Bolton Valley is a mid-sized

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...

area in the town of

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

Chittenden County, Vermont Chittenden County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, its population was 168,323. The county seat is Vermont's most populous municipality, the city of Burlington. The county has over a quarte ...

, United States. It is located in close proximity to Burlington, the largest city in the state of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. The community around the base of the ski area was listed as the Bolton Valley

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

prior to the 2020 census.

History

The resort was founded in 1966 by Ralph DesLauriers and his father. Bolton thrived for many years as a family-friendly resort and spawned two famous skiers, Rob and

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

DesLauriers, who went on to star in dozens of ski movies. With their brother Adam, they founded Straight Up Films; Adam remains in the area with a more recent venture, Beech Seal Media, named for a ski trail at the resort and a unique type of communication in Vermont lore. In 1971 Chateau des Monts, a 20 unit hotel condominium complex was completed next to the base lodge (later connected) by Charles P Jones and Land Development Incorporated. Beginning around 1997, the resort has been under the control of a handful of new owners and struggled with financial viability. However, it has stabilized under the leadership of industry veteran Bob Fries and seen steady improvement in the 2003-2004, 2004–2005, and 2005-2006 seasons, although just before the 2007-2008 season his shares in the company were bought by two locals, and Bolton Valley is now completely locally owned. As of the Spring of 2017 the original owner Ralph DesLauriers and a small group of investors have purchased the mountain back from Red Stone Properties. Ralph, along with his children are now operating Bolton once again.

Lifts and trails

*Vertical drop: *Trails: 71 trails *Night Skiing: 12 trails *Skiable area: 165 acres (668,000 m²) *Bolton Valley has 6 lifts. Vista Quad at summit

Nordic skiing

Bolton Valley has of nordic skiing, of which are groomed.

Westward orientation

Bolton Valley is one of the few westward facing ski areas in Vermont.

Wind turbine

In 2009, Bolton Valley installed a Northwind 100

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...

, which was made by

Northern Power Systems Northern Power Systems was a company that designed, manufactured, and sold wind turbines. They also provided engineering development services and technology licenses for energy applications globally. The company was founded in 1974, and grew i ...

. The turbine was projected to produce 300,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. It is located near the top of the Vista Quad chairlift.

Bolton Valley publishes a humorous weekly newsletter covering snow news, event listings, and deals.

References

External links

Bolton Valley Ski Area Website
{{Chittenden County, Vermont Ski areas and resorts in Vermont Buildings and structures in Chittenden County, Vermont Tourist attractions in Chittenden County, Vermont Census-designated places in Chittenden County, Vermont Census-designated places in Vermont Bolton, Vermont