Despite the sluggish economy and stories of cutbacks in nearly every facet of life these days, "The buzz is that people here are really kind of optimistic about this season," said Neil Van Dyke, who owns the Golden Eagle Resort.
But questions still hang in the in creasingly frosty air over Mount Mansfield and the post-card village setting here: What if people cut such recreation as skiing and boarding out of their discretionary budgets?
And what if parent company American International Group (AIG), the well-known recipient of an $85 billion government bailout, includes Stowe as an asset to sell off in an effort to repay the bailout?
But again, perhaps buoyed by last season's sensational conditions and the skiing public's enthusiastic response, most Stowe faithful see the glass as half-full.
According to spokesman Jeff Wise, a down economy could actually help areas such as Stowe, because people will more likely pass up a trip west to the Rockies and stay local. Vermont's resorts are within driving time of some 50 million people, many from Canada, where the exchange rate with the US dollar still makes crossing the border an attractive option.
And Wise said that Stowe - about midway through its $400 million improvement program that includes snowmaking, new lifts, hotels, and base lodge facilities - is well-positioned to reap a fair percentage of winter vacationers.
"We have one of the only truly authentic Alpine destinations in the East, and we think people this year will be more ready to come here than fly west," he said.
The authenticity is found in the history of the town and area. Skiing caught on in this country (its popularity spiking after World War II) when Austrian ski instructors who had fought with the US 10th Mountain Division established areas both in the East and on the Rocky Mountains.
"Bend zee knees, 5 dollars please!" was a well-known joke in those years, with reference to the aura of the dashing Tyrolean ski instructors who taught the sport to a generation hungry for new thrills after the decades of depression and war.
