Backcountry skiing

When you are a skier who lives in Vermont, this is what you do in the winter: You get out there and see what you can find. No matter what. Check our storyboard to see what we found.

April powder is special. Bright sun is icing on the cake. We earned more turns on Sunday at another closed ski area — and we were not the only ones with this brilliant idea!

Old Man Winter seems to be a bit confused this year. He is making it snow in the springtime, rather than dumping snow on us in the winter months. Well, we'll take it whenever he can offer it. The…

To get a good dose of exercise, vitamin D, and vitamin Ski, we've been going out to earn some turns. On Wednesday we spent our lunch break doing just that. On a ski trail that has a snowmaking base,…

Here are a few shots from a lovely midday skin today to the top of the Timberline area at Vermont’s Bolton Valley Resort. The ski area is now closed so if you want to make use of their left-over…

Here are a few shots from today on some backcountry ski trails at Bolton Valley. It was a pretty day and rather warm in the sun. We skinned up just a bit higher than Bryant Cabin, which is at 2,690…

In November, by pure coincidence, the Skimeister and I booked a flight to Colorado — well before we knew how rough the eastern ski season was going to be. Last week we were grateful to arrive in a…

Lovely light on Friday afternoon! We ended the week by earning some turns on the backcountry ski trails at Bolton Valley, Vermont. It was a bit chilly, especially when the breeze came through, but…

We were looking for some exercise today away from the weekend crowds on the slopes. We decided to ski around the Nordic trails at Bolton Valley. The sun was shining and we had on our light, waxless…

To end the work week, the Skimeister and I took our first little backcountry ski outing this afternoon. It was windy when we arrived at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Bolton, Vermont. We booted up in the…

Mt. Ascutney in Brownsville, Vermont, will return to life this winter with a new rope tow and backcountry skiing. A community group called Mt. Ascutney Outdoors / Ascutney Trails has been brush…

With my light backcountry skis attached to my feet, I sat in a tree today and soaked up the sun. The small tree had a crook in it that allowed me to kick back without getting my ski pants damp. I…

The Skimeister and I got out to backcountry ski on Saturday afternoon and it was so much fun, we went for a second helping on Sunday! Saturday was the cooler of the weekend days and some fresh snow…

With temperatures in the “balmy” 20s and the sun trying to come out, it was a good day to hit the backcountry and earn some turns.  The Skimeister and I headed for Underhill, Vermont, on the west…

Yes, another chilly day. But when you have things to do this coming weekend, you head for the trailhead anyways! The Skimeister and I skied in the Sterling Forest in Stowe. We parked at the gorge…

These shots are from Tuesday, when we skinned up into the Bolton Valley backcountry trail network. Lots of snow. Not as fluffy as Saturday, but lovely. And a bonus: The sun came out!

This morning I came across some northern Vermont snow reports touting between 4 and 12 inches of new snow overnight. I looked outside my window and only saw 1 or 2 inches and I had to double check…

We took advantage of warm temperatures and sunshine today by hitting the trail around lunchtime! We put on our plastic backcountry boots and skins on our skis and up we went. We climbed into the…

Wow. It felt more like February skiing today than December skiing! The Skimeister and I earned some turns on the trails of the Bolton Valley backcountry trail network. We put skins on our skis and…

As of Wednesday morning, we're part way through a major winter storm in Vermont. It has brought wet, heavy snow that will help with building a base on which to ski — whether you ski at resorts, in the…