Catamount: Into the Clouds

Lately, my kids have been showing less patience with my early morning ski day routine. Even worse then that, dragging them out of bed has been negatively affecting their staying power on the slopes. On our last couple of trips, they’ve been crying uncle early — to the point that we’ve quit by 2 PM.

sleeping skier

I figured the situation called for a little parental flexibility, so this time I tried something new, letting them sleep while I booted up and got ready for the lifts to spin. I figured an extra hour of sleep might make a big difference.

When I pulled into the lot at Catamount on Saturday I was greeted by a mountain wrapped in pea soup. I was also greeted by Rich Edwards, Catamount’s “Marketing Director.”

Continue reading

Bolton Valley: Vermont’s ATV Indy

Thanks to some strategic scheduling, I found myself in northern Vermont with some free time on Friday. After talking with Harvey and checking the Indy Pass resort list, I loaded up my car early and made the short trip to Bolton Valley.

As I approached, I started getting excited. It’s the kind of mountain road that feels like it will lead you to a promised land. Bolton reveals itself slowly; a few miles up the access road, you’ll pass the quaint Timberline Lodge. I continued on to the base lodge a few minutes further up.

Rolling in to the main base area, I saw other early-bird AT skiers. Bolton has a friendly uphill policy, and quite a few locals take advantage of it for early morning workouts.

Continue reading

Berkshire East: Another New Frontier

I got a third day on my Indy Pass last Saturday at Berkshire East in Massachusetts. It got me thinking: multi-resort passes are appealling to me for three reasons.

young skier

The economics are paramount, of course. The price, divided by the number of days you’re hoping to ski, is compared to the window price for all those days. For my Freedom Pass or Max Pass, I needed ten days of skiing to break even. For the Indy Pass, it’s five or six.

Second is skiing hills I know and love. That’s the hook. Last year, I had a Freedom Pass through my Plattekill season pass. The year before I had a Max Pass. I loved several of the Max Pass hills including Whiteface, Gore, Killington and Pico. Both passes felt like a safe purchase.

Continue reading