Where to Ski - Southern Vermont: Why Stratton, Bromley & Magic Are East Coast Icons with Benzi Ross

Powder in Southern Vt

Southern Vermont has long been one of the most significant ski regions in the eastern United States. Within a relatively small valley, three mountains—Stratton Mountain Resort, Bromley Mountain, and Magic Mountain Ski Area—offer a mix of terrain, culture, and ski history that continues to draw skiers.

Benzi Ross

In this Where to Ski podcast episode, we sat down with longtime local skier, artist, photographer, and innkeeper Benzi Ross to explore what makes southern Vermont skiing so special. Having grown up in the area and skied these mountains her entire life, Benzi offers a unique perspective on how the region evolved—and why it still captures the spirit of classic New England skiing.

A Natural Snow Pocket in Vermont

One of the reasons southern Vermont became such a strong ski destination is geography. The valley that surrounds Stratton, Bromley, and Magic tends to act like a natural snow trap. Storm systems moving through the region often stall here, dropping significant snowfall on the mountains before moving on. Locals joke that storms “die in the valley,” leaving behind fresh snow for the ski areas that were built here beginning in the mid-20th century.

Bromley and Magic were among the first ski areas established in the region, followed by Stratton in 1961. Over time, each mountain developed its own personality, creating a diverse skiing experience within just a few miles.

Today, the region attracts skiers from across the Northeast, particularly those driving up from New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Stratton: A Mountain Designed for Every Skier

Stratton Mountain

Among the three mountains, Stratton Mountain Resort is the largest and most developed. Yet despite modern lifts and infrastructure, it retains a design philosophy rooted in accessibility and progression.

According to Benzi, a key priority when Stratton was developed was making sure beginners had a great first experience.

“The first time you're on skis, it has to be enjoyable,” she explains. “There always had to be terrain where beginners felt comfortable.”

That philosophy still defines the mountain today. Stratton features multiple beginner zones with magic carpets, allowing new skiers to learn without the intimidation of chairlifts. These beginner areas are thoughtfully separated from faster intermediate traffic, helping first-timers gain confidence.

As skiers improve, Stratton offers a natural progression across the mountain. Intermediate cruisers, wide groomers, and more technical terrain provide options for every skill level.

Terrain That Follows the Mountain

One reason Stratton skis so well is its trail design. Many of the mountain’s runs were designed by Gene Gillis in conjunction with Emo Henrich, Stratton's first ski school director. Rather than cutting massive straight runs through the forest, They shaped trails that follow the natural contours of the mountain. The result is terrain filled with rolls, ridges, and subtle variations that make skiing feel dynamic and engaging. Trails like Drifter, Black Bear, and Tamarack are favorites among locals because they flow naturally with the terrain. Even groomed runs have personality. For experienced skiers, Stratton also offers glades and steeper pitches, particularly around the Snow Bowl area, where tree skiing holds snow after storms.

The Gondola Era and Modern Skiing

Stratton has evolved and one of the most notable additions is the gondola, which provides quick and comfortable access to the summit. For locals the gondola changed the rhythm of the mountain. It allows skiers to rack up more vertical and take faster laps.

Yet despite these upgrades, the overall experience remains grounded in Vermont tradition. Skiers still value early morning groomers, quiet weekday runs, and long spring afternoons in the sun.

Bromley: Vermont’s Sunny Mountain

Bromley Mountain

Just a short drive away sits Bromley Mountain, one of the oldest ski areas in Vermont. Founded in the late 1930s, Bromley is known for its southern exposure, earning it the nickname “The Sun Mountain.”

That sunshine makes Bromley especially appealing for families and beginner skiers. The base area includes an learning zone, allowing new skiers to build skills before venturing onto longer runs. Despite its family-friendly reputation, Bromley also offers challenging terrain. Steeper runs on the east side of the mountain provide solid skiing. While Bromley doesn’t have the high-speed detachable lifts of larger resorts, many skiers appreciate the slower pace. Chairlift rides become a chance to relax, enjoy the views, and soak in the Vermont landscape.

Magic Mountain: Old-School Vermont Steeps

If Stratton represents modern resort skiing and Bromley emphasizes family-friendly sunshine, Magic Mountain captures the soul of classic New England skiing. Magic is smaller than its neighbors, but its terrain has earned a loyal following among expert skiers. The right side of the mountain features some surprisingly steep runs—steep enough that Olympic teams once trained there during the Lake Placid era. When snow conditions line up, Magic becomes a powder playground. Tree skiing, natural terrain, and less-groomed runs create an authentic experience rarely found at larger resorts while the main part of the mountain is really good for those getting started or working on their intermediate skills. The base lodge at Magic also reflects its old-school character. Instead of polished resort villages, visitors find a welcoming atmosphere with live music, local beer, and a strong sense of community. “It feels like stepping back in time,” Benzie says. “But in the best way.”

A Ski Community That Spans Generations

One of the most unique aspects of southern Vermont skiing is the community that surrounds it. Families who first discovered the region in the 1960s and 1970s still return every winter—now bringing children and grandchildren. Ski houses built decades ago remain gathering places for friends and extended families.

Weekends can be busy, especially with skiers driving up from major East Coast cities. But midweek skiing offers a completely different experience: quiet slopes, relaxed lift lines, and long uninterrupted runs. For many locals, those quieter days represent the essence of Vermont skiing.

Snowmaking and Snow Reliability

Like most East Coast ski areas, snowmaking plays a major role in maintaining reliable conditions. Stratton was one of the early adopters of large-scale snowmaking systems, building multiple reservoirs to ensure water supply throughout the season. Today, advanced snowmaking technology helps maintain consistent coverage across the mountain. Combined with natural snowfall, this infrastructure allows the southern Vermont resorts to deliver strong skiing conditions.

More Than Just Downhill Skiing

While downhill skiing is the centerpiece of the region, southern Vermont offers a wide range of winter activities. Visitors can explore extensive cross-country ski networks, snowshoe through quiet forests, or take snowmobile trails that stretch deep into the Green Mountains and beyond. Nearby Manchester, Vermont provides another attraction. Just 20 minutes away, the town offers shopping, restaurants, and cultural sites such as Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home.

These options make southern Vermont an ideal destination for multi-day winter trips, even for that part of the crew that doesn't ski

The Enduring Magic of Vermont Mountains

For Benzie, the appeal of the region ultimately comes down to a simple feeling.

Standing on top of Stratton, looking out across the Green Mountains, you feel connected to something larger than yourself. “It doesn’t matter if I’m skiing in Vermont, Austria, or Alaska,” she says. “Being on top of a mountain and seeing that view—it’s the most amazing feeling.” That sense of perspective—and the deep skiing tradition behind it—is what continues to make southern Vermont one of the most beloved ski regions in the eastern United States.

From the groomed cruisers of Stratton to the sunny slopes of Bromley and the rugged terrain of Magic Mountain, the valley offers something for every skier. And for many who discover it, it becomes a place they return to for generations.

More...

Best Run - I love taking rippers on Liftline at Stratton first thing in the morning. Great terrain and usually great grooming

Best Coffee - West River Coffee Barn, Londonderry

Best Breakfast - Maple Leaf Diner , Londonderry

Best Hotel - JamaicaHaus

Episode Transcript

Welcome to Where to Ski, Benzie. Thank you.

Thank you for having me. I'm excited. We're going to talk about southern Vermont skiing down here and what it's like.

And first thing is, this little valley is like a snow trap. Yes. The storms come in, they hit this valley and they just die.

Totally. It's like a main forest of snow. Is what it is.

Well, it gets the snow, and that's why people built ski areas here. Yeah. And the first ones here were Bromley and Magic, and then about 1961, Stratton was put in, and it's been attracting skiers ever since.

And you've lived here pretty much your whole life. My whole life. My whole life.

Your whole life. So has it changed a little bit since you grew up? Yes, it has. Well, it hasn't, it hasn't.

Oh my goodness, that's what's so great about Vermont. There's parts of it that don't change at all. Like Bonneville, the little town at the base of Stratton, it has not changed.

And the access road of Stratton hasn't changed. Like when I drive up the access road of Stratton, I get these wonderful feelings of when I was, I don't know, 10 years old. Because it still looks the same.

Yeah, there's more houses and stuff. More houses, and there's more people. Yes.

And that's one of the downsides of this part of the world, is that during the week, it's awesome. You get a holiday or a weekend, and New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts are all within striking distance, and they all show up. They all show up.

And so, yes, but that's pretty much the case in any ski area across the country, I will say. I'm around enough in all the other ski areas that the weekends just are busy. Have you been on I-70 in Denver lately? Yes! I ended up just moving up to Dillon when I was living there because I didn't want to do I-70 anymore.

But during the week is such a heavenly time. Not as many people, you get the whole night to yourself. It's a whole different world during the week.

But, you know, not to say there's not a lot of weekends, too. Because that's where some of my friends, they come up from Connecticut, they still all come up. And that's important, because that's part of what skiing is.

It's part of the community that you have. And when they show up, it's awesome. It's so great.

So that's what's so cool about Stratton, is the kids that I grew up with in the 1960s and 1970s still come up with their kids now. And they're in the houses that were built in the 1960s and 1970s. And their grandchildren are up on the hill.

And it's still that wonderful feeling that has always been a part of Stratton. It just got passed down to their kids, their grandchildren. And they're all old now.

So that's grandchildren. But you still ski most times. Every day.

Every day. So let's talk about Stratton. Let's go there first, because we've both spent a lot of time on that mountain.

But you've spent a lot more than me. And it's a good skiing mountain. There's places for everyone to ski.

You can learn there. You can be an intermediate and ski a lot of the mountain. Or you can be a world-class racer or a world-class skier and have places to go.

Where do you go? What do you do? Totally. What's so great about Stratton, and my dad had a big part of that, was he knew that the first skiers, the first time you're up on the mountain, if you're a beginner, it had to be a good experience. And so the base of the mountain and different parts of the mountain, even from the top, that are comfortable for those beginner skiers, it was always a big part of Stratton.

And so the skier, as they improved their skiing, had a place to enjoy Stratton. And Stratton really expanded down into the Sun Bowl and made that possible for every caliber of skiing. So it doesn't matter if you're a total beginner or you're a total black diamond, three black diamond, or whatever.

There's something at Stratton for all those people, and there always has been. And that was a really important part of Dad's, when he was pushing, that everybody enjoyed themselves here. That's the most important part.

That's good, because they have those beginner lifts right at the bottom. So you get out of putting your boots on and getting your skis or renting your skis or whatever, and you're feet away from the lift. Right away.

Wait, wait, you don't even have to take the lift. So if you're not comfortable getting on a lift, they have a plethora of those wonderful, you just sit on it, and whoop, it takes you up like an elevator, so that you don't even have to get on a chairlift initially, because that's a scary thing, to get on a chairlift. So they really pay attention to what the nervousness is for the beginner and make it easy for them to get to the top of the beginner hill.

And Stratton has three of those carpets. The magic carpets. Yeah, yeah.

My kids love them. Yeah, right? And the good thing about Stratton is the beginner area is sort of, it's not blocked off the rest of the mountain, but it's not where other skiers are going to be bombing through. Right.

So they don't get terrorized. No, it's fabulous. It's on the left-hand side kind of, and I actually every once in a while come down those trails, and they're nice and beautiful and not a lot of people on them.

There's a couple of lifts over there that make you, you know, able to go up a lift and come down easily. A bunch of trails over on the left-hand side, and then not just on the front side of the mountain, but Sun Bowl has that same thing. So if you go to the top of the Sun Bowl lift, you have a place to come down if you're starting or if you've got a bunch of kids with you.

There's an easy way to get down, which is super important, you know, as they develop that part of the mountain. And so Stratton is really friendly to all levels of skiing. I've really always felt that.

Where do you go when you go out? No one on the hill, you're just out by yourself or with a couple of buddies. Where do you go? I'm going to give away the secrets. Everyone does on this show.

Gary's going to kill me. So I really love a trail called Drifter. It's an interesting trail.

The reason it's called Drifter is because when there's a lot of snow, the winds, they kind of make these drifts on Drifter, and if they haven't smashed them down with the groomers, there are these fabulous drifts of snow that you plow through. Ooh, you know, big powder. That's one of my favorite trails.

And then the glades on the Snow Bowl. So when I was growing up, we didn't have glades yet. Actually, that's a really interesting thing.

I didn't know that until I talked to our old ski school director, that you weren't allowed to ski in the trees. Did you know that? No. You were not allowed to ski in the trees.

And then finally, you know, out west, everyone was skiing through the trees and surrounding them like, oh, so we have to let them ski through the trees. And so they created, ooh, there's a moment, they created these glades over by Slalom Glade. So that's the Snow Bowl area, and just fabulous glades, meaning they've cleared out the underbrush, and in the winter, you can ski through there and not be too encumbered by trees, but it holds the snow, and so it's beautiful.

After a big snowstorm or something, those areas are fabulous and fairly steep because you need fairly steep to ski the powder. We've had some great powder days up here in Stratton this year, and that part of the mountain is conducive to that. And you can't ski in the trees now in Stratton.

That side of the mountain I rather like because there's some really interesting terrain and stuff. So even if it hasn't just snowed, there's, you know, if they've groomed it, they've got rolls and ridges and off-camber turns. So great.

So here's the deal with Stratton. Gene Gillis was the initial trail designer for Stratton, and he ended up leaving here and going out to Keystone. He ended up designing Keystone.

So if you ski Keystone, it's very similar to Stratton, but what he knew how to do is he knew how to just take the terrain of the mountain and make the trail just be so fun. There's just a couple of trails like Grimeline and Black Bear and Tamarack that just really, you know, they're so fun to ski because he knew how to take the terrain and make it a ski trail. And he was gold that way.

He just knew how to do that. So Stratton has that backbone in its trails, which make it so fun to ski. Like, you don't want to stop.

I don't know about you, but I don't stop when I'm skiing. I just go. I just keep going because I just really enjoy that whoo, you know, and Stratton has that.

I heard a story about your father figuring out where to put the sun bowl lift. Skiing down through the trees. Nothing was cut yet.

No. And this is where we put the trail. We're skiing it now.

Yes. Yes, exactly. So Gene Gillison taught my dad, you know, and he was so talented at it.

And Stratton really has some incredible terrain-driven trails that are just fun to ski. You know, they're not just these big, huge swaths way out with, you know, no trees or anything. What's so great about Stratton is it goes with the terrain of the mountain, and they kept a lot of those trails with the trees.

And that's actually also good to keep snow, you know, honestly, when there is trees, when the trail's a little narrower, it keeps the snow. That's why I drive through snow. Ah, so now we've got your secret spot there.

Well, and having the gondola there, you know, I never knew when I was growing up, you know, when you were growing up, there was no gondola. Everything is fully detachable gondola. It's all over at my speed everywhere.

It's real nice, right from the bottom. So you can totally jump on the gondola, get to the top of the mountain, nice, warm gondola, and have that accessibility quicker. You know, it goes pretty quickly.

And so you can really, so, I don't know, I love to train, and I love to do those non-stops, and the gondola really facilitates that nicely. But during the week, you can get some real laps down. How tall is Stratton? How tall is Stratton? It's like 2,200.

Yeah, so you can put some miles down. And did you ever race the gondola? I did not ever race the gondola. You didn't? Get off the gondola and try to feed it back down so you can take the same gondola back up? I've never done that.

I haven't done that yet, yet. So I'll have to do that, I guess. So the other thing about Stratton is it has its, it's got a community.

Yes. The community is really started in a lot of ways by your parents. And there were hotels and bars and restaurants, the bars and restaurants were in the hotels around there.

It's sort of morphed. There's a lot more condominiums now, but it does have the main street down there, so there's shopping and there's restaurants. Yeah, there's some great restaurants in the village, and they put up a lot of infrastructure.

So if you come to Stratton and you stay at Stratton, you're literally at the base of the mountain in a lot of the facilities that have the rooms there. And so it's really convenient. And you park in underground parking, so your car's safe and out of the snowstorm.

And you can literally walk across the street, and boom, you're on the mountain. So that's fabulous. Stratton really created a really friendly way to, you know, buckle on your boots and you're up on the mountain.

Early in the morning, you can get up there. Yeah, you've got to get there early at any time. And that's true with any mountain.

Yes. You've got to get up there early. Oh, yeah, yeah.

None of this lollygagging around till 10 o'clock in the morning. That does not work. Then you miss all that commercial groom stuff.

Right. Oh, and that's so fabulous. So Stratton really has always had phenomenal groomers, and the snowmaking has always been fabulous at Stratton.

They were one of the first ones to really put in massive amounts of snowmaking. Absolutely. That was really important to both Gene Gillis and Daddy way back when.

And Gene Gillis actually worked on summer skiing as well. So there was this turf that they put down on the suntanner at Stratton. I don't know if you remember this.

No. So you could ski in the summer. It was wild stuff.

It was astroturf, the suntanner. They were testing it out to see if, you know, they could cover a mountain with this astroturf. And I remember Gene and Dad skiing on that stuff.

But Gene very much felt it was important to develop the snowmaking. Stratton has three snowmaking, what are called snowmaking ponds. They're our reservoirs.

And it has a lot of water at its disposal to be able to make snow whenever they need to. So there's really a lot of forethought put into what's happening now with, you know, the weather not being so dependent on natural snow. This year we've had a great natural snow year.

It's great skiing right now. By the time people see this podcast, it'll be great in the spring. So you'll be able to go up and get some sun at Stratton to go skiing.

No rain pouring afterwards. Yeah, totally. Oh, my God, spring skiing at Stratton was fabulous.

And that's the best time at Stratton, I think. Actually, I love all the times at Stratton. But then, you know, we're really lucky.

We have two other areas, and you wanted to chat about Bromley and Magic. And those are historic mountains. Bromley, what, 1930? Yeah, late 1930s.

It was right before World War II. Right. And it was started by the son of the guy who started Pabst Brewing Company.

Interesting. That's a story with all ages. That's a whole different thing, and that's history.

I'm not totally sure. Right. But isn't it cool? Because every time I look at it, you know it's Bromley because it's got the runs are shaped like a B. Right.

So you look at it, and you go, B, that's Bromley. You can spot it from the air. You can spot it from anywhere.

Bromley's a different mountain than Stratton. It has a southern exposure, and so it's a sunny ski area, which in the spring causes it not to have as much snow towards the end of the year. But just a fabulous mountain that really has something for everybody as well.

They've got a great beginner's area. If you're coming up with kids or beginner skiers, they've got a really nice little area right at the base of the mountain, which really allows people to be right there and then graduate slowly to the different parts of the mountain. And then they've got some great, you know, black diamond skiing as well up there.

Do they? I haven't skied with Bromley in a long time. I can't remember that they've got some steep stuff. Yeah, they've got a little bit of steep stuff on the other side, you know.

Just steep enough. And then talk about steep, Magic Mountain is actually really steep. They have beginner areas as well, but I don't know if you know this, but a couple, I think it was, I can't remember which team, during the Lake Placid Olympics came down here and trained at Magic because it was steep enough.

I can't remember who it was. It was either the Swiss or the Norwegians. I'll have to look at that history.

Actually came down here to train at Magic Mountain during the Olympics. Yeah, Magic, that whole right side is very steep. Yes.

The left side, where they've got more snowmaking, is less steep. There's a couple of steeps in there, but not too many. Right.

But on a really good snowy day, Magic, that's where we go. Okay. Magic is just magic.

It's lovely. It really feels like an old, you know, Vermont ski area that's got a beautiful little base lodge and just has that homey feeling. They always have live bands in there.

I was going to say that. I skied there today, and the guys I was talking to said, oh, they had a raucous band there over the weekend. They brought them up from New Orleans.

They did. They do. They do.

They bring in really interesting bands. And they're super all summer, too. So not just winter, but summer, there's a lot going on here between Stratton-Broadway and Magic.

There's a tremendous amount of music and events going on in the ski areas, but Magic has great music venues that are super fun, super fun to be over there. You know, it's a smaller mountain, but still has enough, you know, if you go over there for the day, it's so great. Likewise, Bromley, too, really has interesting slopes and something for everybody is what each of these three ski areas really have.

And I think that was their goal back when they were developing them. Well, those two feel like stepping back a little bit in time when you go to them. Yes.

They don't have detachables. No. They've got quads, but they're not detachables.

They're slow lifts. Yeah. And that's okay.

It gives you a minute to rest between runs. But if you need a detachable, you're not going to get it there. No, no.

But like I said, that's okay. Yes. And the skiing is really good, and it's got that, you know, it's just that magic, and it's got that old-time feel.

There are families there with a lot of kids. A lot of kids. Teaching them how to ski as a family, and it's really kind of cool.

I'm going to say that about each of these three ski areas, which is exciting. There's so many young families and so many kids coming into the sport, which is always, you know, my dad always was like, You have to teach them young. You have to get them going when they're young.

And we used to have ski weeks at Stratton where people came up for the whole week with all their kids, and they got a package. It was ski week, and I remember they'd stay at the hotel the whole week with all their kids, and Stratton would, you know, Stratton Bromley had a package price for, Bring your whole family up here. We'll teach you how to ski.

And that was super important to Dad that kids learned how to ski right from the get-go. And Stratton Bromley and Magic all have incredibly strong racing programs and free skiing programs, snowboarding programs, to get the kids to get involved early. Well, and snowboarding, it's interesting.

You know, Jake Burton started at Stratton. He started in our garage. He started in your garage? No, I didn't.

So Jake Burton was a bartender at the Birkenhaus, and my dad had a workshop on the backside of the Birkenhaus. And Jake started to paste together the original patent-pending boards way back when. And I was one of his first test riders, believe it or not.

I have a picture I can show you. We would go to a place called The Dump, which was a place on the backside of Stratton where there's a lot of snow, and he didn't want anybody to see his invention. And so everything on the back had patent-pending, and we would go out there and try these Burton boards.

And they were everything from, I remember one had the front shovel was all like fiberglass, and the next one, the whole front shovel was all aluminum. And we were trying out all these boards. And so he started Burton boards, literally, initially in Dad's workshop.

That's very cool. That's very cool. I didn't know that.

Yeah. I learn something new every time I do one of these. I know, right? It's fun.

So there's a picture of Jake in the other room because he was our bartender. He was a bartender at the Birkenhaus. Oh, my God.

So around here, on top of that, if you don't ski or if you take a day off and you're up here for a few days, there's a lot to do. So much to do. There's cross-country skiing.

Yes. There's snowshoeing. Yes.

You can go to Manchester and go shopping. Yes. And there's all sorts of stuff down there, and everything from Orvis to every high-end retail store that you can imagine.

Yes. And that's 20 minutes away. There is.

There's so much to do around here. Like you said, Manchester is huge, and places like Hildene are full of history, and the Southern Vermont Arts Center, beautiful art. There's so much to do if you're not skiing for the day.

The cross-country centers are fabulous around here. Everything from Londonderry to Stratton to Bromley, each one of them has fabulous cross-country, I call them, playgrounds. They're just such well-maintained, amazing places to cross-country ski.

And then you can always go snowmobiling. All of the big snowmobiling trails come through Londonderry, and you can ride a snowmobile all the way up to Canada. That's a long time on a snowmobile.

Yes. There's just little restaurants along the way, and those all come through here. There's a big infrastructure highway for snowmobilers that comes through Southern Vermont and then keeps going up to Canada.

So fun. I keep learning and learning. I didn't know that one either.

It's so fun. Oh, my. And in the summer, they all become mountain biking trails, and you can ride your bike everywhere here.

Well, the long trail goes up through right over Bromley. And Stratton, the back side of Stratton. I can't remember.

One of the trails goes up by the fire tower on the back side of Stratton. It's right through Stratton. There's so much to do here.

There's so much to do. So much music, so much art, so much food. It's a fabulous little corner of the world.

I almost don't want to tell you. So, again, you had a chance to ski all over the place, not just Southern Vermont. Tell me about the best run you've ever taken.

One that sticks in your head. A lot of people go for moments. And some of those moments, when you're skiing, it's that one.

It's allowed not to be here? It's allowed not to be here. So, my most amazing run was up in Alaska. I was helicopter skiing with my friend, Kim Rykel.

The first time, I was going to major helicopter skiing. I just remember the helicopter. You swoop in, and he puts the one little thing down.

You slip out of the helicopter, and you're literally holding onto your skis. You look like this. I look over to Kim, and she goes, There's no room for errors, Benz.

Because if you slip with your boots, you're 5,000 feet. So, you cross over this flat area, and then finally you get to the place where you're going to ski. You get over this ridge, and literally your skis are like this.

And you're like, and you look down, and you're like, And then, the most amazing thing happens. The helicopter just goes, He's gone. He's gone.

You can't get back in the helicopter. You've got to go down. And Kim's fabulous.

She takes a bunch of people like me up into these places. And I look at her, and we grew up together. We were ski racers together.

I look at her, and she goes, You got this. And she goes, I'm right behind you. And she goes, Just take a big breath.

And that's what she does with Ski with Kim. She teaches you how to get over your fear. Because there's that moment where you're just like, Okay, I've got to let go.

And then, you're just, Wow. And it's just so amazing. You get to the bottom, and you're like, Can we do that again? So, Alaska, that was your big one.

That was my big one. Although, Austria is close. But that was unlike anything ever.

It's those chutes in Alaska that are just unlike anything else that you'll ever do. Well, they're steep, and they hold snow more than anything. That's the steepest I've ever skied.

That was gnarly. Okay, that sounds like a blast. Yeah.

Okay, people who grew up and lived in the mountains and have spent their lives on skis love the mountains. Yes. But they also meet a lot of people.

How do you explain your love for the mountains to people you run into that maybe just got on a chair next to you or that you have dinner with or you meet somewhere in St. Louis, Missouri? I don't know what's the feeling. It doesn't matter where I am, if I'm in Austria or Vermont or Holland. It is being on a mountain, and even the top of Stratton.

The top of Stratton is a phenomenal view. If you're at the top of Stratton, you're like on the top of the world. You just see this massive land out there that is just so fabulous, and you can't make that up.

That's a great feeling, you know? Okay. Okay. We just had someone join us.

We just had someone join us. So my sister's dog just came into the room, and we'll play kitten him for a little while. That's pretty good.

What was it? Top of the mountain. Top of the mountain. I'm trying to think of where I go next.

Usually I have notes in front of me, and there'll be some editing in this part, I can tell. The, okay. Best restaurant up here.

Your favorite. My favorite is the New American Grill. It's in Londonderry, and it's about, for most everything, but the food there is fabulous.

It's really good. And then up on Stratton, I love Mulligans. Mulligans is, oh, there's my sister.