What a stunning day. As my friend Julie and I drove up to Bolton Valley Resort, I noted how frosty everything was — even as low as the elevation of Timberline Lodge.
The trees were encrusted with snow and the sky was brilliant blue. It was quite a treat to be skiing today.
A $15 ticket and the sunshine brought a bunch of skiers and riders out. The lines grew quickly as the morning passed.
After a couple of warm-up runs on the more traveled trails, we picked our way through Glades and then Vista Glades. Both need a bunch more snow to cover stumps, logs and rocks, but it was still fun to snake our way down the trails, turning where there were stashes of snow.
Later I led Julie over to the trails toward the Wilderness side of the mountain (the lift there is still not open). And yet again, I found some nice powdery turns. It was smooth, soft packed powder on the trail, and loose powder in the woods on the skier's right of the Wilderness Chair. It was so much fun in the trees, we did it twice, despite having to skate back over to the Vista Quad from the base of the Wilderness Chair.
To celebrate a day off in the sun, and Christmas Eve, we stopped in at On the Rise Bakery in nearby Richmond, Vermont. They have great baked goods and delicious bagels and pizza. It's a good stop if you ski or hike around Bolton.
You can be sure I left enough room for dinner and pie this evening with the family.
STATS FOR BOLTON VALLEY SKI RESORT, VERMONT
Total Trails: 71
Easy: 34%
Intermediate: 35%
Advanced/Expert: 31%
Glades: 10
Terrain Parks: 3
Total Lifts:
1 Surface
3 Doubles
2 Quads
Total Acreage: 300 skiable acres
Vertical Drop: 1704 feet
Snowmaking: 60%
