Conditions Report
Night skiing report from 20th January 2020
While Smugglers’ Notch is our go-to local resort, on Saturday night we decided to mix things up and head to Bolton Valley. Completely locally-owned, Bolton Valley was repurchased by original owner Ralph DesLauriers in 2017, who opened Bolton with his father in 1966, and now runs the resort with his kids.
‘Vermont’s Best Kept Secret,’ Bolton is a unique high mountain alpine village surrounded by over 5,000 pristine acres. Conveniently located 30 mins from both Burlington and Montpelier, the resort offers more night skiing/riding than any other Vermont ski area, with lights on ten trails, serviced by four lifts, every Tuesday through Saturday night ’til 10:00 pm. A full-day pass is good through the night, or you can purchase a low-cost night lift ticket for $25.
The white knuckle-drive to the resort from Johnson was well worth it, knowing that when we arrived we’d be met with snow that was nothing short of perfection. We were greeted with blower, powder conditions (heaven on earth for snowboarders), and only a handful of diehards to share the trails with, a rarity on a busy holiday weekend in northern Vermont.
We took a few runs off the Vista quad chair, floating on the snow, barely another soul in sight. After a quick bite and beer, and another run off Vista, we noticed that the ‘Snowflake’ park chair was spinning. Untouched powder met us at the top of Snowflake. Incredible. It was the kids’ first experience riding under the lights, and when we got home he was making plans to return to Bolton with friends the following weekend. All in, an epic night.
THE GOODS –
Vertical drop: 1,704 ft
Trails: 71 trails
Skiable area: 165 acres
Lifts: 2 quads, 3 doubles, 1 rope tow
Ahem… Smugglers is an hour away, but Bolton is only 30 minutes from Burlington and Montpelier. Just wanted to set the record straight!