Where should I start ... The Stowe Gondola was not my first time taking a gondola while skiing (that occurred in Austria in 2003, but that's another story). There's the easy mountain path "Crossover" to arrive at the Gondola and there's the "Nosedive". This run is a rocket ride to the bottom; narrow, steep and challenging. The Gondola goes around a path inside the lift house and you can't take your time getting in. The skis or board must be loaded quickly into the outside rack, then you better hop inside fast as the rest of the group is following right behind you. The ride to the top was just fanastic as you had a view of the entire resort. As we approached the top, the angle continued to get sharp until the was almost straight up. Upon opening of the gondola doors, there was a great smell of Belgium Waffles which filled the air. We muscled up our enough will power not to find out how good they might taste. Instead, it was off the discover the this side of Stowe.
If the Front Four were the challenge, then the runs around the Gondola were all delightful. First, Chin Clip another fast trip down, then Switchback, down Gondalier and then taking a series of in and out of the glade path trail's. At times not really knowing which path we were on, but not really caring either as the runs crisscross among each other. Not the daring tests faced earlier, but considerably enjoyable. Because of the late season trip, there were two different skiing conditions - top of the mountain and the lower trails. At the peaks, the weather conditions were constantly changing from snowing to clearing. Near the base, it was nearly corn snow to plow through. The length of the trails was starting to wear me down quickly. I was used to skiing laps, but now the runs seem to be triple the length. We needed to re-energize with lunch and snacks, then head back to the blues for some speed trials.
I will continue this on part 3 Youth Ski Trip
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