Bolton Valley 1/7/2017

NewEnglandSkier13

I spent the last day of the cold snap at Bolton Valley today. The morning started with only lower mountain lifts running and the other major lifts opened at various points throughout the morning. Conditions were a very mixed bag; some areas were windblown down to ice, some had drifts waist deep, and some had about a foot of dense powder. There wasn't much wind and it wasn't quite as cold as it has been. Most trails and glades were open, but cover was thin in some windblown areas. There was a good number of people there, but the lift system is efficient and kept lines almost nonexistent. Glades were excellent because they were not as prone to drifting. Wilderness Glade and Lost Boyz were especially good. I also discovered a tight glade/path which led to a cliff-top viewpoint. From the viewpoint the only way down requires a mandatory cliff-drop and a tight landing with an immediate turn. This is within a marked glade which, I think, makes this run one of the most difficult in the east and I'm surprised more people don't know about it, but I'm okay with that.

Vista QuadMid-Mountain DoubleMid-Mountain DoubleMid-Mounatin DoubleSnowflake DoubleTimberline QuadTimberline QuadTimberline QuadLost BoyzUntracked Doug's WoodsWilderness DoubleWilderness DoubleWilderness DoubleWilderness DoublePeggy Dow'sVista QuadVista QuadView from Vista PeakVista QuadCliff-Top Viewpoint in GladeChute Below Cliff & ViewpointBiew from Vista Peak

bmwskier

Great shots! The colors are amazing! Would love to know where that cliff is. Does anyone use a GPS tracker and then upload it to either Google Earth or some kind of mapping program? 

NewEnglandSkier13

bmwskier said:

Great shots! The colors are amazing! Would love to know where that cliff is. Does anyone use a GPS tracker and then upload it to either Google Earth or some kind of mapping program? 

Thanks! I don't use a GPS tracker, but I know there are a number of us on here who do.

See DM for location

IBRAKEFORTBARS

Nice shots and a great view of Lake Champlain! Would Whiteface be visible from Bolton on a good day?

bmwskier

IBRAKEFORTBARS said:

Nice shots and a great view of Lake Champlain! Would Whiteface be visible from Bolton on a good day?

Don't know about that, though you can see the lights of Bolton from Burlington. Oh, and on drill weekends, the Ethan Allen Firing Range is just around the corner-- you can tell the differences from the M240G's, SAW's and M-4's. Occasional mortar and 105mm as well. A different feel to skiing when you can hear that around. 

NewEnglandSkier13

IBRAKEFORTBARS said:

Nice shots and a great view of Lake Champlain! Would Whiteface be visible from Bolton on a good day?

You can't see well in the photos, but Whiteface was clearly visible yesterday. Look at the first one titled "View from Vista Peak" and you can see it just above the ski patrol building.

ciscokid

CORESPONDENT SS AT HIS BEST!

mtsnow123

Great photos and report! Being a Burlington local, I frequent Bolton on night weekdays and try to make it during the day on the weekends, when Stowe is too busy. The snow and woods and out of this world and the local feel is unseen in many resorts in the area (I snowboard, can't do MRG).

Cherry on top, I got my season pass there for $189 this winter. Unheard of in this area.

IBRAKEFORTBARS

NewEnglandSkier13 said:

IBRAKEFORTBARS said:

Nice shots and a great view of Lake Champlain! Would Whiteface be visible from Bolton on a good day?

You can't see well in the photos, but Whiteface was clearly visible yesterday. Look at the first one titled "View from Vista Peak" and you can see it just above the ski patrol building.

Thanks for pointing it out! Is Whiteface the block of what looks like ski trails right above the building or is it the towering mountain further off in the distance? If it’s the towering mountain are any trails visible on a bluebird day? Not sure which direction Whiteface’s trails face.

NewEnglandSkier13

IBRAKEFORTBARS said:

NewEnglandSkier13 said:

IBRAKEFORTBARS said:

Nice shots and a great view of Lake Champlain! Would Whiteface be visible from Bolton on a good day?

You can't see well in the photos, but Whiteface was clearly visible yesterday. Look at the first one titled "View from Vista Peak" and you can see it just above the ski patrol building.

Thanks for pointing it out! Is Whiteface the block of what looks like ski trails right above the building or is it the towering mountain further off in the distance? If it’s the towering mountain are any trails visible on a bluebird day? Not sure which direction Whiteface’s trails face.

It is the tall one in the distance and the runs were clearly visible yesterday, although the photos don't show it.

lotsoskiing

NewEnglandSkier13 said:

IBRAKEFORTBARS said:

NewEnglandSkier13 said:

IBRAKEFORTBARS said:

Nice shots and a great view of Lake Champlain! Would Whiteface be visible from Bolton on a good day?

You can't see well in the photos, but Whiteface was clearly visible yesterday. Look at the first one titled "View from Vista Peak" and you can see it just above the ski patrol building.

Thanks for pointing it out! Is Whiteface the block of what looks like ski trails right above the building or is it the towering mountain further off in the distance? If it’s the towering mountain are any trails visible on a bluebird day? Not sure which direction Whiteface’s trails face.

It is the tall one in the distance and the runs were clearly visible yesterday, although the photos don't show it.

Look at the Vista Quad pic. Far left, just above the haul rope. Whiteface

ciscokid

IBRAKEFORTBARS said:

NewEnglandSkier13 said:

IBRAKEFORTBARS said:

Nice shots and a great view of Lake Champlain! Would Whiteface be visible from Bolton on a good day?

You can't see well in the photos, but Whiteface was clearly visible yesterday. Look at the first one titled "View from Vista Peak" and you can see it just above the ski patrol building.

Thanks for pointing it out! Is Whiteface the block of what looks like ski trails right above the building or is it the towering mountain further off in the distance? If it’s the towering mountain are any trails visible on a bluebird day? Not sure which direction Whiteface’s trails face.

East

mtsnow123 said:

Great photos and report! Being a Burlington local, I frequent Bolton on night weekdays and try to make it during the day on the weekends, when Stowe is too busy. The snow and woods and out of this world and the local feel is unseen in many resorts in the area (I snowboard, can't do MRG).

Cherry on top, I got my season pass there for $189 this winter. Unheard of in this area.

Wow $189 season pass at a major historical Vermont area? Adult?

riverc0il

$189 is not Bolton's regular pass price. That may be part of their pass network with other smaller ski areas, nights only, or perhaps a college pass price. 

Bolton has quite a few good cliffs and hucks. I am familiar with the one pictured above and that one isn't too bad, there are much bigger and more committing at Bolton. Definitely an area you need to be cautious about following random tracks into the woods if you aren't ready for +10' mandatories. There aren't a ton of them... but you can get cliffed out if you are too adventurous and not ready for some air. 

Bolton is a weird mountain for expert tree lovers... so much of the mountain is flat and mellow, but it also has many 500-ish foot vert pitches of absolutely amazing skiing. It has many epic lines... followed by even more epic long run outs and flats to get back to the lift... perhaps Vermont's worst percentage of great skiing to run out vertical.

NewEnglandSkier13

riverc0il said:

$189 is not Bolton's regular pass price. That may be part of their pass network with other smaller ski areas, nights only, or perhaps a college pass price. 

Bolton has quite a few good cliffs and hucks. I am familiar with the one pictured above and that one isn't too bad, there are much bigger and more committing at Bolton. Definitely an area you need to be cautious about following random tracks into the woods if you aren't ready for +10' mandatories. There aren't a ton of them... but you can get cliffed out if you are too adventurous and not ready for some air. 

Bolton is a weird mountain for expert tree lovers... so much of the mountain is flat and mellow, but it also has many 500-ish foot vert pitches of absolutely amazing skiing. It has many epic lines... followed by even more epic long run outs and flats to get back to the lift... perhaps Vermont's worst percentage of great skiing to run out vertical.

What surprised me most about that one is that it was part of a marked woods area with no warning signs.

NELSAP

Thanks for sharing the photos! I need to get back there, it's been 20 years...

mtsnow123

riverc0il said:

$189 is not Bolton's regular pass price. That may be part of their pass network with other smaller ski areas, nights only, or perhaps a college pass price. 

Bolton has quite a few good cliffs and hucks. I am familiar with the one pictured above and that one isn't too bad, there are much bigger and more committing at Bolton. Definitely an area you need to be cautious about following random tracks into the woods if you aren't ready for +10' mandatories. There aren't a ton of them... but you can get cliffed out if you are too adventurous and not ready for some air. 

Bolton is a weird mountain for expert tree lovers... so much of the mountain is flat and mellow, but it also has many 500-ish foot vert pitches of absolutely amazing skiing. It has many epic lines... followed by even more epic long run outs and flats to get back to the lift... perhaps Vermont's worst percentage of great skiing to run out vertical.

Ski Bum Pass before Halloween deadline
Post college years until your 25. All access, no blackouts.

ciscokid

In a few years I get to take advantage of age discrim

mtsnow123

ciscokid said:

In a few years I get to take advantage of age discrim

The opposite end of the spectrum. Honestly I think it's doing the job it's trying to do: keep a young base of skiers and snowboarders riding that are hopefully the next generation of families buying season passes for their children and staying on mountain. The other piece I have been hearing in press releases is easing the burden of riding and paying off school loans. I can personally say, it is quite helpful.