I want a Stowe pass...

[awf170]

Basically just because of this picture:

I guess these don't really hurt either:

 

[snoseek]

me too!

 

[Zand]

You're killing me Austin.

 

[Marc]

WTF dude. You have an unfair advantage: student pricing.



Do you think they'd take my Audi in trade for a season pass? Probably wouldn't be enough.

 

[thetrailboss]

Am considering a Stowe pass as well, which is three passes for students:

* A blackout adult pass.
* A night ski pass (for Saturdays).
* A Stowe Nordic Center pass.

Price is a bit hefty though....

 

[bvibert]

A higher res version of that second pic was my desktop for a while. They're all pretty sweet though!

 

[rachelv]

Those are amazing.

Stowe is one of the mountains we're going to try to make some weekend trips to this year as a possible alternative to Killington. Those pics are helping me convince myself that the drive's not that much worse.

 

[thetrailboss]

Those are amazing.

Stowe is one of the mountains we're going to try to make some weekend trips to this year as a possible alternative to Killington. Those pics are helping me convince myself that the drive's not that much worse.

It is a very exclusive and very expensive resort. The skiing alone though is very good...both of my visits in 2006 were very good. Some other nearby alternatives include Bolton and Sugarbush.

One interesting note is that MRG and Stowe are closely related because Roland Palmedo started both of them.

 

[Marc]

Yeah, after looking at the pass prices, I think the majority of my turns at Stowe will be had under my own gravity defeating power, thank you very much.

 

[JohnGD33]

Smuggs is great too. Once you get over the slow lifts.

 

[thetrailboss]

Smuggs is great too. Once you get over the slow lifts.

VERY true. Thanks for mentioning that...we often forget about Smuggs. We are trying to get them to take our AZ Challenge this season.

 

[awf170]

Yeah, after looking at the pass prices, I think the majority of my turns at Stowe will be had under my own gravity defeating power, thank you very much.

Mine will be too. The MRG/Jay pass is such a better deal. Hiking Stowe isn't that bad anyway since the long trail is a perfect grade for skinning, then after that you won't be going all the way down to the base. JD lives there and does it, so it can't be that bad.

 

[thetrailboss]

Mine will be too. The MRG/Jay pass is such a better deal. Hiking Stowe isn't that bad anyway since the long trail is a perfect grade for skinning, then after that you won't be going all the way down to the base. JD lives there and does it, so it can't be that bad.

Having hiked the LT in the summer, the northern end is quite steep out of Smuggler's Notch. Are you coming up to the LT from a connector trail?

 

[BeanoNYC]

It is a very exclusive and very expensive resort. The skiing alone though is very good...both of my visits in 2006 were very good. Some other nearby alternatives include Bolton and Sugarbush.

One interesting note is that MRG and Stowe are closely related because Roland Palmedo started both of them.

If my memory serves me correctly, I think nosedive and toll road were cut out during the great depression by the ccc. Thanks FDR!

 

[bvibert]

If my memory serves me correctly, I think nosedive and toll road were cut out during the great depression by the ccc. Thanks FDR!

I believe you're correct. There are definitely trails cut by the CCC there.

 

[Marc]

Mine will be too. The MRG/Jay pass is such a better deal. Hiking Stowe isn't that bad anyway since the long trail is a perfect grade for skinning, then after that you won't be going all the way down to the base. JD lives there and does it, so it can't be that bad.

You can skin up the Bruce too, can't you?

 

[Marc]

I believe you're correct. There are definitely trails cut by the CCC there.

Yeah, I forgot about the toll road. Couldn't you skin up that too?

 

[BeanoNYC]

Yeah, I forgot about the toll road. Couldn't you skin up that too?

It isn't steep at all; I would say you could.

 

[BeanoNYC]

From this article. I guess Toll Road was built before these trails and served to help the logistics of cutting the trails. I'll try to find out more information.

Mount Mansfield has been a popular tourist destination and resort area dating back to 1863 when it hosted a number of summer resorts. Many of the accomplishments within the forests around Mount Mansfield can be attributed to Perry Merrill who was the Commissioner of Forestry in Vermont and selected the site at the base of the Toll Road, no doubt influenced by his passion for skiing, a skill he developed in 1924 as a student in Europe.

The CCC workers based at the Stowe side camp were responsible for cutting numerous ski trails on all sides of Mount Mansfield. This fact was due largely in part to the avid ski passions of Vermont’s CCC leader, Perry Merrill and engineer Charlie Lord.

Under Merrill’s direction the CCC cut some of New England’s most famous ski runs on Mount Mansfield, including the Nose Dive, Teardrop, Bruce, Ski Meister, Perry Merrill, and Charlie Lord trails. Charlie Lord was the master designer of the CCC trails on Mount Mansfield and deserves much of the credit for blazing some of the most enduring runs of quality and popularity in New England. Although few of the CCC men were themselves skiers, a sport of the middle and upper class, they were quoted as being " quite enthused about skiing" and enjoyed the new use of these trails, which ushered in a new era of downhill skiing. Many of these trails have been incorporated into the Stowe downhill ski area that thrives on the north side of Mount Mansfield, in full view from the Ski Dorm. Much of the history of skiing on Mount Mansfield and indeed New England, can be found in the history of these trails that were blazed by the men based at the Stowe CCC side camp, now Ski Dorm. These two men together, Merrill and Lord, were major catalysts for the development of the elaborate, visionary trail systems on Mount Mansfield, ushering in the skiing future of the region and the lifeblood of the town of Stowe. This has enabled the once side camp to function for over 50 years as a ski dormitory.

[EDIT: Some more information from here. See what happens when a History Teacher is off for the summer?

The best way to see the mountain is on foot, and the only way to get to the summit is by walking up, but there are a few ways to cheat.

Driving up the Auto Toll Road is one option. Climbing 4.5 miles on a gravel surface, the Toll Road will drop you off just under the Nose. Built between 1851 and 1858, the Toll Road ends at a parking lot just below the Green Mountain Club's Visitor Center. The Visitor Center sits on the former site of the Summit House, a grand hotel that closed 100 years after it opened. In 1857, the Summit House was built near the current site of the Octagon, and was then moved to the Visitor Center location a year later. On July 18, 1875, the register lists "Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.,” a guest who was then 16 and later became the 26th president of the United States.

Between 1851 and 1853 a section of the Toll Road spanned a 100-yard chasm (about 3 miles up) by means of a long log trestle. The trees that formed this bridge were simply cut down, stripped of their branches, and laid next to each other like cigars in a box. This corduroyed section; no doubt jarring to the wagonloads of people ascending the Toll Road was nicknamed the "Pole Bridge Hill". Modern drivers thankfully avoid the Pole Bridge, but caution should still be used while driving up and down. The road is steep and curvy in places, and takes 15-20 minutes to get to the top.

 

[thetrailboss]

I believe you're correct. There are definitely trails cut by the CCC there.

Yes they were.

Roland Palmedo and other investors started the lift operation (Mount Mansfield Corporation). When he got turned off by the direction of the resort, he left and founded MRG because it was more of a "purist" destination. Hasn't changed.