How is Bolton Valley for freeriding?

M

MoneyShooter

New member
For the past 12 years I've spent some time in Northern Vermont using my bud's house in Johnson as home base. We love to ski glades, hike for turns, and generally enjoy exploring all a resort has to offer. I know we'll be hitting Stowe, Jay, etc.. this year but I'd apreciate any info on Bolton. Is it a viable alternative for skiiers who like a little adventure?

Peace, Love, and Powder
 
MoneyShooter":2wzh433g said:
For the past 12 years I've spent some time in Northern Vermont using my bud's house in Johnson as home base. We love to ski glades, hike for turns, and generally enjoy exploring all a resort has to offer. I know we'll be hitting Stowe, Jay, etc.. this year but I'd appreciate any info on Bolton. Is it a viable alternative for skiers who like a little adventure?
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For someone that wanted to stay strictly on-piste, I wouldn't put Bolton in the same league as Stowe or Jay Peak. The terrain is actually fairly similar to Stowe and Jay, but the overall "trail" acreage is smaller and you won't find steep terrain that is sustained for as long as it is at the larger resorts. I talk more about the specifics in the link that Tony provided above, so you can see what I mean in that reply.

But, Bolton is certainly a viable alternative to places like Stowe and Jay- especially for folks that want to combine some earned turns/sidecountry/backcountry aspects with lift-served turns. Bolton is in the same Northern Vermont snowbelt as the other two with 300+ inches of annual snowfall, and an added appeal is that you don't have to deal with the crowds of the larger resorts. Bolton offers single-ride tickets (~$10) if you just want to get up into the higher elevations and spend the day exploring around. They own 5,200 acres, so between their marked backcountry/Nordic network and places like the Cotton Brook Glades, Woodward Mountain, and everything else, there's more than the typical person could explore in an entire season.

Certainly check out Jim Bauman's First Tracks!! article on Bolton Valley that I referenced in the link that Tony provided, because that provides a lot broader view than I possess.

Depending on how much time you have to look into the resort, you can also just look through my posts from the past season to get a lot of information about the type of skiing you'll find at Bolton. I generally write very detailed trip reports, in the hope that they will be useful for people in the future. Below are links to a few of my Bolton sidecountry/backcountry reports from the forum last season. I try to include Google Earth/GPS tracking data maps and altimeter data with all my "earned turns" reports, so people can at least have a general idea of where the tour was taking place, or even use the data to orient themselves if they want to check out the areas on their own.

Cotton Brook sidecountry/backcountry 2/4/07

West side backcountry 2/11/07

West side backcountry 2/18/07

Bone Mountain sidecountry/backcountry 3/11/07

I'll be happy to answer more questions if I can.

J.Spin
 
Weh! Thanks for all the links and detailed info! I'm thinking Bolton will be a good place to go on a sat. (usually our last day of skiing) to escape the crowds. We've allways steered away from Bolton due to the lack of vertical but It looks like there's more than enough to keep us interested.
As the years go by I've found out that I'd rather ski at a "smaller" place with character, that still has some pitch and side-country options, than one of the big boys on a busy day. I've had more than a few weekend days with killer snowfall, but massive lift lines and skier numbers on the mountain, which takes away from the vibe most of us come to the mountains to enjoy in the first place. Thanks again. I'll post a report after my trip(sometime in feb).
 
MoneyShooter":2y7g5u3k said:
For the past 12 years I've spent some time in Northern Vermont using my bud's house in Johnson as home base. We love to ski glades, hike for turns, and generally enjoy exploring all a resort has to offer. I know we'll be hitting Stowe, Jay, etc.. this year but I'd apreciate any info on Bolton. Is it a viable alternative for skiiers who like a little adventure?

Peace, Love, and Powder
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Bolton Valley is fun because it's a scrappy, locals scene. There is a lot of good backcountry there, or so I've heard. I'll be checking it out this year. The only downside is that the mountain is short, and it's pretty flat near the bottom. On piste the runouts are long. Off piste requires hiking out.
 
skimore":1zvp47ef said:
With your location you may want to give Snowridge a try for day trip.....maybe this weekend
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Never been to Snowridge but I've heard they can get major lake effect dumps. I'll probably check it out this year when they get hit. Bristol's my home mtn being 45 min away w1200ft vert. Not much natural snow but they kick ass making it, opening day was fri with 1 trail top to bottom.
 
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