Mt. Snow

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Located in West Dover Vermont, Mount Snow has become a great destination for local Vermonters. It is Southern Vermont’s closest resort to Manhattan, which draws in not only a fair share of New Yorkers, but also families, younger riders and skiers from all over.

Mount Snow is known for hosting past X-Games and Dew Tour events for both skiing and snowboarding among other snow events. One of the biggest and best improvements is has had is the addition of 251 snow-fans to blow out a ton of fresh snow when Mother Nature is not cooperating. For the fun-loving jibbers and air grabbers, Mount Snow has turned the Haystack area into Carinthia, a freestyle terrain park dedicated to people who like a little airtime in their snow sliding adventure.

Mount Snow is broken up into 4 areas: Main Mountain, North Face a.k.a. the backside, Sunbrook and the fore mentioned Carinthia. The entire mountain is excellent for intermediates and advanced skiers or borders. Upon arrival to the Main base area grab your ticket and head up the Grand Summit Express to the top of the hill. Once at the peak of Mount Snow (3600 ft) you have numerous ways to choose to head down or you can just take a break and sample the full service Summit Lodge for a quick snack or lunch if you are just getting started on your half-day adventure. Once situated, you can head down the North Face serviced by 2 lifts with an excellent array of intermediate slopes - it is never too crowded with most people staying on the main mountain area. From the summit, you can also head down through the Sunbrook area to Carinthia.

Carinthia is full of hits, rails and all sorts of hidden-jibs-in-the-woods and off-to-the-side-of-trails that are great for both youthful and mature snow sliders. A word of note to newbies at Carinthia, it’s wise to take a mellow run through and checkout all the features before embarking on the scene full force. Some of Carinthia’s features are obvious in size and skill level, but there also exists various features that move around and sometimes are right in the middle of a run (so be aware). Carinthia also sports a super half pipe 460 feet with 18-foot walls, also a smaller mini pipe to work your way up to the big guy. If you get hungry at Carinthia there is also a lodge with a cafeteria and a small gear shop you can stop at. When at Carinthia make sure to head to the to top via Nitro Express Quad and shoot down the back for a nice powder stash, then up the Beartrap double to a great mogul run equipped with its own sound system!

One of the great things about Mount Snow its variety of off-hill activities. The Snow Barn right in the middle of the resort, near the Pond and Snow Lake Lodge has an excellent après ski scene. Round up the kids and bring them over for a heaping pile of nachos and enjoy sitting around the 70’s style orange circular fireplace. The Snow Barn morphs into a great nightlife spot after 8pm, attracting a younger crowd of locals and travelers to its range of excellent musical acts.

If you aren’t into the après ski scene but still want to grab a great meal before heading home or back to your room, look no further than route 100. Turn right out of the resort and you will find many dining options including the Silo Restaurant, with its excellent steak, salad and kids menu, or Dot’s Diner with its casual home-style meals and reasonable prices.

If it’s lodging you need, then Mount Snow’s got the answer with many different lodging packages to choose from. You could go with the higher end slope-side lift access Grand Summit Resort, or with a variety of different condos and inns nearby.

So if you consider yourself a decent skier or rider, then Mount Snow in Southern Vermont is a great place to learn a few tricks and sharpen your skills to become more advanced.

*photo courtesy of Mount Snow