Burke Mountain, VT

[ski diva]

Anyone been there? I skied Burke for the first time today with Thatsagirl, which was really, really fun!

I've been hearing about Burke for years. People who ski there seem to love it, so I wanted to give it a try. It's an old school mountain in NE Vermont, really out in the middle of nowhere, as in not close or convenient to anything.

First, here are the stats:
45 trails and glades on 250 skiable acres
25% novice 45% intermediate 30% advanced
Summit Elevation: 3267
Vertical Drop: 2011.

Burke is the antithesis of the fancy, modern resort. No fancy lodge, no fancy lifts. Instead of big, wide groomers, there are trails that follow old logging roads. Lots of glade skiing. It reminded me a lot of the places I used to ski when I was a kid, way back in the late '60's, early 70's. I thought it was pretty cool. Nice vibe.

I think about 10 people were there today. Thatsagirl and I had the place almost completely to ourselves, and it was a beautiful day. Sunny, no wind, a little cold (-6 when I drove over there), but it warmed up above zero and really wasn't bad.

Conditions were a little thin on some trails -- they need snow. But with 2 feet of snow expected tomorrow, I think it'll be a terrific place to be.

 

[Thatsagirl]

Ski Diva, it was great skiing with you yesterday!

One of my favorite things about Burke is the trails follow the contours of the mountain. So, a trail may have a steep section on one side of the trail but have a less-steep alternative if you just ski to the other side of the trail. That makes it easy to work your way up to steeper terrain, and it's easy to bail out if you get intimidated. They haven't flattened out the trail so it's the same from side to side. Hope that makes sense. Also, the trails wind around, instead of dropping straight down, so you get to enjoy the mountain and the changing views.

I have skied Burke one other time, and there was enough snow to ski in the glades. The glades are great fun, and most are quite open. In fact, Ski Diva said she would have had no hesitation in going into one we were looking at, except it was closed. ;)

For anyone who has ever skied Pico, Burke has a similar feel to it, on the mountain and in the lodges. Very laid back, old school, friendly, like a comfy bathrobe giving you warm-fuzzy feelings.

Thatsagirl

 

[Thatsagirl]

Some pictures

As you might imagine, I've been pretty busy skiing :D but I wanted to post up some pictures from our day at Burke.

The first picture is Ski Diva sitting on a picnic table at the summit. Yes, it was too cold to want to remove your face mask, at least in the morning when we took this photo.

The second photo is Wendy below me, with the view. Pretty, isn't it?

The third is Wendy skiing down a groomer, with a nice rooster tail of snow billowing up behind her.

We really did have a nice day. Now I need to go back when there is all this snow in the woods. ;)

Thatsagirl