Mountains

If a place like Stowe didn’t exist, it would need to be invented. There is something soothing about getting away to the mountains, and this quaint village in northern Vermont has for decades offered sanctuary to those looking to escape the intrusions of the outside world, if only for a weekend. In all seasons, Stowe caters to both outdoor enthusiasts and those whose idea of a strenuous afternoon is running a pleasant gantlet of specialty shops, galleries, and restaurants. For a destination known for its ski resort, it’s equally enjoyable to visit in summer, when the only thing steep and white is the...

The skiing and riding industry in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom was altered drastically Thursday, when news came down that the owners of Jay Peak Resort have purchased nearby Burke Mountain Resort, creating a joint venture that makes for intriguing expansion options for Burke. The deal was first reported by WCAX-TV , which also pointed out that Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros completed the purchase of Burke earlier this week for an undisclosed price. A formal announcement is expected later today.

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy’s forces intensified their campaign to take strategic heights in a western mountain range and targeted a road that many people have used to flee the fighting in Libya, forcing the temporary closure of a border crossing to Tunisia. Much of the fighting centered around the town of Yafrin, and residents and rebel fighters said yesterday that Khadafy forces were using Grad missiles and rockets. In nearby Zintan, however, rebels repelled an advance by Khadafy’s forces, killing eight and taking one prisoner, a local activist said.

Police arrested notorious "mountain man" Dan Nichols Tuesday on drug charges following a months-long search that came nearly three decades after he and his father kidnapped a world-class athlete. Nichols was taken into custody after phoning the U.S. Marshals Service and saying he would be in the Walmart parking lot in Butte between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., Butte-Silver Bow Sheriff John Walsh said. Nichols showed up as promised in a 1982 red Honda Prelude with Bozeman license plates and was arrested without incident, Walsh said.

The Spanish maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos is back on the Boston Symphony Orchestra podium with a second week of, it must be said, lackluster programming. There is nothing wrong with a de facto mini-festival of Strauss tone poems but this should ideally be done with real intentionality, and the music presented in suggestive pairings designed to offer some larger interpretive gesture. Better still if the conductor at hand is bursting with fresh things to say with this music. Neither one appears to be the case.

It seems hard to believe, but only three weeks ago, there was still some trace of snow in Tuckerman Ravine, and some folks even took advantage of it for some July skiing . Alas, any snow is now certainly long gone from Mount Washington and every other peak in New England, so you'll have to head west in order to find any. Despite the heat wave gripping the entire country, Colorado's Keystone Ski Resort has managed to...

GLOBE, Ariz. - An 86-year-old man yesterday described how he and his wife spent five grueling days stranded in their car in the rugged Arizona mountains during a snowstorm, watching his spouse collapse to her death in the freezing cold as they tried to walk for help. Dana Davis of Albuquerque spoke at a news conference yesterday at the hospital where is recovering and is in good condition, despite walking 8 miles and spending a night under a tree after losing his wife. He said he and his 82-year-old wife, Elizabeth, rationed sandwiches,...

CRAWFORD NOTCH, N.H. -- Bradford Washburn is speaking. On the wall is a black-and-white photograph of the imposing north face of Alaska's Mount Huntington. Its slopes are treacherous and loaded with gullies, each casting its own shadow. The gravel-voiced Washburn says, "Here again, I was lucky, lucky, lucky. " A climber, explorer, scientist, mapmaker, and photographer, Washburn was also director of Boston's Museum of Science for more than 40 years. He is in love with mountains, be they in the Alps, Alaska, or New Hampshire . It is fitting to view...

ROME - Riccardo Cassin, a mountaineering pioneer credited with 100 first ascents from the Himalayas to Alaska, is dead at the age of 100. Mr. Cassin died Aug. 6 at his home in Piani Resinelli, a hamlet north of Milan at the foot of the Alps, his climbing equipment company said. The cause of death was not announced. “He has left us a wealth of values, dreams, and climbs that will continue to guide us,’’ said a statement from the company, Cassin Srl. “His rope is still tied to us and continues to drive us.’’ He was remembered...

TOKYO - Japanese police were investigating possible negligence by tour organizers after 10 senior citizen climbers were found dead yesterday in Japan’s northern mountains, apparently from hypothermia. Nine seniors died while climbing Mount Tomuraushi on Hokkaido, Japan’s main northern island, said police spokesman Masafumi Yamasaki. Eight were part of an 18-member group tour organized by Amuse-Travel Co., while the other was climbing alone. A 10th elderly person died on another mountain on Hokkaido, he said.

KATMANDU, Nepal - A plane crashed into a mountain in the Himalayas while trying to land at an airport in northern Nepal on Monday, killing 15 people and injuring six, some critically. It was carrying two pilots and a flight attendant - all Nepalese - along with 16 Indians and two Danish citizens, both of whom survived, officials said. Just before the crash, the captain, Prabhu Sharan Pathak, had told the Pokhara airport the two-engine Dornier plane was having technical problems and he did not want to land as scheduled at Jomson Airport because it lacked adequate facilities.

SCHUYLER, Va. — Readers who can name all of John-Boy's siblings, know what the "Recipe Machine" is, and can visualize Ike Godsey's Store are probably among the tens of thousand of fans who have made the pilgrimage to the Walton's Mountain Museum, located in a tiny Virginia town near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Others may be surprised to learn that the museum, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary this fall, is based in the building where "The Waltons" creator, Earl Hamner Jr., went to high school.

NEW YORK - The founder of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., who was ousted as chairman for a stock sale that violated company policy, said the transaction was triggered after he was caught off-guard by a swift drop in the coffee maker's stock price. Robert Stiller, who also dumped his $50 million stake in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., said in an interview Wednesday that he did not expect Green Mountain's shares to fall so steeply last week. The decline forced him to sell the shares on a margin call, which happened to occur during a blackout period in which the company...

Rescue crews used coordinates from a cell phone to locate a Massachusetts couple who encountered trouble while hiking in New Hampshire on Mount Chocorua. Fish & Game officials said a man called for help late Saturday afternoon after his wife broke her ankle. Officers located the couple near the summit of the 3,490-feet-tall mountain and used lines to lower 45-year-old Emily Crane of Millbury, Mass., down steep sections of trail. Officials said crews from more than a half-dozen agencies helped in the rescue effort.

CHICAGO - Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. plunged as much as 43 percent in New York after saying profit this year will be less than it previously expected amid slowing sales growth. Shares dropped 42 percent to $28.80 after hours. They closed at $49.52 at the end of regular trading. Green Mountain had gained 10 percent this year. Profit excluding some items will be as much as $2.50 a share this year, down from an earlier forecast of as much as $2.65, the Waterbury, Vt., company said Wednesday.

A Watertown man was charged in federal court with allegations that he stole more than $1.1 million from his former employer, Iron Mountain Inc., the office of US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said Tuesday. John J. Palandjian of Watertown was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud, Ortiz's office said. Palandjian, 34, was formerly a sourcing manager for Iron Mountain, a Boston-based company that helps its customers manage their business records. According to the allegations, Palandjian used a company credit card to make unauthorized purchases and...

RUPIT -- We woke to birdsong and the faint clang of a bell on a sheep. Outside the terrace window, the scene could have been from centuries ago. Mist rose from a gorge cut by a rippling river. Medieval buildings in warm stone the color of oatmeal hung over narrow streets, and the sound of villagers greeting each other in sibilant Catalan was interrupted by church bells tolling the hour. After a breakfast of strong coffee, fruit, and toasted bread, we ambled across a hanging wooden bridge, first built in the 13th century and last rebuilt in the 1990s.

Authorities say three Boy Scouts who were separated from their troop during a mountain hike did exactly what scouts are told to do if they get lost: They pitched a tent, stayed warm in sleeping bags and set out in the morning to find their rescuers. David Orr is deputy chief with the Transylvania County Rescue Service in North Carolina. He says a helicopter pilot spotted the boys waving Sunday morning during its first pass over the mountains north of Brevard. The boys, who were with a troop from the Charlotte area, were fine and didn't need medical help...

A Watertown man was charged in federal court with stealing more than $1.1 million from his former employer, Iron Mountain Inc., the office of US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said Tuesday. John J. Palandjian was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud, Ortiz's office said. Palandjian, 34, was formerly a sourcing manager for Iron Mountain, a Boston-based company that helps its customers manage their business records. Palandjian allegedly used a company credit card to make unauthorized purchases and take cash advances that totaled about $1.1 million.