The Chin

There's no better way to usher in spring... than to go skiing! Today the Spruce side of Stowe was closed for the season. That is sad, of course, but there's an up-side to everything: dog-owners of the Adventure Center brought their dogs to work! Berkeley was there, but Fletcher had to stay home because his exuberance would render him lame for the rest of the week. Still, two dogs brought plenty of energy to the place.

We worked hard all morning, but then Oscar and I got down to business. The Gondola is closed for the season too, so I put skins on the bases of my telemark skis, and began the ascent of Perry Merrill, the long cruiser off the Gondy. Oscar loped here and there and back and forth and up and down. He is truly a snow dog. At one point, mountain officials turned the Gondola on to transport restaurant supplies down from the Cliff House. When they turned the lift off, we could -- for the first time really all season -- appreciate the silence that you have when it's just you, your dog, and the mountain.

We saw one skier on the way up -- a gal who had skied over from the Quad (the one lift still operating) on the Rimrock Trail and had herring-boned her way up to the top of the Gondola. She came swooshing down wearing a bikini top and a smile -- and she said the slog up was well worth it.

Oscar and I, though, didn't stop when we reached the Gondy house. We wanted to stand on top of Vermont. The boot-packed trail was pretty navigable, and it was just a beautiful day. Warm, no wind, and clear. It took about 30 minutes until we stood on the summit of Mount Mansfield's Chin. We could see clearly to Mount Washington, the highest peak in New England. The snow is disappearing up there, but it is certainly skiable. We made jump turns down Profanity (the chute to the right of the Hourglass) in heavy snow and cut back to the top of Chin Clip.

It was a nice long run on a beautiful day. I wore a T-shirt hiking up and a wind-breaker coming down. I wore sunblock, but still got burned. Oscar loved every minute of the journey, but is still a little tired today. And I am happy to have skied off the top of my state on April 15th.