Mad River Glen

FAYSTON, Vt. -- It is a relic of skiing's past, when lifts were novel, tickets cost $3.50 and everyone rode solo. Fifty-eight years after it began ferrying skiers up General Stark Mountain, Mad River Glen's single-chair lift remains a beloved anachronism. But its days are numbered -- sort of. The 158-chair lift, one of only two still in operation in the United States, will undergo a $1.5 million renovation after the season ends. The diesel engine that powers the lift will be replaced with an electric motor, the towers will be sandblasted, repainted and installed anew and the wooden...

GIVEN OUR MILD winter — not to mention the predictions of the resident groundhog at Lincoln's Drumlin Farm — there's every indication it will be an early spring. How fortunate then that this time of year is the best in New England for finding travel bargains. Stuck between ski and beach seasons, hotels tend to slash their rates and restaurants start creatively filling up their specials boards. The following destinations (some off the beaten track, some on) offer hefty deals.

In the snow sports industry, progress doesn't just trump aesthetics. It usually obliterates everything in its path. But while many resorts are focused on installing the latest high-tech equipment to zip customers up the slopes as fast as possible, one ski area in northern Vermont is taking a different approach: The cooperative that runs Mad River Glen in Fayston just spent eight months and $1.54 million rehabbing its six-decade-old Chair No....

Waitsfield is blessed with a certain geographic advantage. Tucked into Vermont's picturesque Mad River Valley, the village bustles in the shadow of two of the state's beloved ski areas: Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. But one needn't know the difference between a schuss and a slalom before venturing to the high country. While outdoorsmen can truly indulge themselves here, Waitsfield also nurtures a thriving artists' colony, making it a beckoning retreat for embracing winter's last gasp or hibernating in the great indoors.

GIVEN OUR MILD winter — not to mention the predictions of the resident groundhog at Lincoln's Drumlin Farm — there's every indication it will be an early spring. How fortunate then that this time of year is the best in New England for finding travel bargains. Stuck between ski and beach seasons, hotels tend to slash their rates and restaurants start creatively filling up their specials boards. The following destinations (some off the beaten track, some on) offer hefty deals.

FAYSTON, Vt. -- Telemark skiers, called "pinheads" because of the traditional pin bindings that hold the front s of their boots to the ski, arrive for two days of fun and wild skiing next weekend at Mad River Glen's NATO Telemark Festival. This marks the 32d anniversary of the North American Telemark Organization's get-together, which usually attracts more than 1,000 free-heeling skiers with clinics for all levels from beginners to bump-busting experts. Anybody who is anybody in New England telemark shows up, as do many manufacturers with demo skis, boots, and...

Always the destination for a remarkable experience, Mad River Glen clings ferociously to the old ways, relying mostly on natural snow, which it grooms only to a modicum. Thus, its adherents proudly stand by the notion that skiing there is a throwback to "real" skiing, or at least New England the way it used to be. If you ski at Mad River and really want to be a snob, your car can wear the old bumper sticker: "Mad River Glen -- Ski It if You Can. " (We haven't seen the less tasteful bumper sticker around lately, but the attitude is still at Mad River Glen -- and...

Waitsfield is blessed with a certain geographic advantage. Tucked into Vermont's picturesque Mad River Valley, the village bustles in the shadow of two of the state's beloved ski areas: Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. But one needn't know the difference between a schuss and a slalom before venturing to the high country. While outdoorsmen can truly indulge themselves here, Waitsfield also nurtures a thriving artists' colony, making it a beckoning retreat for embracing winter's last gasp or hibernating in the great indoors.

So those snow dances finally worked. New England ski resorts saw significant snow in the past several days, and winter has arrived with more seasonal temperatures. Can you say brrrr? The combo of cold temps and real snow has allowed ski resorts to make snow and drop ropes on more trails. Mad River Glen, Sugarbush, Stowe, Smugglers and Jay Peak got over a foot of snow over the weekend. Sunday River and Killington are both skiing on over 400 acres on all peaks. Stowe has 95% of their terrain open, and Loon has 82%, a significant increase since just last week.

Poach it if you can. That's the message from Burton Snowboards during a campaign designed to entice riders to document their experiences trying to ride at four North American resorts where snowboarding is banned. Burton's "Poacher Freedom" campaign is looking for the best snowboarding video at Mad River Glen in Vermont, Deer Valley and Alta in Utah, and Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico. The person or group with the top video from each resort wins $5,000. In his pitch on the Burlington, Vt.-based company's website - burton.com/poachers - snowboarding...

After a nearly two-year campaign soliciting loyal skiers to buy shares at $3,000 a pop, Magic Mountain is finally a cooperatively owned ski area. The southern Vermont ski area has hit its goal of 300 shareholders, giving management access to the $900,000 raised during the campaign, which will go toward snowmaking and other infrastructure projects. Magic's inability to cover trails with man-made snow has kept the small ski area from thriving, especially during dry winters like this one when skiers flock to nearby resorts with more snowmaking equipment.

Hannah Kearney could make it an even dozen consecutive World Cup victories this weekend. "One of the unique things about it is that a record gets you attention," she said by phone from her Norwich, Vt., home earlier this week. "People are much more impressed when it's a record and they understand success through record breaking. " The 2010 Olympic champion won her record 11th consecutive FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls race Jan. 19 at Whiteface Mountain during the USANA Freestyle Cup. Her World Cup streak started a year earlier, Jan. 21, 2011, at the same Lake...

So those snow dances finally worked. New England ski resorts saw significant snow in the past several days, and winter has arrived with more seasonal temperatures. Can you say brrrr? The combo of cold temps and real snow has allowed ski resorts to make snow and drop ropes on more trails. Mad River Glen, Sugarbush, Stowe, Smugglers and Jay Peak got over a foot of snow over the weekend. Sunday River and Killington are both skiing on over 400 acres on all peaks. Stowe has 95% of their terrain open, and Loon has 82%, a significant increase since just last week.

After a warm, dry start to the season, snow is finally starting to pile up in the mountains, and not a moment too soon for New England ski areas looking to capitalize on the long holiday weekend. Mad River Glen in Waitsfield, Vt., has been open only sporadically since New Year's weekend due to rain and warm weather. But with about a foot of new snow during the past few days, the ski area expects to have all its trails open this weekend. "Being that we didn't get Christmas, it's just important that we get this holiday in," said marketing director Eric Friedman, who estimates that a...

As a way to save money to fuel his love of skiing, Jared Antista started an online ski networking group. The New England Ski Networking Association is now some 700 members strong since its birth in the fall of 2010. Between 20 and 40 people ages 25 to 35 usually show up for a Saturday outing in the mountains, according to Antista, a 32-year-old Nashua, N.H., skier who works for a start-up sports and fitness company. With a NESNA group discount, a skier saves $15-$30 off a lift ticket depending on the ski area.

There are quicker ways to arrive at your favorite ski destination. You'll probably save time if you take the highway, but you'll lose the flavor of New England along its various back roads. For skiers and riders, these journeys are not solely about a day on the slopes, but an immersion in the culture and history of the sport. Whether you plan an entire trip along these ski routes, or simply take the long way home, here are three of the region's best. ROUTE 100, VERMONT This celebrated path is often referred to as the “Skier’s Highway,’’ because it connects most of...

After a nearly two-year campaign soliciting loyal skiers to buy shares at $3,000 a pop, Magic Mountain is finally a cooperatively owned ski area. The southern Vermont ski area has hit its goal of 300 shareholders, giving management access to the $900,000 raised during the campaign, which will go toward snowmaking and other infrastructure projects. Magic's inability to cover trails with man-made snow has kept the small ski area from thriving, especially during dry winters like this one when skiers flock to nearby resorts with more snowmaking equipment.

As a way to save money to fuel his love of skiing, Jared Antista started an online ski networking group. The New England Ski Networking Association is now some 700 members strong since its birth in the fall of 2010. Between 20 and 40 people ages 25 to 35 usually show up for a Saturday outing in the mountains, according to Antista, a 32-year-old Nashua, N.H., skier who works for a start-up sports and fitness company. With a NESNA group discount, a skier saves $15-$30 off a lift ticket depending on the ski area.

FAYSTON, Vt. - The 34th annual North American Telemark Festival is the oldest and largest gathering of telemark skiers and it's been taking place at Vermont's Mad River Glen resort for more than three decades. The event draws hundreds of practitioners of the Norwegian free-heel skiing technique and is sponsored by the North American Telemark Organization and Mad River Glen. Among the main attractions are the World Championship Berserkebeiner Race (the NATO website describes it as "a real all-mountain ski race; climbing skins required")