So what do you do if you set off for a ski weekend with friends -- Subaru packed, expectations high, reservations not cancelable -- but the temperature drops so low that some of the lifts are closed, and even if they weren't, you have absolutely no desire to sit huddled and shivering for a ride to the summit that takes eight bone-chilling minutes, with little reward but to race down through the wind and rush into the lodge?
You modify the plan, that's what.
Fortunately, we didn't need to modify our accommodations. If you're going to spend more time inside than anticipated, it may as well be at a ''destination bed-and-breakfast" such as the Pitcher Inn, an elegant, sophisticated, traditional inn downstairs with mostly eccentric, even whimsical guestrooms upstairs.
We were in the Mountain Room, which in part is designed to replicate an old fire tower. The king bed (with fabulously fluffy pillows and comforter) is inside a faux fire tower within a larger suite. A mural of the Green Mountains covers two walls, windows overlook the back of the inn and Freeman's Brook below, and above the leather armchairs in the sitting area, snowshoes of various vintages and shapes are attached to the ceiling. Old crampons, ice axes, and pitons hang from the walls. The floorboards are salvaged, with planks up to 20 inches across, and the wide fireplace's mantle is a huge stone that was found on-site. There are books, photos, and memorabilia to commemorate the Army's 10th Mountain Division, a force of fighting skiers and mountaineers.
Our friends Marie and John were staying in the more traditional Calvin Coolidge Room, with a portrait of the 30th president, a village-gathering mural covering an entire wall, and a spacious porch overlooking ''downtown."
Most of the bathrooms have steam room/showers with rain showerheads. Several, including ours, are large enough for two people to camp out in for long, luxurious steams.
Other rooms include the Ski Room, which looks like an old ski lodge; the Trout Room, with a fly-tying table, four large, carved brook trout hanging from the ceiling, and beams held up by tree trunks; and the Lodge Room, with a striking Masonic theme.
