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Stowe, Vt. By Nancy and Richard Woodworth When former Olympic skier Phil Mahre first saw Stowe clad in summer's green rather than winter's white, he was struck by its beauty. So were many in the Eastern Ski Writers audience he addressed that August day. Most downhill skiers haven't been to Stowe in what for them is the off-season. But the undisputed Ski Capital of the East is a year-round destination resort, more than its newer, less endowed competitors can hope to be. For one thing, Stowe is Stowe, a legendary village unto itself about eight miles from Mount Mansfield, a legendary ski area unto itself. The twain meets all along the Mountain Road, which links village and mountain. Such a marriage between town and ski area is unrivaled in New England and rich in history – a history unequaled by any other ski town in the country, according to Mount Mansfield Company officials. The ski resort was led for years by Sepp Ruschp, who left Austria in 1936 to be ski instructor for the fledgling Mount Mansfield Ski Club. The alpine mystique of the area was enhanced by Baroness Maria von Trapp and her family, whose story was immortalized by "The Sound of Music," when they founded the Trapp Family Lodge. The rolling valley between broad Mount Mansfield on the west and the Worcester Mountains on the east creates an open feeling that is unusual for northern New England mountain regions. In Stowe's exhilarating air, recreation and cultural endeavors thrive. Cross-country skiing complements downhill in winter. Other seasons bring golf, tennis, polo, horseback riding, hiking, performing arts, art exhibits and enough sights to see and things to do to make credible the area's claim to being a world-class resort. The first International Food & Wine Expo in July 1997 attracted national bigwigs. Although a financial disaster, local organizers hoped to make it an annual event rivaling one in Aspen. Foremost a ski center, Stowe is somewhat lacking in inns of the classic New England variety. Instead, it has resorts, motels, ski dorms, condominiums and more Alpine/Bavarian chalets and lodges than you'll find just about anywhere this side of the Atlantic. Still, Stowe is Stowe, a storybook New England ski town dominated by Vermont's highest peak. It's a place to be treasured, by skier and non-skier alike. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places in New England, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2004. E-mail feedback to: Wood Pond Press Home
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