubs. ‘Be Better Here’ indeed.

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TRAM HAUS LODGE @ JAY PEAK RESORT

Jay, Vt. Once upon a time, après ski at Jay Peak meant grabbing a six-pack to bring back to your crib. But, although Jay’s legendary terrain and deep snows remain unchanged, the scene at the base of the mountain has most certainly evolved to a higher plane. The Tram Haus Lodge makes a damn fine place to rest your head, with a built-in spa and fitness center, and walk-to-the-lifts proximity. You can refuel on localvore treats at Alice’s Table, or grab a fancy cocktail at the Tower Bar, where the baconinfused bourbon is a luxury all its own. This winter, the Hotel Jay makes its debut, as does the Pumphouse Indoor Waterpark, complete with its own indoor surfing wave and North America’s longest indoor river. (Yes, you read that correctly.)

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The BeasT Believes in family values. like firsT chair. Killington ResoRt is a Rite of passage foR those young and old. Which is Why so many families Keep coming bacK to the beast eveRy WinteR. find out hoW to maKe Killington paRt of youR family vacation at killingTon.com.

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BY ISEULT DEVLIN

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Courtesy of Chris Nelson

VERMONT FARM TO TABLE DINING

IN VERMONT, FARMERS’ MARKETS AREN’T JUST FOR THE KITCHEN TABLE ANYMORE. CHEFS FROM BOTH WELL-KNOWN RESORT RESTAURANTS AND SMALL EATERIES OFF THE BEATEN TRACK ARE EMBRACING THE STATE’S BOUNTY OF FRESH GOODS. This has resulted in a farm-to-table movement that is growing like fiddleheads in May. Chefs are going gourmet as they work with local farmers to help meet the demand of a growing clientele that wants to eat local foods. Just imagine: local cornmeal polenta, Jasper Hill blue cheese, Boyden Farm beef burgers, Vermont Family Farms pork belly, LaPlatte Farm hanger steak, Wanabea Farm Rabbitry rabbits, Nicoise salad with local quail eggs or even roasted quail from Cavendish Farms. Chefs are using local Vermont options not only to create innovative dishes but also to ensure they are offering a high level of quality in everything from beef to mushrooms. “A lot of people are looking for the highest quality, tastiest food, as opposed to food that is flown 2,000 miles to get here,” says Eric Warnstedt, executive chef of Hen of the Wood restaurant in Waterbury (near Stowe, Sugarbush and Bolton Valley resorts), which opened in 2005 with a mission of using farm-to-table food. 2010 Vermont Chef of the Year Amy Chamberlain, owner of the Perfect Wife restaurant in Manchester, agrees with Warnstedt. “The closer you are to the food, physically where it is grown and produced, the better it is,” she says.

Cattle Company gave him a variety of different cuts so he could grind the beef himself. It doesn’t always work out that way. Chef Paul Eschbach, of the Hermitage Inn near Mount Snow, recalls how one beef farm he used switched from grass-fed beef to corn-fed for 90 days before slaughtering to soften the beef, which made it extremely delicious. It got so popular that the farmer couldn’t keep up with demand, says Eschbach. In general, though, farmers go the extra mile to keep up with the needs of chefs and their customers. “People are traveling to Vermont and want to connect on a dining level and make sure they are getting local Vermont cuisine,” says Meghan Sheradin, executive director of Vermont Fresh Network, which counts 125 farms among its members and has a mission to advance relationships among farmers, chefs and consumers to grow markets and eat more locally grown food. “The trend is being motivated by chefs and their own mission of wanting to connect to farm culture,” adds Sheradin. New restaurants featuring farm food are sprouting up near the slopes. In South Londonderry, near Stratton, SoLo Farm & Table opened in July with a focus on local products. The Downtown Grocery, in Ludlow, opened last winter and features a small, seasonal menu; it is owned by the former chef of Verdé. The popular Hen of the Wood changes its menu frequently, and “on any given day it’s a snapshot of the Vermont agricultural theme,” says Warnstedt, who was Vermont’s 2010 Restaurateur of the Year. The restaurant has become so successful, it requires reservations well in advance.

But just-picked squash or freshly harvested pork isn’t what makes a chef’s dish great, according to some of Vermont’s best. Their relationships with farmers are also a key part of a restaurant’s success at making the farm-to-table concept viable.

In winter, the skiers’ favorite is Hen of the Wood Mushroom Toast served with a poached Gopher Broke Farm egg and house bacon. Hen of the Wood, the restaurant’s namesake, is a mushroom that can sometimes be found locally—although Warnstedt relies on help these days to do most of his foraging.

“We do what we can for them, and they in turn do what they can for us—it’s just the whole circle and it helps out everybody in the community,” says Thad Buck, executive chef at Verdé, in Stratton Village. When Chef Matt Reeve at Stowe Mountain Resort’s Cliff House restaurant couldn’t get enough ground beef to meet his needs, Vermont Highland

For chefs, it’s all about getting what you can to make a dish great. At the Cliff House (at the top of Stowe Mountain Resort’s gondola), pizzas featuring Tres Amigos cheese from Mt. Mansfield Creamery are a standout. The cheese has flecks of pepper that make it kind of spicy and kind of fun, according to sous-chef Jules Guillemette. “We get eight out of the 10 SkiVermont.com

wheels produced by Mt. Mansfield Creamery, so it’s not available to many others,” she says, making Tres Amigos a sought-after item. “We’re really trying to do anything we can with Vermont products on the menu,” Guillemette adds. Vermont’s wonderful selection of cheeses inspired Verdé’s Buck to bring back après-ski fondue at Stratton. “It’s a blend of two to four different kinds of cheese, with a Raclette-style cheese from Southwind Farms as the base,” says Buck, who adds that when Verdé started offering the fondue last season,“it was a pretty big hit for us.” Verdé’s local cheese board is a dessert selection; cheeses come from producers including Woodcock Farm, Hildene Farm, Grafton Village Cheese, Green Mountain Blue Cheese and Consider Bardwell. “People love to see the names of the farms on the menu,” says Buck. “And

they like to know that we know the people growing things and how they’re raising animals.” To be able to look a farmer or producer in the eye and have a relationship makes a difference, says Chamberlain, adding that local farmers stop into her restaurant all the time. “It’s great to work with people who are putting their heart into their businesses,” she says, singling out Misty Knoll Farm for beautiful plump chickens and Boyden Farm beef for the “best hamburgers ever.” “It’s part of our way of life now to use what we have around us and make use of the great land,” says Buck. “It’s an old-school way, but Vermont has kept up with it, and it’s definitely spreading… even with big-time chefs.”

Let’s face it: After a long day on the slopes, there is nothing better than a great meal at a memorable restaurant.

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Near Mount Snow in southern Vermont, THE HERMITAGE uses aged Cabot cheddar cheese in its mac ’n cheese with lobster. Along with the classic Vermont cheese board, try Vermont Family Farms pork belly with cannellini beans and maple gastrique. VERD , located in Stratton Village,

serves a New American menu using local products as often as possible. Misty Knoll Farm pan-roasted chicken breast is served with grilled artichokes, roasted tomato, sautéed chard, rice timbale and lemon beurre monté. THE DOWNTOWN GROCERY opened

WHERE TO GO FOR LOCAL DINING IN VERMONT

eat. ski. relax.

And when it comes to creative dining in Vermont, there is a long list to choose from. Here are some favorites from around the state.

last winter in Ludlow, near Okemo, offering casual fine dining. Rogan Lechthaler, former chef of Verdé, and his wife Abby, who is from Mississippi, are offering Southern home cooking with interesting flavor combinations. For instance, shrimp and grits are served with wild mushrooms. Or try the rabbit gnocchi. Even in winter, HEN OF THE WOOD Chef Eric Warnstedt finds Vermont vegetables. “Pete’s Greens has a root storing program with every variety of onions, celery, parsnip and other local stuff,” he says. Warnstedt looks for the region’s best ingredients, including locally raised beef and game, organic produce, artisan cheese and hard-tofind wild items like Hen of the Wood mushrooms. Check out the Winding Brook Farm pork loin served with sweet onion jus, black trumpets, and house pancetta. The restaurant is near Stowe and not far from Sugarbush. Chef Amy Chamberlain uses fresh spaghetti, acorn and butternut squash sourced from one of her farmers through January at her restaurant, THE PERFECT WIFE , in Manchester, near Bromley and Stratton. “I like to do three different colors on a plate,” she

THE MOUNTAIN TOP INN AND RESORT is located 11 miles from

Killington in central Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forest. Vermont microbrews, wines and cheeses are served in the Highlands Dining Room or Highlands Tavern. The Greek salad features Vermont feta, and the corn is locally farmed for the corn fritters served over roasted corn chowder with arugula oil.

Named after the “grandmother” of Jay Peak, ALICE’S TABLE is located in Jay Peak’s Tram House Lodge. Home cooked meals using locally grown foods can be enjoyed while taking in great views. Choose from the high-end “hand chopped” Vermont Steak Tartar featuring Wood Creek tenderloin to the comforting Winter Tart with Vermont Butter and Cream Co. goat cheese combined with a variety of tasty vegetables.

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Located on the shoulder of Mount Mansfield at 3,625 feet, THE CLIFF HOUSE offers the Vermont Highland Cattle Company burger topped with Winding Brook Farm bacon, Grafton smoked cheddar, sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions. Another popular plate is the Winding Brook Farm pulled pork with housemade barbecue sauce, Grafton cheddar and coleslaw. The restaurant does a series of “summit dinners” in the winter for those wanting a romantic meal with great views.

Chowder, which uses local potatoes and cream. Nooney is dedicated to his local farm community and the result is a creative mix of local foods and excursions such as his fungi feast that includes a hike to pick the mushrooms.

Fresh beef from the farm down the road is on the menu at JUNIPER’S AT THE WILDFLOWER INN , near Burke. Meadow View Farm is just one of the locals Juniper’s works with to offer allnatural chicken, pork, beef and other farm-fresh ingredients in its selections. The restaurant also has an extensive wine list including organic wines and boasts one of the largest selections of Vermontbrewed beers in the Northeast Kingdom.

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

says. A winter favorite is Vermont mac ’n cheese made with Grafton cheddar and a cheddar-and-ale soup using Cabot Cheese and Long Trail ale.

THE GREEN CUP, in Waitsfield, boasts

a seasonal menu that changes weekly. Winter favorites include fresh tracks rabbit braised slowly and picked from the bone with fresh basil, cherry peppers and roasted garlic. It is served with fresh pasta, creamy leeks and cucumber salad. Another braised specialty is the lamb, served with nicely browned gnocchi and roasted vegetables.

COLEMAN BROOK TAVERN at

SOLO FARM & TABLE made

CLOSE UP: TRAPP FAMILY LODGE

At TIMBERS, in Sugarbush’s Clay Brook Lodge, executive chef Gerry Nooney (Vermont’s 2010 Chef of the Year) is famous for his Vermont Farmhouse

When it comes to dining in Vermont, a long list of great restaurants feature the farm-to-table concept. In one case, however, the table itself is “homegrown.” Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

its Vermont debut this summer. Internationally trained chef Wesley Genovart of New York’s top-rated Degustation, and his wife, Chloe Nathan Genovart, Manchester native and former maître d’ at Per Se, opened the restaurant on the former site of South Londonderry’s Three Clock Inn.

Okemo’s Jackson Gore Inn won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2010 for its extensive selection of over 500 bottles. New executive chef Brian Flanders goes from a simple Misty Knoll Farms grilled chicken breast with a scallion potato cake in herb sauce to a salad Nicoise featuring local quail eggs.

“The new bar in our deli is made out of a maple tree cut down on our property and then built by our own carpenters,” says Sam von Trapp, of the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vt. The resort also makes its own maple syrup and Trapp SkiVermont.com

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

THE TREND IS BEING MOTIVATED BY CHEFS AND THEIR OWN MISSION OF WANTING TO CONNECT TO FARM CU LTU RE.

Family lager, used to steam the littleneck clams on the menu. The chefs also use many Vermont cheeses, including Von Trapp Farmstead Cheese, made by Daniel and Sebastian von Trapp, Sam’s cousins. “They’re choosing to wash some of the cheese with locally made beer,” says Sam.

RECIPE FROM CHEF CODY VASEK OF STOWE MOUNTAIN LODGE SOLSTICE RESTAURANT MUSHROOM CAPPUCCINO WITH TRUFFLE FOAM (serves 6) INGREDIENTS: 2 lb. Local Chanterelle Mushrooms

1 Yellow Onion - Diced

1 lb. Local Morel Mushrooms

3 Cloves Chopped Garlic

2 lb. Local Button Mushrooms

1 Gallon Chicken Stock

3 Cups Cream

Truffle Oil

Salt & Pepper MUSHROOM CAPPUCCINO:

Wash and cut mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms with onion (medium dice) and 3 cloves chopped garlic until mushrooms release flavor. Add chicken stock to cover. Simmer for 45 minutes and add 1 cup cream. Puree in blender until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. FOR THE TRUFFLE FOAM:

Whip 2 cups of cream until thick. Add truffle oil and salt to taste. Set aside.

In Trapp Family Lodge restaurants, property-raised beef is served along with produce from the acre-and-a-half vegetable garden. “A lot of the ideas my family had here were ahead of their time,” he says. Head pastry chef Robert Alger uses “butter, eggs, milk, cream cheese— everything” from local farms in such concoctions as raspberry-filled croissants and apple frangipane tart. The selection of cakes and tarts changes on a daily basis, but classics such as Linzertorte and apple strudel are always on the list. Truffled Vermont chevre perogies is a favorite appetizer on the dinner menu. The dish calls for caramelized onions, lavender honey and Vermont Butter & Cheese creamery quark.

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

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Pour soup into your favorite vessel and garnish with a dollop of truffle foam.

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GLADES GURU The storm is fast approaching, so you jump on the interstate and set the cruise control. With a foot or more of snow on the way, you and everyone else in the car know there’s only one direction to head for some of the best tree skiing anywhere: north to Vermont. Specifically, Jay Peak. You’ve never been to Jay, Vermont’s northernmost resort, but you’ve heard the tales about its Rockies-like weather patterns and epic snowfalls. You cruise the final stretch of I-91 North and exit just a few miles before the Canadian border. About a half hour later, you pull up to the Tram Haus Lodge. The snow is just starting to float down as you settle in for some food and drink to celebrate your arrival. You and your crew rise early the next morning to make the first tram run of the day, pointing with glee at the 14 inches of fresh snow blanketing the mountain. You ask the powder seekers around you, “What’s the best glade run on a morning like this?” After they consider the 24 glades available, a consensus is reached: “Beyond Beaver Pond”—Jay’s brandnew, freshly cut glade. You take several more runs through Jay’s expansive glade network, getting fresh tracks each time. Alas, you’ve got more mountains to explore, so you bid Jay farewell at 11:00 a.m. and head south on Route 100. Stowe Mountain Resort, and Vermont’s storied Mount Mansfield, is next on your list. By 1:00 p.m., you’re debarking the Stowe gondola. You look up and see the “chin” of Mount Mansfield, fresh snow swirling above its ridgeline. No lifts will bring you that high. To get to the top of Vermont’s tallest peak, you’ve got to hike. But you don’t mind—you didn’t drive all this way for groomers. Less than an hour, and several strippings of layers, later, you reach the peak. The sun is beginning to poke through the clouds, and to the southwest you spot Camel’s Hump mountain. To the west you make out the silhouette of the nation’s seventh largest lake, Vermont’s Lake Champlain, and to the southeast lies the lower spine of the Green Mountains. You’d sit here for hours just admiring the view, but more than a foot of powder

awaits below. You make your way gingerly down the steep, cliff-strewn “chin,” and within minutes you’re swooshing around stubby pine trees, looking like a game of Plinko on The Price Is Right. A few minutes and several hundred vertical feet later you begin navigating an epic line through maple, birch, beech and other hardwoods. You sleep like a rock that night at the cushy Spruce Mountain Lodge. Nevertheless, you are up at first light to hit the road. You direct your GPS to “Bolton Valley Resort” and continue your trip south on Route 100. It’s less than a 45-minute drive, so you’re first in line at the Wilderness Lift. You attack Upper Crossover, darting in and out of the woods on the side of the trail, scoring fresh pockets of knee-deep leftovers the whole way. You hang a left into the Sleepy Hollow glades and traverse hard. Eventually the tracks thin out and you are awash in fluffy, untracked snow. You make the mistake of stopping for a breather and immediately sink to your thighs in a snowdrift. You grab a nearby birch tree and wiggle back to the surface, huffing and puffing against depths of fluff. You push off and quickly gain momentum. Amid the hushed silence of the forest, only the swoosh of your turns is heard. A few blissful minutes later, you explode from the woods in a puff of powder. Back in the lift line, fellow powder hounds prod you to reveal where you just were (the snow caked around the edge of your goggles is proof you found a secret stash somewhere). You smile and nod uphill, silent as the forest whence you came.

IF YOU’RE A FREESTYLE FIEND, TURN TO PAGE 53 IF YOU’RE A DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND DOMINATOR, TURN TO PAGE 17 IF YOU’RE A FAMILY ON THE MOVE, TURN TO PAGE 47

SkiVermont.com

How learning to ski and snowboard will change your life forever.

BY MIKE HANNIGAN

Do most people even realize the moments when their lives change? Those inalterable, undeniable instants when you know that things will simply never be the same again? You see things with different eyes, find strength you never knew you had, and fundamentally sense that your life has been forever changed, hopefully for the better. When you think about those responsible for changing people’s lives, the list is topped with professional do-gooders. Those who rush into burning buildings, heal the sick, protect the weak, and generally fight the good fight have rightly earned their place on that roll, ensuring we get to live and work in relative peace and safety. And to them, we give our hearty thanks. To the uninitiated, it might seem like a bit of a stretch to lay such claims at the boot-clad feet of Vermont’s ski and snowboard instructors, but that’s exactly the job they’re tasked with: opening doors so people can enjoy the natural splendor of Vermont in winter, helping them learn a sport that will last a lifetime and, all the while, showing them something new about themselves.

SkiVermont.com

Teaching Is in Our Blood



According to the Vermont Ski Museum, the first ski school in Vermont was the Sepp Ruschp Ski School in Stowe, which opened in 1936. Seventy-five years later, the gear has improved dramatically, the snow is augmented by technology and the training techniques have greatly advanced, but the central concept remains the same: Learning to ski or ride in Vermont is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Vermont’s instructors are a breed apart, a group of professional powder hounds who get to share their tremendous passion for

skiing and riding in the Green Mountains. Some have been at it for decades; some are fresh-faced kids looking for an excuse to spend more time on the slopes. But to the last of these professionals, when you get them talking, you realize the teacher gets as much out of the experience as the pupil, if not more. “I had no idea the types of people I would meet or the kinds of experiences I would have,” says Holly Anderson, a snowboard instructor from Mount Snow. “It really changed my life. We moved to Vermont so I could have my full-time career, but I could also keep up with what I love.”

than others on the instructors. It might be a high-powered corporate executive seeking respite from the rat race, or an Olympic athlete looking to grab the gold. Or it might just be a little kid who wants a chance to be, well, a little kid. Each story is unique and each instructor is unique, but they share a common bond: the “aha moment,” that all-important instant when something just clicks; the student grasps a central concept, makes a significant stride and starts to adore Vermont’s finest winter product.

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

Arthur Harris is a real estate broker in New York City, yet chances are, if you’re heading to southern Vermont on a Friday night, he’s driving right next to you on the way to his other job, teaching skiing at Stratton Mountain Resort. “It’s not for the bread, that’s for sure,” Harris says when asked why he drives 500 miles round-trip each weekend. “You do it for the reward of helping people get better. You’ve got all different levels, you’ve got beginners–it’s really terrific to get someone introduced to the sport and get them going.” At the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Sam von Trapp concentrates on the Lodge’s Nordic backcountry programs, but he’s taught people to ski for years all around the world. Clearly he must like his job. He especially enjoys empowering people through skiing, a sport that emphasizes self-reliance. “In a world where we’ve done so much to try to control everything around us, in skiing, particularly when you’re skiing off-piste, you’re in a natural environment,” he says. “In the case of kids who have helicopter parents who’ve been doing everything for them, it often is one of the first times they’ve had to rely on themselves. It builds great character.” Or, as Holly Anderson colorfully puts it about some of her beginning snowboarders, “They’re scared shitless. They see hospital bills and they’ve heard from other people that they’re going to fall and their butt’s going to hurt and their knee’s going to hurt and they’re going to break their wrist. So I always ask them, ‘What was the catalyst that made you want to learn how to ride?’” As a teacher, she uses each student’s motivation to help him or her take gradual steps toward proficiency. “Understanding people’s motivations for why they want to ride can be really helpful, because then you can relate to them in a number of different ways. The bunny hill, to me, looks like a molehill. But the bunny hill to them looks like Everest. Sure it’s intimidating, but making each step small and gradual and successful is what makes people fall in love with the sport.”

Over the Hump

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You can’t help but notice that some pupils leave a deeper mark

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

“I love it,” says Dave Merriam, director of mountain recreation at Stowe and a longtime instructor. “It’s a wonderful metaphor for life, skiing and achieving any level of excellence, or striving for it. I think a great ski teacher imparts skills that go way beyond those that are inherent in the sport. Great coaches do that. So you learn useful lessons of life through movement and form. It’s a wonderful sort of dialogue between the voice of the sport and being in the mountains, between the voice of the student and the pro.” “Yeah! That is by far the favorite part of my job,” enthuses Anderson. “That’s why my favorite lesson to teach is a beginner lesson–whether it’s their first or second lesson, each step is so monumental…when they finally connect a turn, or they finally get the nose of their snowboard to head down the fall line, that is such a huge achievement.”

Vermont’s Gold Standard

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If there’s someone who should know a thing or two about the impact a great coach and instructor can have, it’s Kelly Clark. The Dover, Vt., native and U.S. Olympic team member has been coached or instructed in one way or another since she first started linking snowboard turns at Mount Snow back in 1990.

Clark’s hard work paid off in 2002 at the Olympic halfpipe in Salt Lake City. Clark stomped her final landing and looked up to share the gold medal-winning moment. “One of my coaches was at the bottom of the pipe. I think I landed my run and he was SkiVermont.com

the first person I looked at, and I just kind of put my hands up in the air and shrugged my shoulders, like ‘Do you believe that?’ “What I like about the sport of snowboarding is that you never really ‘arrive,’” she says. “You can always progress and you can always grow. At my stage in the sport, I’m constantly learning new things–there isn’t a day that I go out that I’m not working on or learning a new thing.”

Sherpa. Mentor. Guru. Guide.

]

What makes a good instructor? Empathy. Understanding. Passion for the sport. Consideration. The ability to push people appropriately. Good communication. Adaptability. Flexibility. Patience. A deft touch. Aside from the need to be certified by PSIA or AASI (the Professional Ski Instructors of America and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors, the sports’ respective governing bodies), the list resembles the qualities of a good parent.

think about anything else while I’m doing it. I have to be in the here and now. I can’t think about tomorrow, I can’t think about yesterday. I can’t think about a fight with my wife, or what my kids are doing. If I get distracted by that stuff, I’m going to get going too fast or whatever. I really have to stay focused.’ “I think that’s good to learn. In this day and age, there are so many distractions. Doing things that require high levels of focus over a period of time is really, really good for you.”

The Biggest Difference of All

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A good instructor is someone who just makes it fun, says Anderson. “It matters how much fun you help other people have on snow. To me, skiers and snowboarders, we’re all the same people. We’re all the same family. We’re all the same sport. [Snowboarders] just have way better clothes,” she jokes.

It’s hard to think of any larger “aha moments” than those witnessed by instructors at Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports. Talk about changing lives–the group’s mission is to empower individuals with disabilities; it promotes independence and further equality through access to and instruction in sports and recreational activities. Sometimes the client is a wounded veteran, fresh out of Walter Reed and looking to find out what his or her new reality will bring. Sometimes it’s a person who was once able-bodied, but because of disease or misfortune, came to think he or she would never ski or ride again. Sometimes it’s a kid, one who’s finally getting a chance to feel like a kid and go skiing with friends and family for the first time.

Kelly Clark concurs on the fun factor. “I think the best thing– from high-level coaches to beginning instructors–if you want people to learn the sport, you want to make sure they have a good experience.…If it’s a fun experience, it’s going to make [them] want to come back.”

Because Vermont Adaptive makes accommodations based on each individual’s needs, they know a lot about their students before meeting them for the first time. The organization assigns a team of instructors to work individually with each skier and make the skier comfortable.

For a lesson to work well, instructors and their students need to trust each other. The good teachers learn to empathize with their students, understand what’s drawn them to take a lesson in the first place, and then think of the best way to teach and motivate them toward success.

“There’s more detail and preparation that goes into it, but the on-snow stuff is very similar, where you’re finding different techniques to find what works for that person,” explains Executive Director Erin Fernandez. “Trying to find out how that person may learn, whether it’s by feel, or by watching and then doing. That part of the teaching is the same.

“Find someone you click with, that seems to speak your language, that looks at the sport like you might,” offers Dave Merriam. “Once you do find one, you have to trust them hook, line and sinker. If you don’t trust your coach, then you’re never going to let go of the things that may prevent future growth.”

Teachers’ Pets

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“When people come to us, they’re coming from all different backgrounds. We get kids with autism. We get kids with general learning disabilities. We get a lot of kids with spinal cord injuries. We get some military folks, suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries. ”

Whether working with the rich and powerful or those feeling fairly powerless about life, Vermont’s instructors have seen “aha moments” materialize in ways great and small. But they all have students who were touched by the experience, and the instructors can’t help but be touched too.

It’s hard to imagine a group of skiers and instructors who could get more out of the experience. “I don’t want to speak for our clients, but from what I’ve seen, when someone was a skier before, and they…lost that, they’re so excited to have that passion back,” says Fernandez. “They had this injury and had so many things taken away from them, it brings something back to their life they thought they’d never have again.”

“I teach a high-powered businessman,” says Merriam. “And he says, ‘Dave, one of the things I like about this sport is that I can’t

Vermont Adaptive has more quantifiable measures of its impact on its clientele than perhaps any other ski and ride school. For

SkiVermont.com

Courtesy of Shem Roose

] Fig. 3 SkiVermont.com

Courtesy of Vermont Addaptive Ski and Sports

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Fig. 4

example, the school works extensively with Vermont’s blind, helping a population that can be isolated to find a connection with one another. After five years of working with these skiers, the state has seen a drop in unemployment figures among the blind community. But as great as those tangible successes are, Fernandez often finds tremendous rewards in the more personal stories. “Sometimes the simple things are the most meaningful,” she says to illustrate the point. “There’s a school group that skis at Pico during the week, and we’ve helped to accommodate one of the kids to get back on the hill.…it’s just brought so much joy to this little girl’s life, to meet these great ski instructors who she’s developed enormous bonds with.…it’s also brought something to these instructors’ lives, because they just love skiing with her.” The selfconfidence the student has developed through skiing is translating into better grades and improved social skills, Fernandez adds. Holly Anderson, who also works at an adaptive program, explains the effect of helping a person with disabilities. “I have to wear waterproof mascara,” she says.

Something in the Snow



Clearly, there’s something special about learning to slide on

snow in Vermont. Aside from offering natural beauty, and the great locally produced food and drink that await you after your lesson, Vermont is known as a place that develops people who love the sport of skiing and snowboarding. The mountains are big, the people are friendly, and it’s all just a drive away from millions of families who would benefit from the experience of learning a lifetime sport. Asked to describe what makes learning to ski in Vermont stand out, Johannes von Trapp, the youngest son of the family that inspired the movie The Sound of Music, doesn’t hesitate. “It’s close to big cities. We have a long ski season. And we have a lot of people living here that derive great pleasure from helping people ‘from away’ learn these activities. They’re here because they like Vermont. The feeling of community. The mix of the scenic beauty–farmlands and forest, mountains, lakes, streams. It really is a very pretty state.” “The other powerful component is that it is a lifelong sport,” concurs Stowe’s Merriam. “You can reinvent the sport as you pass through these demographic thresholds. The sport to a 90-year-old is different than the sport to an 18-year-old. But then that 18-year-old will eventually–hopefully–be a 90-yearold avid skier still….that’s what’s wonderful about it.” Perhaps it’s time you said “Aha” too. It’ll change your life–forever. SkiVermont.com

8 0 0 . 2 4 5 . S N O W | M O U N T S N O W. C O M

GOOD as GOLD VERMONT’S OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALISTS GIVE BACK By Peter Oliver When snowboarder Ross Powers soared two stories above the lip of the halfpipe to win Olympic gold in 2002, he was widely hailed as a trendsetter breaking new ground—or reaching new heights, as it were. But his halfpipe razzle-dazzle also energized a more meaningful and durable trend that began long before the Vermont native stepped into the Olympic starting gate. Before the Olympics, Powers had established the Ross Powers Foundation, to help raise money for promising athletes needing the financial support to train and compete. “Many people helped me along the way, with passes, rides to the mountain, and so on. They made it possible for me,” is the way Powers, who grew up in Londonderry, describes his initial motivation. He wanted to continue that tradition by supporting the next generation of Olympic hopefuls. A seminal moment came in 1999, when Powers took a benevolent first step by contributing to the support of an up-and-coming snowboarder at Stratton Mountain School, his alma mater. From that initial contribution, things blossomed; soon the foundation was formed, and the Olympic gold medal pushed Powers’s fundraising to new heights and into the national consciousness. And its impact might be more far-ranging than that. The Ross Powers Foundation inspired, at least to some degree, for other Vermont gold medalists to give back. Snowboarders Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter and freestyle skier Hannah Kearney have also used the celebrity that comes with gold-medal success to follow Powers into the realm of philanthropic outreach. For Kearney, the 2010 moguls gold medalist from Norwich, the spirit of benevolence is as essential to her character and sense of accomplishment as what she has achieved on the hill. “At the

end of the day,” she says, “it is more important to be a good person than a good athlete.” Kearney has been contributing time, money and some of her Olympic swag to places like the Norwich Public Library, the Norwich Historical Society and the Montshire Museum. Echoing Powers’s sentiment, she says “it is important to support the people who support you,” in some cases in ways that extend beyond the athletic arena. A Kearney foundation has yet to be established by this first-time Olympian, but “I hope someday that I can have some cause I can align myself with,” she says. There is, however, a Kelly Clark Foundation. Clark, the 2002 halfpipe winner (and 2010 bronze medalist) was right on Powers’s heels in establishing a formal organization to assist disadvantaged young athletes. Her foundation fits comfortably into the Gold Medal mold by raising scholarship money that allows financiallychallenged prodigies to attend mountain academies, of which there are more in Vermont than in any other state. Currently, says Clark, who grew up riding at Mount Snow, it is almost essential for up-and-coming skiers and snowboarders to attend academies for athletes who specialize in winter sports. Special needs for training, coaching and competition are integrated with a regular high school curriculum without compromising academic quality or integrity. Attending such an academy “is an important step before making the national team or earning sponsorship,” she says. Hannah Teter, a Belmont native, has focused her philanthropic instincts outside the athletic sphere, establishing Hannah’s Gold to help bring clean water and proper sanitation to Kirindon, a community in Kenya she has “adopted.” So far, the project has raised more than $300,000, much of it through a fundraising project very connected to her Vermont roots—selling maple syrup. “Growing up in Vermont and making maple syrup with my family was very special, so selling maple syrup to help others is an amazing opportunity,” she writes on the Hannah’s Gold website. “Since receiving the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics, I now have the opportunity to pursue this dream and encourage others to find out how good it feels to give back,” she writes. Echoing Kearney’s sentiment, Teter says, “Giving back is something that makes me feel whole, so I’ve worked to try and make giving back a part of everything I do.” For all of these Vermont athletes, helping young people pursue their goals is a recurring theme. Clark describes her foundation SkiVermont.com

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Kearney comes around to that realization somewhat unexpectedly, acknowledging that “being an athlete is selfish by nature.” What she means, of course, is that in order to become the best in the world at what you do, you have to take a lot from family, coaches and community. They give, you take. But ultimately, as Kearney and the others are demonstrating, it is important to do something to balance the equation. And what the Vermont gold medalists have been discovering is that once the rewards of benevolence become manifest, it can take on a life of its own, growing and evolving into new projects. The Ross Powers Foundation, for example, has now segued into the Level Field Fund. Powers has joined forces with other Olympic gold medalists such as swimmer Michael Phelps and snowboarder Seth Wescott to reach out to a broader array of athletes in other sports, from judo to bobsledding. According to Powers, four 2010 Olympians were helped along the way by Level Field support. Teter, too, has been unwilling to rest on the achievements of Hannah’s Gold and has used it as a platform to reach out in a different direction. She recently began another project called Sweet Cheeks, which, dare it be said, is a bit cheekier. Sweet Cheeks raises money for Children International, an organization created to help impoverished kids and families in 11 countries around the world. It does so in a novel way—by selling panties bearing such messages as “make love, not war.” Teter has clearly had fun with it, promoting the concept with playful lines like “panties with a purpose” and “gifting in the name of peace, love, and posterior.” At least 40 percent of the proceeds go to Children International. As athletes like Teter and Powers extend their philanthropic reach, they invariably tie back to their Vermont roots. Relying on the nourishments of family and community and the interconnectedness that only small towns provide is very much a part of the Vermont ethos. As these Olympic stars have taken their athletic skills to the height of international success and extended their goodwill well beyond Vermont borders, home somehow never seems far removed. “All these things are a part of my life,” Kearney says. “They are a reflection on what I experienced as a child.” Teter agrees. “Growing up in the middle of the quiet woods in Vermont really shaped my…core basics,” she says. And Powers adds to the chorus: “People in Vermont care about each other.” Although Powers, who made a comeback in 2010, has retired

Courtesy of Justin Cash

as “a scholarship program to allow kids with needs to fulfill their dreams.” Much of that focus on dream fulfillment is driven by a personal appreciation of how many people helped each of these Olympians in their own development—rising to the pinnacle of Olympic gold could not have happened without a profoundly supportive infrastructure. “I know, being a professional athlete, that behind every athlete is a family and community,” says Clark.

as a competitive athlete, Kearney, Teter and Clark continue to pursue additional Olympic prospects. At 29 years old—ancient by snowboarding standards—and with gold and bronze medals already in her trophy case, Clark might seem ready to slide gracefully into retirement. But as a 2011 ESPY nominee as best female athlete and X Games gold medalist (when she became the first woman on the planet to land a 1080 degree maneuver in the halfpipe), she remains one of the world’s best at what she does, primed to compete in the next Olympics in 2014. Teter and Kearney plan to be there too. Although landing on the Olympic, or X Games, podium is a satisfying acknowledgment of what she has achieved, Clark also sees it as an opportunity to explore new possibilities. “Being an Olympic athlete heightens the privilege to have a platform to inspire,” she says. “It determines what kind of impact I can have with what’s in my heart.” Clearly, athletic goals are foremost as Teter, Clark and Kearney prepare for the 2014 Games, where intriguing new possibilities await them. For the first time, skiers will compete in halfpipe and slopestyle events, and perhaps Kearney will explore redefining her mogul skills in other competitive arenas. Slopestyle snowboarding will also be on the 2014 roster. That might give athletes like Teter and Clark a chance to go for gold in two disciplines—halfpipe and slopestyle—rather than having to settle for just one. “I'll see how it goes over the next two years and if I am able to focus on topping both disciplines,” says Teter. Two gold medals would be sweet, of course. And it would only renew and redouble Teter’s opportunities to pump energy into her philanthropic efforts. “I never realized going into the Olympics that a gold medal was as big a deal as it has turned out to be,” she says. “It really jump-started the whole concept of trying to change the lives of poverty-stricken children here and abroad.” If Teter—or Clark, or Kearney—ends up with more Olympic gold around her neck in 2014, rest assured: Far beyond the medal ceremony and the playing of the national anthem, the world will be a better place for it. SkiVermont.com

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FAMILY ON THE MOVE You’re running a little behind schedule as you pull up to the slopeside condos at Smugglers’ Notch Resort. Then again, packing three kids and all their snow gear into a car and getting anywhere on time would be an inhuman feat, so you shrug it off. This is your first time at Smuggs, but all the “Number One Family Resort” rankings and glowing recommendations from fellow parents convinced you it was time. With a full week of vacation ahead, all five of you fall into bed, exhausted and eager to rise early. You awake to a fresh 12-inch blanket of powder. Being such a savvy family vacation planner, you booked this vacation months ago and scored a prime ski-in/ski-out spot in the Willows buildings, within spitting distance of the Village Lift. Your wee ones squeal with glee as they zoom away from the front door to be first in the lift line. You follow closely behind, concealing your own squeals beneath a calm, parental zen. You ski some warm-up laps on the green circle trails at Morse Highlands. After lunch, the kids decide to take a lesson. You enroll them in Smugglers’ Snow Sport University. As they perfect their turns and experiment with terrain park features, you ride to the peak of Madonna Mountain for some “adult” entertainment on the black diamonds. For your last run (you’ve got to pick up the kids in 20 minutes), you push the envelope on the Black Hole, a triple black diamond glade trail. You ace it. Your family spends the entire evening listening patiently as you recount grand tales of great bravery, and narrowly escaping doom, in the Black Hole. Your next two days at Smuggs are filled with activity. Ice skating, zip-line touring, dogsledding, snowmobiling, airboarding (Google it)... nothing is off-limits. By Monday evening it’s time to move on, though. You shove off and head south on Route 100 with your kids passed out in the backseat, smiles on their faces. This could be the most memorable road trip, ever. By 8:20 the next morning, you’ve somehow managed to get the kids up, fed, dressed and on the Jackson Gore Express quad at Okemo Mountain Resort. Everyone is in such a good mood you decide to ski together as a family—all day! You take some leisurely laps and head over to the main mountain to sample Okemo’s vast array of blue square cruisers. The kids are feeling extreme, so you pull out the camera and cheer them on as they

ham it up on the mellow rails and boxes on Hot Dog Hill. The day ends on a high note with an all-out family race down Limelight to the Jackson Gore Inn. Your eldest daughter wins, but you totally let her get a head start. (Your secret is safe with us.) The next morning, you decide the parents need a day off relaxation. Since your kids are staying free at the Inn—a deal that’s always on at Okemo—you splurge on a couple’s massage. You while away the afternoon in the steam room and hot tubs, completely relaxed knowing that your kids are having a blast in their daylong Mountain Explorers and amplitude PLUS learning programs. You sleep in a bit the next day and sit down for a big breakfast before jumping back on Route 100. You’ll be rounding out your weeklong vacation at Bromley. The forecast is calling for wall-to-wall sunshine and Bromley is known for its south-facing trails that stay in the sun all day long. You stop to buy sunscreen. You pull up to the main base area at 1:30 p.m. and snatch up some reduced-price afternoon lift tickets. Before the sun starts dipping behind the mountains at 4:00, you and the fam sneak seven runs in. At dinner that evening you announce an official goggle tan contest—winner gets brand-new Anon goggles from the Bromley Shop. There’s not a cloud in the sky the next two days, and you fill the hours with nonstop laps on sundrenched slopes. With temps hovering in that sweet spot around 40 degrees, the snow is supple and fast. Come Sunday morning, you find yourself reluctantly trudging suitcases out to the car. Another family vacation is in the books, and you, road warrior, took the prize for deepest goggle tan. You’re in a great mood, though, so it’s goggles for everyone.

IF YOU’RE A GLADES GURU, TURN TO PAGE 35 IF YOU’RE A FREESTYLE FIEND, TURN TO PAGE 53 IF YOU’RE A DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND DOMINATOR, TURN TO PAGE 17

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FAMILY

TRADITION

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

it’s

BY AN D REW M CKEEVER

Let’s face it, there has to be a powerful inspiration for any parent to prepare and load all the gear, kids, clothes and coolers into the family fun wagon and set sail for the mountains of Vermont every winter. For many families there’s no greater incentive than sharing a love of Vermont’s mountain lifestyle, forging unbreakable bonds and making memories that last a lifetime—or longer. Some families make it a point to hop from one ski resort to another. Others settle on one place in particular, and come back again and again, year after year. Whatever their preference, it’s a tradition of winter—winter in its original state—and thousands of families share it. But like a snowflake, each experience, memory and tradition is truly unique. Bill Stritzler and his family fell in love with Smugglers’ Notch Resort so thoroughly that he took it to the ultimate extreme. He bought the place. Originally from New Jersey, he got his first taste of Vermont as an undergraduate at Middlebury College, home of the Middlebury College Snow Bowl. Then one summer, years later, Stritzler’s boss invited him up to Smuggs (as the local’s call it) for a weekend stay. 48

SkiVermont.com

“I really enjoyed it and then came up over the holidays that winter,” Stritzler says. “My kids both loved to ski, so we started making it a regular trip for the next 10 years.” Buying a ski condo led to joining the homeowners’ association board of directors. Then, in 1986, Stritzler became the managing director of the resort. Ten years after that, he took the final plunge and became the resort’s owner. Both Stritzler’s son and daughter became avid skiers—how could they not?—and now his four grandchildren also ski and snowboard. Rebecca Klein of Baltimore, Md., remembers coming to Smugglers’ when she and her parents and brother would pile into a three-bedroom slopeside condo. They first began skiing there in 1978, and have been coming back ever since. Now she and her two kids, along with her brother Ben and his wife and daughter, return each year for President’s Week, to the same condo they used as children. There’s something sweet and sentimental about that. She loves watching her kids get just as excited about the prospect of the

Courtesy of Shem Roose

Courtesy of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

family ski trip as she and her brother did years ago—and still do now, she admits. Returning each season to a mountain you know and love “is like coming back home, and you know where everything goes,” she says. “Every year there are always new things to experience and check out for the first time, but there’s something comforting about knowing the turns of the trails and knowing where all the beautiful views are.” They often ski together as one large family group. Afterward, it’s back to the condo for some fireside “together” time. It’s also a place where she feels her kids can experience the same freedom to do things on their own that she felt as a child. “When I think about Vermont, I really feel like I had all this freedom to explore,

whether it was on skis, walking around the village or going on a hike,” she says. “It’s something as a kid you don’t get often. I think the family-friendly feeling has never changed. There are more amenities, but the feeling I had as a little kid still remains.” And this is a sentiment that repeats itself at each of Vermont’s resorts. Mike McKenna, 35, from Middleborough, Mass., has made annual pilgrimages to Bolton Valley Resort with his selfdescribed “big Irish family.” Now his own children are learning to ski in Vermont as well—it’s part of the tradition, he says. The family connection goes back a long way, to when his parents honeymooned at Bolton Valley. They still ski there too, he says. His father was one of 13 siblings from Somerville, Mass., and after doing the

math, McKenna estimated that more than 60 family members and friends have learned to ski because of their annual March family reunion ski weekend. Starting in the early 1980s, McKenna’s Uncle Russ and Aunt Maureen stuffed as many nieces and nephews into the car as it would hold and made the journey to Vermont. Over the years, the group just grew. Nowadays, anywhere from 30 to 50 members of the extended family will rent multiple condos for the big family getaway. Meanwhile, McKenna and his wife, with their two children, head up virtually every weekend during the winters. “We had both of them on skis the minute they could walk,” he says. When it came time to buy a slopeside condo, in partnership with his brother and sister-in-law, there really wasn’t too SkiVermont.com

Courtesy of Justin Cash

Courtesy of Shem Roose

the feeling I had as a little kid still remains.

much to think about in terms of where that would happen. “There’s lots of excellent terrain there,” says McKenna. “I’m an expert skier and I haven’t been bored yet—and I’ve been [going] there for almost 30 years.”

Vermont became such a significant part of his life that he wound up attending Stratton Mountain School, a short schuss from the base lodge. From there, he went on to Middlebury College, before coming back to coach skiing at Stratton Mountain School for a couple of years.

Loading kids and ski gear into the family car and heading for the mountains are also life-long memories for Scott Reichhelm, 52, of Westport, Conn.

After Reichhelm got married and started having children of his own, he appreciated all the more the opportunities for skiing he had had as a youngster.

During the early years, when Stratton Mountain was in its infancy, his parents would rent a place in nearby Jamaica, Vt., and hit the trails along with several other families from Connecticut, he says. Every weekend.

“It’s a pretty good gig for kids. If we can keep them engaged in what’s going on up here and find a whole new community of friends up here, it gets us out of the Connecticut ‘dead zone’ in the wintertime,” he says. “It’s a healthy lifestyle. You can drop your kids off at 8:30 a.m. and you don’t see them until 3:30 p.m., and they come in pretty tired with rosy cheeks, and they want to go play with their friends, and you think, ‘this is good stuff.’ ”

“We piled into the back of the Vista Cruiser and skied all day, then went home and went to school on Monday morning,” he says. “It was a lot of fun. It was a routine.”

SkiVermont.com

With decades of skiing in Vermont also comes relationships that develop between different families who bump into each other at the ski schools, in the lift lines and elsewhere around the mountains; those relationships tend to persist. When he drops off his 11-year-old and his 8-year-old at the ski school or one of the other ski programs run by the mountain, Reichhelm will often encounter friends from the good old days, and they will marvel at how, with the passage of time, they are re-creating the adventure and experiences their parents provided them, “I’m standing around with four or five other parents that I grew up skiing with and we look at each other and go, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is us doing this again,’ ” he says. “For a parent, it’s a good feeling.”

FREESTYLE FIEND As you cross the border into Vermont, you’ve got three things on your mind: halfpipes, jumps and rails. You’ve watched at least a dozen YouTube snowboard videos since Monday and you’re mad with excitement to try out a handful of new tricks. You’re northbound on Route 100, aka Vermont’s skiers’ highway. First stop: Carinthia at Mount Snow. You crash at Snow Lake Lodge and wake up to catch first chair on the Nitro lift. The Nor’easter ended at 3:00 a.m., giving the groomers ample time to lay fresh corduroy on Inferno and El Diablo, Carinthia’s two biggest parks. You warm up on the rhythm line of jumps and rails, then step up to the bigger features in El Diablo. As the clock strikes noon and your gut grumbles for grub, you launch the last booter in Inferno and stick the landing on that Rodeo 720 you’ve been working on for weeks. High fives greet you when you catch up to your comrades in the parking lot. “Time for halfpipe,” you say, tossing your gear into the trunk. You jump back on Route 100 North, ripping into a granola bar as VPR’s “Eye on the Sky” announces sunshine for the remainder of the weekend. Everyone in the vehicle agrees that Stratton is a premiere spot for a sunny afternoon pipe session. After all, Stratton’s been hosting the Burton U.S. Open of Snowboarding, the longest-running and most prestigious snowboarding competition in the world, in that very superpipe for decades. You score a prime parking spot (all the powder hounds are done for the day and on their way to the Red Fox Inn) and hasten to the pipe. The 22-foot walls are in that not-too-soft, not-too-hard sweet spot. You lap the pipe until the lifts close, but you still haven’t nailed that McTwist. You hike to the top, board in tow, again and

again. After the sixth hike, with the sun setting behind the Green Mountains’ spine, you go all out and land cleanly on your last McTwist attempt. After some fist pumps and a huge sigh of satisfaction, you unstrap and head to the Green Door Pub for some R&R. The next morning you’re back on Route 100 by 7:00, breakfast burrito in hand. With all that fresh snow from Friday night’s storm, you’ve been seduced by Facebook photos of all your friends shredding the Stash, Killington’s all-natural terrain park. Naturally, that’s your next target. You park at the base of the oft-overlooked Skyeship Gondola. Moments later, the smell of pine greets you at the entrance to the Stash. You spend the whole day in play mode, frolicking in all the leftover powder and getting rad on log rides, rock jibs, rainbow trees, wooden stair sets and even the roof of the Stash’s Sugar Shack building. One of your friends reminds you that the lifts are closing—time flew by so fast you had no idea. For your last run, you 270 onto a rainbow log and pretzel out, proving that if a tree falls in the woods and you stomp a nasty trick on it, you definitely hear it.

IF YOU’RE A GLADES GURU, TURN TO PAGE 35 IF YOU’RE A DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND DOMINATOR, TURN TO PAGE 17 IF YOU’RE A FAMILY ON THE MOVE, TURN TO PAGE 47

SkiVermont.com

A W : G N I N R A W : G Courtesy of Justin Cash

K C A YB

K C A B y x e S NG I G IN R B RE ' E W

RE ' E W

By Jen Butson In a state that prides itself on its friendliness, there’s really no need for pickup lines near lift lines. Like-minded people naturally gravitate to the mountains. Whether the occasion is a boys’ weekend, a honeymooner’s delight or an impromptu cougar hunt, Vermont’s peaks offer prime opportunities for pulse-raising activities beyond skiing and riding. Yes indeed, your libido is calling. In the tradition of Vermont skiers and riders, an all-day venture on the mountain is a badge of honor worn proudly in the after-hours…again and again, from slopeside après indulgence to the frenzied heat of the dance floor and late-night wood-stoked saunas. When you’re surrounded by beauty and immersed in play, there’s an unraveling of stress and an acceptance of joy, even when it seems to overflow—it’s on the mountain and it’s in the air. Put simply: Vermont is the perfect backdrop for meeting, wooing and, ultimately, enjoying time well spent with another. 54

SkiVermont.com

Perhaps it’s the thrill of chasing the curves of this voluptuous state that tends to whet even the most prudent appetites…or maybe maple is an aphrodisiac? It’s just easy to fall and revel in love here, so relax and open yourself to the unifying rhythm of the state. Go ahead…get some.

Soft & SLOW Soft & SLOW Soft & SLO Crave a relaxed pace, fireside cocoa or daylong spa treatments? Knock your socks off here: T O THE TOUCH: Spas located in slopeside hotels and lodges across Vermont offer unique treatments and often couples massage. Some of the newest spas are at the Woodstock Inn and Resort, Stowe Mountain Lodge and Jay Peak Resort. ● S WEETS FOR YOUR SWEETHEART: The Vermont Ski and Maple Map marks more than 100 sugarhouses to visit near ski areas. Delicious! ●

t n o m r e V : f o e tG

K s C N a A TISEX Y B AN

R A BR

G N I G IN

LONG TRAIL IS PROUD TO BE HONORED WITH THE VERMONT GOVERNOR’S AWARD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE IN RESOURCE CONSERVATION

LONG TRAIL VOTED 2010 FAVORITE MICRO-BREWERY BY YANKEE MAGAZINE BEST OF NEW ENGLAND READERS CHOICE

Oﬃcial Après Beer of Ski Vermont!

Come Visit Us!

located directly off of route 4 between Woodstock & Killington Bridgewater Corners, Vermont

eco friendly brewing practices ecobrew.net

AY TO NEIGH: Enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides at Mountain Top Y Inn & Resort and near Bromley and Stowe Mountain Resorts. ● S LOW RIDE, TAKE IT EASY: Snowmobile tours are available near Killington, Mount Snow, Stowe Mountain Resort, Bromley Mountain and Burke Mountain. ● A WALK IN THE WOODS: Snowshoe trails long and short offer private vistas perfect for hand-holding or stealing a kiss. Snowshoeing is offered at most Vermont alpine and Nordic areas. Some offer niche tours, too, like the snowshoe and chocolate tasting at Smugglers’ Notch Resort. ● U P CLOSE AND PERSONAL: Theater can be enjoyed in charming community playhouses dotting the state; historic theaters such as the Paramount (near Killington), the Flynn Center (near Bolton Valley Resort), or Middlebury College’s Mahaney Center for the Arts (near the Middlebury Snow Bowl); or in the new state-of-the-art Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center at Stowe Mountain Resort. ●

CHEAP & Easy CHEAP & Easy CHEAP & Don’t want to break the bank, or much of a sweat? Perfect your date here: J UMP ON TOP: Tube down the mountain together at Killington, Magic Mountain, Mount Snow, Okemo Mountain, Pico Mountain or Stratton Mountain Resort. ■ P ACK YOUR SWIMSUIT: If size matters, visit Jay Peak’s Pump House--a giant indoor water park with the biggest indoor river on the continent. ■ W HAT GOES UP: Okemo’s Timber Ripper is an alpine coaster destined to thrill. ■ M OONLIGHT STROLL: Enjoy a moment to look up at the stars or window-shop on the snowy streets of Stowe, Okemo’s Ludlow Village, Stratton’s resort village or the nearby town of Manchester, or the Mad River Valley community of Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. ■ L OOKING GOOD!: Okay, a little sweat never hurt. Nordic skiing in Vermont is such a pleasure and available in such abundance, with more than 30 areas, it’s a must-do. Not to mention the views…spandex and all.

F ACE OFF: Have a need for speed or just want to show off your slap shot or triple Salchow? Get warm on the ice at Jay Peak Resort, Okemo Mountain Resort, Pico Mountain or Smugglers’ Notch Resort, or near Bromley Mountain and Killington. ◆ S ELFLESS LOVERS: Meet folks with big…hearts at the many mountain-based fund-raisers and programs offered throughout ski season. They include the American Cancer Society Relay for Life NordicStyle (Trapp Family Lodge), Susan G. Komen Romp to Stomp (Stratton Mountain), Burton Chill Program (Bolton Valley Resort) and Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports (Pico, Sugarbush and Bolton). ◆ T RUST US: Thrill seekers soar through the woods in a three-hour zip-line canopy and eco-tour at Smugglers’ Notch Resort. ◆ P ARTY ANIMALS: Whether you’re looking for group aprèsski gatherings or late-night bands and DJs, fun places to schmooze and shake it include the Wobbly Barn in Killington, Cuzzins at Mount Snow, the Tower Bar at Jay Peak Resort, the Matterhorn in Stowe, Grizzlies at Stratton Mountain Resort, James Moore Tavern at Bolton Valley Resort, General Stark’s Pub at Mad River Glen and Castlerock Pub at Sugarbush. ◆

*Events Alert: Check holidays like Valentine’s Day, St. Paddy’s Day, Mardi Gras or April Fools’ Day for lift ticket specials and parties.

HARDCore HARDCore HARDCore HARDCor Gearheads and party animals unite! If you like staying up late and getting up early, savor these meeting grounds: ◆

F IRST TIME: Backcountry tours are available at Trapp Family Lodge, or try cat-skiing at Sugarbush. Off the beaten track, Bolton Valley, Burke Mountain, Sugarbush, Mad River Glen and Magic Mountain are among the many Vermont mountains that offer designated gladed terrain.

SkiVermont.com

Courtesy of Justin Cash

■

Hungry for MORE Hungry for MORE Hu If you’ve worked up an appetite, satiate yourself with local flavors sure to tantalize the taste buds. Resorts offer up many locally made products on their restaurant menus; staples include Vermont meats, dairy products, breads, beers and wines. Off the mountain, fun side trips include the Cabot [Cheese] Annex, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory, Green Mountain Coffee and Long Trail Brewery. However, if you can’t bear to leave bed, no worries—just be sure the lodge, hotel or inn has plenty of room service, and pop the cork on some champagne. Viva l’amour!

SkiVermont.com

Courtesy of Dennis Curran

OUR STANDARDS BEAT THEIR EXTRAS. The most legroom in coach*, 36 channels of free DIRECTV in every seat†, and unlimited snacks and soft drinks for everyone. Fly now at jetblue.com ®

PROUD PARTNER OF

Based on the average fleet-wide seat pitch of U.S. airlines. DIRECTV® service is not available on flights outside the continental U.S.; however, where applicable, movies from JetBlue Features TM are offered complimentary on these routes.

†

FIRST TRACKS

13 8

JAY PEAK

C a na da

Maine

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH

Vermont

BURKE 9

N e w Yo r k

STOWE

23 26

M a s s ac h us e t t s

BOLTON VALLEY

5 21

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

COCHRAN’S

New Hampshire

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 18 2

NORTHEAST SLOPES

PICO KILLINGTON 15

SUICIDE SIX

BY CAR

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

ASCUTNEY OKEMO 17

BROMLEY 10

BY TRAIN

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.

STRATTON 24

MOUNT SNOW 19

D e l awa r e

HOW DO YOU GET HERE?

MIDDLEBURY SNOW BOWL

Maryland

BY BUS

Blue dots correspond with Nordic ski areas listed below.

NORDIC SKI AREAS

The official Nordic partner of Ski Vermont.

1. Blueberry Hill

16. Mountain Top Inn & Resort

2. Blueberry Lake Cross Country

17. Okemo Valley Nordic Center

3. Bolton Valley Nordic Center

18. Ole’s Cross Country Center.

4. Brattleboro Outing Club

19.s Prospect Mountain

5. Catamount Family Center

Cross-Country Ski Center

6. Craftsbury Outdoor Center

20.sRikert Touring Center

7. Grafton Ponds Nordic Center

21. Sleepy Hollow Inn Ski & Bike Center

8. Hazen’s Notch

22. Smugglers’ Notch Nordic Center

9. Highland Lodge & XC Ski Center

23. Stowe/Mt. Mansfield XC Center

10. Hildene Ski Touring Center

24. Stratton Mountain Nordic Center

11. Jay Peak Ski Touring Center

25. Timber Creek XC Ski Area

12. Kingdom Trails

26. Trapp Family Lodge XC Ski Center

13. Memphremagog Ski Touring

27. Viking Nordic Center

14. Morse Farm Ski Touring Center

28. Wild Wings Ski Touring Center

15. Mountain Meadows XC Ski Area

29. Woodstock Inn & Resort Nordic Center 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, United and US Airways. 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 Vt. 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

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:.......................................... 45 Trail Acreage:........................... 250 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:............. 200 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 80% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 6 of 6

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

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 238 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 80% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 8 of 8

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 543 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 70% 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:........................... 632 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:.......... 96% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:.19 of 19

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 171 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 75% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 7 of 7

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 159 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 62% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 8 of 8

SkiVermont.com

Courtesy of C. Nelson James/MHF

ALPINE

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:.......................................... 70 Trail Acreage:........................... 165 Lifts:.............................................. 6

Vertical:................................. 1,334’ Trails:.......................................... 45 Trail Acreage:........................... 177 Lifts:............................................ 10

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 100 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 60% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 5 of 6

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 138 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:.......................................... 40 Trail Acreage:........................... 135 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:............... 95 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 70% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:..... 4 of 4

Snowmaking Acreage:............... 52 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:......................... 600+ 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:............. 570 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 95% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:.11 of 11

Snowmaking Acreage:............. 356 Snowmaking Coverage:.......... 70% Lifts Serving Snowmaking:.15 of 16

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

NORDIC

Resort

Location

E-mail & Web Site

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

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

85km

30km/30km

Y/Y

Brattleboro Outing Club

Brattleboro, VT 05302

xc@brattleborooutingclub.com www.brattleborooutingclub.com

802-257-1208

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

300mi

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

Highland Lodge & XC Center

Greensboro, VT 05841

info@highlandlodge.com www.highlandlodge.com

802-533-2647

802-533-7494

52km

45km/45km

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

PLHarris969@comcast.net www.mstf.net

30km

30km/30km

N/N

Morse Farm Ski Touring Center

Montpelier, VT 05602

info@morsefarm.com www.skimorsefarm.com

802-223-0090

800-242-2740

802-223-7450

25km

20km/25km

Y*/Y

Mountain Meadow XC Ski Area

Killington, VT 05751

MillerVT@mac.com www.xcskiing.net

802-775-7077

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

mhussey@middlebury.edu http://go.middlebury.edu/rikert

802-443-2744

802-388-2871

42km

30km/15km

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

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

agriswold@intrawest.com www.stratton.com

802-297-2200

800-STRATTON

802-297-4117

30km

10km/10km

Y/Y

Timber Creek XC Ski Area

West Dover, VT 05356

timbercreekxc@gmail.com 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

SkiVermont.com

Pressure gets reduced with elevation. Enjoy the simple pleasures that make vacation worth taking. Plan your getaway at vermontvacation.com.

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

Courtesy of C. Nelson James/MHF

A V I A T I O N

SkiVermont.com

40 GROOMED RUNS 5 POWDER DAYS 3 FRIENDS 10,000 PERFECT TURNS

EXPERIENCE SENSOR3 120

EXPERIENCE 88 The new Experience 88 is the superhero of all-mountain skis for advanced to expert skiers. This new breed of wide all-mountain ski, equipped with Autoturn rocker, will let you float through the deep pow like a big-mountain rock-star and charge the groomers like a racer for a true Do-It-All-One-Ski-Quiver.

rossignol.com/experience

Over 1,200 reasons why Cabot makes the world’s best cheddar.

ANDREW FAMILY

One of the 1,200 farm families who own Cabot Creamery Cooperative

Cabot Creamery is fully owned and operated by 1,200 farm families in New England and New York. And because our farmers get 100% of the profits, you bet they make sure you get the best all-natural dairy foods. Try it for yourself—you’ll taste the commitment to quality in every bite of the World’s Best Cheddar from Cabot.

BAKED MACARONI & CHEESE M a ke s 8 s e r v i n g s

Ingredients: 2 1/4 CUPS UNCOOKED SMALL ELBOW MACARONI 3 CUPS LOWFAT MILK 5 TABLESPOONS CABOT SALTED BUTTER 3 SLICES FIRM WHITE OR WHOLE WHEAT BREAD, PULSED INTO CRUMBS IN PROCESSOR OR BLENDER 3 TABLESPOONS KING ARTHUR UNBLEACHED ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR 3/4 TEASPOON SALT 1/4 TEASPOON GROUND BLACK PEPPER 1/8 TEASPOON FRESHLY GRATED NUTMEG

NUTRITION ANALYSIS:

Calories 370, Total Fat 11g, Saturated Fat 3g, Sodium 580mg, Carbohydrates 32g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Protein 31g, Calcium 200mg

SEVERAL DASHES TABASCO SAUCE 16 OUNCES (1 POUND) CABOT SERIOUSLY SHARP CHEDDAR, GRATED (ABOUT 4 CUPS), DIVIDED

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 9-by-13-inch or other shallow baking dish or coat with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. 2. Stir macaroni into large pot of boiling salted water; cook for 5 minutes after water returns to boil, or until outside is cooked but center is still firm. Immediately drain in colander and rinse under cold water; set aside. 3. In saucepan or microwave, heat milk to just below simmer. 4. In pot you used for pasta, melt butter over medium-low heat. Pour 2 tablespoons of butter into bowl, add breadcrumbs and blend together thoroughly; set aside. 5. Reduce heat to low, add flour to butter remaining in saucepan and whisk over heat for 2 minutes, being careful not to let it color. Add milk in small amounts at first, whisking until smooth after each addition; continue stirring until sauce thickens and comes to simmer. Cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. 6. Remove from heat and whisk in salt, pepper, nutmeg, Tabasco and half of cheese. Stir in drained pasta. 7. Spread one-third of pasta mixture over bottom of prepared baking dish. Scatter one-third of remaining cheese on top. Spoon another one-third of pasta on top and add another one-third of cheese. Top with remaining pasta. Mix remaining cheese into breadcrumbs and scatter evenly over top. 8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden on top and bubbling throughout. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

PROUD PARTNERS WITH THE VERMONT SKI AREAS FOR 25 YEARS.