TOWNIE TALK

Author: Liz Lathey

Vermont used to have snow. I remember, as a child growing up in Vermont, it used to fall by the foot and cover the whole state. Those new to Vermont may not be aware of this, but it is true. For some reason this year, the snow has stopped coming, perhaps due to lack of interest.

In any case, for school children in Vermont, snow is not as exciting as it is for kids in other states. This is because we never got snow days. Never. We had ice days, and the-diesel-in-the-school-bus-froze days, but never snow days. Snow in Vermont, apparently, was not serious enough to cancel school.

If school administrators did cancel school, it was for something really bad, like 17 inches of ice covering every paved surface in the Northeast. On those days, we piled into whatever economy vehicles our parents had bestowed on us — which were probably not fit to drive in any condition — shoved our skis and snowboards inside and drove at unheard of speeds to Pico (where the locals go).

Of course, we would have to drive up Route 4, right past our high school, which the superintendent had deemed dangerous driving distance, and up the mountain. At the time, I guess we didn't notice the irony in the journey.

Once at Pico, anyone who did not have enough money for a lift ticket could still ski or ride to their heart's content, since the majority of the employees were our fellow students, and they were always willing to cut us a deal.

But, those days are gone now. Gone are the days of snow in Vermont. We don't even have those grayish-brown patches of what used to be snow lining the sides of the road. Not even a few bits of ice to slip and fall on on the way to class.

We Vermonters must be content to sit back in our beach chairs in the March heat and talk of the days of snow. Or we can just pretend nothing has changed.

I'm certain that last Thanksgiving vacation, many people did just that. I was at the Killington Grand Hotel visiting a friend and glanced out the window to see how the conditions were looking. The trail I could see from the window was half snow. This is no joke: the right half of the trail had snow and the left side was all grass. There were approximately five billion people crowded onto this two-foot wide path, trying desperately to have a ski vacation before returning to their respective homes.

I found it quite amusing that they paid $65 per day to ski for an hour or two until they hit grass. My friend who was visiting the mountain said that when he was skiing, someone was walking a dog along the grassy part of the trail and it started chasing after skiers. I guess the lack of snow made the skiing more challenging, anyway.

But, those of us who know the state know that somewhere in Vermont there must be snow. Last year, on June 1, some friends and I decided to go hiking at Mount Abraham, a quick drive from Middlebury in Lincoln, Vt. When we got up to the top, and I am not exaggerating, there was at least one foot of snow.

We started out in shorts and tank tops, but at the top we were sliding around on snow, and adding layers to stay warm. We stopped on the way back to Rutland to get hot chocolate, and the people there looked at us like we were nuts. We probably were.

That is what we call Vermont weather. There doesn't really seem to be a climate here, just random conditions that pass through periodically.

So, even though students may be tempted to break out short shorts and flip flops, it is best to keep extra layers on hand just in case a blizzard erupts while class is in session. It definitely could happen, and if it does, maybe if we all wish hard enough, we can get a snow day.



Editor's Note: This column was writen before the onset of the most recent snowstorm, yet another example of Vermont's unpredictable weather. Please take the warnings seriously and always carry clothes for all possible temperatures, because the forecast predicts annual fluctuations in weather conditions.

So, even though students may be tempted to break out short shorts and flip flops, it is best to keep extra layers on hand just in case a blizzard erupts while class is in session. It definitely could happen, and if it does, maybe if we all wish hard enough, we can get a snow day.

Editor's Note: This column was written before the onset of the most recent snowstorm, yet another example of Vermont's unpredictable weather. Please take the warnings seriously and always carry clothes for all possible temperatures, because the forecast predicts additional fluctuations in weather conditions.