Skiing

With direct service from San Fran and Atlanta, much of the country already knows about the big skiing at Big Sky. Add neighboring Moonlight Basin, connected by trails from Big Sky, and you have 5,532 skiable acres, more than any other ski area in America, including Vail. The ski area has just received a grant to help implement direct service to Bozeman from New York’s JFK. Many northeasterners already head to Big Sky, lured by the lack of lift lines (there’s less than 100,000 people in a 100-mile radius) and the 4,350 vertical with the last bit of stretch up Lone Mountain (elevation 11,166 feet) reached by a tram. Add the proximity to Yellowstone National Park in the serene winter months, less than an hour’s drive and easily accessible on a day tour, and you have one of the country’s best winter experiences. New this ski season is five new gladed runs off the Ramcharger chairlift.
 

The Park City ski area has had a lot of changes over this past year, with the opening of the new Montage resort in Deer Valley and the unveiling of both the Waldorf Astoria Park City and Hyatt Escala Lodge at Canyons ski area. But my favorite debut is the first distillery to open in Utah since Prohibition, High West Distillery and Saloon. One snifter of the small-batch rye whiskey and you might suddenly have that extra edge you need to attempt that black diamond trail. Remember it’s the whiskey talking, son, so don’t do anything rash.
 

With a chill in the air and the leaves starting to change color in Boston, I’m going to preview the ski season this week on ActiveTravels. First up is the website Liftopia. What Liftopia does is simply offer deals at over 150 ski resorts in America. Pick the date and ski area you’re headed to and you could get a serious reduction on the price of a lift ticket. So much in fact that it should always be your first stop before heading to the mountain. For example, this week they’re offering 40% off the early season pass at Utah’s Snowbird, 78% off a lift ticket at Colorado’s Monarch Mountain, and 61% off Bolton Valley in Vermont. You can also follow them on Twitter @liftopia.
 

The Northeast has received more than its fair share of snow this winter. In fact, Boston is set to receive another 2-4 inches this evening. I’ve taken this opportunity to x-c ski at three of my favorite spots in New England. In January, I celebrated my wife’s birthday by skiing in the Berkshires at a Trustees of Reservations property called Notchview. While researching my first book, Outside Magazine’s Adventure Guide to New England, I skied at Notchview and remembered it being one of the premier spots for the sport. Upon my return trip, it was even more magical, with a healthy dumping of fresh snow creating a winter wonderland of bent pine branches. This past weekend, my family stayed at the historic Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire. On Sunday, under clear blue skies, I took my daughter and nephew for a morning jaunt on the web of trails found at the Bretton Woods Nordic Center. Mount Washington and its broad-shouldered slopes and snowcapped peak could be seen in its entirety, not wrapped in any clouds, which is a rarity in these parts. It was another glorious outing smelling the pines while cruising along a stream. This coming weekend, we’re off to Stowe, Vermont, to cross-country ski at Trapp Family Lodge during the height of the maple sugar season (see the best trips of the month section to the right of this entry). I look forward to tackling the Parizo Trail once again and having my bowl of soup in the cozy cabin. For dessert, I’ll try the homemade maple taffy.
 

Ski Vermont has teamed up with Insider Network to develop a new app that offers skiers and boarders exclusive deals and discounts based on where they like to ski in the state. So far, Killington, Mad River Glen, Mount Snow, Okemo, Smugglers’ Notch, Stowe, Stratton, Sugarbush, and Suicide Six are participating in the Ski Vermont Insider. The latest snowfall and trail openings, lodging and après-ski deals, two-for-one lift tickets, ski rental discounts, even a chance to win a free ski pass for next season are currently being offered. The app launched in January.
 

Last Friday, my wife and I headed to the Berkshires in the western part of Massachusetts to check out the incredibly detailed 500 year-old prints of Albrecht Durer at the Clark Art Museum and the wildly inventive bird and flower sculptures of Petah Coyne at Mass MoCA. The highlight of our trip, however, was cross-country skiing on the grounds of the exquisite Notchview in Windsor. Run by the Trustees of Reservations, Notchview’s trails were groomed with a fresh layer of powder when we arrived. We went counter-clockwise on the Circuit Trail, passing meadows and skiing under a tunnel of snowed-under pines. The web of white branches kept us snug within the forest, protecting us from any wind. After passing a small shelter, we turned onto the Whitestone Trail and entered a winter wonderland of uprooted trees and branches arching over the serpentine path. A downhill run brought us back to the main lodge, invigorated by the fresh smell of pine and the exercise. To top it off, we went to the Old Creamery in Cummington, a favorite local haunt that features homemade soups, grilled panini sandwiches, salads, and pies. The perfect ending to a perfect outing.
 

If you just saw Shaun White nail his signature Double McTwist to snag gold once again at the Winter X Games and want to see the Flying Tomato do it live, head to Vermont for the 27th U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships. Held March 7-13, the competition takes place at Stratton Mountain Resort, the spot that put snowboarding on the map. This is where Jake Burton first tried the sport and where a young Lindsey Jacobellis took up boarding after her family’s vacation house caught fire, burning all of the ski equipment. Cheer them on, but don’t just be a spectator. There’s a reason why Ski Magazine has voted Stratton the best terrain parks in the east for the past decade. Little rippers can test their freestyle skills on Burton’s Parkway, a kid-friendly area built with the novice in mind. One step larger than Parkway is Tyrolienne, featuring neophyte table-tops to catch air, and wider, lower rails to start grinding. Once you’ve mastered Tyrolienne, it’s on to Old Smoothie for challenging table tops and rails, much higher off the ground. Check out the jumps first or you’ll be doing some serious face plants.
 

When I was researching my first book, “Outside Magazine’s Adventure Guide to New England,” in 1995, I assembled quite a collection of books on the region. Two books in particular, “Maine: An Explorer’s Guide” by Christina Tree and “Classic Backcountry Skiing” by David Goodman stood out among the rest. Both authors went far beyond the norm to delve into their subject, introducing me to areas of New England I would have never found. Now Goodman has revised his book and come out with a new edition titled “Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski Tours in New England and New York,” published by AMC Books. Included in the book are a detailed account of the  CCC Trails on the backside of Mount Mansfield, including Bruce, Teardrop, and Skytop, hand-cut serpentine trails that Goodman considers the “gold standard of backcountry skiing.” Goodman finally gets to cross Lake Champlain and taste the terrain of the Adirondacks, like the 35-mile wonder, the Jackrabbit Trail, that connects Saranac Lake with Lake Placid. He also delves into the carriage path trails at Acadia National Park in winter, one of my favorite spots to backcountry ski, and the emerging AMC sporting camps network in the 100-Mile Wilderness section of Maine’s North Woods. The book is a must for any skier who likes to carve their turns away from the crowds, where the only spectators lining your trails are tall pines and birches.
 

Lake Tahoe resorts are currently boasting the deepest season-to-date snowpack levels since they began keeping records more than a half century ago. Thanks to the snowiest early season on record, skiers and snowboarders have been enjoying powder conditions on almost a daily basis with over 25 feet of snow already blanketing the slopes of the Sierras. This winter’s bountiful snowfall has been attributed to a powerful La Nina weather pattern off the Pacific Coast, with Lake Tahoe’s ideal location channeling powerful winter storms into deep powder. While you’re in the area, check out the latest developments at Northstar-at-Tahoe. The same Ritz-Carlton team that helped transform Colorado’s Beaver Creek from Vail’s forgotten little sister into one of the finest family-friendly mountains in the country has descended on Northstar. A Ritz made its debut December 2009 mid-mountain, surrounded by a greatly expanded teaching area and a new Burton Snowboard Academy. If they have the same success as their Colorado cousin, expect Northstar to rise out of the shadows and challenge Squaw Creek and Heavenly as one of Tahoe’s premier ski areas.

Since Boston just got walloped with another winter nor’easter, dropping more than 15 inches of snow, I thought I’d devote this week to winter adventure in New England. First up, three wonderful cross-country ski areas:

Grafton Ponds
Grafton Ponds is one of the few cross-country ski centers in New England that provides snowmaking (a 5 km loop). If there’s already decent snow coverage, head from the center’s main lodge up through the dense forest on 30 kilometers of groomed trails. Make it to Big Bear Shelter atop the ridge and your reward is a cup of piping hot chocolate and views of the village of Grafton below.

Blueberry Hill
Lost within the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, 12 miles down the road from Middlebury, is the classic Vermont inn and cross-country ski center, Blueberry Hill, celebrating its 40th season in 2011. The 50 kilometers of groomed trails include the highest run in the state, at an elevation over 3,000 feet, and gentler routes through the pines.

Jackson Ski Touring Foundation
With over 150 kilometers of trails, Jackson Ski Touring Foundation is the largest cross-country skiing network in the northeast.  Novices can opt for the easy Ellis River Trail, which borders a babbling brook as it heads into the forest, while more experienced skiers should sample the challenging Wildcat Valley Trail, a classic 1930s throwback that slides steeply down the backside of the Wildcat ski area to the town of Jackson. Or take the Groomed Trail Challenge on February 12th, where avid x-c skiers try to do as much of the network as possible in an eleven-hour day.