Northbound & Clarity: Finding My Footing in Stowe

There is a specific shift in the air when you cross into Vermont. The landscape changes—the hills roll a little differently than they do back home in Maine, and the world seems to get quieter, wrapped in a deeper blanket of white.

I arrived in Stowe this week for my annual winter pilgrimage. By now, this trip has become a ritual. It’s a marker in my calendar that signifies the true heart of winter has arrived. But this year feels different.

As I’ve mentioned before, 2026 is my "year of charting forward." Usually, we think of moving forward as a straight line—a constant push into the new and the unknown. But as I looked up at the mountain this morning, breathing in that sharp, biting air that wakes you up faster than coffee ever could, I realized that sometimes you have to go back to move forward.

Stowe has always felt like a scene out of a movie to me—that classic, rustic New England charm that I try to capture here on Country Road Chronicles. It’s the steepled church against a gray sky; it’s the smell of woodsmoke drifting from a lodge; it’s the sound of snow crunching under boots. It evokes that "Funny Farm" feeling of cozy isolation, where the noise of the rest of the world just… stops.

In that silence, I’m finding the clarity I need for the months ahead.

Skiing, strangely enough, is a lot like the personal growth I’m aiming for this year. You can’t overthink it. If you stare too hard at the tips of your skis, you’ll cross them. You have to look ahead, down the line, trusting your body to handle the terrain right under your feet. You have to lean into the descent, not shy away from it.

So, for this Tuesday, I’m trading my desk for the slopes and my usual routine for the ritual of the mountains. I’m taking this time to recharge, to reconnect with friends, and to let the elevation give me a better view of where I’m heading next.

Here’s to finding your own mountain this week—whether it’s a physical peak or just a quiet moment to chart your own path forward.

See you on the trail.