Where to Ski: Stowe Vermont

I was able to take full advantage of an unexpected fast moving storm in Stowe Vermont. I was about to ski and examine a seemingly changing ski area.

Driving up Thursday night turned out to be a phenomenal decision because the snow began to pound at around 7 a.m. Friday morning. By the time the posse of Boston College kids and myself made it up to the hill a solid 4 inches had fallen and was continuing to fall at an incredible rate some would say it was “PUKING”

Stowe is such an unbelievable gem. I have been up there time and time again and continue to be impressed with the whole experience but mainly with the skiing. One would think the whole experience would really be focused on the skiing but that simply isn’t the case anymore. Recently Stowe completed a multi-million dollar venture which included a completely new lodge at the base of Spruce Peak and a new gondola connecting the bases of both Stowe and Spruce areas. I have yet to step foot inside the new facility which looks out of place in comparison to the quaintness of the rest of the town of Stowe. The gondola however, was a good call, but it still makes me wonder, is Stowe getting just a little too yuppie for its own good? The question was intensified when I saw an advertisement at the bottom of the quad for Star Wars Live at 7pm in the Spruce Peak Amphitheater. Questioning Stowe’s integrity, I boarded the quad which shoots you up to the front four, some of the steepest terrain Stowe or the East for that matter has to offer.

That very question of overyuppification and integrity got answered for me while I was shredding some serious Pow Face later on in the day with a local or two on a pair of Volkl Gotamas. On one of many gondola rides my friend J. began to tell us of how funny it is when it snows at Stowe because you could never imagine hearing more people complaining about snow conditions and how they wished someone would just groom! As soon as I got off the lift and put my skis on I hear a father advise his family in an authoritative tone that no matter which way they went, the skiing was not going to be easy. This is when the wheels began to turn, I realized that the mountain, no matter how resort like they try and make it, it will always have the terrain that makes people go “oh crap”, you cannot change that. 

The tree runs at Stowe are simply unforgettable. We dropped into the Nosedive glades earlier in the day, before it got tracked out and experienced multiple steep stashes of untouched snow. Some of the funnel trails towards the bottom were like tubing down water park slides the berms where so high. Then off to Chin Clip on the opposite side of the mountain to ski the trees which drop you out on the seasonal highway route 108, again deep freshies and super fun drops. Stowe is still the gem it always has been, I cannot wait to get back up there and be challenged by everything it has to offer. You stay classy Stowe, but not too classy.