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New England’s extreme lack of snow and insanely warm temperatures left me craving winter, snowboarding, and cold weather in general, and the only cure was a trip up to Vermont. Looking for a low cost option with good reviews that was close to Mount Snow, I stumbled upon the Kitzhof Inn and decided to book it before the non-existent winter completely disappeared.
Greg and I headed down Route 2, late one Friday night, towards Mt. Snow, skeptical of what was ahead of us. Our previous two trips had included a small rear-ending on 93 heading up to Killington and hitting a deer on our way to Mt. Snow. Punishment for taking ski trips we couldn’t afford?? Whatever it was, we hoped that this trip wouldn’t include any accidents.
We called the Kitzhof Inn on the way to let them know that we were going to be late for check-in; they were fine with it and just let us know that there would be directions to our room at the front desk. After stopping for a quick dinner at a great little pizza place in Greenfield, MA, we arrived at the hotel. A light snow was falling, and we were glad we had made it there without any mishaps.
The Kitzhof was exactly what I expected. A casual, old ski lodge, with probably around 20 rooms, decorated with wood paneled walls, plaid carpets, and old pictures. Our room was large and clean, although it was clear it hadn’t been updated recently, and had a separate sitting area with a couch and room for our suitcases. The TV was from 1980, but that didn’t matter, we were only using the room to relax in after a long day on the mountain, anyways. The bathroom was tiny, and somehow it took us 20 minutes to figure out how to turn off the shower, but other than that everything was great.
The next morning, we woke up early (for us…meaning like 8:00 and late for most people that are about to go skiing), and headed down to the free breakfast the next morning. Simon and Allison, the two owners, cooked and served the breakfast themselves, and it was very tasty! There was a menu to order from, which included french toast, oatmeal, or a full breakfast of eggs, homefries, toast, and bacon or sausage. Of course, we both selected the biggest free breakfast possible to fill up before heading out to the mountain. Everyone working at the inn was very nice, and they chatted with all the guests as we ate breakfast.
For amenities, the Kitzhof Inn offers a hot tub, a large gathering area with a big TV and ping pong table, and a byob bar. It’s also only a two minute drive to the base of Mount Snow, and there’s a shuttle that comes along the road every so often.
We headed up to the mountain, ready for a full day of snowboarding. Of course, I chose my favorite trail to go on first, Snowdance. It was pretty icy, but not too horrible, considering even Mount Snow had received very little natural snow. Instead of heading up to the summit, or trying a different trail, I convinced Greg to go down Snowdance once more before moving on. Mistake. I made it down pretty quickly, and realized once I got to the bottom that Greg wasn’t waiting for me like usual. He’s much faster than I am, and always has to wait a minute or so before I get down. A couple of minutes passed, and I realized that he must have fallen. He got down and stopped in front of me, holding onto his arm…It turns out he fractured his radial arm head, or something painful. And after convincing him to go on one more run, he decided he was in too much pain to continue, and our day at the mountain ended with him getting xrays and cast.
Car accidents, deer, broken arms…I’m scared of what’s in store for us on our next ski trip.
