Vermont Ski Museum

Earlier this month, while looking for something to do with the kids, we wound up hitting the Vermont Ski Museum in Stowe for a looksie. I had heard about the place but never been there before and was unsure what it included.

In general, it was a nice collection of the history of skiing in Vermont from old equipment and photos to movies about Vermont ski areas to a large rotating display of various chair lifts suspended from the ceiling. However, two things really jumped out at me.

The first was this manikin in one of the chairlifts rotating overhead. Sweet Jesus. That's one of the creepiest things I've seen in a museum since the pygmy exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. I'm not sure if it's the fur coat, the ski mask, clamped knees or the angle of its head but I haven't slept well since visiting the thing.

The other thing that got my attention is this trophy that used to be awarded to the winner of the giant slalom at the Jay Peak International back in the 60's. Now, that's a trophy! The whole thing is carved from a single piece of wood. If I ever won something worthy of a trophy, I'd want to receive something like that much more than some crappy metal bowl, platter or cup. This thing has class.