Ski and snowboarding season is approaching fast, and what better way to enjoy it than traveling to Burke Mountain Ski Resort for some action and adventure?
Andrew O’Brien, a junior ski resort management major, is a snowboarder who regularly goes to Burke Mountain in the winter, and is also an employee of the mountain working in the terrain park.
“There are a lot of new features coming to the terrain park this year. Steve Mahon, the manager of the terrain park, will be creating some technical snow features with the Sno-Cat. Hopefully this year we will be incorporating an ‘all-natural’ park with everything made of wood. It is looking to be an excellent year at Burke Mountain.”
Burke Mountain is located in the town of East Burke, Vermont, and is just miles outside the town of Lyndonville. According to its website, it has 45 trails and glades on over 250 skiable acres. The mountain is broken up into three different ski levels. 25 percent of the mountain is for novice-level skiers, 45 percent is for intermediate skiers and 30 percent for expert skiers.
The mountain has a summit elevation of 3267 feet with a 2011 foot vertical drop. Burke Mountain’s annual average snowfall is 217 inches. What Burke may lack in real snow they make up for by snowmaking, which covers 100 percent of the lower mountain and 80 percent of the upper mountain.
Burke also offers terrain for all different styles of skiing. This includes regular trails, glades, moguls, racing, terrain park, and a bunny hill for all the future Olympians. This makes Burke fun for the whole family. The older kids can go in the terrain park or to the upper part of the mountain, while the parents and smaller children can stay on the lower part.
Luke Haskell, a junior mountain recreation major at Lyndon State College, said he was excited about the upcoming winter.
“Burke Mountain has a lot to offer. It is a very diverse mountain,” he said. “It is a great family mountain and has a great terrain park, woods skiing, and groomed trails. It is a fun place to be in the winter.”
Although Haskell was excited to hit the slopes again, he did mention a concern about a new lift that Burke needed. The lift from mid-Burke to the top of the mountain is very old and slow, and is the topic of concern for many who ski the mountain regularly. Burke Mountain has planned to put in a new lift but this plan has been pushed back.
Along with the downhill skiing, Burke Mountain also offers the Kingdom Trails in the summer to runners and mountain bike enthusiasts. The Kingdom Trails are claimed by many to be the best mountain bike trails in the USA. In the winter, Burke Mountain offers cross-country ski trails, which are used by the mountain, local high schools, and the public.
For more information about Burke, visit skiburke.com or call (802) 626-7300.