XC Skiing - Prospect Mountain, VT

While I was out of town last weekend, we had a big meltdown locally, and the next few days are expected to be in the 50s. No local skiing whatsoever at this point. So we headed off to Bennington, VT, only about an hour away, to Prospect Mountain, a former downhill ski area long since converted to a cross-country center. The higher elevations of southern Vermont have seen several major snow dumps late this season, and Prospect still has 2-3 feet on the ground. The $18 trail fee is a little steep, but right now, it's the only game not exactly in town, but at least relatively near home.

The lodge at Prospect has some very good lunch offerings, especially their chili, so we stopped there for a hearty lunch before heading out. The trails were nicely groomed and tracks set, with enough loose snow to allow good control. The snow was soft and mushy, with temps in the mid-40s, so controlling speed was hardly an issue anyway. We spent a little under 2 hours skiing some of our favorite trails before heading home to blackened snow piles and brown grass.