( This is our last ediiton of Summer Inside Line 2008 ) Now Through Columbus Day Weekend Will be Very Colorful The foliage around Stowe is in full hue and cry this week. Dramatic colors have given the high peaks around Stowe Mountain Resort a completely new identity for a few precious weeks. Columbus Day is usually described as the peak foliage point although each year’s weather conditions affect the timing of the cycle. Spruce Peak activities including the Alpine Slide and the Bungee Trampolines will operate this Saturday and Sunday as well as next weekend. The Gondola and the Toll Road will be open daily until October 19. Locals know that after next weekend, the next time the Gondola starts running will be to carry skiers and riders in December. Speaking of which, early purchase rates for Season Passes end on Oct. 25. This weekend, visitors to Stowe will be able to enjoy the community’s 26th Annual Stowe Foliage Arts Festival, featuring a wealth of arts, crafts and music offerings. P.S. This is the final installment of our Summer Inside Line. We’ll start reporting back to you in December.

capturing fall

Stowe's Foliage Art's Festival

Visitors to Stowe during the annual foliage viewing season have demonstrated an insatiable enthusiasm for taking home examples of the great craftsmanship and artistry that are part of Stowe’s culture. For the past quarter century, Stowe’s merchants and artisans have been eager to provide a great venue for those looking for retail therapy. After all, Christmas is not that far away. Hence this weekend’s 26th annual Stowe Foliage Festival. 185 artists will be on-hand displaying fine art, craft and cuisine! Harvest activities, a wine tasting, music and craft demos are all part of the schedule. The festival is fun whether rain or shine since it is held underneath heated Camelot-style tents. The festival will run from 10 to 5 both Saturday and Sunday at the Topnotch Field on the Mountain Road, Route 108. That field is located just south of Stowe Mountain Resort. Admission is $8. For additional information call 802-425-3399.

Season Pass Discounts

Only a couple of more weeks remain until the deadline for discounts on 2008-2009 Season Passes at Stowe Mountain Resort. There are some very good deals being offered at the East’s premier ski and snowboard resort. Stowe is currently rank #1 in the eastern U.S. by SKI Magazine. Last winter featured snowfall in excess of 370 inches -- that’s 30+ feet folks -- and there were some epic powder days. Stowe has one of the most committed season passholder blocks of any resort in the country, measured as a percentage of people skiing. The good news is that you can still become part of that crowd and if you do it by October 24th you are eligible for the pre-season discount. One of the beauties of having a season pass is that you just go and ride or ski when the opportunity is there without having to decide about buying a day ticket. To purchase you can call 802-253-3000 or buy season passes online at www.stowe.com , the pass office at Spruce is also open daily for walk-in purchasing. Don’t delay – get your pass today!

Spruce Peak At Stowe

Soon it will be white everywhere around the resort’s new flagship property but for the moment it is a tale of glorious crimsons, oranges and other shades of color from the diverse hardwoods of the northern Vermont forest. Even on cool days, the heated pool at the spa is a popular spot and it offers great views across the valley towards Vermont’s highest peak, Mount Mansfield. It is exciting to see the landscaping and the stonework nearing completion in the Spruce Peak Plaza that will soon form the main thoroughfare for visitors to the revitalized Spruce Peak. If you are in the area, stop by the Spruce Peak Preview Center to arrange a guided tour of the new hotel, the nearly completed Spruce Camp base lodge, and the other projects that continue to take shape.

Stowe Mountain Lodge Update

Work is continuing on the upper stories of the hotel as the remaining units in the penthouse levels of the Front Four fractional ownership program are being readied one by one for occupancy. The work around the perimeter of the new hotel is mostly in the plaza area separating the hotel from the Spruce Peak Preview Center and the Spruce Retail Shop. Approaching the building via its completely finished entry drive from Rt. 108, the building looks like it has been open for months. It has been!

Stowe Mountain Club Update

Stowe Mountain Club will be open for regularly scheduled play through October 19. The course has gone through the summer in great shape. There were a number of events hosted by the club this summer, virtually all of which were fundraisers for charitable causes. The latest of these was put together in conjunction with the Vermont PGA and brought twenty of Vermont’s top teaching professionals to the course for a ream competition. The event was dedicated to the memory of the late Jeff Hadley, a victim of ALS disease, who at one time had been the head professional at the Stowe Country Club. For most of these players, it marked the first opportunity to experience one of New England’s most acclaimed new courses and one of Golf Magazine’s Top Ten New Courses You Can Play.

New Buildings Report

The team finishing the new Spruce Base Camp is marching steadily along toward a completion date set for mid-December. This new base lodge will be a real eye-opener for people returning to Spruce for the first time in years. In the Spruce Peak Plaza zone, work is progressing nicely in the laying of the pavers that will provide the finished surface for the plaza. This walking area will be heated underneath by a snow-melt system designed to keep the surface clear of ice during the long winter season. Work continues over at the Phase II structure that will provide the next section of the Stowe Mountain Lodge. Preparation continues for the first phase of the site and foundation work for. Work will commence at the new Performing Arts Center site now that the last of the office trailers have been relocated to their new homes. Ground-breaking must start soon in order to comply with the mid-October cutoff for beginning new exterior projects this season.

Roadway & Parking Report

The new upper Barnes Camp Lot should open right on schedule for this winter. Despite the fact that much of the old Spruce Peak parking area is now the lively new hub of the resort, there will be more parking spaces at the resort this winter than at any previous time.

Snowmaking, Trail and Lift Maintenance Report

Snowmaking preparations are in full swing as virtually every element of an extensive summer maintenance program has now been buttoned up. Three valve houses are rebuilt and back on line. Several irksome pipe breaks from the previous season have been repaired. Pumps and all lines have been pressure-tested and the automated system that serves Main Street is now back on line after receiving some routine maintenance work. Snow fell last weekend on the higher elevations of Spruce Peak and Mansfield and mountain ops reports a sighting of at least one local hiking to the top of the Gondola with skis on shoulder in search of that elusive first run of the new year. The brushcutting crew was cleaning up around the base of the FourRunner Quad. As traffic flows back toward the Quad after runs on Mansfield, room is needed to relieve congestion. The mowers remain at Spruce Peak this week.and will continue over there as long as weather permits. Cleaning at different locations along the Sensation Lift is ongoing with a goal to improving the options for opening that route more frequently this winter.

Editor's Note

The Inside Line now ends for the summer with this issue and will return in December when the coming ski and snowboard season swings into full gear. Thank you for subscribing and being an important part of our Stowe scene.

See you on the mountain,

-Jeff

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