Vermont

Bolton Valley, VT, Report: Perfect Snow and Blue Skies on the Eve of Totality – SnowBrains

Published

2 years ago

April 14, 2024

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Bolton Valley, VT, Report: Perfect Snow and Blue Skies on the Eve of Totality – SnowBrains

Report from Sunday, April 7, 2024

Bolton Valley, where I started going maybe a decade ago for night skiing operations, became one of my go-to resorts this season on Indy Pass. I love it here, and I have only really started to explore their terrain. I already have a list of what I want to experience next year – mainly the NBU (Nordic/Backcountry/Uphill) trails. A little over two and a half hours of driving from Montreal’s south shore, it’s an easy day trip for me. I would make it my home mountain if I lived closer to the Quebec-Vermont border. The surrounding views of the Mount Mansfield State Forrest along the Winooski River on Route 2 towards the resort are breathtaking, though I’m not sure I will ever get used to the steep access road in my little four-cylinder rig. It takes a pep talk going up and good breaks on the way down.

As I sit in front of the computer in Montreal, I’m already reminiscing about my–maybe–last week on the slopes for the season. It’s been raining all day, and a balmy 60 degrees. It’s hard to believe that less than a week ago, I was snowboarding just a little further south, in pristine snow conditions, on a mild, blue skies day. The world experienced a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse somewhere in between, with Vermont and much of Quebec in the path of totality. Weather-wise, it has been strange days in the northeast all season long, with extreme highs and lows in temperature and one of the warmest on recent record. Despite this, Vermont has had a great ski season, with a healthy amount of snow accumulation, especially in the latter part of March. Things are wrapping up on a high note. While Bolton and other northern resorts in the northeast spin their lifts for the last time this weekend, I have it on some authority that the Jet at Jay Peak will spin through to May. I hope to make it there once more before summer.

snowy ski slope at bolton valley vermont with blue sky and green trees — Late Season Turns At Bolton Valley Image Credit: J. Davis

Knowing Sunday may be my last winter snowboarding, I decided to test a theory. It’s this. If you love playing in snowy mountains and have to live in a city, Montreal is one of the best due to its relatively equal proximity and accessibility to the Laurentians in the north and the Adirondacks and Appalachians in the south. You can make the best plans at the last minute and follow the weather and the snow. It’s not a bad theory if you don’t mind the driving. Saturday, I headed north and made some turns at Mont Saint-Sauveur, always the first resort in this part of the province to open and the last to close. It was that end-of-season party vibe that Quebec resorts do so well, and surfy, spring snow, a good warm-up for Sunday’s destination. Due to fatigue driving through insane traffic back into Montreal Saturday evening, I got a later start than planned the next morning. I rushed out the door around 8:00 a.m., grateful to be crossing the border south into the zen Green Mountain State. I was checked in and on the Vista lift at Bolton just after 10:30 a.m.

The snow was still perfect by mid-morning, packed powder. A good crowd was out enjoying late-season turns on a mild bluebird day, but not too many to crowd the trails or keep the lift lines from moving. The temperature rose quickly. I lost a layer after my first run, switching up my insulated jacket for a windbreaker. I made the quick decision to make the most of the snow. This was a day to down some caffeine, put on a good playlist, and lap runs until my phone ran out of battery or my body gave out, whatever came first. My first run of the day was Spillway to Sherman’s Pass, which has this nice roller right before it links to Beech Seal and the lower mountain lift if you take it fast. The lower mountain lift wasn’t spinning. I had this part of the mountain to myself before other skiers and riders caught on, and I stopped for a while to snap some photos of the surrounding ranges.

Red snowflake chairlift at bolton valley vermont above snowy ski slope — Snowflake Lift at Bolton Valley Image Credit: J. Davis

Lapping runs off the Vista lift I had my eye on the Snowflake lift, lookers right. That’s where I planned to spend the remainder of my day. This lift services park runs lookers left and some fun, ungroomed, tree-lined, and wind-protected terrain to the right. I had a clear memory of years ago driving through a blizzard from Johnson, Vermont, to go snowboarding during night operations at Bolton and lapping untracked powder of the Snowflake lift. It was just like my memory, and I ended my day doing leisurely laps on a run called Foxy before my toes started to tingle, and it was time to go home. On my way back north, I drove through Stowe village, thinking I might catch a glimpse of the interstellar tourists who were expected to flood into the region for the eclipse the next day. Sunday was like any beautiful day in this part of Vermont, the calm before the big event. I hope everyone got to experience the eclipse somehow, wherever in the world you happened to be.

Bolton’s last ski day for 2023-24 is this Sunday, with lifts spinning until 5:00 p.m. A mix of rain and snow is expected in the region Saturday through Sunday, with cooler temperatures hovering around 45 degrees F. It’s not goodbye; it’s see you soon, in June when the lifts start spinning again for mountain biking, only a couple of short months away. Thank you for what’s been an amazing winter, Bolton Valley and Indy Pass. I am already looking forward to December.

Thank you, Indy Pass! Lower Mountain Lift Image Credit: J. Davis

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Vermont

Friends, family rally behind Vermont veteran charged with domestic terrorism

Published

5 hours ago

March 6, 2026

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Friends, family rally behind Vermont veteran charged with domestic terrorism

NEWPORT, Vt. (WCAX) – Friends and family of a Vermont veteran charged with domestic terrorism rallied in Newport Thursday, saying the charges stem from a mental health crisis and are unwarranted.

Vermont State Police say Joseph “J.J.” Millett, 38, of Newport, called a veterans crisis line in February, making suicidal statements and threatening a mass-casualty event.

Court records say Millett had guns and wrote what investigators call a manifesto. He turned himself in, and state police say they disarmed him at the barracks. He pleaded not guilty and was never formally arrested or placed in jail. He is currently in a treatment facility.

Supporters say the threats were the result of new medication and a mental health crisis. “But all the way to domestic terrorism for a man that fought overseas — he wasn’t a terrorist. He’s been fighting terrorists half his life,” said Chad Abbott, a friend who served with Millett overseas.

Abbott said he believes the charges could have unintended consequences for veterans seeking help. “These hotlines that they put out for us is to kind of get us the help we need. And now, none of us are going to want to call that,” he said.

Millett’s sister, Courtney Morin, said her brother served in the Vermont Guard for nearly 10 years and has struggled with mental health since returning home. “He suffers from depression, anxiety — he has PTSD. So, he’s actually been seeking help for his mental health for probably as long as he’s been home,” Morin said.

Orleans County State’s Attorney Farzana Leyva said the charge is warranted and that Millett was not calling for help when he contacted the crisis line. “He called the crisis helpline to make the threats. I think we have to be very clear about that. Those were threats. He did not call the crisis helpline for help. He called anonymously,” Leyva said.

She said the evidence — including repeated threats — Millett’s access to guns, and a manifesto justifies the charge and protects the public. “My priority is public safety, which is the highest priority that I have right now,” Leyva said.

Morin said she believes her brother was trying to get help. “I think he was seeking help. I mean, it’s all a trail of him seeking help, being on different meds. You know, we’re not in his head. We don’t know what he’s dealing with. And especially if you’re dealing with it alone,” Morin said.

Millett continues to receive treatment and is due back in court later this month.

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Vermont

Vermont high school playoff scores, results, stats for Thursday, March 5

Published

17 hours ago

March 5, 2026

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Vermont high school playoff scores, results, stats for Thursday, March 5

The 2025-2026 Vermont high school winter season has begun. See below for scores, schedules and game details (statistical leaders, game notes) from basketball, hockey, gymnastics, wrestling, Nordic/Alpine skiing and other winter sports.

TO REPORT SCORES

Coaches or team representatives are asked to report results ASAP after games by emailing sports@burlingtonfreepress.com. Please submit with a name/contact number.

▶ Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.

▶ Contact Judith Altneu at JAltneu@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.

THURSDAY’S H.S. PLAYOFF GAMES

D-III GIRLS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS

At Barre Auditorium

No. 5 Vergennes (17-4) vs. No. 1 Hazen (18-2), 5:30 p.m.

No. 3 Oxbow (16-6) vs. No. 2 Windsor (16-6), 7:30 p.m.

Watch Vermont high school sports on NFHS Network

D-I BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS

Games at 7 p.m. unless noted

No. 8 Mount Mansfield (10-11) at No. 1 Rice Memorial (17-3)

No. 12 Essex (5-16) at No. 4 Rutland (15-6)

No. 7 Burr and Burton (13-8) at No. 2 South Burlington (15-5), 6 p.m.

No. 6 BFA-St. Albans (13-8) vs. No. 3 Burlington (15-5) at Colchester, 7:30 p.m.

D-II GIRLS HOCKEY QUARTERFINALS

No. 8 Stowe (5-16) vs. No. 1 U-32 (13-6-1) at Kreitzberg Arena, 5 p.m.

(Subject to change)

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Vermont

19 Vermont school budgets fail as education leaders debate need for reform

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

19 Vermont school budgets fail as education leaders debate need for reform

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Most Vermont school budgets passed Tuesday, but 19 districts and supervisory unions saw their spending plans rejected — an uptick from the nine that failed in 2025, though well below the 29 that failed in 2024.

Some education leaders say the results show communities are largely supportive of their schools.

“We’re starting to kind of equalize out again towards the normal trend of passage of school budgets each year,” said Chelsea Meyers of the Vermont Superintendents Association.

Sue Ceglowski of the Vermont School Boards Association said the results send a clear message. “Vermont taxpayers support Vermont’s public schools,” she said.

Meyers said the results also raise questions about the scope of education reform being considered in Montpelier. “If we are going to reform the system, it might not require sweeping broad changes as are being considered right now, but a more concise approach to consider that inequity,” she said.

But in districts where budgets failed, officials say structural changes are still needed. In Barre, where the budget failed, Barre Unified Union School District Board Chair Michael Boutin said the Legislature must, at a minimum, create a new funding formula. “We have to have that in order to avoid the huge increases and decreases — the huge increases that we’ve seen in the last couple years,” Boutin said.

He said the rise in school budgets is separate from why property owners are seeing sharp tax increases. The average state increase in school budgets is 4%, but the average property tax increase is 10%, driven by cost factors including health care. “There’s a complete disconnect, and that’s a product of the terrible system that we have in Vermont with our funding formula,” Boutin said.

Ceglowski says the state should address health care costs before moving forward with rapid education policy changes. “Addressing the rapid rise in the cost of school employees’ health benefits by ensuring a fair and balanced statewide bargaining process for those benefits,” she said.

The 19 districts that did not pass their budgets will need to draft new spending plans to present to voters, which often requires cuts. Twelve school districts are scheduled to vote at a later date.

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