The verdict is in, and this is going to be the best winter ever. Up here at 2,100 feet, we’re all excited to ski with our old friends and have a blast in the Northern Vermont Outdoors. Surfaces are waxed, edges are tuned, zippers are repaired, goggles are see-through-able enough for another year (nice), and everybody is ready to do the whole thing all over again. In just a short matter of weeks, the summer fun has fully transitioned operations and scaled up for the excitement of winter.
The mountain is abuzz with people zipping about (often on our new Taiga electric snowmobiles). Ski Patrol and Mountain Operations continue to perform all the crucial tasks that keep the moving parts in place. There’s nothing quite like the changing of the seasons at a ski resort. Triple-tray mountain bike lifts are replaced with passenger chairlifts through the expert finessing of yellow machines as the bike shop is packed away in lieu of a cafe area for folks who will soon arrive in waves of click-clacking ski boots. There’s a back-to-school excitement around the base as the new employees join ranks of Lift Operations and Ski School, making connections with their peers from an all-too-small Vermont Ski scene and filling up their schedules for the busy winter season. Time for the riders.
There were clear skies all weekend after a long stretch of those sweet sweet snow-making temperatures, which is exactly what we were hoping for to get us started strong this year. The natural snow on top was just a welcome little bonus, stirring the pot even further for everyone waiting for their first laps. Mighty Mite, Mid-Mountain and Snowflake started us off with the first 3 days of this winter, and the surface was dreamy. The park scene has kicked off fully with Hideaway Terrain Park playing epicenter for the more trick-inclined skiers and riders on the hill. There were people pushing themselves to learn new tricks right out of the gate, there were those getting their legs back and warming up slowly, and there were others still who got their first few spills out of the way early on.
The bottom line is, everybody’s excited. We’re making more snow this year. The new Timberline Lodge is serving free coffee on weekend mornings, and has a bar with Italian food-service in the afternoons. There will be Live Music on Wednesdays and Saturdays all winter long in the James Moore Tavern and Fireside. There’s a lot going on this year to look forward to and frankly we’re just ready to get it started!