Just noticed that Air Tran is having a sale. BWI to Burlington VT $49 each way (plus taxes and baggage fees).

What resorts are in VT that would be close to Burlington, say within an hour, and that should be mostly open by mid Dec?

Sale lasts till tomorrow, travel by 12/17. Driving would be at least $100. Tickets for 2 about $250 nonstop.

I was thinking maybe Wisp in early Dec but VT would be way better.

Steve

Within an hour? I am partial to Jay, but that is just me. Stowe would be the safest bet, with Smuggs a close 2nd.

Steve, here's the deal:

Stowe is scheduled to open by 22 November. One of the birthplaces of skiing and simply a class place. About 45 minutes. http://www.stowe.com/winter.php

Smugglers Notch on the other side of Stowe: Projected opening 28 November. An hour from BTV. VERY family place. My College ski place. http://www.smuggs.com/ NOTE: Route 108 between the two resorts is closed and unplowed in the winter, so they are half a mile and two hours away from each other.

Sugarbush: An hour away same direction as Stowe. http://www.sugarbush.com/ Should also open Thanksgiving weekend

Mad River Glen: Right near Sugarbush, about an hour and so from BTV. http://www.madriverglen.com/ A Ski cooperative complete with Grateful Dead music, folks with John Lennon eyeglasses, and liberal people with Greenpeace, Bernie Sanders, and ACLU bumper stickers. And real skiing like it was before the ski industry. Boarders are verbotten.

Bolton Valley: http://www.boltonvalley.com/ Scarcely half an hour from BTV. Smaller than Stowe. Opening on 6 December.

Middlebury Ski Bowl: Part of Middlebury College and just over an hour. Opening sometime in December.

I'd say go Jay. The best terrain in VT is natural snow (the way it ought to be). MRG is almost all natural snow, and as great as that place is without the snow base it's probably not worth it. Bolton is close in.

Heck, you know what, just go and see where the snow's falling, that's the best thing to do!

I agree that Jay Peak has the best snow, but its location in Montgomery Center can be two to three hours from BTV in the winter. Something to consider... Sometimes in winter, it is easier to fly to Montreal and take the Canadian 10 route that drops you right north of Jay, than to go from BTV via Route 15 and 108, which can be a nightmare.

Hhmmmm....$45each way?

Fly in the nite before & make the short drive on all Interstate Hwys to either St. Albans (Jay) or Waterbury (Stowe, MRG, Sugarbush). Hopefully, the next morning you'll get to drive the rest of the way in a freaking blizzard.

45 bucks....hmmm.

Man, you guys make this hard. Jay, Stowe, Smuggs, Sugerbush and MRG are reasonable distances from Burlington, which is drive able by car and cheap by air. Then why am I so fixated on CO? I need to get out more.

The key question becomes, will there be snow that early. I don't think I will be able to jump on this, I just paid the deposits at SS and 7S. But it sure is nice to think about.

Steve

I'm at home anywhere in Vermont. Went to College and still have tons of friends up there. It really is a way of life. Then there's the other stuff. Cabot Cooperative where you get some amazing cheese. Morse Farm right outside of Montpelier for some awesome maple syrup. Ben and Jerrys in Waterbury. As far as skiing, Jay Peak and Stowe/Sugarbush will guarantee snow. Actually Killington gets more snow than Stowe. But I'd much rather be at Stowe. Totally classy place.

Stowe has night skiing off the gondola for the true hard core looking for hours of slope time per $. Have dinner up top and ski down. In December it will probally not be sub zero!

DO EET, wuts with the doubt; it's only time and money, ski teh big mountains DO EET DO EET

I'd steer clear of MRG that early in the year, and I agree with Lou, if the roads are bad Jay is too far (and SB would be as well).

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DO EET, wuts with the doubt; it's only time and money, ski teh big mountains DO EET DO EET [/quote]

Yeah baby, only time and money. Somehow money has become such a big topic at my house in the last couple of weeks. Don't really know why! It couldn't be the new Atomic Hawx boots I came home with last weekend could it? Jeez, that's about the cost of this trip!

Steve

OMG! Jimmy and I agree!!! Yes, do it! It will feel good. Much better than a flu shot...
I'll be headed to Stowe this year in early Feb. Hope to do Sugarbush too and maybe MRG.

As far as going to Jay: Once past BTV going North on I-89 past Winooski and Mallets Bay (if I remember right it was exit 17 where you go over Route 2), all the way to St Albans, the interstate is as flat as Kansas with the winds from Lake Champlain just blowing. If you get a bad winter storm, you're in trouble. My favorite route was 15 to 108, past my old Alma Mater (St Mike's) as you are in mountain valleys with some cover. I-89 can get scary.

Steve,

Don't forget the charge for your second checked bag (skis), Air Trans charges $25 each way. So add another $100 to the ticket cost for the two of you. It's getting cheaper by the day to drive.

A couple of years back Enosburg Falls, one of the little towns you pass through on the way to Jay reported a temperature of -48F, ambient, not wind chill. I love Jay but for those willing to go off piste and do some climbing Mansfield (Stowe) is in a class by itself. The 'climber's gulley' begins 100 feet from the gondola top station and rises ~ 700 vertical feet to the ridge line near the Chin, the highest point on the mountain. I've done a little skiing up there. The gulley itself is a great run and a safe one in white out or severe weather which is not uncommon. On a clear day it is extremely scenic. You'd swear you were in the west. Stowe has often printed brochures with pictures of skiing up there, recognizable because you can see the roof of the gondola top station in the picture. Lower down there are several entrances to the woods on the skier's left of Chin Clip. If you look with a sharp eye you'll see them. Go out a long way, the close in stuff offers several traps, one a particularly nasty brush clogged stream bed. Ski down to Rt. 108, turn right and ski the unplowed road back to the gondola. Bypass, which begins about 3 switchbacks down Nosedive accesses some great woods. The further you traverse out the steeper and hairier it gets; you'll see tracks in places where it boggles the mind that anybody could ski. This area is called the kitchen wall.

I like Mad River best in the east for the on the map runs. They also have great stuff off the map but not as great as Mansfield. My big 5 are Stowe, Mad River, Smuggs, Sugarbush and Jay.

I know we all fail to do this when we compare the cost of flying vs. driving, but don't forget the real cost of driving.
When turning in a travel voucher today, assuming you have driven, you are reimbursed nearly 60 cents a mile. Multiply that by the approx. 900 miles roundtrip to Burnington and the actual cost of driving is $540. This is what you should compare to traveling by air, with rental cars if necessary. Do not forget to include ease and time driving, especially if an extra day of leave is required.
The Colonel

Please explain this travel voucher your talkin about Colonol...Is that a Gov't worker thing?..

There is great fishing on Lake Champlain for Brown,Rainbow,Lake Trout & you can catch Landlocked Salmon,Northern pike, bass & Walleye!!

Denis,

Been out beyond the bench at Stowe numerous times. Lots of different lines and untracked pow out there. We need to set up a DCski VT trip this season.

All I am talking about is when one files for official use mileage reimbursement because they drove their personal vehicle, whether with a private employer or a government agency, the mileage is usually multiplied by a figure that represents the "approximate cost to drive a private vehicle (depreciation, insurance, wear and tear, maintenance, taxes, plates, etc.". And this amount is the reimbursable amount. That average cost to drive a personal car a mile is now nearly 60 cents.
Thus at 60 cents times 900 miles the real cost of driving from Washington to Burlington roundtrip is $540.

The Colonel

Thats a very generous voucher...I could do the trip for a 3rd of that...The tolls on that trip would add a little..anyway, we are talking an 8 hour drive vs about 5 hours of time it takes for the flying process which also would mean renting a car...I'd rather just drive!

I was looking into flying up to Upstate NY to ski at Whiteface for this T-giving & from Wilmington,nc to Albany the tickets would have cast me & Halfski $340 a piece & then we would have had to rent a car for another $200 & still have to drive a couple of hours...All that & it could end up raining on us..I'm going to wait untill I know the conditions will be worth it & then We will drive up there which will take about $300 in gas + exp (SUV)...There is freedom in driving.