About

Meet The Taylors

It sometimes elicits a sideways glance when we tell people around here where we live. Why would a family from Utah, a place known for the Greatest Snow on Earth buy a ski chalet in Vermont, where the local apparel company Ski The East proudly brandishes the slogan Born from Ice? The answer is multi-faceted—starting with the fact that there is so much more to Vermont than skiing, and that the skiing here is better than most people in the West give it credit for. If we had to summarize it in a word, though, it would be Roots. 

We—Jenny and Derek Taylor—are not from Utah. Our kids are—born and raised. But we are both Northeasterners. Jenny was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. During her teenage years, she would spend most of the summer in New England, alternating between summer camp at Camp Wyonegonic in Maine, where she eventually became a counselor, and summer jobs on Martha’s Vineyard, where her parents still spend their summers. This love for New England led her to the University of Vermont. 

Jenny and her best friends from UVM have all since moved away from the Green Mountain State. This chalet has proven to be a great place to reconvene.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Derek is a multi-generation New Englander. His ties to Vermont date back to the late 18th century when two paternal great-grandfathers moved from Southern New England to Pawlet, Vermont shortly after the American Revolution. 

The boys visiting the grave site of their fourth great grand parents, Samuel and Olive Pomroy Taylor, in Pawlet, Vermont in 2023. Samuel and Olive’s father, Lt. John Pomroy, moved to Pawlet in the late 1700s.

Life and careers eventually drew us both west. After two years in Rhode Island, Derek transferred to Western Colorado State University. The mountains, snow and ski culture kept him on Colorado’s Western Slope for more than a decade, until he moved to California to embark on a 10-year stint on the editorial staff of Powder Magazine. 

After graduating from UVM, Jenny moved to Hood River, Oregon to windsurf. This led to a job at Salomon Sports in Portland. When the company relocated to Ogden, Utah, she followed, and has been an integral part of the company’s North American operations for nearly two decades. 

We met through work, and eventually decided to settle down in the small town of Huntsville, Utah to raise a family. With three ski areas (Snowbasin, Powder Mountain and Nordic Valley) within a 10 mile radius, we could not have found a better place to raise a couple of skiers. But the allure of New England never abated. We visit every summer, in part so the kids can see their grandparents, but also because we miss the shorelines, the lush forests, and the rugged landscape. We want our kids to experience their beauty, too. 

The Taylors about embark on the Hellbrook Trail on the Stowe side of Smuggler’s Notch in 2023

The Jeffersonville area and Smuggler’s Notch hold a certain significance for both of us. Jenny’s first outdoor industry job, while she was still at UVM, was in group sales for Smuggler’s Notch Resort. Derek’s family spent several Christmas vacations at Smuggs. One evening, while dream-scrolling Zillow for investment opportunities, this chalet popped up. We both had the same reaction: that’s the one. Within a week, we were under contract. 

So now we are the proud owners of this home, which we have dubbed The Smuggler’s Chalet. We plan to visit as often as school, work and life schedules allow, so that we may instill in our Utahn children the same love for New England that we have. The rest of the time, we hope to share this experience with people like you. We believe that Vermont is a unique place, and that the Mount Mansfield area is particularly special. 

If you’d like to visit, please click on our Bookings page. For updates on the chalet and life on the quiet side of Mount Mansfield, follow us on Instagram.