You Take Your Car, I Take My Skis

I just finished checking in with my staff for the night and grabbed one pair of the employee backcountry skis. I walked out the door of the Nordic Center and proceed down Broadway. At the intersection of Teardrop I noticed the sky began to turn a beautiful pink hue with the mountains in the background. I continued down past the historic Bolton lodge, then all the way down to the “S” turn on the BV access road.

Once I crossed the street to the Catamount Trail, I knew by the ski boundary sign that I was leaving the boundaries of Bolton Valley Nordic area*. Fortunately, the Catamount Trail is very well marked, the snow was plentiful and I knew exactly where I was going. I crossed Joiner Brook later at the snowmobile bridge and stayed on the snowmobile tracks until I noticed a trail with ski track on it. I followed it a unfortunately fell a few inches into a running stream. Those kinds of things can happen when you leave ski area boundaries, but I was well prepared.

After about 2 minutes of banging and scraping my skies together I clipped them back on and proceeded to the trail in front of me. I came out on the switchback and after about five minutes of gliding and pushing, I ended my run at the Smiley School parking lot and walked up the road to my house at the bottom of the Access Road.

What an inspiring and thrilling ski down the mountain, and an amazing commute home.

-Nordic Wes

For updated news, weather & conditions in our Nordic and Backcountry trails, view our Nordic Snow Report, which is updated twice daily.

*Remember, trails outside the resort boundary are not marked, patrolled or groomed by Bolton Valley. There may be hazards under the snow like streams or rocks. When venturing into the backcountry, always be prepared with adequate gear and stick to the Catamount Trail.