Burke Mountain Ski Lift Tickets
Item Number: 134
Time Left: CLOSED
Description
Winning bidder will receive two vouchers, each redeemable for a lift ticket to Burke Mountain for use anytime during the 2011-2012 ski season, including holidays. Each ticket is valued at $70. Burke Mountain is located in East Burke, in Northern Vermont. Learn more about this unique mountain.
About Burke Mountain - True North:
We love the lakes and woods in summer. Fall in Vermont is about as beautiful a thing as you’ll ever see. But it’s winter that captures us. And, no, we don’t mean snowed in–although it does happen. No, up here it’s winter that we look forward to. A fire crackling to life. The fresh, hot coffee steaming in the cold morning air.A blanket of sparkling white that fell overnight and seems to cover the entire world. It’s amazing. You could just take it in for hours, if you didn’t want to getout in it so much. And no matter how you like to play in the snow–on skis, snowshoes, snowmobiles or your own two feet–you’ll find the ideal setting and plenty of like-minded people on or around Burke Mountain. Enjoy 260 acres of true Vermont skiing and riding–winding, narrow trails that play with the contours of the mountain instead of fighting them, separated by deep glades that hide powder for days. Or strap on cross-country skis or snowshoes and trek along our scenic nordic trails that wind through the woods and farms of our community. Or maybe take a snowmobile deeper into the woods, emerging on the other side to stop for lunch in a neighboring town. Try out dog sledding or ice fishing. Go ice skating. If you can do it outside in winter, you can find a place to do it near Burke.
Burke Mountain is, both geographically and spiritually, a monadnock–an isolated, solitary mountain.
Geographically because, well, we say it's too much mountain to be part of a range. Geologists say the mountain is made up of rock resistant to erosion, so as the surrounding landscape eroded down, it remained. Spiritually, it's a similar story. As the surrounding ski landscape changed, Burke was resistant. Now, as some resorts have (by some opinion) eroded away into treeless, homogenized, corporate-run experiences, Burke remains.
WE'RE NOT ANTI-CHANGE. WE'RE FOR IT.
Sometimes we create it. As long as it makes sense. As long as it stays true to the sport, making it more accessible to more people by pulling the skier and rider up and not flattening the experience down. But first, a little history. The Earth cooled. Snow fell. Vikings skied it. Then, in 1932, men cutting a road to the summit of Burke Mountain decided to also cut the Wilderness and Bear Den Trails. Non-Vikings skied them. When the road to the summit was completed in 1935, Burke became a popular skiing destination, holding the first of many, many downhill races in 1937. More races took place. Then, in 1970, an aspiring ski racer asked legendary coach Warren Witherell to train her full-time. He agreed, and they created the Burke Mountain Academy–the first of the now-ubiquitous ski academies and home of over 50 Olympic racers. Genuine change for the better. Later, on the rolling trails and steep pitches of Burke, the s-curve was first taught, giving skiers a more natural and efficient way to control their speed–a technique that changed the way new skiers were taught for decades.
Sure, sometimes, when you look at the mountain and see more trees then skiers, it seems that it's still resistant to change.
But things are changing again.
On and around the mountain, you'll start to see a picture of what ski resorts–especially Burke–could, and we think, should be.
LOW-DENSITY, ULTRA-EFFiCIENT HOMES will keep costs and waste to a minimum. Homes that give you a sense of space without wasted space. Homes that fit into the community, both visually and in their need to make the most out of every material that goes into them. And we're not looking to create a contrived "village" that doesn't fit in with our surroundings. We have a real village. One with great restaurants and a country store. One that's been around for awhile. One that, oddly enough, seems to open up a shop or restaurant or inn just as soon as people need it and not before. And that's worked out pretty well over the years. And don't worry about things getting crowded–this is Vermont. We've got space. We just prefer to use it a little more prudently up North. Initial plans for yet another golf course have been shelved, with the thought of reclaiming some of the land for a farm that will help feed our community or be a local resource for restaurants. We love that kind of change.
But the kind of change we don't love, and can't stand for, is changing the Vermont skiing and riding experience. We're dedicated to narrow trails that ride a mountain's natural contours. We'll always preserve or add to our 100+ acres of glade skiing. Don't worry about crowding. We could more than double our terrain. It's just that with THE LOWEST SKIERS PER ACRE IN VERMONT, we don't need to just yet. And we won't expand for expansion's sake. Sure, people will disagree. Good people. Friends of ours. They'll point to ski areas putting more money into their amenities than their ski trails and say that's the way to go. Areas that we feel may not have a clear vision of who and what they are (or were). But we hope those friends see our sensible, true path and stick with us. Sure, our decisions might not be so showy and our trails not so crowded. But, oddly enough, we're OK with that. Burke is used to standing alone. Link is www.skiburke.com
Special Instructions
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A FUNDRAISING EVENT AND THERE ARE NO REFUNDS.
CHECKS TO BE MADE OUT TO DEVOTION SCHOOL AND MAILED TO CINDY TUNGATE, DEVOTION SCHOOL SPRING CARNIVALE, 345 HARVARD STREET, BROOKLINE, MA 02446 (OR DROPPED IN HER MAILBOX AT SCHOOL)
All winning bidders will be charged a transaction fee of 5%, not to exceed $20 per item, to cover a portion of the auction transaction fees. We thank you for helping with this and supporting the school.