Stowe
Stowe Mountain is a resort that sprawls out across the two mountains of Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak. The resort has 468 acres of skiable terrain with a maximum vertical of 2360 feet. This vert is the fourth highest in Vermont and the fifth highest in New England. The base lodge is a 312-room luxury hotel and spa and is one of the premiere luxury hotels on the East Coast. Average snowfall for Stowe is 314 inches (8.0 meters) per year, based on a ten-year average. There is snowmaking coverage over 83 percent of the mountain for these years when snowfall falls below the average.
The Lift System and Trails
There are 13 total lifts in operation at Stowe with a lift capacity of over 15,000 skiers per hour. The system includes one inter-mountain gondola, a high-speed summit gondola, four quads, two triples, two doubles, and three surface lifts. There are 116 named trails at Stowe with 19 easy, 68 intermediate, and 29 expert rated trails. There are also six glades and three terrain parks.
Novice skiers can start off at the learning center near the base of Spruce Peak. Two surface lifts, a quad and a triple give access to several wide-open novice cruisers. For longer novice trails, head past Mansfield to The Inn at the Mountain where the Toll House double chair lead to a nice mile long cruiser aptly named the Easy Mile. There are several other wide-open groomed runs near the base as well.
Intermediates will hit Sunny Spruce at Spruce Peak or the Gondola heading up to Cliff House or the Lookout double and Mountain triple chairs on Mansfield. The runs down from the Cliffhouse are tree-lined and winding with some small bumps on the way down.
For expert skiers, take the Fourrunner up to the Octagon and take the wicked steep Liftline all the way down to the base. There is also access to several glades and mogul filled runs from the Octagon. On Spruce Peak, the Sensation quad chair leads up to where there is no easy way down. Every path coming off the peak is single black diamond rated and deservingly so. From the Spruce Line glade to the Main Street racing line, these trails are awesome and provide a good challenge for all but the best skiers.
Getting from the Spruce Camp to Mansfield is made easy with the Over Easy Gondola that ensures you don’t have to cross busy streets.
The Other Stuff
Stowe is what is commonly called a destination ski resort, meaning you come here to stay on site and experience all of what the property has to offer. This includes all of the apres-ski fun that is here. There are of course, the typical shopping and dining experiences that one comes to expect. However, there is also the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, which hosts programs from the Russian Ballet’s performance of Romeo and Juliet to the Second City Comedy Troupe. Suffice it to say that when you ski at Stowe, you’re not going to lack for things to do when you’re off the slopes.