Winter Solstice Sunrise Hike at Stowe

Started on the skin track at 6:30 AM along with a few others who were braving the 3 degree temps to take advantage of every second of the shortest day of the year.

Stowe is quite a bit larger than Bolton, wasn't expecting that either. I was definitely was sucking wind on a few of those pitches more than I remember in past years. No wind made the 3 degree air temperature bearable on the trek uphill. Looking up to the top of Mount Mansfield, you could see the sunlight start to creep down from the frosty Chin. Taking a peak back over you shoulder, well, you had to stop and take it in for a second. It was an amazing sunrise, topped off with a mini inversion at the base of the resort. The pictures below don't quite show the full effect of the pastel palette that Mother Nature graced us with to ring in the winter season.

First light on fresh corduroy

Alpenglow

Twilight, 7:24 AM

Alpenglow along the ridge

Side note: only very minor touch ups were all it took on the photos to help out with the lack of light early on and my shaky hands from skinning. I've never seen a sunrise with so many layers of pink and orange before, it was truly one of the most beautiful mornings.