Conditions to be Grateful For

Guns are firing on Mt Mansfield! Snow guns, guys. Stowe Mountain Resort's enormously prolific snow-making is readying for opening day of skiing and riding, TOMORROW! Snow reports from the hill put the snow-making trails average base depth at 24-54 inches. The quad lift is on track to be open, with 8 trails accessible. Weather guru (no kidding, he really is!) Roger Hill predicts dribs and drabs of snow for the next couple of days, and pre-Thanksgiving the clouds will be giving it up with accumulations of "several inches possible". Rumor has it that we're in a cold cycle that will guarantee the guns will be working overtime, piling up the good stuff. Rumor also has it that Spruce Peak will be open by Thanksgiving, and the Gondi by December 6.

A colleague paid a visit to the new and soon-to-open, state-of-the-art luxury Spruce Camp base lodge last week and reported it was "jaw-dropping". Services include a bar, indoor & outdoor fireplaces, restaurants, shops, rental shop, tickets, ski school and public lounge areas. With the new Over Easy inter-mountain transfer gondola, new trails, a new beginner area, new high-speed detachable quads and that amazing and fully-automated snow-making, Stowe is in grand shape this ski season.

And, not to be outdone: This just in from the Sultan of Snow-making, Nordic Style, Sam von Trapp, VP of Special Projects for Trapp Family Lodge. Sam is making good use of their brand new (last year) snowmaking guns, and says, "We plan to open with limited (very limited at the moment) XC skiing for Thanksgiving Day. Trail will be very short, but better than not skiing. Day passes will be at reduced rate."

The chatter right now is "how will the economy affect skiing?". We're pretty optimistic. Stowe is not only the premier ski destination in the East, but easily drive able for tens of millions of travelers: 3.5 hours from Boston, 6 hours NYC, a deuce from Montreal. Then there's the train! Wouldn't it be great to bring back the old Ski Trains? If you've got an extra day or two (high-speed rail remains a fantasy...) it's a super way to decompress while you roll along passing time with a good book or a movie on your laptop. Bonus? Amtrak powers through when the airlines are still contemplating take-off, especially in snowy weather.

Another tick in the affordability column: Stowe Mountain Resort offers discounts on lift tickets all season long, including holidays. Buy multi-day (from 2 days to 7 days) tickets at least 7 days in advance and you'll get 15% off, holidays included. Stowe's Vacation Rewards Program combines lift tickets with other on-mountain services and many Stowe area lodges package it with rooms. One stop shopping. And another budget-friendly tip: Shop Savor Sip Ski promotion nets discounted lift tix. See last week's blog for info.

Thanksgiving Day looms near. Stowe restaurants have some nifty specials for those who choose not to cook (me, me, me!) Drive safely, whether inbound to Stowe or outbound to family/friends. Think Thankful Thoughts.

How to Shop, Savor, Sip and Ski in Stowe

The term Black Friday seems to have originated in Philadelphia in 1975. This term for the purported biggest shopping day of the year, which is the day after Thanksgiving, is the day that merchants can make up lost financial ground and put their ledgers "in the Black". If you happen to be a fan of standing in line at 5am for a $5 DVD player that will conk out around the time the Christmas goose emerges from the oven, then I'm probably not speaking to you. However, if you're looking for fun, stress-FREE congenial shopping that reaps some pretty great rewards--like lower-priced and even free skiing-- then here's the Stowe Shop Savor Sip Ski skinny.

Spend at least $75 at any combination of participating shops from November 28 (yep, BLACK FRIDAY!) through January 4, 2009, and receive a Stowe Points Card offering discounted lift tickets all season long at “The Ski Capital of the East”, Stowe Mountain Resort. Plus, any purchases made at Stowe Mountain Resort earn points, and when you reach 450 you'll get a free unrestricted ski voucher. Earn points on lessons, merch, eats, rentals and more, plus the card comes with 75 points to get you started! The card also delivers year-round, on-mountain rewards, like golf and summer attractions, so you can earn even more points. (Stowe Points Cards can make great stocking stuffers, too)

During Shop Savor Sip Ski, holiday shoppers will also get coupons for free chocolate or candy cane at Laughing Moon Chocolates (the SAVOR!) and a free coffee drink (the SIP, obviously) at the Green Mountain Coffee Visitors Center & Cafe.

Adding to the shopping fun is the Golden Candy Cane Quest: find the Golden Candy Cane hidden in a participating shop and win prizes, like a one-night's stay in Stowe or other goodies!
And it gets better: each $75 spent is an entry in the Shop, Savor, Sip & Ski Grand Prize Sweepstakes (more winning!). You could spend three nights in a two-bedroom Stowe condo, and get one-day lift tickets for two adults and two kids. Plus, a Keurig coffee maker (more sipping!) and a year’s supply of chocolates (more savoring!)

Pretty good deal...cheaper lift tix and even free skiing plus lots of other perks, and holiday shopping that pays you back!

And with Stowe's nearly 70 unique and locally owned shops you can be sure that you’ll find the perfect gift for everyone this holiday season. And in the process discover the Art of Shopping. 'Cause after all, art is an expression of who you are...

Stuck in Stick Season Doesn't Mean the End of the World

Okay, I'm stuck. Stick Season is nothing to crow about, although if there is such a thing as an "off" season, I'd rather be in Stowe than anywhere else. We're quiet right now (a friend calls this the "serene season"), and a bit gray, although warm. Many visitors during this time of year love the tranquility, and the possibility that it could snow at any time (check out my blog of 10/29)--or that you can still jump on your bike and ride for miles, setting your mind free.

Hotel rates are at their lowest, so a weekend getaway from the big city is a distinct possibility. To be seriously considered and very much in order would be a day at the spa. We've got some great ones! Gas prices have plunged, and an audiobook makes your trip fly by. If you're from the Boston area, that's only 200 miles or so; NYC only about 300, and Montreal even closer.

A few of our scores of restaurants are closed for vacation/deep cleaning/regrouping before the holiday onslaught, but many of those open have great specials going on, and always a warm, welcoming ambiance. We're still all the things you love about Stowe, no matter what the season.


Election Day 2008 dawned unseasonably warm and bright earlier this week, and the atmosphere was positively Rockwellian. From my office I look down on the Town Hall polling place in the village, and it was hard to tear myself away from the window. I voted early this year, and then kicked myself for forgoing the warmth of community that pervades when voting in a small town. Even so, I moseyed over to visit with the pollsters and the voters, using the excuse that because I voted early I didn't get my "I Voted" sticker. Cliff Johnson, our recently retired Public Works Director was volunteering his time for sticker-duty and was happy to lay one on me: I VOTED!

The Queen Has Spoken

Susan Rousselle, our Sales Manager, and more importantly--at least this time of year--our Queen Leaf Peeper, has decreed that Thursday, October 2 at 5:17pm was absolute Peak Foliage Color this year. Notably, this is nearly two weeks earlier than last year, when Peak was October 14. The Queen states, "My AHA! moment was on Stagecoach Road. I was driving north, the lighting was spectacular. It honestly looked like a painting instead of real life; the color was brilliant. It's the moment when you know nothing could look prettier."

And so, we close the Stowe book on fall, and proceed to lifting the cover on Winter. To continue the metaphor (please bear with me, it's Friday...), the first page in this book is snow-covered. As of this writing, there are FOURTEEN inches of snow at Stowe Mountain Resort. Now that I write that, it seems rather paltry when I realize that HUNDREDS of inches fall in the heart of winter, but we're pretty psyched to have fourteen before the onset of November. Intrepid (and very fit...) skiers/riders are hiking up and sliding down. See some cool photos and be inspired! The Mountain opens on November 22.

LET IT SNOW - LET IT SNOW!

Yup. Snow in Stowe. Stowe Mountain Resort. And it's still coming at 2:30pm on Wednesday. Two words: WOO and HOO! We're off!

Remember: SMR kicks off the season on November 22.

Spooky, Snowy Stowe

Stowe has gone from Fire on the Mountain to Snow on the Mountain in pretty short order, folks. Wednesday morning found enough snowfall on Mt Mansfield to whet the appetite of winter sports buffs. Skiing/riding at Stowe Mountain Resort opens in just a few short weeks, on November 22nd. Starting November 1st, snowmaking will begin, adding to Mother Nature's lode. But the stuff--known as White Gold around these parts--has begun its descent. Last winter was epic in the amount of snowiness, and winter sports boomed. Snowshoers plodded happily along, dogsledders mushed at a rapid clip, snowmachines roared through the glades, skiers-- both Nordic and Alpine--swooshed. I think we deserve two great snow years in a row...we begin praying right about.....now.

However, should you have a hankering for fall color, it can still be found..but hurry. Some color is apparent in the hollows deep in the forest, and some on the hillsides. But officially, we're in Stick Season. Soon those sticks will be frosty and white, but for now they're rightfully recovering from their summer and fall glory. Well done, leaves!

Hallowe'en is what we're focusing on now. Stowe can be a pretty spooky place, if you look in the right places! We've got Emily's Haunted Bridge, Stowe at Night Lantern Tours, and a steady stream of wee characters roaming the streets in search of sugar-laden treats. Actually, Hallowe'en is a pretty cool day for kids. It starts with the Stowe Elementary School Ghost Parade on Main Street in Stowe Village. (FYI: the guy with the pumpkin on his head is Mr. Smiles, the principal...yes, our principal's name is Smiles, and he wears a pumpkin on his head every year). Our offices at the Stowe Visitor Info Center are right in the line of fire, so we load up on candy and put ourselves at the mercy of passing ghouls, goblins, skeletons, and more topical and timely costumed characters (let's bet on how many Sarah Palin/Tina Feys we see this year! Do I hear Heath Ledger/Joker?) We're alerted to the impending invasion by the sounds of the local radio station, WDEV-AM playing "Monster Mash", which resonates as a music worm in my head for many hours. Then kids go home and rest up for the Big Event: Trick or Treating on Main Street and the big party at the elementary school, all in the village.

Many years ago the idea was hatched that in order to have a safe place for sugar-solicitation, the cops would block off Main Street, the Boy Scouts would ask for candy donations and the candy would be distributed to the households that would be descended upon for trick or treat. From 4:30 to 6pm the elementary school Parent Teachers Organization hold the perfect Hallowe'en party. With games, food and free Glo Stick Necklaces from the Stowe PD, you can't go wrong. Having nurtured a Shy Little Kitten, a Killer Whale (I was up all night for that one), Calvin (w/ Hobbs), Waldo (as in "Where's ...?" --my total favorite) and countless others, I have a pretty good idea of how special Hallowe'en can be in Stowe.

Kids are ready to hit the hay by 7pm. Bring in the babysitter and Hallowe'en-oephile grownups can don their costumes and head out to revel the night away. It's a FRIDAY!

Bless You, Farmer Sue

Last Sunday, I stopped at the Stowe Farmer's Market, as I always do after my morning spin class. It's a great place to meander, mulling over whether to buy the tomatillos, and what the heck would I do with them. Truth-be-told, my sole purpose was to beeline for the late-season blueberries (4 bucks a pint, and so darned sweet), pick up a JinJi potsticker to sustain me post-workout, chat a few minutes with JinJi about our singing careers, grab some cilantro and move on out.

There are many times, especially when I have guests or am with a friend, that I'll mosey through, more of a "shopping" experience. But this time was not one of those.

I stopped for my cilantro at the last booth (or first, depending on whether you're coming or going...). This was Farmer Sue's booth. Since this was the second-t0-last Stowe Farmer's Market of the season, I asked her how business has been. Great, she said. She harvests acres of lettuce, garlic, peas and beans and beets of all kinds, zukes and cukes and broccoli and its cousin rabe, makes jelly and she pickles a bunch of the aforementioned veggies. She works 7 days a week, and gets help from her husband on Sundays. And, her week is made up of traveling to markets in South Hero (Wednesdays) , Jericho (Thursdays), Shelburne (Saturdays) and Stowe on Sundays.

I'm telling this tale to honor the work of these farmers. They are the backbone of Vermont. Stop and see them at the Stowe Farmer's Market and chat awhile. One last market coming up this Sunday, then they're done until May. Savor a real-life rural experience.

After you've stocked up on pumpkins, pickles and potatoes, keep moving up Mountain Road to the 26th Annual Stowe Foliage Art & Craft Festival in Topnotch Field. These guys have been putting this fest on for a long time, and they've got it just right. Two hundred artists and artisans will "represent the pinnacle of artistic quality in the region". Camelot-style tents are heated, just in case...And OH, wow, new this year: Vermont Cheese, Beer and Sausage Tent! With a picture-postcard-perfect fall vista as the background, you can shop, sup, listen to live music and shop yet again. Choose from elegant pottery, glimmering blown glass, fantastic furniture, svelte clothing, wondrous weavings, luxurious leather, original art, and fabulous photography. These are some of the finest crafts that you'll find in New England, all under one (or two) tents.

More and more and more great stuff in Stowe this weekend, too. Great Pumpkin? Boy, do we have it, smack in front of Town Hall on Main Street. Enter the Pumpkin Weight Guessing Contest here at the Stowe Visitor Center. If you can ascertain the weight of Jabba the Hut, you're in the ballpark. Corn Maze? Get here soon, 'cause the harvest is coming!

PS. Foliage is still brilliant, but visit this weekend for the best of the remaining color. Truly, some of the finest I've seen in a decade. If the finery of fall translates into white gold for winter, we're looking at another fine, fine winter sports season.