Suicide Six Ski Area, Woodstock, VT; (802) 457-6661
Internet: www.woodstockinn.com/vermont-ski-resort.php

3 lifts; 23 trails; 650 vertical feet

Historic Suicide Six is a small Vermont ski area that's now owned by the upscale Woodstock Inn.

In 1934, Bunny Bertram rigged up the first rope tow in America in a pasture north of Woodstock. Three years later, Suicide Six opened just over the ridge from Bertram's first tow. The little ski area has been in operation ever since. Now owned by the Woodstock Inn & Resort, Suicide Six is one of the many amenities offered to inn guests; a shuttle runs from the hotel about three miles north to the ski area. The ski area remains open to the public, as well.

From the road, it appears that Suicide Six has just one trail: The Face. It's an intimidating precipice dropping straight under the chairlift. But there are 22 other friendlier trails, ranging in difficulty from novice to expert. For snowboarders, there is a half-pipe. Besides the two double chairlifts, a J-bar operates at the Beginners' Slope. The base lodge, with 40-foot tall windows overlooking The Face, has a cafeteria, a bar/restaurant, a ski shop and a ski school staffed by certified instructors.

The Woodstock Ski Touring Center, operating out of the inn's golf center just south of the Village, has 60 kilometers of trails that extend around the Village and into the surrounding hills. Inn guests are also allowed to ski on the trail network in the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, also in Woodstock.

Suicide Six has no child care, but the ski school does offer children's lessons. If you are staying at the Woodstock Inn & Resort, ask for babysitting referrals.

Lift tickets (2006/07 prices): Adults, $50; juniors/seniors, $34. Lower rates early and late season. Guests at the Woodstock Inn & Resort ski for free on non-holiday midweek days.

Distance from Boston & New York: Woodstock is 140 miles northwest of Boston via I-93 to I-89. From New York, it is 266 miles via I-91 to I-89. Woodstock is 10 miles off I-89.

Lodging information: (800) 448-7900 for the Woodstock Inn.