Mount Mansfield and Stowe, Vermont

During this dark afternoon of frozen rain, I reflect upon a bitter-but-beautiful day at Stowe this week past. We drove North on 89, passing by covered bridges, abandoned barns, frozen ponds and many mountains high, including 'Camel's Hump'. Stowe was a pleasant enough town, still adorned in its Christmas attire, though near idle without the usual hoards of skiers.

Stowe Mountain resort resides on Mount Mansfield, the tallest mountain in Vermont at 4395ft above sea level, and has been skied on for over 100 years. In 1913 "three resident Swedish families took to traveling around town on long wooden boards with upturned ends. This new form of transportation piqued the curiosity of the local citizenry. It did not take long for many townspeople to become hooked on this strange new sport, and skiing found a home in Stowe."

Though the snowfall has been unusually low this winter in Vermont, the ski resorts continue to run. We made our way up the steep mountain road to the resort, gazing up at the sun-lit mountain side, as we peered out at the many ant-sized humans making their way down the trail, winding back and forth. The road that would continue over the mountain through Smugglers' Notch was closed for winter, so we made our way back down and to Waterbury to eat!