Learning to backcountry ski can be daunting at first, but a small hill in Vermont’s Green Mountains is paving the way for new members of the sport, creating community and inspiring confidence along the way.
The winter sun dips over the horizon, casting a purple glow against the white hills, and my friends and I make our last turns of the day through the tight glades of birch and hemlock on Worth Mountain. Just hours before, we all sat patiently through college lectures, watching the flakes fall outside the window. In a swift yet spontaneous motion, I rallied a group and four of us set off for the Snow Bowl.
The Middlebury College Snow Bowl is tucked away in the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains and lies just over ten miles as the crow flies from Middlebury’s college campus. It’s a small mountain with a classic New England charm—hand-cut glades of maple trees, a day lodge with a roaring fieldstone fireplace, and a history that traces back to 1934. Despite the Snow Bowl’s quaint, cozy qualities, there is no shortage of fun when a deep midwinter storm blankets the mountain in fresh snow.
Between December and April, college students and locals alike flock to the Snow Bowl five days a week, where they ride the chairlifts up and ski down. But, on Mondays and Tuesdays, the mountain is quieter, more tranquil. The only sounds that penetrate the cold Vermont winter days are the sliding friction of climbing skins on snow, and joyful hoots and hollers of skiers making turns on a blank canvas.
At its core, the Snow Bowl is a hub for the local ski community. “It’s hard to go skinning up the Bowl without seeing somebody you know,” says Max Mercuri, a student at Middlebury College and seasoned backcountry skier from Jackson, WY. Despite his many years of experience in the mountains, Max still feels the allure of ‘the Bowl’—as students and locals affectionately call it. “You have skiing for any ability level, whether you want to be skiing steep trees or mellow groomers.”
With 1000 vertical feet over an area of 600 acres and close proximity to a college campus, the Bowl is the perfect learning grounds for budding backcountry skiers and riders. “You can [ascend] as fast or as slow as you want. There’s no real pressure at all. You’re not on a narrow skin track where, you know, people are coming up behind you,” Mercuri explains. “For the most part, you’re out of the way, even of the people who are skiing.” The Bowl’s wide groomers and numerous uphill routes make for a stress-free introduction to a sport that often feels complex at the outset.
Backcountry skiing demands a broad skillset, including not just skiing technique, but also proper risk management and self-awareness. Putting all these pieces together can be daunting, especially for someone who hasn’t spent most of their life in the mountains. At the Bowl, the infrastructure is already in place to take away the initial pressure that comes from learning a new skill. Middlebury Mountain Club president and student guide Will Hinkle notes that honing your skills in the outdoors involves “just kind of stepping a little bit out of your comfort zone.” Plus, he adds, “the [outdoor] community that’s there and established and knows what they’re doing will almost always be happy to take you in and show you what’s up because they’re really into it.”
Aside from knowing how to ski in the first place, paying for the equipment can be a big barrier. That’s why Middlebury Outdoor Programs (MOP) was created in the first place. Rich Connell, MOP director of three years, knows this better than anyone. Connell favors a “no costs, no barrier” approach, which works to get more students outside and into the mountains. At the end of the day, he says, “maybe they’ll like it, maybe they won’t, but at least they tried it and they know like, oh, I want to invest or like, nah, it’s not for me.” Plus, he adds with a grin, “as long as you’re getting outside, it’s fine by me.”
In a way, the Snow Bowl could be described as a launch pad—it’s where aspiring backcountry travelers develop their skills, allowing them to apply their knowledge in bigger terrain. “Someone [could] come in as a freshman having never skied, go through an instructor, learn to ski—you know, the front country resort skiing—then start getting into alpine touring, and then by like junior or senior year, be able to go on an advanced trip like the Chic-Chocs,” explains Connell. For the past two winters, MOP has hosted all-expenses-paid trips to the Gaspé Peninsula, where small groups of students enjoy a week of backcountry adventure with the support of experienced guides.
In the end, it all ties back into the little ski area off the side of VT Route 125. Kim Essensa, the general manager at the Bowl, knows that the mountain punches above its weight. “Here at the Snow Bowl, we have some pretty great uphill routes and multiple different options, whether you’re here on the frontside or backside. I think it’s pretty extensive for a little area.”
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