Bolton Valley is a mid-sized ski area in the town of Bolton in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. It is located in close proximity to Burlington, the largest city in the state of Vermont. The community around the base of the ski area was listed as the Bolton Valley census-designated place prior to the 2020 census.
| Bolton Valley | |
|---|---|
 | |
 The Main Lodge at Bolton Valley Resort | |
| Location | Bolton, Vermont, U.S. |
| Nearest major city | Burlington, Vermont, U.S. (21 miles) |
| Coordinates | 44°25′11″N 72°51′00″W / 44.419621°N 72.849998°W |
| Vertical | 1,625 feet (495 m)[1] |
| Top elevation | 3,150 feet (960 m)[2] |
| Base elevation | 1,446 feet (441 m)[2] |
| Skiable area | 165 acres (0.67 km2) |
| Trails | 71[3] |
| Lift system | 6 Lifts; 2 quads, 3 doubles, 1 rope tow[2] |
| Terrain parks | 3[2] |
| Night skiing | 12 trails[4] |
| Website | Bolton Valley Resort |
History
editThe resort was founded in 1966 by Ralph DesLauriers and his father. Bolton thrived for many years as a family-friendly resort and spawned two famous skiers, Rob and Eric DesLauriers, who went on to star in dozens of ski movies. With their brother Adam, they founded Straight Up Films; Adam remains in the area with a more recent venture, Beech Seal Media, named for a ski trail at the resort and a unique type of communication in Vermont lore.
In 1971 Chateau des Monts,[5] a 20 unit hotel condominium complex was completed next to the base lodge (later connected) by Charles P Jones[6] and Land Development Incorporated.
Beginning around 1997, the resort has been under the control of a handful of new owners and struggled with financial viability. However, it has stabilized under the leadership of industry veteran Bob Fries and seen steady improvement in the 2003-2004, 2004–2005, and 2005-2006 seasons, although just before the 2007-2008 season his shares in the company were bought by two locals, and Bolton Valley is now completely locally owned.
As of the Spring of 2017 the original owner Ralph DesLauriers and a small group of investors have purchased the mountain back from Red Stone Properties. Ralph, along with his children are now operating Bolton once again.[7]
Lifts and trails
edit- Vertical drop: 1,704 ft (519 m)
- Trails: 71 trails
- Night Skiing: 12 trails[4]
- Skiable area: 165 acres (668,000 m²)
- Bolton Valley has 6 lifts.[8]
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Built | Vertical (feet) |
Length (feet) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vista | Quad | Doppelmayr CTEC | 2005 | 955 | 4389 | Main lift out of the base area, and has a wind turbine at the summit. |
| Timberline | 1986 | 940 | 3790 | Has a mid-station. | ||
| Wilderness | Double | Hall | 1966 | 963 | 4948 | Longest lift on the mountain, and also has a mid-station. |
| Mid Mountain | 1966 | 312 | 1798 | |||
| Snowflake | 1966 | 250 | 1230 | Services the terrain parks. | ||
| Mighty Mite | Rope Tow | Homemade | 1997 | - | - | Beginner lift. |
Nordic skiing
editBolton Valley has 100 kilometres (100,000 m) of nordic skiing, 35 kilometres (35,000 m) of which are groomed.[9]
Westward orientation
editBolton Valley is one of the few westward facing ski areas in Vermont.[citation needed]
Wind turbine
edit
In 2009, Bolton Valley installed a Northwind 100 wind turbine, which was made by Northern Power Systems. The turbine was projected to produce 300,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.[10] It is located near the top of the Vista Quad chairlift.
Newsletter
editBolton Valley publishes a humorous weekly newsletter covering snow news, event listings, and deals.[11]
References
edit- ^ Reports, Snow. "SnoCountry - Snow Reports - VT - Bolton Valley". www.snocountry.com.
- ^ a b c d http://winter.boltonvalley.com/upload/photos/196Trail_Map_web.jpg[permanent dead link]
- ^ "The Mountain". winter.boltonvalley.com.
- ^ a b "Vermont's Only Night Skiing and Riding - Bolton Valley". Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- ^ Skiing. October 1972.
- ^ "Chuck Jones, CFP® | Chuck Jones & Associates, Inc". cja-planning.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ "Press Room". boltonvalley.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
- ^ "Bolton Valley, VT". October 13, 2018.
- ^ "The Mountain". winter.boltonvalley.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
- ^ "Bolton Valley Wind Tower Information" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- ^ "The Final Weekend of 'Not-Ski-Season' and Other Wonders - Bolton Valley". Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
External links
edit