Skiing Bolton Valley
Sunday, March 22nd, 2026
Runs: 17
Distance: 14.73 miles
Elevation: 13,524 feet
Max Speed: 31.8 mph
Avg. Speed: 13.8 mph
Moving Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes, 59 seconds
Total Time: 4 hours, 18 minutes, 46 seconds
It was another wet/snowy night and nobody was setting an alarm. I ended up waking up around 7:00am, and after meticulous weather-checking decided I'd drive by Bolton Valley and see how it was looking to me. I left Emma's a little after 8:00am, same time as Ray, and made my way down the slushy roads toward Richmond and Bolton. US-2 was in rough shape, but I figured I'd made enough progress that I might as well commit to the drive! The access road was, as expected... puckering. My car held her own well though, with not a single slip or skid. I parked at the Timberline Lodge and got my Indy immediately. It was lightly snowing and the snow looked GOOD. Sarah wasn't sure if she thought I was brave or stupid to tackle that access road in this weather, but I'd soon be glad I did! I had one goggle issue that was quickly resolved with the hand dryer, and then I was off to the races!
Alpine Snow Report
Sunday, March 22nd, 2026
7:54 Update: Vista lift is running today!
Today is shaping up to be a nice day for skiing. Temps are in the upper 20s, which is ideal for keeping the snow in great condition, and light snow showers are moving through to keep things fresh throughout the day.
We're still expecting around 6 to 8 inches over the next 24 hours, with a few inches falling today and more continuing overnight into tomorrow. That should set up soft turns now and a fresh reset by morning. Conditions are skiing nice with a nice layer of new snow on top, so coverage and quiality are both in a really good place.
Lifts are spinning until 4 tonight. See ya soon!
Runs 1-6
Run 1: Timberline Lift - Upper Villager - Sure Shot - Timberline Run
[1.07 mi; 3:34; 955 ft; 31.8 mph max; 18.0 mph avg]
Run 2: Timberline Lift - Upper Tattle Tale - Lower Tattle Tale - Timberline Run
[0.99 mi; 4:05; 997 ft; 25.9 mph max; 14.5 mph avg]
Run 3: Timberline Lift - Brandywine - Lower Brandywine - Timberline Run
[0.95 mi; 4:11; 978 ft; 26.1 mph max; 13.6 mph avg]
Run 4: Timberline Lift - Brandywine - Intro - Spellbinder - Timberline Run
[0.80 mi; 3:40; 991 ft; 27.4 mph max; 13.1 mph avg]
Run 5: Timberline Lift - Brandywine - Intro - Showtime
[0.73 mi; 3:02; 981 ft; 25.8 mph max; 14.4 mph avg]
Run 6: Timberline Lift - Upper Villager - Lower Villager
[0.59 mi; 2:15; 387 ft; 22.9 mph max; 15.8 mph avg]
The Vista was down most of the day yesterday, but I was thirlled to see it was spinning today! I decided since it was almost fully open, I'd ski all of the open Timberline side before scootching over to the main side. I did have my Indy in my pocket, which made the RFID scanner mad, so I poved my Bolton pass to my arm pocket (which I didn't know I had), and it made all the difference! Run #1 was up Timberline and down Upper Villager, Sure Shot, and Timberline Run, and I knew it was going to be a fun day of tee's and hee's! The snow was soft and NICE.
Run #2 went up Timberline again (I'd also like to point out that I didn't share a single chair on Timberline) and down Tattle Tale and Timberline Run, which was just as fun as Sure Shot, but steeper and longer with a few bumps. The bumps had a few ice bulges, but nothing of problem, and I was still giddy!
Runs #3 and #4 were two of my favorites on this side. #3 followed Brandywine to Lower Brandywine. Brandywine was soft and bumpy and fun, and Lower Brandywine had only a few tracks and bouncy bumps (and again, a few sketchy spots due to the thaw/freeze, but all fun). Strong snow/graupel was falling during this, which kept things moving nicely too! #4 was down Brandywine, Intro, and then to Spellbinder, which felt like the steepest du jour on this side (according to SteepSeeker, Tattle Tale is a little steeper), and had some sketchier bumps to navigate, but overall was still just a blast.
My final two runs on this side were down the liftline, which had a nice combo of bumps, cords, and speed, and finally I rode Upper Villager to Lower Villager, bringing me to the delightfully not-busy main side.
Alpine Snow Report
Sunday, March 22nd, 2026
9:38 UPDATE: Rope drops all over! Thanks to our ski patrollers, we've got lots of new terrain for today. Get out there and have some fun!
Runs 7-11
Run 7: Vista Lift - Vista Glades - Sherman's Pass - Bull Run - Sleepy Hollow - Moose Run - Glades - Primer Loop
[1.16 mi; 6:51; 1,027 ft; 24.2 mph max; 10.2 mph avg]
Run 8: Vista Lift - Spillway Lane - Spillway - Sherman's Pass - Glades - Primer Loop
[0.93 mi; 4:26; 1,020 ft; 26.5 mph max; 12.6 mph avg]
Run 9: Vista Lift - Hard Luck Lane - Hard Luck - Moose Run - Glades - Primer Loop
[0.93 mi; 4:32; 1,020 ft; 25.6 mph max; 12.4 mph avg]
Run 10: Vista Lift - Hard Luck Lane - Vermont 200 - Sherman's Pass - Bear Run - TFR - Primer Loop - Beach Seal
[1.02 mi; 4:42; 1,020 ft; 30.2 mph max; 13.0 mph avg]
Run 11: Vista Lift - Cobrass - Five Corners - Timberline Run
[2.02 mi; 9:27; 1,617 ft; 26.5 mph max; 12.8 mph avg]
The snow continued on and off for the next few runs, even showcasing some views here and there! My only real goal now was to hit the main steeps and the Vista Glades, and anything else would be bonus! Run #7 was down the aformentioned Vista Glades, which for lack of better terms, absolutely ripped. Even the spots that were clearly the mountain bike course skied so nicely, it was a blast! I continued onto Sherman's Pass and then onto Bull Run, which brought me to a barely-tracked entrance to Sleepy Hollow, which was... fine? Heavy, wet, fresh snow and very few tracks had my legs and brain a little lost, but I survived! This spat me out onto Moose Run and then into the lower stretch of Glades, which is always a favorite of mine.
Run #8 was down Spillway, which was in good shape! I continued onto Sherman's Pass and did all of Glades this time. Run #9 was more of the same, but I hit Hard Luck instead of Spillway. Both were wonderful and fun! I also giggled at accidentally landing at Glades again after Run #9 - I didn't mean to, as I was just randomly skiing down, but I enjoyed it for sure!
Run #10 was a new one for me - down Hard Luck Lane to Vermont 200, which was closed last time and had a "thin cover" sign today. It did not ski thin cover, though. It was fun! Narrow, bumpy, kind of like Parmanchene Belle or Golden Smelt at Saddleback, super fun - definitely a new favorite! Only bummer was the snow had changed to sleet, which froze on contact higher up, so I was a bit... crusty now.
I hopped back on the Vista for Run #11, sharing with a guy from western New York. The Vista stopped for a few minutes with us on it while it was sleeting/freezing onto us, and we both were worried it was a repeat of yesterday. After a few minues of casual chit chat (and him taking a swig of his flask), the lift started moving incredibly slowly, and I noticed that they were not loading any more chairs. Bummer! I took this one as a sign to ski back to Timberline and regroup. Cobrass was fun and very variable, and the rest of the run was easy peasy.
Alpine Snow Report
Sunday, March 22nd, 2026
1:10 UPDATE: Vista is currently on hold for a mechanical issue. Our team is working on resolving the problem. Stay tuned for updates.
Runs 12-15
Run 12: Timberline Lift - Upper Villager - Lower Villager
[0.68 mi; 3:10; 367 ft; 27.0 mph max; 12.9 mph avg]
Run 13: Mid-Mountain Lift - Beach Seal
[0.31 mi; 1:19; 325 ft; 24.7 mph max; 14.1 mph avg]
Run 14: Mid-Mountain Lift - Enchanted Forest - TFR - Primer Loop
[0.45 mi; 2:11; 322 ft; 26.1 mph max; 12.2 mph avg]
Run 15: Mid-Mountain Lift - Bear Run - Primer Loop - Cobrass Run - Bear Run
[0.54 mi; 2:14; 358 ft; 25.2 mph max; 14.6 mph avg]
I thought about calling it, but I wanted to give the roads (especially the access road and I-89, which had a decent backup on it when I checked) time to calm down, so I ran inside the Timberline Lodge for a bathroom break and swapped out my soaking wet mittens for dry ones at the car before getting back to work! I decided a nice side quest would be to ride every chair before I left (Wilderness was not running on this day, sadly). I took the Timberline Lift back on up and followed Villager all the way back.
From here, I got three runs in on the Mid-Mountain Lift. #13 I shared with a dad who I rode the Vista with earlier - he did not get stuck on the Vista. I skied down Beach Seal, which is short but consistently wonderful. #14 was solo and I went down Enchanted Forest to TFR and Primer loop, whicih was nice a and soft the whole way. I tried to get to the top of Snowflake, or at least see how close I could get), on Run #15. I followed Bear Run and cut through to Primer Loop and Cobrass Run, but could only see the top of Snowflake, too high up to skate to, so I followed Bear Run the rest of the way down.
Alpine Snow Report
Sunday, March 22nd, 2026
2:40pm UPDATE: Vista will be closed for the rest of the evening.
Runs 16-17
Run 16: Snowflake Lift - Foxy - Lower Foxy
[0.31 mi; 1:14; 276 ft; 27.6 mph max; 15.2 mph avg]
Run 17: Snowflake Lift - Timberline Lane - Timberline Run
[1.26 mi; 5:05; 886 ft; 28.5 mph max; 14.8 mph avg]
I skied over to Snowflake lift and followed Foxy to Lower Foxy first, which was a nice, mellow run, and wrapped up my day taking the Snowflake Lift to Timberline Lane and Timberline Run. I was sopping wet by the end of this journey, but it was a super fun day! I will always be a big fan of Bolton Valley, and some day I'll make it on a day with 2' of fresh snow, I swear I will!
My drive home was long but not too slow, thankfully. I got gas station lunch and wiggled all the way back to Boston, landing around 6:30pm. Ray comically said "WHERE did you go?!" since he'd been home for hours at that point! He was starting to ask about buying skis and an Indy Pass for next year...
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