In honor of the dumping Vermont just received… and I wish I could fly home this second to enjoy it all!
I lived in Vermont my entire life (well, all up until I decided to move when I was 23 – crazy). Anyway, one would think that growing up in Vermont and having access to all that powdery goodness I would’ve started snowboarding or skiing at a young age, but I didn’t – that was my brother 🙂 I was the one that could be found snowmobiling any night of the week with my dad and his friends. Then college came and my senior year I decided to give snowboarding a go.
I went to Champlain College, they had a deal with Bolton Valley. The first time I went, I borrowed a board from one of my friends, bought some cheap boots from a second hand sports store and crossed my fingers. We skipped right over the bunny hill and went right to the top of the mountain. Two hours later, I made it back down to the base. Yea, that’s right, two hours. I was on my butt for most of the trip down, went flying over the side of the bank, went flying head first, probably cursed a little, laughed a little too. The worst part was having my friends sit and wait for me but they are so awesome they just kept encouraging me the entire way. At the end of the day, I was addicted and ready to go back for more.
Snowboarding isn’t easy. Personally, I think skiing would be a lot harder, I guess it’s just all up for preference and I would rather have both my feet strapped into one board. I ended up getting seasons passes, going up with my friends every weekend, going by myself every second that I could get, even calling in on the days where the powder just came down. There is NOTHING like a good powder / blizzard day.
Overtime, my “skills” improved from “lack of” to being able to link my turns. Looking back, we had some wicked times at Bolton. They provide night riding which is something that not a lot of resorts offer. They are super close to Burlington, making the perfect day getting up early to hit the mountain and then hitting up Church Street later that night. It’s where we decided to try hitting some jumps and rails, trying to ride in the woods (and getting stuck in waist deep powder) and sticking to the left side of the mountain. (This was the side of the mountain where no one seemed to go (for some weird reason but we were so thankful), where it was always ungroomed trails. There is nothing like carving the first trail in untouched snow.
Bolton is a great small resort. Good food, good atmosphere and if you are from the area you will typically run into someone that you know and the lift ticket prices are decent. There are lessons for all skill levels and ages (don’t worry the five year olds will make sure to show you up!).
I must say I’m also pretty annoyed for the few years I was living in VT I never took advantage of snowboarding or skiing (which I regret now). But I did have a chance to go back and try snowboarding at Okemo and loved it! (Although I could use some practice!) I wish I could go back!!!