STOGUIDE pages 40-61:Layout 1 10/30/07 12:03 PM Page 52
p
Heart & Stowe n48
Strong intermediates can find plenty of
ways down from the top of the quad, located
just below Mansfield’s Nose, but only the
truly fit can yo-yo the mountain’s unrelenting
2,360 vertical feet. Planning to pace our-
selves, we head for the gondola and its cor-
duroy cruisers.
From the lift, you can’t help but trace the
For the lowest prices on the largest
profile of Mt. Mansfield—which vaguely
resembles a reclined head—and marvel at
the chain of Lilliputian skiers hiking to its
selection of the best brands.
Chin, the highest point in Vermont. We make
laps on Perry Merrill, a spacious blue named
for the former state parks commissioner who
did so much to promote Vermont skiing.
Then, ready to deliver on my soft-snow
promise, I suggest we head to Spruce Peak,
just across Route 108 from the Mansfield
base area. Spruce, a separate, south-facing
mountain, is the softer, sunnier side of
Stowe. With its mostly low-key terrain—
including the expansive Meadows beginner
area—Spruce has long been a diamond in
the rough. But that’s about to change. In the
first—and likely last—major expansion at
the mountain since the 1950s, the Spruce
Peak side of the resort is undergoing a trans-
formation that will fundamentally alter the
complexion of Stowe. A new slopeside vil-
lage—with more than 1,200 pillows and all
the requisite amenities, including a spa,
shops, bars, restaurants and a performing
arts center—promises to propel Stowe back
into select company. Think Beaver Creek,
Colo., or Tremblant, Que. Plans also call for
significant on-mountain upgrades, most
notably the new gondola linking Spruce to
Mansfield and the new Spruce base lodge.
One of America’s great ski shops
W
e eye fresh lines tucked into the folds
of the broad slope below. Originally
right in your back yard!
developed under the watchful eye of Sepp
Ruschp, Stowe’s first ski school director, the
Barre/Montpelier
upper mountain was designed to evoke the
On the Barre Montpelier Road
ambience of the high alpine pastures of
1400 US Route 302 • (802) 476-3175
Ruschp’s native Alps. Most days, the “big
pig,” as locals call it, doesn’t fall far short.
Shop anytime at
www.peterglenn.com
Not shy, I repeatedly go to the trough for
oversized helpings of day-old fluff.
Still hungry, but this time for lunch, we
shuttle back over to the Midway Lodge at
the bottom of the gondola. Until the Spruce
development takes shape, this is where the
cognoscenti take refuge on busy weekends.
FOR:
Fortified by a couple of tasty burritos, we’re
FAMILY
SPORTS
ready to get back to business.
INDUSTRY
Like other high peaks, Mansfield has a
way of generating its own microclimate, a
PHILIP L. SWEET, P.T.
phenomenon that sometimes leads to macro
MARY CHUDZIK, P.T.
snowfalls (300-plus inches annually, on aver-
age). Today, though, the clouds only send us
scurrying for the comforts of the hotel. It’s
1878 Mountain Road #1,Stowe Medical Center
not a bad fate, considering we’re staying at
Stowe,VT 05672
the Stoweflake, a luxurious full-service
Phone: 802.253.2273 Fax: 802.253.7754
resort and spa on the Mountain Road.
psweet@zoo.uvm.edu www.impaccusa.com
After a spa treatment that quickly amelio-
rates a ski-day’s worth of aches, I settle into
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