STOWE-AWAY VACATIONS
Vermont resort’s off-hill highs
Après-ski is as important as ski, and top resorts are creating entertaining experiences as a change of pace from downhill action.
The Stowe Mountain Resort near Stowe, Vt., is the largest tourism development in the northeast, and it has recreation to match when you unbuckle your boots. Stowe offers thrilling skiing and snowboarding, as well as local and international culture, distinctive shopping and creative spa life.
NEW OFF- MOUNTAIN
The prestigious Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center is home of the Perlman Music Program, led by virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, and a stunning variety of shows and films. The diverse 2014-15 calendar includes: a lavish production of the Golden Dragon Acrobats, Nov. 28; Warren Miller’s 65th film, the spectacular No Turning Back, Dec. 28; and the State Ballet Theatre of Russia presenting Swan Lake, Jan. 31.
For retail therapy and hot ski clothes, The Shops at Spruce Peak complex is expanding with the new upscale First Chair Alpine Co., which will sell the exclusive European KJUS line, and The Pantry, which will stock to-go meals and provisions for condo dwellers, in addition to the Polo RL Store, Atmosphere and the Spa Shop.
SPA AND SURVIVAL
Stowe Mountain Lodge has fashioned getaways that range from extreme pampering to extreme mountaineering.
The new Mountain Survival is designed to bring out your inner mountain man or woman. It’s a two-night, three-day visit with a choice of robust activities (each paid à la carte): ice climbing, mountaineering, a furnituremaking class, backcountry skiing or a guided evening snowshoe tour. That’s all strenuous stuff, so the final Mountain Survival options are more mellow: Sink into a deeptissue or hot-stone massage and then enjoy steaks, flatbreads and burgers with $100 dining credit at the posh Solstice or the Hourglass Lounge.
Winter Goddess is a beauty immersion, ideal for a special occasion and positively super for an extravagant gift. You’ll have hair, mani-pedi, makeup and the muchneeded-après-ski Hydrofacial boost. All spa treatments include access to the outdoor heated pool and the indoor spa baths, both special, off-slope experiences.
We want to ski or snowboard every possible minute at the incomparable Stowe Mountain Resort, but this year I vote for the Take the Day Off package. It still has such exhilarating outdoor elements as a guided snowshoe tour and Stowega, the Stowe Mountain Lodge’s signature outdoor stretching and yoga class. Plus, we can pump up with fitness classes and relax with massages.
TECH AND TRADITION
Visitors love Stowe for its timeless charms: the rugged trails and the historic village. But Stowe Mountain Resort and the surrounding community constantly announce major news and a lot of it is tech-based.
Stowe is as quintessentially tra- ditional as a New England village gets: the white steepled church, the main street decorated for a Christmas festival and shops operating out of century-old cottages.
Yet, Google recently named Stowe as the 2014 eCity for the
Stowe Mountain Lodge in Vermont has fashioned getaways that range from extreme pampering to extreme mountaineering.
state of Vermont for its strong digital economy, after weighing several factors: the likelihood of small businesses to have websites, write blogs and promote on social media or sell goods online.
On-mountain, the progress continues apace. Stowe Mountain Resort has added 35 kilometres of snow-making pipes and extensive other equipment to enhance early and late-season terrain, the final phase of an approximately $10-million, high-efficiency project that is designed to make more snow while using less energy.
Stowe is a dual-peak downhill area. At Mt. Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, the high-speed Summit Gondola has been refurbished from top to bottom. On Lower Spruce Peak, the mellow novice-to-intermediate ski and snowboard area, a new Meadows Quad replaces old double chairs near.
The Stowe ByPass fulfils a tiny dream — skipping the ticketbuying line, even at holiday time. Here’s how it works: Go to stowe.com for an Evolution Stowe Card (this is your RFID micro-chipped lift pass), sign up for ByPass and enter a credit card to pay for your day’s skiing or snowboarding. On your first morning ascent, you will be scanned at the lifts and automatically charged.