Capturing the Moment

  The cliff house sits secluded, near the top of Mount Mansfield, surrounded by a winter wonderland. Stowe, Vermont. Day 2 on the slopes here in beautiful Stowe, Vermont. The crowd was almost nonexistent today, as I casually snowboarded right onto the lift, again and again. I often had my own lift ride up, even though it is a four person lift. I think I had a smile on my face all morning. The temperatures were in the teens and low twenties, which meant that all the snow is still there. And the winds were very light, until you got to the summit, and even then not too bad. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Before my first run, I had to stop at the Octagon to take some of these pictures. The entire area about Mount Mansfield and Spruce Mountain has turned into a winter wonderland. I love looking out into the notch, where just a few months ago people flocked to see all the bright yellow and orange foliage. Now its closed for the winter and also covered in snow. But my favorite vie...

  Opening day and the stoke is real! They were all saying, 'winter is coming.' But not anymore, because winter is here! Today was opening day at the Stowe Mountain Resort. Skiers and snowboarders lined up early in the morning to get their first ride of the winter. The excitement levels have increased over the last two days because of new snow falling on the mountain. Added to all the man-made snow things were looking pretty good! The beautiful town of Stowe, Vermont. I got to the mountain a little before the first lift opened at 9am. They were still handing out breakfast sandwiches. I think I got the second to last one, and scarfed it down while I waited in the lift line. At the end of last season I was injured with a sprained ankle, so I missed a few days at the mountain, so I was extra hungry to get up there this morning. The sandwich helped hit the spot. I joined the opening celebration with free breakfast sandwiches! The parking lot was packed with folks as eager as me. The...

  2021 started off pretty busy for us in our newly eganged household. We were in Stowe, VT with Catalina (about to turn 3) and Fisher (about to turn 1 1/2). Heidi had just gone through hip surgery so she was in serious rehab, using crutches to get around. Fisher still crawled in bed to nurse with her and Catalina would crawl in bed to read. Otherwise the kids were with me. The snow was very fun for them at first but soon became too deep for them to move. Their little patagonia snow suits kept them warm for strolls, but even the stroller had to be switched out for a sled.       With all of this going on I figured I wouldn't get to use my Bash Badge pass for snowboarding at Smugglers Notch, but as Heidi got her mobility back and lost the crutches, and with the help of her parents watching the kids, I was actually able to get 8 days in on the slopes. A few days were almost emtpy and I experienced all kinds of conditions, from fresh powder to nicely groomed. I think...