Night Skiing

Have you ever considered hiking up a mountain, at night, in the middle of winter, wearing ski or snowboard boots, while carrying the rest of your equipment in a pack? Boot packing the whole way up and skiing by headlamp on the way down. If you haven’t, then you are probably aren’t as crazy as my friends and me.

Night skiing, though trees, in the backcountry by headlamp is one of those rare experiences I’m glad I got to share with my friends. Now this adventure is not for the inexperienced or novice skier. Our group included four Wilderness First Responders, each with their own med kit and two leaders who have led this hike over ten times this season.

What is it like to ski at night through trees and along trails guided just by headlamps? It’s great! Of course, the pace is slower due to darkness and the need to keep the group together with frequent check-ins, but it’s an experience like never before, forcing you to go outside of your comfort zone, face your fears and trust your friends but most of all, let loose and trust yourself. There are frequent whoops of joy from the woods and those help guide you down but when you let one out it is an invigorating experience of YES, I can do this!

If you are not ready for a night skiing experience I believe the next best thing is hiking along Route 108, where it is closed, into the notch and enjoying the views, the stars and the way the lights look in town. It is also a really unique experience to look down and see these giant lights looming on the mountain and figuring out which trail is currently being groomed.


On another note… Nor’easter tomorrow??? Check out the forecast!

Just as spring was beginning to make another comeback, we get word of another snowstorm!



See you on the slopes!

-Megan

Beth's first day at Stowe

Well folks, we welcomed spring with some beautiful bluebird days and spring skiing. And as I mentioned we also welcomed spring with SNOW! Yup, that’s right we got about 10” of the fresh stuff Tuesday. The trails and glades have a new life to them, and it is just what we needed mixed with colder days to make it last longer to keep the season going long and strong.

Today I skied with my sister Beth for the 1st real time. Yup, that’s right, she is in her third season, and I finally got a chance to ski with her. Beth cut her college classes today to come ski at Stowe for the first time ever and she LOVED it! I pushed her a bit out of her comfort zone and it paid off. It began as a beautiful bluebird day, then some clouds rolled through, but the skiing was fun! We started the morning off on the gondola, moved to the quad, then Spruce. We had a delicious lunch at the Great Room Grill and skied Spruce a bit more then it was back to the gondola to finish off the day. All in all we took about ten runs and just enjoyed today’s beauty.

Today I was skiing on a demo pair of skis from Skier Shop. They were the Soctt Rosa in a 158, and I really liked them. They were a lot of fun and responded well to what I asked of them. I think the best way to find a ski you love is to try out as many as possible first and that has been my goal so far this season. I will keep you posted on other skis I try out!

There is some snow in the forecast so tune up the skis again, winter is defiantly not over!

- Megan

Welcome to Spring!

My question to you is WHY are you sitting home reading this and not up here in Stowe skiing? We have had several fabulous, bluebird, spring days this week, and now we are expecting more SNOW! That’s right we welcome spring with another potential snowstorm in the next few days. So jump off of your couches and pack the car or your travel bags, and get your butts to Stowe!

I really should be keeping all of this information to myself and being greedy and not sharing how much fun I have had the past several days, but I guess I will let you in on this secret, I have had so much fun, you can tell from my slightly sunburnt face. Yup, that’s right the pale Irish skinned girl forgot to wear sunscreen on St. Patrick’s Day, and now I am just using it as an excuse to perfect my goggle/ sunglass tan, which is very hard for me to get due to being fair skinned.

So St. Patrick’s Day was my day off and it was a BEAUTIFUL, bluebird, spring skiing day. I began the day on Goat and Starr and worked my way all over Mansfield and Spruce. I ended up meeting up with six of the guys from ski school and we had a blast tearing it up off the gondola for the last few runs of the day. For our very last run the boys decided to ski shirtless, since it was warm enough, and they attracted a lot of attention from other skiers wanting photographs. I was not the only one trying to take their picture. I hope you guys find these images and funny as I do!





Other than that I have been teaching and soaking up the sun every moment I can. I hope to see you all here soon!








See you on the slopes- Megan

Upcoming Events

Greetings Stowe Lovers!

We have had some great blue bird spring skiing so far this week and conditions for the weekend look promising with a few chances of snow over the next few days! I am looking forward to the rest of spring and more spring skiing, but I’m also praying for another 3 foot storm.

Tonight, Wednesday, is the last torchlight parade of the season. At 8pm, Ski and Snowboard School instructors will ski and ride down Slalom Hill on Spruce with torches. The parade will be followed by fireworks. It’s a great event for everyone to experience.

Thursday is Saint Patrick’s Day, and in honor of that we have $39 lift tickets.

Saturday is the East Coast Super Shootout. Five Photographer Finalists and their athlete teams (skiers & riders) battle it out for the "Best in Show" Award presenting their action sports photography slideshows in a public presentation on Saturday March 19 at 7pm. Each team has three days to shoot at Stowe Mountain Resort and make a presentation of these photos in slideshows to original music. Attendees get to select the People's Choice Award.
Where: Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center
When: Saturday March 19 @ 7pm
Cost: $5

Here are some Stowe statistics to keep you occupied at your desk to mull over while avoiding doing work.
Summit Elevation: 4,395 Feet
Highest Skiing Elevation:3,640 Feet
Base Skiing Elevation: 1,280 Feet
Vertical Drop: 2,360 Feet
Amount of Skiing: 485 Acres; 39 miles
Longest Run: 3.7 Miles; Toll Road
Avg. Annual Snowfall: 333"

Winter Update

Greetings! My name is Megan and I am your guide for everything Stowe. Right now, we are celebrating another fresh snowfall -- at least 24-28 inches on the mountain. There has been some turbulent weather over the last few days – some rain, some wind and then lots of snow. The skiing and riding are epic and we are anticipating at least one more storm in the forecast this week. All the other snow enthusiasts and I are gearing up for a great month of skiing.

I will be sharing my adventures in the greater Stowe area because this is one of the most beautiful places year round. These mountains and valleys have so much character, though most people never fully realize its excellence until they live here. While everyone knows about winter sports, such as skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and ice climbing, there are so many other interesting things happening on and off the mountain. Each season offers so many opportunities for adventure from rock climbing, hiking and cycling to more relaxed activities such as dining, store browsing, and relaxing.

Just in case you were wondering, I came to Vermont 5 years ago, and I have fallen in love with this cool northern state. As a first season Ski instructor with ski and snowboard school here at Stowe Mountain Resort, I am learning so much about the mountain while I am teaching young children how to ski. During some of my off-ski hours, I also work as a sales associate at a local ski shop. So please join me each week while I share an insiders view of Stowe, Vermont. - Megan