If more exercise (and more fun) is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, why not make a plan to hit the slopes? Skiing or snowboarding is the perfect way to get out into the fresh winter air, work your muscles, and bond with friends or family.
Windham Mountain Resort prides itself on environmentally-friendly ski slope tech, cutting-edge instruction, and a warm welcome. After a freak snow storm, the ski resort had its earliest opening date in 14 years, welcoming skiiers and snowboarders on November 17. Since then, they've been steadily making snow.
There's never been a better time to visit Windham. In the off-season, the resort made over $8 million in improvements to its facilities and equipment. Like fresh powder atop a deep base, the latest improvements are part of an ongoing program. The brand-new Westside Six, a high-speed, detachable, six passenger chairlift on the west peak, can whisk 3,000 passengers per hour from base to summit in under five and a half minutes.
RFID lift access, a first for a New York resort, can be reloaded from your computer or smartphone; no need to mess with tickets and passes. Nearly 100 new snow guns, two miles of new snowmaking pipe and a brand-new PistenBully 400 Snowcat will keep the surface superb.
The last several years have seen the addition of new trails (there are 285 skiable acres now), Terrain-Based Learning™, snowmaking and grooming upgrades, and an ever-expanding variety of fun: a major adaptive sports center, a friendly grassroots racing program, sunset skiing and snowshoeing trips, a Nordic center offering orienteering, biathlon, cross0country skiing and snowshoeing, and an Adventure Park with tubing, a skating rink, and a kid-sized snowmobile track.
Apres-outdoors, bliss out at the full-service alpine spa. You won’t go hungry at the resort’s restaurants. Seasons, on the third floor of the base lodge, features two huge custom bars with panoramic mountain views, large fireplaces, and vaulted ceilings. The menu ranges from loaded nachos and juicy burgers to an ancient grains bowl. Plus there’s live music on weekends and holidays. Down at the Winwood Inn on Main Street, you’ll find modern Mexican fare prepared with the freshest ingredients, daily happy hours, and live music every Friday night.
