Ski season is one week away and winter prep work is happening all over the resort. Additionally, there’ve been some really fun developments taking place behind the scenes this past off-season. Walking us through some of these updates is President Lindsay Deslauriers, it’s Letters from Lindsay Vol. 17!

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Our mountain bike trails don’t get much better than this… and to celebrate we have a couple of DEALS for you:

50% off Mountain Bike Rentals
Offered through Sunday, August 4, 2024

Full day only, through this Sunday, July 28 – cannot be combined with other offers/promos. No advance purchase/reservation required – first come, first served at the rental counter in the main base lodge, but we have plenty of downhill bikes all tuned up and ready to go for ya. More info on BV Mountain Bike Rentals

20% off food at the James Moore Tavern & Village Cafe
Through September 18, 2024

for Summer Season Passholders (Sports Center &/or Mtn Bike Park) AND Anyone who purchases a lift ticket (bike park/scenic lift ride) &/or mountain bike rental or lesson. Not valid on drinks OR at the Mountain Market/Miso Hut. More info on dining options HERE

And while we’re at it – how about a winter promo…

Early Bird Winter Hotel Special

Book now and enjoy 15% off winter hotel and suite rates (not the Evangeline suite, though) – discount does not apply to some restricted room types or holiday dates and is subject to availability. Use code earlybird to unlock your winter savings at time of online booking. Check hotel pricing & availability HERE

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UR organizes a series of Community Ski & Ride days in partnership with some local mountains like BV, for new and seasoned members to experience the wonder of sliding on snow. These partners support UR’s mission by providing a private indoor space for members to gather, discounted rental equipment, as well as lift tickets and ski/ride instruction at no cost. The cherry on the sundae here is their ‘Winter Gear Closet’ initiative which collects hundreds of donated items from gloves to ski jackets for all for members to take home and recreate in. These are prime examples of how collectively as an industry we can pull together our resources to create a more equitable and inclusive outdoors.

In the 2022/2023 season UR expanded on their goals to include community leadership development, to empower and embolden members. As of last winter, they offered 29 scholarships across an array of outdoor instructional courses. Per their ‘Impact Report’ there were 15 Unlikely Riders who became PSIA-AASI certified to instruct level 1 Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding and in turn they have enhanced accessibility for current and new members to come. It’s a great privilege to support Unlikely Riders in their mission to instill a sense of belonging for all skiers and riders. 

Interested in donating gear? Check out their guidelines here. Or support the cause by making a holiday donation here!

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Meanwhile, in nearby lower lying locales it’s been mostly rain and grass throughout including yesterday when we were blanketed in over a foot of fresh snow, but it was all rain from Burlington to about halfway up our access road. Check out Adam DesLauriers dash cam from his Monday drive up the hill if seeing is believing:

Come on up to higher ground… it’s cooler up here!

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Sure, one might reference the truly historic Snowvember 2018, which – from a natural snowpack perspective – was literally the GOAT according to the fabled Mansfield Snow Stake. Being my very first few days working here at Bolton Valley, I remember it vividly. Aside from my initial shock at how much of a daily to-do the snow reporting was, I also recall much of that November’s success was pinned to a huge storm on the last day(s) of the month.

Switching our collective lens back to November ’23, it’s actually probably the preferred setup for getting the season off to a good, but manageable start. Sure, we’ll always measure November’s against 2018, but the massive storm at the end of that month was hard to handle from an ops perspective. Had to take a few steps back to dig out before we could start moving forward. Too much of a good thing as some might say…

Though the big dumps will always get the accolades, the slightly slower and steadier snowfalls really a good season make, generally speaking. It doesn’t get the headlines, but a season passholder that gets 20+ days a winter knows what we’re talking about here. And that’s kind of what we got last month. We saw a pretty consistent run of temps (for snowmaking) and light snow events to keep the mountain ops mojo rising as we raced to open the day after Thanksgiving as we typically do… well, in the DesLauriers 2.0 era that is. And what an opening weekend 2023 it was!

And then…

Okay, we must admit, it was good leading up to opening weekend, but the real joy hit just after we shut down lifts Sunday afternoon only to be greeted with 18″ at the summit Monday morning. And not just any snow… a foot and a half of the dense, heavy base building snow you dream of in November. Our Wilderness Designated Uphill Route opened out of nowhere and winter was off and running not just on manmade snow, but natural snow, too. It was almost disorienting it happened so suddenly and because we didn’t have lifts Monday to Thursday that week, took nearly everyone that lives and works in the Bolton Snow Globe by surprise as they weren’t paying as much attention to the forecast.

And as if that wasn’t enough, just as we were done licking our chops from the powder party, bam! another foot for you a couple days later bringing the November ’23 snow total to a clean 50″.

Amazing the mountain magic sometimes. A little elevation made all the difference as it so often does. My daily commute back to Burlington was like traveling between two different worlds in just 30 minutes. Total snowpocalypse on the mountain quickly gave way to wondering if I should mow the lawn or pick fall vegetables from the garden for dinner. The broccoli plants were clearly on their last legs for the season sure, but nutritious and tasty nonetheless:

But I don’t care how tasty you can make your broccoli (we like to get a nice hot cast iron pan on the stove, put ’em floret side down and then roast in oven – don’t forget the EVOO, fresh garlic & s + p of course), it certainly was not as tasty as these Snowvember ’23 turns:

Photo courtesy of local legend Quinn Keating (doing double duty on the skiing and pov chest cam in this shot) who claims his skis are under the pow there somewhere. End of November or early March? Hard to tell…

Alright December, your turn! You have big shoes to fill, but this storm we see approaching tomorrow (Sunday, December 3) and perhaps sticking around until Tuesday looks like a good start.

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If you’re unfamiliar with Vermont Adaptive, they are a nationally recognized organization whose mission is to empower folks of all abilities with physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities from all over the globe here in our home state of Vermont. With the support of its 400 active volunteers and sponsors, VA tackles obstacles in accessibility to the outdoors by providing instruction to sports, recreational opportunities to year-round programs, and specialized equipment (Currently this is the only Adaptive Program in New England to offer multiple Bowhead Adaptive Mountain Bikes to Participants).

This Summer Season marks our first year of hosting Vermont Adaptive’s mountain bike programming at our Bike Park and we’re ecstatic to see how our partnership will open doors for new and seasoned riders. With the addition of our Green Trail – Ebascootcha last year, we are proud to offer more accessible trails for bikers of all abilities. Whether you’re looking to participate or get involved (Volunteers are always needed!), we encourage you to check out Vermont Adaptive’s programming and supporting their missing of making “Sports for EveryBODY”.

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I see people finishing dawn patrol when pulling into work and people just heading up for a moonlight skin as I leave. Backcountry skiing allows you to get turns in if you don’t have time during the hours of operation/lift hours. #Earnyourturns

I did my first bolton tour with babe force during our moonlight skin with Skida. And boy can I tell you that was an awesome first experience! We took the Wilderness uphill route, which I would suggest for beginners. Turns out, I was not the least experienced person in our crew, as we had 10 people join for their very first time!

With multiple guides we were able to go at our own pace. Personally, it took me about an hour to get to the top and looking back I could have gone a little slower to make it a more comfortable pace. It was nice to treat ourselves with a little reward of s’mores at the top! Skinning is definitely more tasking than it seems, but if you are into hiking that can help you prepare.

For layering I sweat a lot so within 10 minutes I, along with many people were delayering. With it being night time I ended up being comfortable in a dri-fit long sleeve and a shell jacket. (The times I have gone uphill during the day I ended up in only a t-shirt). After reaching the top, within minutes of taking my skins off I put on my fleece layer and mittens to retain my heat. It is important to pack an extra layer because even though you work up a sweat you cool down fast. I have heard advice from many others that it is okay to start out a bit chilly because once you start moving you will heat right up.

For first timers I would suggest going up one of our uphill routes like Timberline or Wilderness. As you get more comfortable and find your touring rhythm it’s great to then venture out into the backcountry with one of our designated guides at the Nordic center. After getting all this snow I am planning on booking a tour myself! It is crucial you have someone aware of directions because you are skiing out of bounds. Guides can also help you become more familiar with your equipment and technique.

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Saturday Qualifying Results | Saturday Live Stream* | Sunday Live Stream*

*Live stream video footage courtesy of our friends at Capture Sports

Although we’ll often tell you bird is the word, this past weekend we’re going with storybook. And if you were among the hundreds of folks gathered in the Sunday afternoon sunshine as Jake announced the winners of each category and handed out prizes, you know what we’re talking about. Sure, there’s always room for improvement, and boy will we BRING IT for year 4 in 2024, but honestly… we’ll be flying high on the vibes from the incredible community that turned out this weekend for quite some time.

So how does this story go?

Take one part protagonist: Jake Blauvelt – kind, hard working, talented, generous, thoughtful – and mix in the local + international snowboarding community that always passes the vibe check. Now let’s throw in a world class banked slalom course and generous support from various sponsors culminating in great prizes, great fun and why not make it a fundraiser while we’re at it?

Want more?

Welllllll…. Bolton Valley is where it all began for Jake. Back in the 90s when he was a wee chap, he would board the bus after school and get dropped off at the mountain – a program that continues strong today with 20+ area schools. After determining skiing just wasn’t for him he turned sideways and never turned back. And the sideways surfing bug that caught him went on to direct much of Jake’s life since. After years of travelling the world and making Mount Baker out west his adopted home, he’s returned to Vermont to raise his own family in nearby Waterbury and looking to give back to the snowboarding and local community that has given him so much. Year one of the event benefited Protect Our Winters (P.O.W.) and the last couple years he’s shifted his focus on a local initiative near and dear to his heart – the planned Waterbury Skatepark project.

Throw in a glorious weekend of weather, a new location (the Timberline Base Area with newly renovated lodge) and expanded field thanks to the new two day format and apparently that results in an all time weekend here on the mountain. Thank you to all the incredible folks that turned out and brought the stoke Saturday morning right on through to Sunday evening. Full on soul shakedown party out there in the afternoon sun.

And thank you, Jake – for so many things – but most notably for bringing this incredible event to Bolton Valley and for being such an incredible role model for all the young families that call this special place home. Proud to have the opportunity to partner with you, your team and your sponsors long into the future.

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Prior to this blog I have never attempted the park but I have always seen gnarly videos of people doing jumps and tricks and thought, “how hard can that be?”. Well… I was wrong, it is not as easy as it looks, and I was quickly humbled. Learning from my own mistakes my first tip is to start small. I did not follow my advice and chose to try the thinnest rail as my first attempt, and ended up falling hard. The next run I was too scared to even hop onto the rail because of what happened last time.

Don’t make the same mistake as me, progression is key, especially in the park. For example, practice on a box, then go sideways on a box, then try out a fat rail until eventually you could do a regular rail.

This leads me to my next tip: Don’t be afraid to fail. This does not apply to just the park but anything ski and ride. At least you are out there trying and making the most of your time while learning something new. What may be easy for one person may be a big step for another.

Freestyle skiers make it look so effortless and have their own style and lingo to them. But for others it can be intimidating, especially if the park is under the chairlift. The terrain park can seem like its own little world but it is important to learn the etiquette of the park to keep yourself and others safe. Make sure you wait your turn, give each other space, and clear the landings.

Lastly, don’t be scared and have fun!

Overall, everyone’s challenges are different but the goal is the same, shred and have some fun. And if I am being honest I just wanna learn some tricks to ask Red Bull for a sponsorship. Stay tuned for another first time experience at Bolton Valley!

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