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 With a legacy as thick as maple syrup at a sugar-on-snow party, Stowe is as synonymous with skiing as any other icon you can mention. In fact, icons loom large in Stowe"s history, from Perry Merrill and Charlie Lord and their CCC crews to trails like Nosedive, Liftline, National, Starr, and Goat, testing grounds for the best of several generations. Stowe has commanded attention from the beginning. With permits in place for a major expansion and upgrade, Stowe is likely to attract even more attention in the next few years. Spruce Peak, Stowe"s more mellow side, will see the most changes, with an alpine village planned for the base, new lifts, more snowmaking, and trail work. Eventually, a gondola will link Spruce Peak base with the Mt Mansfield base. Improvements are slated for the Mt Mansfield side too, including significant upgrades to services and a welcome expansion of the base lodge. What Stowe already has in spades is great terrain, whose hallmark trails are seldom interrupted by catwalks and crossovers. Classics such as Lord, North Slope, and Standard ski or ride long and vertical, as do the somewhat wider Perry Merrill and Gondolier. Almost 60 percent of Stowe"s terrain is rated intermediate (although a good deal of it is tougher than you might be accustomed to) but advanced skiers and riders will have no complaints. There are the aforementioned famous Front Four plus Nosedive, Lookout and Lookout Glades, Hackett"s Highway, Tres Amigos Glades, Hayride (now wider and F.I.S.-approved) and Centerline. Even better - because they"re not on the trail map - are Stowe"s smorgasbord of glades and tree shots that you will only find by diligence or the grace of a local. And up above the gondola"s top station is some of the gnarliest hike-to terrain in the state. Absolute beginners should stick to the gentle greens of Spruce Peak before attempting the famous Toll Road from the top of the FourRunner Quad. Tyrol is devoted to a terrain park, while the � pipe is at the tail end of Lord. Despite a tougher-than-average mountain, Stowe attracts the well-to-do in greater numbers than the duct-taped locals who cherish the mountain"s secrets. Perhaps that"s because the "other" Stowe - the actual town - is just as famous as Stowe the mountain (Stowe Mountain Resort is its official name, Mt Mansfield and Spruce Peak are the mountains that are home to SMR"s trails.) Simply saying "Stowe" evokes much the same response as saying Aspen or Steamboat. By the time you reach the Inn at the Mountain you"ve either segued gracefully to the mountain if you"re headed up, or to the outliers of the town if headed down; the two are tied together by an extended community of inns, shops, homes, upscale resorts, and night spots, much of it connected by a public multi-use path Nevertheless, each has a distinctive personality. Stowe the resort showcases Vermont"s rugged beauty; Stowe the town shows off Vermont at its most quaint and charming. While the resort"s new village is under construction, most visitors stay along the access road (Vermont Route 108), or just off it in the many condominium clusters, second home communities, and lodges. Aside from the Cliff House Restaurant at the top of the gondola, with its prix fixe dinner menu, most of the area"s fine dining is found here or in the village of Stowe. There"s also a good choice of family-style places to eat along the road, along with night spots like the Rusty Nail and Miguel"s Stowe Away, and the Matterhorn Bar, a genuine roadhouse. Off-slope Fun Down in the village you"ll find Olympic-size ice skating at the Jackson Arena. Or, rent a snowmobile, take a sleigh ride, visit the Ben & Jerry"s factory just down the road in Waterbury. The Vermont Ski Museum, now in the village, is definitely worth a visit. You can access more than 200 kilometers of cross-country ski trails from Stowe, 80 of them owned by the resort (35 km are groomed), at the Trapp Family Lodge, the Edson Hill Touring Center, or the Topnotch. The region is home to over 100 shops, galleries, and specialty stores.
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Ski Report
Vermont