Two weeks ago, I went the lazy route of mountain climbing. It was the last weekend of “Summer/Fall” lift service at Stowe Mountain Resort and so my girlfriend and I went to check out the Vermont fall colors. When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised to see a different color at the tops of the mountains.
When I moved to Vermont 10 years ago, it was because I wanted a longer ski season than the 3 months of slushy conditions I was used to in southern New England. Whenever I see the hills go white early in the season, I know its almost time. In years past, I had hiked up Stowe to get a few “very early season” turns. But this year, I didn’t have the skis in the car yet. This year, I got to use my new Epic Pass in order to get a free lift ride to the top. The Stowe Gondola delivers riders up to an elevation just over 3000 feet above sea level, and we needed almost all of that elevation before we got to the snow zone, but it was a treat to watch the seasons transition from the base area, to the top of the lift. We snapped a few pictures, made a tiny snowman, and enjoyed this tiny preview of winter.
The valley looks pretty colorful! But looking further up the mountain?
Adventure Logbook 