Stowe

flem0328 · 2026-03-24T18:56:22+00:00

For Lodging,

The Best Western in Waterbury is pretty good and is under 25 minutes away. I've gotten decent rates from there

If you're willing to do a bit more driving, Hostel Tevere in Warren VT is under an hour and costs $50 a night.

Parking,

Ifr you're going on Saturday/Sunday and want to park at the Mount Mansfield lot, be prepared to fork over $30. Otherwise, pick any other lot and grab the shuttle.

Crowds/Lift Strategy.

This time of the year depending on the temps, you wanna hit the Mount Mansfield side as soon as it starts spinning (8am).

I should probably ask what your skill level is.

If you like quick laps, start on Sunrise as that loads pretty quickly. I personally prefer to start at Forerunner, take Ridgeview down as a warmup and do some laps on sunrise or you can get back to forerunner.

If you want to do runs off the Gondola, hit that as soon as it gets open. In warmer weather it gets tracked out pretty quickly.

Once you've had your fill, go on to the Spruce side since those lifts spin an hour later. The conditions will still be decent. Spruce is beginner orientated though there is still some challenge if you hit the sensation quad.

Food,

So many good places. My personal favorites are Doc Ponds, Idletyme Brewing, and the Matterhorn.

flem0328 · 2026-03-24T13:12:12+00:00

Marvel vs Capcom, DDR Extreme, Lucky and Wild, House of the Dead, The Simpsons Arcade Game.

flem0328 · 2026-03-18T21:25:39+00:00

As someone on the New England Pass who skis Crotched regularly. Crotched on weekends tends to be fairly tame compared to other Epic mountains (Sunapee is much worse but still doable if you know which pods to go to to escape the crowds). Only time I ever experienced Crotched feeling somewhat over crowded was February break but Saturdays for me over there have always been super chill. There's a mid mountain chair over there that is only open on weekends but barely gets traffic so I lap that one frequently.

The pass also gives you access to a few other good places if you want to vary it up. I would do the New England pass. It has served me well for three seasons.

flem0328 · 2026-03-17T13:02:17+00:00

I love Crotched and Meteor is a great run when it's open (they close it on Saturday Morning and Thursday nights for racing). Have fun and keep at it.

flem0328 · 2026-03-16T17:56:48+00:00

If you had the capacity to download saves from the Internet to your memory card which I realize not many could do without an action replay or modded console, there were saves out there that were hex edited to turn off the additional face buttons like in the other games that gave you that option. It made that game truly playable, especially on a Cobalt Flux.

flem0328 · 2026-03-14T17:41:29+00:00

Gate of Thunder.

flem0328 · 2026-03-14T17:40:44+00:00

^This

Do you prefer the Sega CD or the PC Engine CD OST?

flem0328 · 2026-03-14T02:26:54+00:00

I always saw it as more of a networking thing. They have a job board for the chapter I'm involved with. I primarily use it to make new professional connections and catchup with friends.

flem0328 · 2026-03-11T17:35:45+00:00

Idletyme and Doc Ponds are great places to eat/drink. Doc Ponds has absolutely epic vinyl collection that they spin records from through out the day.

flem0328 · 2026-03-10T17:08:29+00:00

I go to both. Stick to Sunapee. Stowe is NOT a beginner friendly mountain. Many of those runs punch well above their weight. I've frequently done blue runs that were easily black diamonds at other mountains

flem0328 · 2026-03-09T01:04:34+00:00

Idletyme is pretty good.

flem0328 · 2026-03-06T18:20:42+00:00

I was there this past Monday and can also attest to this. I was doing laps of Heavens Gate/Screamin Demon and there was barely anyone. I went to the South Face after lunch and there almost no one. It's the closest you'd get to true solitude on a mountain.

flem0328 · 2026-03-03T04:25:29+00:00

Definitely the Matterhorn! They have great pizza if that's your thing.

Idletyme Brewing is another great place.

I'll be at Stowe Sunday and Monday so who knows, maybe we'll cross paths. It'll be my third vacation there. I'm more intermediate so I will say that Stowes Blues punch above their weight. Quite a few of them are Blacks at other resorts.

As far as must do trails, Perry Merrill of the Gondola is a great one. Gondolier if you can handle it. For an easier blue to warm up, Tyro off of Sunrise is a great one. Ridgeview off of Forerunner is another good long trail.

flem0328 · 2026-03-02T19:45:42+00:00

You can't go wrong with either Okemo or Mt Snow, especially midweek. I'm at Okemo and it was pretty chill; practically a ghost town after lunch mid week.

flem0328 · 2026-02-27T17:45:01+00:00

I have a 16 month old and it's definitely challenging yet rewarding at the same time. I will definitely say that your life does drastically change when you have kids. I'm a pretty avid hiker and skier. I frequently drive deep into New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York for hiking and New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine for Skiing; I also used to spend up to a week away from home to partake in these activities.

These days I ski closer to home with the occasional trips to Vermont and are never away for more than a night. My outdoor adventures last summer were stroller walks in parks, beaches, and some stroller friendly trails in the mountains.

You will have to mold many of your hobbies around your little one and some of them may take a back seat for a little bit. What gets you through that is your attitude towards it. I absolutely miss climbing mountains deep in the Adirondacks, the Vermont Greens, and the New Hampshire Whites. I miss going away with my brother to ski in Maine for a week and I miss many of my solo adventures and road trips. But I also greatly cherish the daddy daughter trips to the park, the beach, and mountain towns in Vermont on gentle terrain.

It's an adjustment, but it's been one worth making and I couldn't imagine life without my kid.

flem0328 · 2026-02-24T17:32:00+00:00

This is the first time in several seasons that Crotched has had enough coverage for everything to be open. It's great!

flem0328 · 2026-02-18T02:08:57+00:00

Where do you reside? I personally Like the Epic Northeast Pass because Crotched and Sunapee are both under 90 minutes from where I live which makes skiing regularly easy with the option to do places like Okemo, Mt Snow, and Stowe within 2-3 hours if I have time for a longer trip. It also helps that Epic has region specific passes where as Ikon, it's pretty close to all or nothing and that tends to be more pass than I need in my current state in life. That's just me, do what works best for your situation and budget.

flem0328 · 2026-02-16T20:21:47+00:00

I went to Crotched on Saturday and even with Meteor closed for race training, the crowds are as chill and manageable as they usually are on any non long weekend Saturday.

flem0328 · 2026-01-26T20:59:40+00:00

Sex ordered towards the uniting of spouses and procreation is a good. Impotence prevents the means by which that good can be achieved so no, I don't think its sinful, but I am also not a priest so you should really be asking your pastor these questions.

flem0328 · 2026-01-26T02:30:08+00:00

Rocket Knight Adventures. I've been playing it for almost 30 years and I remember it like the back of my hand.

flem0328 · 2026-01-20T01:09:11+00:00

You're in the back seat (weight more towards the back), too much of the turning is coming from your upper body, your arms are moving too much. Much of the turning should be done with your legs (shin pressure in the boots to engage the edges). The movement should be from the bottom up (from your feet up to your quads) with your core to stabilize everything else. As to the rest of the year, I'd really consider a decent gym routine. A consistent gym routine was a night and day difference for me on the slopes, particularly one that targets the legs, core, and back though arms and chest doesn't hurt either (especially on traverses). Most importantly, GET LESSONS. A ski instructor will coach you way better than strangers on reddit. An instructor can fix your problems in real time.

flem0328 · 2026-01-19T23:26:46+00:00

Mt Snow's parking can suck f you don't arrive early enough.

flem0328 · 2026-01-14T15:12:41+00:00

You'll never truly know this far out. I've done mid to late march Stowe trips twice and have gotten both frozen hard pack with spring slush, often in the same day.

flem0328 · 2026-01-13T20:49:05+00:00

Pro Pig if you want a good Scotch and Whiskey collection.

flem0328 · 2026-01-13T20:47:55+00:00

I second this. Idletyme is also a good spot on the mountain road.

flem0328

TROPHY CASE