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A
Skier's
Crossroads
Located
less
than
15
miles
from
Bolton, Stowe, Sugarbush
and
Mad
River
Glen,
Waterbury,
VT,
is
a
town
ski
bums
love
to
call
home.
By
David
Goodman,
SKI,
October
1998
Most
of
the
year,
I
feel
nothing
but
neighborly
affection
for
the
people
in
my
community.
But
on
powder
days,
I
hate
them.
You
see,
living
in
Waterbury,
VT,
is
a
blessing
and
a
curse.
Like
a
number
of
my
neighbors,
I
was
drawn
to
Waterbury
because
of
its
proximity
to
some
notable
skier's
landmarks;
Stowe
(home
to
Stowe
Resort),
Waitsfield
(home
of
Sugarbush
and
Mad
River
Glen),
Bolton
(with
Bolton
Valley)
and
Richmond
(where
legions
of
Vermonters
have
learned
to
ski
at
the
family-owned
Cochran's
ski
hill.
Waterbury,
population
4639,
is
hemmed
in
by
the
Worcester
Mountains
to
the
east
and
the
Green
Mountains
to
the
west.
Mt.
Mansfield
and
Camel's
Hump
--
half
of
Vermont's
complement
of
4,000-foot
summits
--
stand
at
either
end
of
the
town.
Thief
of
first
tracks
What
could
possibly
be
the
problem
with
this
idyllic
setting?
It's
that
Waterbury
residents
are
some
of
the
greediest,
most
voracious
powder
hounds
in
the
region.
The
moment
I
leave
my
driveway
in
Waterbury
Center
(the
"Center"
is
actually
a
rural
residential
area
that
lies
halfway
between
Stowe
and
Waterbury,
and
is
part
of
the
latter),
I
have
a
good
idea
what
the
skiing
will
be
like
20
minutes
away
at
Stowe,
my
home
ski
area.
If
my
dirt
road
is
unplowed
and
untracked,
my
chances
of
claiming
first
tracks
are
good.
But
a
telltale
trace
of
the
treads
before
7
am
means
my
next
door
neighbor,
Stowe
ski
patroller
Brian
Lindner,
has
beat
me
to
the
hill.
On
the
main
roads
I
may
pass
Amy
Hunter
bombing
down
the
road
on
her
way
to
ski
patrol
at
Sugarbush,
about
20
minutes
south
of
town.
Or
it
could
be
Bob
Bortree,
ex-University
of
Vermont
ski
champ,
heading
to
Stowe
to
reclaim
some
old
glory
in
the
gates
at
the
mountain's
weekly
ski
bum
races.
Ironically,
the
fact
that
Waterbury
does
not
have
its
own
ski
hill
is
its
primary
selling
point
to
many
people.
Add
a
destination
resort
to
any
real
estate
market,
and
the
cost
of
living
soars.
The
average
cost
for
a
2,000-square-foot
home
in
Stowe
is
$188,363,
while
a
comparable
Waterbury
home
runs
$114,682.
"Waterbury
is
certainly
the
best
town
that
a
true
ski
bum
can
afford
to
live
in
and
still
have
money
left
to
ski,"
asserts
fellow
Waterbury
Centerite
Kim
Brown.
Brownie,
a
columnist
for
the
Stowe
Reporter,
has
taken
full
advantage
of
being
so
close
to
the
action:
He
has
long
been
a
maddeningly
prolific
thief
of
first
tracks
at
Stowe.
Vermont's
recreation
crossroads
Skiers
have
actually
been
coming
to
the
town
for
as
long
as
people
have
been
skiing
in
Vermont.
Back
in
the
Thirties,
the
snow
trains
from
New
York
and
Boston
delivered
skiers
to
Waterbury,
where
they
would
board
a
trolley
for
the
10-mile
ride
north
to
Stowe.
Waterbury
was
home
to
the
1,000-foot
Pinnacle
Park
ski
tow
in
that
era,
as
well
a
a
ski
jump
and
a
lighted
ice
rink.
These
days,
a
sign
in
town
justifiably
proclaims
Waterbury
as
"Vermont's
Recreation
Crossroads."
Skiers
from
points
south
will
still
likely
travel
to
Stowe
or
Sugarbush
via
the
Waterbury
Amtrak
stop
or
the
Waterbury-Stowe
exit
on
Interstate
89.
A
skier's
town
Lacking a ski area of its own, Waterbury today is more a
skier's town than a ski town. Ski lore and an affection for things snowy
permeate the community. Thursday night at one of the
local restaurants
has
become
a
traditional
meeting
place
for
a
bevy
of
local
sliders.
There
you'll
find
an
assortment
of
area
ski
scribes,
skiers
and
incorrigible
alpine
addicts
such
as
Denny
Boyle,
Philadelphia
realtor
who
commutes
by
plane
each
Thursday
to
his
Waterbury
Center
home
so
he
can
ski
all
weekend.
Truth
is,
I
never
paid
much
attention
to
Waterbury
before
I
set
down
roots
in
1991.
Among
lifelong
Vermonters,
the
town's
identity
was
forever
linked
to
the
state
mental
hospital:
"Send
'em
to
Waterbury"
meant
a
person
had
seriously
touch
with
reality.
To
weekend
warriors,
Waterbury
is
a
place
to
stop
for
some
gas
or
road
food
while
racing
back
to
Boston.
My
only
memory
of
the
town
from
the
Eighties
was
a
stop
that
I
made
at
the
dingy
Waterbury
Pub
to
have
a
Bud
and
change
into
dry
clothes
after
skiing
Mad
River
Glen.
As
we
scarfed
down
our
dinner,
the
locals
in
their
coveralls
looked
at
us
in
our
Gore-Tex
as
if
we
were
space
aliens.
Home
of
Ben
&
Jerry's
Waterbury
has
been
transformed
in
recent
years,
but
not
by
skiing.
The
catalyst
for
change
can
be
summarized
in
two
words:
Ben
and
Jerry.
The
ice
cream
hippies
set
up
their
main
factory
in
town
in
the
Eighties.
The
rest
is
history.
The
sprawling
building
atop
a
hill
with
cows
grazing
in
the
front
and
a
picture
of
the
Planet
Earth
plastered
on
its
side
is
now
Vermont's
top
tourist
attraction.
With
150
full-time
employees,
it's
also
by
far
the
largest
private
employer
in
town,
and
regularly
bribes
local
residents
with
free
ice
cream
(where
else
are
you
rewarded
for
paying
your
property
taxes
with
eight
pints
of
Chunky
Monkey?).
B&J's
has
spawned
a
cottage
industry
of
specialty
food
companies
around
town.
Grazing
along
Route
100
here
is
guaranteed
to
provide
enough
stimulation
for
the
drive
home.
Collision
of
old
and
new
In
downtown
Waterbury,
the
collision
of
old
and
new
is
captured
on
the
corner
of
Main
and
Stowe
streets.
On
one
side
is
the
Waterbury
Pub,
a
favorite
smoky
haunt
of
the
old
Vermonters.
Directly
across
the
street
is
its
yuppie
alter
ego,
Arvad's
Spirits
&
Light
Fare,
with
a
long
list
of
microbrews
and
imports.
Continuing
down
Main
Street,
several
imperious
white
church
steeples
give
the
downtown
its
requisite
New
England
character.
The
sprawling
grounds
of
the
state
hospital
have
been
taken
over
by
a
variety
of
state
government
offices.
During
summer,
some
of
the
younger
bureaucrats
shed
their
jackets
and
ties
for
a
rip-roaring
lunch-hour
game
of
ultimate
Frisbee
on
the
front
lawn.
The
face
of
Waterbury
has
changed,
but
its
soul
has
not.
I
am
reminded
of
that
on
powder
days
as
my
neighbors
and
I
dash
off
to
the
various
lifts
that
lace
our
mountains
for
another
delicious
taste
of
what
lured
us
here
in
the
first
place
--
and
what
keeps
us
around.
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