Skiing for beginners in VT
 

My girlfriend & I are looking to get away for some relaxation & fun in Jan after the holidays. We plan to go during the week. I had skied a little many yrs ago, she has never skied before. I'm sure we will want to try it at least once, but I think I'd also like to try a snowmobile, sledding, x-country, snowshoeing, just enjoying nature. Also, she was widowed a couple of yrs ago & has never really done the single scene thing. So, we want the op to socialize in the evening -- fun bars, dancing, music, etc.

She's originally from Romania, has never really vacationed alone, so I'm making the plans. We're women in our 40's.

I had been checking out Colorado, but it's so expensive & then you add the airfare ...... whereas we can easily drive to VT.

Any suggestions out there?

Wherever you go, get lessons for her, at the very least. Your skiing may just "come back" like riding a bike. But she really needs some background.

I went to Okemo when I was first learning and they had a lot of good, easy runs. I also remember snowmobiling there and it was close to the Killington nightlife.

Stratton was a good skiing mountain, but I'm not sure if there's any nighttime action. There is no town there really.

Woodstock Vermont may be your best bet. Close by is Suicide Six, a modest ski mountain with some easy trails. Don't let the name scare you! Suicide has a nice family vibe - no hot doggers. Woodstock is a very charming town with lots of restaurants, shopping, and a little night life. If you want to try a big mountain, Killington is less than 1/2 hour from Woodstock.

I've heard that the most nightlife is in Killington. But I've also heard that the crowd is really young.
Any opinions out there?

I've heard that the most nightlife is in Killington. But I've also heard that the crowd is really young.
Any opinions out there?

Vermont is not exactly the nightlife capital of the east. Killington is actually a long access road to the mountain lined with motels, restaurants, and pubs. There is plenty of action. I suspect much of the crowd is on the young side, but Killington is a huge complex that attracts a wide cross section of people of all ages - much of it from the New York metropolitan area. Woodstock on the other hand is an upscale, somewhat sedate little town with a handful of restaurants/pubs that often have entertainment and dancing. Bars as such are not legal in Vermont - they must also have a dining room. If you want lots of nightlife, there is Burlington Vt., which is less than an hour, or even better Montreal, which is about 2 hours from Killington.

I find with skiing that most of it is really "late afternoon life" as opposed to night life. Most of the skiers will drink after skiing, while still in their gear. Then up early to start over again. So at night it is generally a young crowd because they're either not getting up to ski again or they can manage to drink all night and still get up the next day.

Lets bottom line this............you two gals want to enjoy yourself OFF the slopes.

Biggest ski/party areas are:

Hunter Mountain NY
Killington vt.

Take a group lesson and talk to the instructors...I am sure they have many suggestions for nightlife for two women!

-john

It's been many years since I've skied VT, but I loved some of the easy trails in Mt Snow. Back then, it was a far easier ski area than Killington. Can't speak to the night life then...it was a day trip for us.

Hunter!! Forgot about that! Went there many many yrs ago! A friend had rented a place there & we went for the wk between Christmas & New Yr's. Of course, that wk was a zoo but it would be anywhere.

Going to look into that, thanks!

Hey-what about the Berkshires?

Hunter seems to have a good amount of area for beginners for a ski area in the Northeast. And most of the beginner runs are near the "Learning Center" and on a part of the mountain separate from the major expert trails, which should be a selling point (I have no financial interest in this) because neophytes won't get spooked by the double-diamond nutters flying down the mountain at 60 mph.

See the trail map: http://www.huntermtn.com/huntermtn/S...01112final.jpg

and see the stats - your friend would want to concentrate on "Hunter One."

http://www.huntermtn.com/huntermtn/mountain/stats.aspx

Thanks! will check those links