Adventure: Vermont Winter
‘There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.’ –Shakespeare
2019
Adam Gopnick famously said that 'winter is the necessary counterpoint to springtime and without it we would be playing life with no flats or sharps on a piano with no black keys.' While a long winter can seem foreboding at first, I'll argue that it is THE season, the white keys of life, and that there is plenty of excitement and activity packed into our snowy months to keep us joyful and healthy through all of the dark days.
We are a state that is serious about winter fun—what other choice do we really have but to embrace our white bounty, and make it so? I’m blessed with a heartiness—hard-wired six generations deep—that morphs me into a gleeful frenzy the moment the fat flakes start to fall. The great thing about living in Vermont is being surrounded by athletes and adventurers whose zest for activity rises to the inverse of the mercury. When it plummets to 25 degrees, and the snow starts to fly, there is a collective giddiness that ripples through our Third-age community of playmates. The winter quiver comes out and fills the trunk: skis, skates, sleds, spikes, snowshoes, paddles, poles, boots, and brain buckets. Our twin winter mottos are thus: 'there is no bad weather, only bad clothing' and 'life is too short for shitty gear'. That's all you need to know to have fun in winter in Vermont.
The Burlington-Stowe-Waitsfield area is chock full of winter fun. Chittenden, Lamoille, Washington, and Orleans counties are just one section of what's available for snowy play in Vermont, but we have the most concentrated amount of activity, the largest city, the best vertical, and we are the nearest airport, BTV.
We are also blessed with a rich cultural life, boutique shopping, innovative brew pubs, spas, and fabulous farm-to-table food for the aprés ski portion of the day.
While this is by no means a complete overview, my list of fun things to do during a Vermont winter is guaranteed, road-tested fun. Here are my top ten things that I love to do in Northern Vermont in the wintertime:
1. Ski-Ride Stowe. While I grew up learning to ski at Bolton Valley in Richmond, I consider Stowe to be my mountain. It’s where my husband and I bonded for a lifetime of play, and where our kids learned to ski. I think of Stowe as the quintessential ski town with incredible vertical, and the charm and services to match. It has a level of sexy that feels like a vacation every time we go. There are wonderful restaurants, breweries, shops, and activities to round out the best skiing in Vermont—and it’s only 45 minutes from BTV.
Add value: Stowe is blessed with so much to do , but we like to visit StoweBowl for great grub and disco bowling. They have a pool for kids, a hotel, and the cool lounge-like bowling alley is state-of-the-art fun.
2. Ski-Ride Sugarbush. I love Sugarbush, too. It’s a beautiful mountain about 40 minutes from Stowe, with lots of variety and sunshine. If you are smart, like the locals, you’ll stick to Mt. Ellen on the weekends where the skiers are fast, but expert—it’s feels safer. A neat place to stay a minute from the mountain is at the former site of the historic Common Man Restaurant which has been converted into four brand new condo units, available for short-term rental. I love the The Pitcher Inn for high-end accommodations, or post ski drinks, and right across the street, The Warren Store for snacks and shopping. Nearby, Mad River Glen is an old school ski classic: it’s the serious skier's ski area. Their motto, ‘Mad River Glen, ski it if you can’ is no joke.
Add value: Smuggler’s Notch and Jay Peak, both family-friendly destination resort areas that always have the most snow, are 45 and 90 minutes from BTV, respectively.
3. Hammerhead Sledding. If you want to feel like a twelve year old again, drive up the west side of Lincoln Gap and park where the road closes. The Gap is groomed by a generous local devotee during the winter. Bring a Hammerhead sled and hike up with your Kahtoola microspikes and a ski helmet. You get a great workout, and then you get to turn around and fly down a steep mountain on a lightweight, but sturdy steering, sled. It’s an utter blast!
Add value: bring the fixings for a small campfire and cookout foods like chips, hotdogs, s’mores, and beverages for a festive lunch at the base.
Nordic skate blades are long and sturdy and make good shock absorbers on wild ice.
4. Wild Ice: Nordic Skating. Lake Champlain may not fully freeze until Valentine’s day, but that doesn’t stop skating aficionados from hitting the ice as soon as there is 2” of glass to be had. Shelburne Pond, Converse Bay and little pockets everywhere add up to the unbeatable combination of rigor and rollick in the freezing cold.
Add value: To seek out nearby neighborhood rinks, go on Front Porch Forum and ask about available ice.
Great gear matters: Kahtoolas are de rigueur 24/7 November-April.
5. Hike/Snowshoe. I love the silence of the peaceful winter woods, the frozen echo and the feeling of complete accord with the trees and the cosmos. Any place that we hike or mountain bike in Vermont, we hike and snowshoe during the winter. My personal favorite is a weekly trek up Camel's Hump with kahtoola’s or snowshoes, in every kind of weather. Hard snowpack actually makes hiking easier on my knees in winter, it’s more like moving up an escalator rather than climbing a staircase. If the conditions are right, and I remember to pack a sheet of hard plastic, then the fun is doubled on the way down.
Climb the Smuggler's Notch Road. The road is closed to vehicles; park on either the Jeffersonville side or Stowe side and hike up this mild incline. This is a great outing for dogs, cross-country skiers, hikers of all ages, and parents pulling kids on sleds. For the hearty, add in the Sterling Pond hike at the top of the Notch (you’ll need spikes) and you’ll have a full day of winter fun.
There is something magical about headlamp hiking during deep winter.
Add value: The joy of hiking can be amplified by scheduling a sunrise trek or a nighttime headlamp adventure. Plus a picnic: you always need a picnic! Favored snack items include Vegan Pumpkin Power Cookies*, mixed nuts, Rx Bars, Lara Bars, Lake Champlain chocolate, trail mix, Barney’s almond butter with whole grain crackers, grapes, and LOTS of water in canteens (Camelback tubes freeze and are worthless in winter, even with the insulator.)
6. Nordic (XC) Skiing. Sleepy Hollow, Trapp Family Lodge, Camel's Hump Nordic, Catamount Outdoor Family Center. These are all wonderful spots to Nordic ski within a 45 minute radius to BTV. What I love about XC skiing is that in just an hour or two we get to enjoy a full serving of snow, sunshine, and skating. On a brilliant day it is a pure pleasure to be alive and out on our skis. It’s not unheard of for us to alpine Stowe in the morning, eat lunch, and then hit the Mansfield Touring Center, on the way down the mountain road for a few hours of Nordic skiing. That’s what we call a full quiver day in Vermont. For those pressed for time, a weeknight evening ski under the lights at Catamount is a magical, relaxing experience.
Add value: Picnics are always fun, but a visit to VonTrapp’s Bierhall just down the road from the famous Trapp Ski Touring Center in Stowe is a must do.
7. Fat Tire Biking. Check Trailforks/Vermont for conditions everywhere. Are you fat bike curious? Visit Catamount Outdoor Family Center for on-site rentals and easy trail rides only 15 minutes from BTV. Pressed for time? You’ll enjoy an incredible workout in just an hour.
Add value: Book a celebratory weekend at The Kingdom Trails in East Burke for the most expansive trail network and packages for fat bike rentals, xc ski and snowshoe, and lots of great accommodation choices. This is a great idea for landmark birthdays, bridal parties, and gatherings of every sort.
There is nothing finer than spending a sparking winter day in the woods with your pals.
8. All Terrain (AT) aka Backcountry Skiing. By definition all terrain means if you can ski it, go get it—there is unlimited potential for discovery in Vermont’s wintery backcountry. That said, you have to be savvy and know what you are doing, so apprentice with a veteran or google a guide. A few popular places to begin are Bolton Valley, Nebraska Notch, Sterling Valley, The Teardrop at Underhill State Park, and Burrows trail at Camel’s Hump.
Go PREPARED so these SARS Stars (Search & Rescue) don’t have to drag your sorry ass out of the woods. Thank you for your service JV, Olive & Harley!
Add value: Pack a giant picnic and an extra set of clothes to change into: it’s no fun to savor your well-deserved snack Sweaty Betty-style. Also, be over-prepared with extra food, water, first aid, solar blanket, Phone/GPS, solar charger, and a backup set of car keys stashed someplace safe.
9. Kids! One stop fun a can be found in Richmond, Vermont. Sledding at the historic Richmond Round Church, skiing at the legendary Cochran's Family Ski Area, and fat biking/hiking on their impressive trail network are all rites of passage for local children. The family-friendly Bolton Valley Ski Area is just around the corner. More than a few generations of us first fell in love with the outdoors in magical Richmond.
Add value: After the fun, right in the middle of Richmond, you can visit Sweet Simone's for the best bakery treats ever, Hatchet for burgers & fries, and Stone Corral for local brew and grub—these are all kid friendly, locally owned spots.
10. Paddle Tennis. We play this outdoor racquet game at the Burlington Tennis Club. Yes, it’s a private club, but I am adding it here in the hopes of you joining us at BTC, or finding a club in your local area to play at. Paddle tennis is an invigorating, fast, blast—and yes, once again, it will bring out the kid in you! Anyone can pick up the paddle game fairly quickly, even if you don't have a lot of racquet skill—it's a very forgiving sport.
Add value: Short of a blizzard, we play in almost any kind of weather—this factor comes in especially handy when we are in ‘freezing-dearth-of-snow’ mode. Plus, we play with four folks, so it’s great fun to connect and socialize in the heated hut afterward.
While beaches are sublime and easy on the body and soul, I’m a trails and trees Gal through and through. The feel of frozen pellets sizzling on my frypan cheeks is one of my greatest sensory pleasures. The winter mountains challenge my spirit and spunk and bring out some of my best qualities: intrepidness, courage, bad judgment (‘There's a blizzard coming?! How fast can we can get to the mountain?’)
Play hard or perish…it’s a long, cold snowy winter!
There is no such thing as playing it safe here: we prepare well, say ‘yes!’, and hope for the best. I know a lot of 60+ aging athletes who go to a Crossfit or Bikram class early in the morning and then head out for a day of skiing—alpine, AT, Nordic—whatever, and that is their normal routine. The level of stamina and enthusiasm to ‘go for it’ around here is astonishing.
But here’s the one true thing about a Vermont winter: it doesn’t really matter what you choose to embrace or at what pace—a walk in the quiet woods or on the frozen waterfront, cutting snow angels in fresh powder, curling up with a book, or cooking in harmony with the season. What matters is appreciating nature’s offering in the moment—it is the only way to survive, and thus thrive, in Vermont. This union with, and appreciation for Mother earth at her fiercest, combined with an attitude of gratitude for the preternatural beauty of this area, is a path to sustainable joy. Indeed, there is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so. Mindfulness is a must; remaining alert in the present moment is the essential task for any ski or outdoor activity. This requirement is exactly why a day spent playing in our winter wonderland always feels like an invigorating suspension into the spiritual. We get to experience all of the keys on nature’s grand piano; we get to know all of the colors of frozen.
“First Frost” by Vermont Artist Tina Heath with gratitude.
*Vegan Pumpkin Power Cookies
by Kim Dannies makes 30 cookies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine the following:
29-ounces of organic canned pumpkin (not prepared pie filling) ; ½-cup canola oil; 2-ripe mashed bananas; ¾-cup brown sugar; ½-cup molasses; 1-T vanilla; ½-t each: ginger & cinnamon; 1-t cloves; 1½-cups ground flaxseed meal or wheat germ; 2-t of baking soda; ¾-cup tiny carob chips (or chocolate chips); ¾-cup dried cranberries and blueberry mix; ¾-cup shredded coconut; ¾-cup crushed walnuts
Fold in without over mixing: 3 cups organic old-fashioned style oats 4-cups King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour
Dollop cookies onto 4 parchment-lined baking sheets, making 30 cookies. Bake 18 minutes. Cool. Freeze in small batches until ready for use, or freeze dough in batches.
Nutrition Information: 135 calories/ 13 grams of fat/ 15 grams fiber. Base cookie: 90 calories and 9.8 grams of fat. If you add coconut, add 7 calories and 1 gram of fat /cookie. If you add almonds add 146 calories and 14 grams fat /cookie. If you add walnuts add 19 calories and 1.9 grams fat/ cookie. If you add carob chips add 13 calories and 1 gram of fat /cookie. If you add cranberries add 10 calories and 0 fat/ cookie. If you add blueberries add 2 calories and 0 fat/cookie.
I’d love to hear from you—feel free to send your comments to me.
