Umiak Outdoor Outfitters — Local services in Stowe

Amazing alpine touring guided experience. Staff and guides at Umiak Stowe have been great across 2 visits. It was my first AT - skinning uphill and back-country downhill. If you're looking for a place to learn, or to see if this is something you'd like, this is a great place for it. I'd recommend a private tour, or a group at a similar level. That's because the guide can customize the challenge-level, and you'll likely learn faster, or get to the downhill types you like the best. Not to say a group wouldn't work too, just do it regardless. Experienced back-country enthusiasts would likely love this too - it was obvious there was more challenging terrain, and the guide had plenty of options-ready to make a day efficient and fun, and was himself passionate and skilled in AT. I was on a private because I was a last minute sign-up without knowing better, and in retrospect I am glad that was the option. And plenty of good conversation and tips throughout - uphill modes, equipment transitions, jump turns, and even a movie I hadn't heard of. I got lucky with the weather, powder the night before, and snow during the tour - and there was a well established base. Other FAQs/tips for people thinking about it (some of these are in the confirmation email, but I know some people like to hear it first hand): Includes skis, skins, boots, poles, transport. Not included and per your preference is backpack, food/lunch, and ski clothing items like helmet, goggles, and flexible layers. I had 1 insulated and 1 non-insulated bottle - the non-insulated started to freeze. Website worked well for booking and with a quick confirmation. I experienced some oddities with their email address, but it was easy enough to call the shop instead. One of my favorite quotes from the day: "Do you like hiking... skiing... views... quiet... and a good workout?...Then alpine touring will be perfect. This...

Rented two full sets of Nordic skis from Umiac for three days of skiing. The pickup was easy and quick, but because we picked up the equipment the evening prior, we were charged a full extra day. That was a minor annoyance (just an extra $30 total) and seemed odd to not charge in 24 hour increments. However, the reason for the terrible service rating is because even though we paid in full on pickup ($179), on the morning of the third day we were charged an additional $100. Umiac didn't even call to let me know, I just started noticing multiple new charges and refunds appearing from Umiak via a text notification from from my credit card company. When returning the skiis, they didn't say anything until I asked about these weird charges were showing up. They explained it by stating they made a mistake and should have charged us day by day instead of the full amount on day one. Then, only when I pointed out the total was actual $100 more, they said they made a mistake on the rates as well and would offer me a one day refund ($60) since I was returning the skiis the morning of the third day instead of the end of the day. This seems to be pretty deceitful and poor way of doing business, making the customer pay for the businesses mistake. In the end, I ended up paying an extra $40 above the original 'paid in full' amount while still bringing back the equipment early. I understand businesses make mistakes, but the series of seemingly deceitful actions makes it very difficult to believe this was an accident. I definely do not recommend Umiak for...

We bought tickets for the Moonlight Cabin Snowshoe Tour. All of the staff were really friendly and our tour guide Kevin was a really nice guy. Although my fiancé and I were disappointed with the details of our tour. There was not enough snow on the ground to snowshoe so we were offered a hike instead. This was disappointing because I did not see any fine print on the website that would suggest this would be the alternative. We talked to a staff member via phone call the day before our trip and she did not let us know that there was not snow and being an out of stater we did not know that there wasn’t snow in Vermont. We felt as though she had the responsibility to let us know. Instead we found out via email the morning of that it was a hike instead. We did not even receive a partial refund or anything. The tour was NOT 3 hours it was about 2 hours. If we wanted to take a hike we could’ve done it for free or at a very low admission charge at a state park. The cabin was cool and we were offered crackers, jam, and cheese but it was definitely not worth $155. In circumstances like this the owner should be offering partial refunds. To future customers, make sure you purchase the day of otherwise you may have a similar...