VT
FREE! HOLIDAYS 2020
SKI + RIDE
Vermont’s Mountain Sports and Life
THE BEST NEW SKIS for the East HOW TO BREAK INTO
BACKCOUNTRY
5 Pro Tips
FOR NEXT-LEVEL SKIING SKI HOUSE MAKEOVER \ VT’S BEST PIZZAS \ DAN EGAN’S WILD RIDE www.vtskiandride.com
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WHERE THE END OF THE TRAIL IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
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CONTENTS / 05.02 FEATURES OUT OF BOUNDS p. 20
=
This Connecticut family gave a simple saltbox in southern Vermont a complete ski-house makeover.
BORN TO SKI p. 26
Photographers and adventurers Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson have raised their kids to follow in their skin tracks, literally anywhere.
CHARGING IN THE WHITE HAZE p. 34
A pioneer of extreme skiing, Dan Egan tells how filming and adventuring nearly cost him his life... and changed it for the better.
FIRST TRACKS NEWS | THE SILVER LININGS
COLUMNS BACKCOUNTRY | BREAKING INTO BACKCOUNTRY,
p. 10
p. 42
How the pandemic is changing skiing... for the better.
What you need to know to start backcountry skiing in Vermont and beyond.
NEWS | HUTS, CABANAS & MORE,
Sure, you’re a good skier. But have you mastered these 5 things?
p. 13
There are new ways to quarantine at these ski-in shelters.
APRES | THE BEST PIZZA IN SKI COUNTRY p. 16
Pizza is the new “night out” meal. Even if you order in. Here, skiers name their 7 favorite ski town pizzerias in Vermont.
GOOD READS | DON’T READ THESE BOOKS, p. 17
COACH | READY FOR NEXT-LEVEL SKIING?,
p. 48
GEAR | THE ALL-MOUNTAIN SKIS FOR THE EAST p. 52
Top skiers take some of the major brands latest skis for a test drive.
CHAIRLIFT Q/A | MAKING BLACK MAGIC,
p. 64
Bobby Johnson is the first Black ski school director. And so much more.
These three new releases will make you want to explore.
COVER: Jeb Walllace-Brodeur captures Mark Wallace bushwhacking on his Parlor McFellons at Mad River Glen. THIS PAGE: Sugarbush’s Lincoln Peak by Marc Angelilllo vtskiandride.com Holidays 2020 5
VERMONT CUSTOM
SNOWFLAKES
SNOWFLAKES by
91 MAIN STREET, STOWE, VT • 802.253.3033 ferrojewelers.com/stowe • stowe@ferrojewelers.com
GG12v-ferro111820.indd 1
CAN YOU SKI VERMONT? “So Vermont has pulled up the drawbridge,” extreme skier Dan Egan said with a laugh as I spoke with him by phone in November. Egan was polishing off his new book, Skiing in aWhite Haze (an exclusive first excerpt is in this issue) and getting ready to head to Montana. This was days after a number of major news outlets ran stories detailing the state’s travel restrictions and discussing the impending impact on skiing. What Egan and, judging from the number of calls we got, many others have missed is that Vermont’s travel restrictions in December 2020 are no different than they were in April or August. Unless you were coming from a county that had a very low Covid-19 count (under 400 cases per million), you were required to quarantine for 14 days before arriving. Or quarantine for 7 days, if you have a negative test result. What has changed is that as cases began to spread, few counties in the Lower 48 (at present) have that low, under-400 per million case count. “That doesn’t mean we have to quarantine too, we live here!” one second home-owner who regularly crosses state borders told me. A moderator of a popular Facebook group insisted that because he was “working media” he could travel from New York to Vermont as he pleased. Sorry, but the answer to both of those is the same one I tell guests who try to book my Airbnb: there are no exceptions. You can still ski. And we want you here. It’s just this: if you love to ski, quarantine, for Pete’s sake. Get tested. Be careful. Yes, that means masks. Yes, that means no parking lot parties, no barhopping (bars here are closed) or après. But it also means that you can have a ski season. And we can too. If we all follow these guidelines, we won’t face the shutdowns that European resorts are seeing. And there will be powder for all. —Lisa Lynn, Editor
CONTRIBUTORS
11/11/20 4:47 PM
It’s been a wild ride for Dan Egan, whose new book 30 Years in a White Haze chronicles his adventures extreme skiing around the world. In this issue, Dan shares some of the harrowing moments he and his brother, Mad River Valley local John Egan, faced in the Arctic, Russia and beyond.
You’ve read about Brian Mohr’s and Emily Johnson’s backcountry adventures around Vermont and in remote parts of the world in magazines such as this one or Outside. In this issue, the couple tell how they have brought up their daughters to follow, literally, in their skin tracks. A former competitive snowboarder, accomplished rock climber and son of legendary snowboard coach Bud Keene, Stowe native Zak Keene shares advice on how to get into backcountry skiing and riding and what you should know before you go.
6 Holidays 2020 vtskiandride.com
vtskiandride.com Holidays 2020 7
EDITORIAL Publisher, Angelo Lynn angelo@vtskiandride.com Editor/Co-Publisher, Lisa Lynn editor@vtskiandride.com Creative Director, David Pollard Contributors: Brooks Curran, David Goodman, Sophie Hodges, Ali Kaukas, Bud Keene, Brian Mohr & Emily Johnson, Lindsay Selin, Doug Stewart, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
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8 Holidays 2020 vtskiandride.com
COME EXPLORE
MIDDLEBURY’S
Winter Magic
THINGS TO DO IN MIDD-WINTER As a ski destination Middlebury offers an authentic experience that’s a welcome contrast to Vermont’s more developed ski resorts. Home of the Middlebury College ski team, the Middlebury College Snow Bowl is just 15 minutes from the downtown and is the perfect mountain for beginner, intermediate and advanced skiers with ample off-trail skiing and no crowds. Just a mile down the road is world-class Nordic skiing at Rikert Nordic Center, complete with a 5K race loop with 100 percent snowmaking around the loop. For snowshoers, backcountry skiers and hikers, go to the Robert Frost National Recreation Trail, the Trail Around Middlebury, and enjoy 16,000 acres of the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area (MNRA) that’s ideal for backcountry skiing and snowshoeing. Fat-tire biking is a growing sport at Rikert Nordic Center and in the MNRA, and snowshoeing is featured at the Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center. Catch lake trout, a northern pike and salmon ice-fishing in nearby Lake Dunmore, stay at one of the area’s cozy Vermont Inns or B&Bs and explore the Lemon Fair Sculpture Park, then enjoy locally produced craft beer, cider and spirits.
FIRSTTRACKS SILVER LININGS
Photo by Nathanael Asaro
The Coronavirus pandemic is changing the way ski areas operate and skiers and riders respond. Some of those changes may be for the better. By Lisa Lynn
10 Holidays 2020 vtskiandride.com
F
lashback to 2019: it’s a powder day. You’re sitting in traffic waiting to get to the mountain.You get there and finally find a parking place that might as well be in Outer Mongolia. The lift lines are already snaking far past the maze.You go in for a $4 hot chocolate and there’s a line there too. Now flash forward to this season.You called ahead to make a reservation to ski. There are limits on how many will be at the mountain at a time.There’s no traffic. And if you are skiing Killington or Pico, you also have a parking spot reserved. On the mountain, there are fewer crowds than normal. The Canadian border is closed, shutting out many of the traditional visitors to northern Vermont ski areas. And many Vermont colleges have sent students home: University of Vermont until January 18 and Middlebury College until late February. So take those skiers and riders out of the mix. As for the 3 million out-of-state visitors who normally make a trip to ski Vermont each winter? Only those who have quarantined at home for 14 days, or gotten a negative Covid-19 test and then quarantined for 7 days should be in the state. Will that be enforced, as it is being in Europe? If cases rise, that’s likely. Already state police are checking inns and lodging facilities to make sure protocols are followed. While these restrictions and quarantine requirements may seem onerous, as Heather Pelham, Vermont’s Commissioner of the Department of Tourism and Marketing puts it: “We are working to educate peoples, so people know we are serious about these restrictions before traveling here. We need all skiers and riders to follow the rules if we are going to have a successful season.” That said, if you have quarantined and have a hall pass to ski Vermont you are going to notice that some things have changed… for the better. At Bolton Valley, you can call up a menu on the Toast App, put in your order for pizza at the Fireside Tavern, and have time for another run before you pick it up. Or, make reservations (up to 7 days ahead) for a sit-down lunch at the James Moore Tavern. If you’re skiing Sugarbush, head back to the car to change clothes and pick up lunch at the new food truck, The Lunch Box, stationed there. Or reserve a slopeside cabana that your whole family can use for the day. Apres-ski may no longer involve beers at legendary places such as the Matterhorn in Stowe or Killington’s Wobbly Barn (which will not open this season). But it might mean going for a cross country ski at Trapp Family Lodge or skinning up Pico after hours. Tailgating, that ritual that bonds spring skiers, has already become a thing in December with elaborate picnic set-ups, Jet-Boil cocoa and plenty of camper-van gourmet chefs, prepping their meals on four wheels. “No doubt next season will turn out to be more of an old-school experience with less noise, fewer distractions and more meaning,” Aspen CEO Mike Kaplan said last summer. And Mad River Glen, true to form, co-opted that quote for its Instagram feed, with a photo of the Single Chair and the question: “Who’s ready for old school?” The good news? This season will bring a mix of old-school skiing (without the frills) and new-school technology. As Bolton Valley Resort president Lindsay DesLauriers noted, “We’ve had to learn how to do a lot of things differently this year. And that’s not all bad.”
Ralph Kucharek solo surfing Mount Mansfiield’s alpine snowfields.
vtskiandride.com Holidays 2020 11
NEW GO-FAST GEAR
A GROWING HUT-TOPIA
Vermont’s hut-to-hut network is one step closer to reality. Vermont’s most iconic backcountry hut, the Stone Hut at Mount Mansfield in Stowe, isn’t taking reservations or visitors this season. The hut, operated by Vermont State Parks, relies on Stowe Mountain Resort’s facilities for operation. The good news? There are a growing number of other backcountry huts you can ski or snowshoe to and spend the night for a nominal fee thanks to the Vermont Huts Association. These range from Merck Forest & Farmland Center’s eight cabins (pictured above) tucked among nearly 30 miles of trails that weave in and out of 3100 acres of Taconic hill farms to the Nulhegan Confluence Hut, which sits in the northeastern corner of the state. In between, Vermont Huts has been adding simple cabins like Shrek’s stone cabin atop the Green Mountain Trails in Pittsfield and the Triple Creek Cabin in Huntington. Most have bare bunks and woodstove.Want so ski from hut to hut? The Catamount Trail Association offers guided ski tours between some of them. In November, the prospect for a full-fledged hut to hut trail system grew one step closer to reality when Vermont Huts and the Rochester/ Randolph Sports Trail Alliance announced they received a $526,375 grant from the Northern Borders Regional Commission to build a new ADA accessible hut at South Pond in Chittenden and 10 miles of new trails. It’s a giant step toward connecting the Killington area mountain bike and ski touring trails to the Mad River Valley, via Rochester.The goal for Velomont is to one day have a mountain bike and ski touring trail extending the length of the state with backcountry huts you can stay at along the way. For more, see Vermonthuts.org
12 Holidays 2020 vtskiandride.com
“You’ll either come through the pandemic as a hunk, a chunk or a drunk,” a friend said recently. Opt for the first and trade apres-ski beers for laps on the cross-country trails. Many alpine ski areas have Nordic centers nearby (see p. 20) and some, such as Middlebury Snow Bowl and Rikert Nordic Center let you do a half-day alpine and a half-day Nordic skiing (or fatbiking) on one ticket. You can rent skis, snowshoes or fatbikes at most Nordic centers, but if you want your own high-performance gear, try these new items. Skate skiing is a full-body workout that is hard to beat. Fischer has been using air cores (as opposed to foam cores) in its race skis and this year brought that technology down to its recreational Aerolite skate skis. The Fischer Aerolite 60 is the perfect entry into skate skiing and comes with step-in Turnamic bindings (for $269.85, skis and bindings) that are compatible with NNN, Turnamic or Prolink boot soles. Find them at Outdoor Gear Exchange in Burlington. Umiak Outfitters in Stowe or Onion River Sports in Montpelier. Great for: racing laps around the Trapp Family Lodge trails in Stowe or at Rikert Nordic Center in Middlebury —both have snowmaking. Bennington’s Bob Dion has been racing ultramarathons and scoring podium finishes at snowshoeing events for years—and the classic snowshoes you get in rental shops are not what he uses. Dion invented a customizable snowshoe, the Dion Modular Snowshoe, that comes with a standard frame made of aircraft grade aluminum that can be easily fitted with bindings and cleats depending on whether you’re running packed-snow trails, traversing an icy ridgeline or slogging through deep powder. Frames are made in Vermont, start at $205 for a complete snowshoe and are sold online at dionnevitrek.com or at your retailer. Great for: snowshoe running at the Woodstock Inn and Nordic Center or Stowe’s Edson Hill Lodge trails. Salsa’s Beargrease is the first carbon fatbike and offers fast xc performance on a 27.5 platform. It weighs in at just 27 lbs. for the X01 Eagle—about $6K. You can also go basic with the Beargrease Carbon Deore, starting at $2,399. Check them out at Earl’s Cyclery in South Burlington, Onion River Outdoors in Montpellier, and the West Hill Shop in Putney. Great for: Riding groomers at Grafton Trails & Outdoor Center or at Kingdom Trails.
Vt Ski+Ride 2020.qxp_Layout 1 9/24/20 9:33 AM Page 1
PURE. JOY.
Woodstock Nordic Center offers 45km of groomed trails for skate & classic cross-country skiing. Fat bike riders & snowshoers may utilize the groomed ski trail areas in addition to a series of ungroomed trails for a more invigorating experience.
Suicide Six is Vermont’s most family friendly ski area. Our diverse terrain for all levels features excellent snowmaking and grooming and our world-class ski & ride school. We are proud to be steeped in history, rooted in community, and faithful to the future.
The Woodstock Inn & Resort invites you to celebrate winter with luxurious accommodations, fine dining, a full service spa & all of our amazing winter recreational activities.
www.woodstockinn.com | Plan Your Winter Getaway Today! | 888.504.4213 | www.suicide6.com
CABANA LIFE
Perhaps the ultimate Covid-19 status symbol? Your private cabana at the base of Sugarbush’s Lincoln Peak. As Covid-19 hit, Sugarbush began erecting six small, cozy, ski-in “Base Cabins” just off the slopes at the base area. The cabins, each named for a nearby peak, are equipped with a picnic table and a heater, and have boot and bag storage. With food delivery also available, they’re a private base lodge for a family. Cost for the day is $400 midweek and $550 on weekends.
STAY WARM If necessity is the mother of invention, that explains why there are so many new products to keep you warm coming out of Vermont. This winter, as indoor dining is curtailed in many places, gear up to stay outside longer.
As a ski racer at Middlebury College, Eva Shaw was looking for something she could pull up over her helmet on those numbingly cold days. Shaw, whose father Tiger Shaw is president of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, knew she wasn’t the only one with that need. While in college, she founded Overeasy and signed on Vermonters to sew the HoodE. Overeasy now produces both mountain and lifestyle variations made with OG faux fur, $60 each. Another product out of Middlebury with a great story behind it is the Flosso-Fur neckwarmer. Mike Kiernan, an emergency physician at Porter Hospital, and his family have been working to increase Vermont’s pollinator population through a non-profit, Bee the Change. One of the things Bee the Change does is to encourage planting species such as milkweed, whose leaves Monarch butterflies rely on to raise their young. Kiernan and his daughter Emily hit on the idea of using the feathery floss from wild-harvested Vermont milkweed pods as insulation, a replacement for goose down with similar insulating properties but less allergenic. As an Indiegogo project, Floss-o-Fur has already more than doubled its goal and is offering its vegan neckwarmers in six patterns, starting at $40. Every neckwarmer sold goes to fund 180 square feet of pollinator habitat. Gordini, a Canadian company with U.S. headquarters in Vermont, has been making down and leather ski mittens since 1970. Things have come a long way since then as its latest mitt, the Gordini Cache Mitt, demonstrates. A waterproof, breathable canvas outer hides a reinforced inner with synthetic leather fingers so you can still have the functionality of a glove and the warmth of a mitten packed with Primaloft.We’ve tried these and they are the warmest mittens we now own—and, at $89.99, relatively affordable. The new ultra thin Hotronics Heat Sock XLP PFI 50 Surround ($279) has a surround heating element that warms both the top and bottom of the toes. Rechargeable Lithium ion batteries power the socks and snap on to the inner cuffs. With settings for four levels of heat, the socks do keep your feet toasty warm but it can be difficult to adjust the heat levels. They are washable and that’s good because extra pairs are upwards of $60.
vtskiandride.com Holidays 2020 15
Après THE BEST SKI-TOWN PIZZA Piping hot pizza is the comfort food we crave after a day on the slopes. We polled skiers and riders to find their 7 favorites around the state.
During this pandemic, there is one thing you can rely on: After a cold day on the slopes hot, cheesy pizza will be there for you. Around Vermont, independently-owned local pizzerias take this classic comfort food up a notch, serving ‘zas topped with farm-fresh local ingredients, house-made sausage and Vermont’s finest cheeses.We have our favorites but to do a gut check, we posed the question: “What’s the best pizza in Vermont” on numerous Facebook group pages. There was surprising consistency among the hundreds of responses. Here’s the summary, in alphabetical order. AMERICAN FLATBREAD, WAITSFIELD You can’t call it “pizza” but the crusty flatbread topped with farm-fresh vegetables and local meats and cheeses that come out of the wood-fired hearth at American Flatbread are legendary. While American Flatbreads have popped up in Burlington and in Middlebury, the original one at the 25-acre Lareau Farm on the Mad River in Waitsfield deserves a pilgrimage (though in Covid times it is doing take-out only, Thurs-Sun.) Specials change each week, but we love the Vermont Sausage, which uses Gaylord Farm’s naturally raised pork in a homemade maple-fennel sausage, with caramelized onions, clay oven-roasted mushrooms, cheeses and herbs. IPIE, KILLINGTON Formerly known as the Pizza Jerks, IPie is a staple among Killington skiers and riders. Using local, seasonal and sustainably-sourced ingredients, this Mountain Road favorite dishes out hand-tossed classic pies like a Margherita, Buffalo Chicken or White Sausage without many frills. But whether you get a piping-hot slice to go between morning and afternoon runs on the slope or order delivery, you can’t go wrong with IPie.
PIECASSO, STOWE After tallying all the Facebook responses to the question “Who makes the best ski-town pizza?” one thing became clear: Piecasso is a hands-down favorite. Ed Rovetto has been carrying forward his family’s Sicilian pizzas recipes at the Mountain Road pizzeria for 20 years. Piecasso also serves up new classics such as Pesto Delight (pesto base with mozzarella, fresh basil, fresh garlic, tomatoes and eggplant) to hungry skiers with apres-ski specials and ski and ride movies on Thursday nights. Take out or eat in. GOODMAN’S AMERICAN PIE, LUDLOW Family-owned for 20 years, Goodman’s American Pie bakes pies in a wood-fired oven and serves them over a counter made from a 1963 VW bus. Located right on Ludlow’s main street, just down the road from Okemo’s access road, it’s an old-school, take-out only place with call-ahead orders a must. While the locals’ favorite is the pesto-based Rip Curl, The Hopper offers up a Mexican twist with house-made Spicy Black Bean Sauce, topped with Asiago, mozzarella, sausage, onions, green peppers, jalapeños and corn. JJ HAPGOODS, PERU Most of the places on this list are full-on pizzerias, but JJ Hapgood’s wood-fired pizza (for take-out or eat-in) is so good it can’t be missed. Coming back from a day on the slopes of Magic or Nordic skiing at Wild Wings, stop in at this refurbished classic general store for a Wild Mushroom topped with arugula or a BBQ Pulled Pork. You can order online, too. PIZZAPALOOZA, MARLBORO Located at Beer Naked Brewery at the top of Hogback Mountain in southern Vermont, Pizzapalooza combines three of our favorite things: Vermont craft beer (try the ), wood-fired pizza (The Cowboy has maple bacon, chicken, maple BBQ sauce and blue cheese) and yes, backcountry skiing. Drive up, park your car, ski down then skin back up Hogback (once the site of a ski area) for a hot slice and a cold brew with amazing views of the mountaintops around. Eat in (socially distanced) or take out. SAM’S WOODFIRED PIZZA, MANCHESTER It’s worth a trip into Manchester after a day on the slopes of Stratton or Bromley to taste some of Sam’s Woodfired Pizzas. Some of their specialty pies like The Hangover (sausage and bacon) and Kat’s Vermonter (bacon, apples, Gouda) are drizzled with Vermont maple syrup. On Fridays they use rotating farm-totable ingredients to make a seasonal weekly special. Best part? $5 specials can get you two slices and a drink.
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK Ready to settle into a cozy armchair with a good book this winter? Then don’t read these books. Why? These new releases from some of the East’s best skiers and riders are enough to make you curse the couch and start exploring. Dan Egan tells his remarkable story in 30 Years in a White Haze, co-authored with Eric Wilbur. In it, Dan traces his roots, from growing up in a New England ski family and chasing his brother John Egan around Sugarbush to becoming a pioneer in adventure skiing with first ascents and descents from the Arctic to Antarctica. You might know both Dan and John from their Warren Miller ski films or as former pros at Killington and Sugarbush, respectively. This book is a poignant, gripping behind-the-scenes look at the glamour and the grit that life on the snowcapped knife edges and in front of the cameras entails. To order, see white-haze.com Photographer Nathanael Asaro gives a fresh look to the Vermont landscape he shoots. His shots of Mt. Mansfield feature some of his regular boarding buddies ( Ralph Kucharek and Jake Blauvelt among them) treating the high alpine as a terrain park. Asaro has self-published two photo books on his Mt. Mansfield images, 4393 Vols. 1 and 2 and both make great gifts or presents to yourself. $25.79 each at nathanaelasaro.com. In Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast, Waterbury Center’s David Goodman shared 50 of the best backcountry lines he discovered over years of tracing maps and talking with ski pioneers and tells the fascinating stories behind them. In December, the second edition came out in paperback ($17.95.) It expands on the first and, dammit, adds in some of our favorite secret stashes. We’re not going to tell you where they are but Goodman, you better buy us a beer for every book you sell!
vtskiandride.com Holidays 2020 17
Cross CouNtry centers of vermont spoNsored CoNteNt
Rikert Nordic Center, Ripton
NortherN Ski Area
Total Terrain
Machine Tracked
Skating Terrain
Blueberry Lake
31 km
31 km
Bolton Valley XC
100 km
Burke (Dashney) Nordic Center
Fat Biking
Town
Phone
Website
31 km
Warren
802-496-6687
blueberrylakeskivt.com
15 km
15 km
Bolton Valley
802-434-3444
boltonvalley.com
14 km
14Km
14 km
East Burke
802-626-1466
skiburke.com
Catamount Outdoor Family Center
35 km
35 km
35 km
Williston
802-879-6001
catamountoutdoorfamilycenter.org
Edson Hill
10 km
10 km
10 km
Stowe
802-253-7371
edsonhill.com
Hazen’s Notch
65 km
60 km
60 km
Montgomery Center
802-326-4799
hazensnotch.org
Kingdom Trails
45 km
20 km
20 km
East Burke
802-626-0737
kingdomtrails.org
Memphremagog Trails
35 km
35 km
35 km
Derby
802-334-1357
mstf.net
Ole’s Cross Country Center
48 km
50 km
45 km
Warren
802-496-3430
olesxc.com
Sleepy Hollow Inn & Bike Center
35 km
30 km
25 km
Huntington
802-434-2283
skisleepyhollow.com
Stowe XC Ski Center
75 km
35 km
35 km
Stowe
802-253-3688
stowe.com
Smugglers’Notch Nordic Center
30 km
--
--
Smugglers Notch
800-457-8752
smuggs.com
Strafford Nordic Center
30 km
20 km
30 km
Strafford
802-765-0016
straffordnordicskiing.com
Trapp Family Lodge XC Center
70 km
70 km
70 km
Stowe
802-253-8511
trappfamily.com
in the hearth.
18 Holidays 2020 vtskiandride.com
Wood Woo
dstock odstockInn, Inn,Woodstock Woodstock
Bolton Valley, Bolton
Blueberry Hill, Goshen
Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe
Edson Hill, Stowe
southerN
Snowmaking
Ski Area
Total Terrain
Machine Tracked
Skating Terrain
Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center
45 km
--
--
Brattleboro Outing Club
33 km
25 km
20 km
rafton Trails & Outdoor Center
30 km
30 km
30 km
Hildene The Lincoln Family Home
20 km
14 km
--
Landgro e Inn
15 km
15 km
Mountain Top esort
60 km
Okemo Valley Nordic Center Prospect Mountain XC
Phone
Website
802-247-6735
blueberryhilltrails.com
802-254-8906
brattleborooutingclub.org
802-843-2400
graftontrails.com
Manchester
802-362-1788
hildene.org
15 km
andgrove
802-824-6673
landgroveinn.com
40 km
40 km
Chittenden
802-483-2311
mountaintopresort.com
22 km
22 km
8 km
802-228-1396
okemo.com
30 km
30 km
30 km
Woodford
802-442-2575
prospectmountain.com
uechee Club
25 km
25 km
12 km
uechee
802-295-9356
ski uechee.com
ikert Nordic Center
55 km
50 km
40 km
ipton
802-443-2744
rikertnordic.com
Stratton Mountain Nordic Center
12 km
12 km
12 km
Stratton Mountain
800-787-2886
stratton.com
Timber Creek XC
14 km
14 km
14 km
West Dover
802-464-0999
timbercreekxc.com
Viking Nordic Center
39 km
35 km
35 km
ondonderry
802-824-3933
vikingnordic.com
Wild Wing’s Ski Touring Center
25 km
25 km
10 km
eru
802-824-6793
wildwingsski.com
Woodstock Inn Nordic Center
50 km
50 km
50 km
802-457-6674
woodstockinn.com
Our Nordic Center has been enriched with professional grooming equipment, great additions to our rental fleet, private instruction and a retail offering with some essential gear and Edson Hill logo-wear available. After a day on the hill, relax in elegant comfort in one of our rooms, and enjoy a meal by Chef Jason Bissell.
Fat Biking
Town oshen Brattleboro rafton
udlow
Woodstock
With an extensive network of winter trails throughout Mt. Peg and Mt. Tom, the Nordic Center offers more than 45 km of groomed trails for skate and classic crosscountry skiing. Snowshoers & fat bike riders may utilize the groomed ski trail areas in addition to a series of ungroomed trails for a more invigorating hike.
The BHOC trail system offers over 45km of well-marked and maintained ungroomed trails within the Moosalamoo Recreation Area for year-round outdoor adventures. No trail fees, BHOC operates on a donation basis and is a non-profit 501(c)3 company dedicated to recreational access.
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rom the outside, it was an unremarkable house—a 1980s clapboard saltbox set on a little over an acre in a subdivision in Wilmington, Vt. It had just come on the market when the Ehrlichs saw it. They bought it right away. “We’re a really active, outdoorsy family and we wanted our two kids to grow up to be skiers,” Lisa Ehrlich remembers. “It was going to be a place where we spent every weekend—not too far a drive from our home in Greenwich, Ct. We wanted a quintessential, warm ski house where we could come as a family and relax.” Lisa had been snowboarding for over two decades. Her husband Randy is a serious triathlete and alpine skier who often skins up the mountains for a workout. The entire family skis, rides, snowmobiles and snowshoes. “Our kids were in kindergarten and third grade at the time and sometimes just getting out the door was a challenge. We wanted to be
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near a ski mountain but not on it. This was right near both Haystack and Mount Snow, but not quite on the trails so we decided to call the house ‘Out of Bounds.’” The name resonated on many levels. “Whenever we get up to Vermont, I feel like we leave our other lives behind. We don’t watch TV or spend much time on screens. We just unplug and get outdoors.” “Above all,” Lisa says, “we wanted a house that was practical—a place we didn’t have to worry about when we left for a week.” What Lisa, an interior designer, saw when she pushed open the door sold her. “There were these barnboard walls —some planks are 16 inches or wider— and the fireplace and hand-hewn beams. I knew we could do something with this,” she remembers. The original builder had added the rustic touches to the interior. “But it was still very 1980s,” Lisa recalls. And it was small, with a narrow staircase leading up to two bedrooms, tucked under the eaves.
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Lisa contacted Rob Wadsworth at the Bondville design/build firm Vermont Barns, knowing they would be able to source reclaimed wood and riff off the barnboard theme. “We wanted to keep the original footprint of the house but add on,” she says. And add on they did. A two-car garage was married to one side of the house, with the walls and ceiling paneled in cedar. “We move the cars out and it becomes a party barn where we can entertain, too,” says Lisa. For the family’s many bikes, dirt bikes and snowmobiles, a second “sports garage” was added onto the back. And a bright sunroom—or, as Lisa calls it—a “snowglobe” extended the main living area, with a heated and covered balcony off the back. On paper, putting additions on three sides of the house might have sounded like an architectural nightmare. But builder/designer Rob Wadsworth of Vermont Barns made it work by paneling the entire structure in reclaimed barnboard, echoing the rustic interior and tying the disparate additions together. “We didn’t even take off the clapboard— Rob said we could just put the barnboard on top as an added a layer of insulation,” Lisa remembers. Then she went to work on the interior. “We didn’t change much in terms of the layout,” she says. The old narrow stairs stayed, the barnboard paneling as well. The kitchen footprint remained the same with the addition of new cabinets, appliances and subway tiles. Where the old kitchen table stood, Lisa added a banquette and a West Elm table and bench. “The table actually came with two benches
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Photos by Michael Partenio; top by Lisa Ehrlich
and we didn’t need one so we used the top half of it to extend the rectangular table and make it a larger square,” she says. Ottomans, stools and poufs are scattered around the house—many the right height to double as extra chairs. “For Thanksgiving in 2019 we had 15 here: 8 adults around the kitchen table and an additional table next to it housed 7 cousins seated on poufs and stools,” Lisa said. Between the kitchen and dining area, a door opens to a small second mudroom that joins the main house with the garage. Lisa sometimes sets up tables in the garage (a.k.a “party barn”) where cabinets and shelving hold extra dinnerware and decorations. Even after they come in from a day on the slopes at Mount Snow, the Ehrlichs and their giant St. Bernard rescue dog are in and out of the house constantly. They snowshoe on the trails behind the house and the whole family heads off snowmobiling on the VAST trails, which they can access from the property. Randy and his son dirt bike and mountain bike as well. “We come in from hiking or biking, skiing or snowshoeing and there are usually boots and clothes to change so having two mudrooms —one at the front entrance and one off the garage, made sense,” Lisa says. Throughout the first floor the Ehrlichs used porcelain tiles with wood grain on the radiant-heated floors. “They look like wood but they are super durable and it doesn’t matter if you come in, stomp your feet and there’s a puddle left there,” says Lisa. Lisa also wanted to bring the feeling of being outdoors inside. The original saltbox’s sloped roof and small windows didn’t let much light in. The solution was to add on what the family calls the “snow globe.” They knocked down an exterior wall and extended the living room out to a sunroom where floor-to-ceiling glass windows let light pour in. “I love sitting in that room, surrounded by trees and falling snow,” says Lisa. Just off the “snow globe” is a wide covered porch with an industrial heater —the perfect place for social-distanced gatherings. And when the weather is warm, the large double-doors are left open. “It really makes me feel like we are out in nature,” Lisa says. A nature lover and vegetarian for 28 years, Lisa chose the color palette based on what she might find in the landscape. “I picked up rocks and the earth tones you see in a piece of Vermont granite are the colors we used.” A black marble facade was set around the fireplace. Greys, browns and blacks were chosen for the furnishings with antler lighting fixtures in the “snow globe.” “One of my favorite pieces in the house is that light from Ngala Trading,” Lisa says, pointing to a ceiling fixture draped in dangling strips of leather. “It’s made by women in Africa who use every part of the animal and cut each leather strip by hand,” she notes. “I love that this house is supporting their work.” Lisa also found black and white prints of horses and bison from Colorado artist Leslie Le Coq to grace the walls. Those, and a proliferation of faux fur and sheepskin rugs give the home a Western mountain-house feel — no coincidence since the family likes to head
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to Colorado for ski trips. Over the fireplace hangs an image by noted Town & Country photographer Slim Aarons of a ski scene in Verbier. As she was learning her trade, Lisa trained with noted designer Bunny Williams, the doyenne of ‘livable luxury’ and the influence shows. Lisa curated the furnishings and decor, relying on to-thetrade wallpapers, custom and high-end furniture and then adding in affordable piece, such as captains’ beds from Ikea and bare-wood bed frames in the adjacent guest room which she painted matte black. Textured fabrics, pillows and throws play a role throughout. “I have a thing for throws,” she says with a laugh— and indeed, there’s hardly a chair that’s missing one. Spreads so soft you want to sink your fingers into them cover the beds in the master bedroom, which sits off the living room, through a door to the left of the fireplace. From the living room, narrow stairs lead to a hallway upstairs that connects two bedrooms. “I love that Ella and Daniel still want to share a room,” Lisa says she as she opens the door to the kids room, with a big SKI sign on one wall and each kid’s initial hanging above a bed. A Jack-and-Jill bathroom opens into a second bedroom. “We put three single beds in this guest room so when the kids have sleep overs there’s a lot of flexibility,” says Lisa. In non-Covid times, cousins would arrive for the holidays. “One of my favorite memories was coming up the stairs and seeing Daniel and his cousin sprawled out in the hallway playing a board game on the floor—that’s the type of house I was aiming for,” she says. With the additions, the Ehrlichs’ nearly doubled the home, now 3,500 sq. feet. But each space feels intimate. To the right of the fireplace, a staircase leads down to a large playroom (“something we are still working on,” Lisa says), a guest bedroom and a study/ gym for Randy. The walkout basement also leads across a path to the “sports garage.” There, on a late November day, Randy and Daniel are wheeling their dirt bikes out the door. Ella is upstairs studying at the kitchen table and Lisa is planning meals for the week. “When we come up here now, we bring all our food, we quarantine and don’t go out except on the trails around the house.” Lisa has already started to drape the doorways in garlands and get ready for the holidays. Even though it will be just them this year, it’s a comforting tradition that, like the house, seems to endure with only minor changes.
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Photos by Michael Partenio; left bottom by Lisa Lynn
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BORN TO SKI Photo Š2016 Durston Saylor
Before they had kids, Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson were globetrotting adventurers, making first tracks in the Arctic, the Andes and beyond. Two daughters are now following in their tracks.
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t was no coincidence that my wife, Emily was skiing when she went into labor with our first daughter in February, 2013. Skiing is what we do, every day, all winter long —whether there’s a bun in the oven, or not.While being nine months pregnant might have kept Emily from bagging peaks that day, a gentle backyard ski tour near our home in Moretown, Vt. was not to be missed. By the following afternoon, as a light, February snow fell, Maiana Snow was born. We spent two nights at Gifford Medical Center in Randolph and when the nurses encouraged me to get some fresh air while Emily and Maiana slept, I grabbed my skis and laid fresh tracks on Hospital Hill across the road. Maiana had been with us for just ten days before she went on our first family skiing adventure. We swaddled her with an extra layer, and set out into our neighborhood hills with her tucked securely under my jacket. She slept soundly and spared us a diaper change. In the weeks that followed, the three of us immersed ourselves in a string of skiing adventures that lasted into early May. We carried her exclusively on our chests in an ErgoBaby carrier, worn facing forward, with her swaddled securely and wrapped in ErgoBaby’s padded “infant insert”. We’d ski from our house for an hour or two, or venture into the higher Green Mountains for a half or full day, exploring sections of the Catamount Trail and backcountry trails like the Tear Drop on Mt. Mansfield. We moved with utmost care, never attempting a turn or maneuver without absolute confidence. Though we are both expert skiers, the sideslip, the snowplow and a variety of other maneuvers that prioritized safety over anything else, became staples of our skiing. It did not take long to dial in the backcountry diaper change. We’d quickly put her down upon our portable diaper kit, take care of business, and keep moving. Also essential was our ability to peel climbing skins without waking Maiana. And when Maiana was hungry, she’d nurse with Emily by a stream, in a sunny or sheltered spot. Newborns are easy to keep warm and sheltered against your body, so the weather was rarely a factor. We’d wear her in the ErgoBaby over layers that were comfortable for us to climb in, and then simply add outer layers for the descent. Ultimately, Maiana was more at risk of overheating than she was of being too cold. And most of the time, she would sleep. By late March and early April, we were climbing and skiing most of our favorite places with Maiana, albeit much more carefully than ever. We introduced her to Vermont’s highest peaks, to tucked-
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away hardwood glades, and by mid-April, to the summits of New Hampshire’s Presidential Range. It was as if all of our mountain travels and time spent skiing over our lifetimes were merely training for these adventures with Maiana. When it started snowing again in November, Maiana was nine months along and ready to be on our backs. The ErgoBaby carrier continued to be our tool of choice, and we proceeded to ski 100-plus days through Maiana’s first birthday, including a very memorable ski safari through the Rocky Mountain West. With Maiana’s arms and legs now extended outside the Ergo, keeping her warm meant checking on her frequently, staying sheltered from the wind and the very coldest weather, and most importantly, dressing her in multiple warm layers from head to toe. We took everything we had learned to do for ourselves in the mountains, and applied it to Maiana in excess. By the time Maiana’s third season arrived, she was ready to ski on her own two feet. We doubled up her socks and put her into the smallest set of alpine ski gear available. As the snow fell, we practiced with driveway laps and on low angle pitches.We put her on Nordic skis, too, so she could easily walk and ski around on her own. Still, Maiana continued to spend much of her time in the backcountry with us on our backs. As the season progressed, and wherever we’d encounter a gentle pitch, be it atop Mt. Mansfield or in some far-off glade, we’d give her a chance to glide on her own. When she lost interest or patience, we loaded her up and continued on as a family. It was also that season, around her second birthday, when Maiana started to tow behind us in the skin track. We fashioned a simple tow with a 12-foot length of cord attached to a 6- or-7-inch wooden disc, which she’d place as a seat between her legs. We’d clip the cord to our waist belt and head for the hills as she skied in our tracks behind us. If the going got tricky, or she lost patience, we’d simply put her on our backs without issue. The human-powered tow, or Mama Poma, as we call it, became invaluable as Maiana grew to be too heavy to be easily carried, and as she took greater interest in sliding on her own. Our second daughter, Lenora, arrived the following summer, and the ski season to follow was a memorable one. Maiana spent some time on our backs that season, especially when she needed a nap, but for the most part, she skied with us, in tow, as we ascended. We aimed for moderate terrain, and we’d set a downhill track for her to follow. With Lenora, we were happily back to square one that season, which forced us to get creative. There were times when one of us was busy, and the other would have both girls at once – with Lenora on the back and Maiana in tow. With our girls now 5 and 7, the Mama Poma is still in effect. We also built and operate a rope tow on our property. But both girls are climbing on their own now, too. We’ve acquired a variety of used alpine touring, telemark and even lighter-weight Nordic gear with which they can play, depending on their mood and the conditions. Not surprisingly, their stamina for climbing is directly correlated to the presence of friends, so when it’s just the four of us as a family, we keep our expectations low. However, the lure of Vermont’s hidden cabins, mossy caves and waterfalls, or some bribery with special treats, goes a long way. And when they seem to tire, we don’t hesitate to throw them the rope. In the end, we’re out there to have fun, explore and be together as a family. The skiing is just a bonus.
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We introduced her to Vermont’s highest peaks, to tucked-away hardwood glades, to the summits of New Hampshire’s Presidential Range. It was as if all of our mountain travels and time spent skiiing over our lifetimes were merely training for these adventures with Maiana.
GEARING UP FOR FAMILY ADVENTURES A big part of making sure kids have a good time developing as skiers (and riders) entails keeping them dressed comfortably and having equipment that fits them reasonably well. While new backcountry and Nordic gear for kids can be just as expensive as it is for adults, you can find good deals at swaps, online classifieds and even secondhand retailers such as Outdoor Gear Exchange in Burlington. And there is no shortage of places to go skiing: be it a backyard, your local park, at Nordic ski areas or the woods. ErgoBaby Omni Carrier ($179) We carried our girls on our chests with the Ergo Baby Carrier until they were about nine months old, then on our backs until they became too heavy to carry (around their third birthdays). This will depend a lot on your own strength and balance, as well as your child’s weight) The ErgoBaby features a sturdy, padded waist belt, a sternum strap – which helps to keep your shoulder straps together when in motion – and a simple hood which offers a little extra shelter from the elements. Wear your ErgoBaby atop a layer light enough to keep you from sweating when climbing.
Photos ©2016 Durston Saylor
Nordic Skis Any pair of Nordic skis, classic-style and with fish scales on the bottom can be a great option when the snow is neither too deep nor soft, and there is plenty of room to maneuver and run. Sloped pastures, open woods and even well-tracked logging roads can be ideal locations for getting kids out climbing and skiing on their own. This gear is typically the most affordable option. Human-Powered Ski Tow (aka The Mama Poma) We’ve logged well over one hundred memorable ski tours with the Mama Poma. We make ours from scratch with a 12-foot length of cord attached to a carabiner on one end, and a 7-inch wooden disc on the other. Clip the cord to a supportive waist belt on an adult. Have your child place the seat between their legs. Strap their poles to your pack for the climb, so that their hands are free to hold the rope. When you stop for a longer break, attaching the Mama Poma to a sturdy overhead branch turns it into a fun swing.
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Contour Touring Adapter ( $140) This adapter by CAMP USA turns a youth alpine binding set up into an alpine touring set up. The adapter clicks into your child’s alpine bindings, so that your child can climb uphill, as the binding pivots at the toes and allows the heel to lift when going uphill. Loosen up their upper buckles to make striding a little easier. After climbing, skins are peeled, the adapter is removed and stowed into a backpack, and the alpine bindings are readjusted for the descent. For skins, you can easily grab, rehab and trim to fit just about any old pair on the used market, or splurge for something new. Altai Skis Balla Hok 99cm ($120); w/ Universal Pivot Binding option – (add $100) The Hok and the kids-oriented Balla Hok are versatile, backcountry-dedicated skis suited for soft snow conditions, backyard adventures and much more. The skis feature metal edges and a synthetic climbing skin integrated directly into the base of the ski. They are not the fastest skis around, but they are stable and easy to turn. You can mount any type of binding to this ski, or you can opt for a universal binding that works with any pair of sturdy hiking or snow boots (down to kids size 12-13). Altai’s Universal Binding can be mounted to any other ski, too. Hagan Pure 8 Junior AT Bindings ($550) If you are interested in a top notch and dedicated alpine touring set up for your kids, Hagan offers a lightweight, adjustable, tech-style alpine touring binding that is compatible with youth ski boots down to a boot sole length of about 230mm. The bindings have tech-fittings and brakes, and can fit ski crampons. They feature a 3 to 8 DIN release range and can be adjusted as your child grows through four or five boot sizes. Hagan also offers kids-sized skis and skins, and compatible techstyle AT boots. Voile 3-Pin Bindings ($70) w/ Telemark Boots Voile’s classic and affordable 3-pin binding, or anything similar, combined with duck-billed telemark boots, is another great option for kids, once they can fit into available used or new telemark boots. You can mount the binding to just about any ski. Check the used market for telemark boots down to about a kids size 13. Adding an extra foot bed and doubling up on thick socks for a couple of years works wonders, too.
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EVERYONE HAS A TURNING POINT THAT CHANGES THEIR LIFE. FOR EXTREME SKIER DAN EGAN ,WHO CUT HIS TEETH SKIING THE EAST,
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THAT POINT CAME DURING A DEADLY MOUNTAIN STORM.
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he most recent Warren Miller ski film, Future-Retro, features them: Dan Egan and his brother John, slaying runs in Montana — flashbacks to the wild adventures they have filmed over three decades. Though they’ve skied on every continent, both Egans have made New England a home base: Dan, a New Hampshire resident, was a longtime Killington ambassador and John, a Mad River Valley local, has been a fixture at Sugarbush for four decades. In the new book, 30 Years in a White Haze, Dan Egan and co-author Eric Wilbur tell the story of how Dan and John were some of the pioneers of adventure skiing and the impact it had on Dan’s life. Here is an exclusive first excerpt.
In May of 2000, my brother John and I were in northeastern Canada, on the frozen coast of Ungava Bay on the Arctic Ocean in a blinding windstorm. I had gotten separated from my group and was seeking shelter from the wind against a big piece of ice. John, Dean Decas, and cameraman Eric Scharmer were with the Inuit guides, a hundred or so yards away. And I was shaking from a flashback of being lost in a snowstorm on Mount Elbrus in Russia, ten years earlier. We were on a three-week trip to make a television documentary on adventure tourism in northern Quebec. Our objective was to traverse east on the Torngat Mountain range from the coast of Ungava Bay to the Labrador Peninsula. Our main goal was to ski Tower Mountain, a stand-alone, pyramid on the border with Labrador. We were traveling by snowmobile and living with the Inuit, building igloos at night, fishing for Arctic char to complement our meals, ski touring, and climbing the endless mountain chutes along the way. A year earlier, John and I had spoken about a reunion trip back to Mount Elbrus, but decided a new adventure would be a better way to celebrate, rather than going back to the site of such tragic loss. So, I organized this trip, through a grant provided by a partnership with the Canadian and Quebec offices of tourism, to document and discover whether ski touring would be possible in this frozen land. However, here I was hunkered down in another wild storm—scared, unable to find my way in the Arctic, remembering Elbrus. In 1990, I
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had found myself on that mountain in Russia, pinned down by a massive snowstorm, digging a snow cave in a fight for my life. It was a storm that ended up claiming the lives of 15 climbers. One was a member of our group. There had not been much press around the Mt. Elbrus disaster unless you saw my video the Extreme Dream released in 1991. At 18,500 feet, Russia’s Elbrus, a dormant volcano just west of the Black Sea and north of Russia’s border with Georgia, is the highest peak in Europe. An estimated 25 to 30 people die each year attempting to summit the mountain. In fact, Elbrus has a higher annual death toll than Mount Everest. By comparison, there were eleven deaths on Mount Everest in 2019, one of the deadliest years in the mountain’s recorded climbing history. But as recently as 2016, 30 climbers were estimated to have died in attempts on Elbrus in a single year. In 2004, forty-eight perished trying to reach the summit. John was not trapped in the storm raging on Elbrus as he and cameraman Tom Day had helped guide nine of the 23 people in our expedition back to the base, while I was on the summit attempt. Five members of our expedition were lost in the storm, only four survived. John and I have an exceptional tight bond that has been tested over the years in the mountains. We have trusted each other for decades. Being alone on that Russian peak became a life changing event in so many ways.
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t has been difficult for me to speak of the isolation I feel when surrounded by clouds, wind, and snow in the mountains, or in fog on the open ocean while sailing. My body tenses up, my breathing gets short, and I start to think of what will happen if I can’t find the others or a path forward. As a pro skier, coach, guide, and sailor, I have found myself in these conditions many times over the years. Even today, 30 years after being trapped on Mt. Elbrus, the sensation remains very personal; I haven’t found a way to express the panic that builds in situations like this. Often, being the one in charge, I mask my fear with confidence and a gentle urgency to move myself and my companions toward safety. Our trip to Ungava Bay was our second trip up north. Two years earlier, we traveled to Baffin Island, the largest island in Canada, to ski
Photo left: Dave Roman. John Atkinson; This page: courtesy Warren Miller Entertainment
the fjords along the Davis Straight. We stayed on Broughton Island in a small research hut and traveled by snowmobile across the frozen sea to the coast of Baffin to tour, climb, and ski. I liked the North. It’s a world wrapped in snow and ice that brings you back in time. Since the mid-1980s, John and I built a reputation for skiing the world’s remote locations. We traveled throughout the Eastern Bloc at the end of the Cold War, skied with Kurds in Turkey during Desert Storm, pioneered heliskiing in Chile, skied the Martial Glacier
above the Drake Passage on the southern tip of Argentina, snuck into Lebanon to ski in the mid-1990s, and skied the classic lines across Europe and North America. Together, John and I have chalked up more than 50 first descents, launched off cliffs the height of 12-story buildings, and skied more than our share of pristinely perfect powder snow on mountain peaks around the globe. Our mountain antics were documented by filmmakers and writers, and shared on VHS tapes, TV shows, magazines and books years before the advent of the X-Games, terrain parks, GoPro, YouTube, or social media. The brother angle played well. John, six years my elder, was my childhood hero. His bold personality and life-on-the-edge attitude left me searching for a way to gain his attention and confidence. And I found it in the marketing of our brand as “The Egan Brothers” through films, television shows, merchandise, and sponsorships which I managed and produced.
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aising a large family, my parents Marlen and Robert embedded a work ethic and goal-setting standard that lives deep within me and all six of my siblings. Mary Ellen, Bob, John, Sue, Ned, and Mike are each fiercely independent souls with big hearts and a belief system of service to others. I love them all. They have all supported me in the good times and in the hard times, but most of all they have accepted my rough edges and all that comes along with
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them. There is nothing like family for creating tension, releasing emotion, and caring. I’ve never found a replacement for it—and trust me I have looked. Skiing is timeless and simple, which is why I love it—the satisfaction and joy of gliding on, over, and through snow. This all started for me as a young boy. Every fall, just after Halloween, we’d trek to the attic as a family and haul down all the boots and clothing, bring the skis up from the basement, and turn our living room into a ski shop. Boots were tried on, bindings adjusted, and poles handed out. Whatever fit automatically became yours. Then we’d begin waxing our skis in the basement, place our gear by the cellar door, and wait for snow. We lived on a hill, so when snow fell we’d ski and ride the yellow Snurfer sled down the hill, over the jumps, then run back to the top for another run. On Saturdays we’d load up the car, head toward the Howard Johnson’s parking lot at the exit to the highway, and board the Blizzard Ski Club bus for New Hampshire. I took ski lessons until I was sixteen.We were taught by the Austrians at the Paul and Paula Volar Ski School at Mount Sunapee and Cannon Mountain, as well as at the Egon Zimmerman Ski School at Blue Hills, just a few miles from my family’s home in Milton, Massachusetts. In the 1970s, Bob and John always had cool gear. I remember when they got their Olin Ballet skis—plus Jet Stix, an extension for the back of the boots that would allow you to lean back and do freestyle tricks. My sister Mary Ellen was an expert skier as well, and would challenge us younger kids to turning contests—she was the queen of quick turns, feet locked together, smooth and flawless. In high school, when I finally got new skis and boots that fit, my world opened up. The skills I’d learned from ski school expanded to skiing the woods, moguls, and racing down icy runs. Skiing fostered two main things for me: independence and confidence. The independence was forced on me by my two older brothers refusing to wait for a ten-year-old kid. The confidence grew over time, knowing one day I would catch ‘em. Once I was a senior in
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high school, having been tested by Bob and his friends on the Norwich University Ski Patrol (where he went to school) and at Sugarbush Resort (where John was a ski bum), I finally had my first taste of the wild side of life and what real skiing felt like off the beaten path. My skills were coming up to their standards. I jumped my first real cliff at Mad River Glen Ski Area in Vermont. In the early 1980s, the landings were flat. I was skiing with one of John’s ski bum friends, Tim Ritson. It was a fresh powder day and he was showing me all the cliff drops in the woods. He was telling me, out West you can do this and ski away from the cliffs—it was steeper and deeper. Since that day, I’ve been hooked on the thrill of heading toward the edge of a cliff and flying off it. I’ve come to call it “the eternal now,” when everything slows down and then bang! you land in a pillow of snow. That day with Tim, I got a taste of that feeling and wanted more. That pursuit almost led John and I to our death in March of 1990 while filming for Warren Miller in Grand Targhee when a truck-size cornice let go on the edge of a ridge. Below, a five hundred foot cliff. John actually made a turn in midair that saved his life. It’s a scene many remember from the movie ExtremeWinter and it went on to be the most viewed Warren Miller film clip of all time. Meeting, skiing and working with Warren Miller was fuel for my life. His films provided me with a platform, a way to belong to the industry I could never have foreseen. He introduced me to the art of filmmaking, storytelling, and how to distribute the end product.The door he opened became a path to many possibilities for my ideas, passion, and drive. He once told me: when I skied, I should think about the beauty of the place and my role in it—which was to complement the surroundings, to be
the exclamation point on the mountain. His many examples have been inspiration for this book, my films, articles, and career.
T
he experience in Ungava Bay is a typical reoccurring experience I have when clouds gather and gale force winds blow. That May in 2000 I did what I always do: feel the emotions that rush in, breath deep and refocus on the reality of my current conditions. Then I dismiss it with full body shake and let the past escape out my fingers and toes. I’ve come to believe trauma doesn’t shape your life, rather, it dictates it. Being lost in a storm with winds blowing over a 100 miles per hour, trudging through five-foot-plus deep snow, and digging a snow cave in the battle to survive on one of the precipitous Seven Summits of the world while being separated from my brother, all formed internal reactions I couldn’t control for years afterward. Walking off Mt. Elbrus alive on May 3, 1990, was the beginning of my adult life as I know it today. I was 26 years old. For the next 30 years, I’ve had to learn to restructure the patterns caused by that traumatic experience. That trip has touched every aspect of my life: relationships with my siblings, especially John; the ending of my marriage in 2001; post-divorce relationships; business and financial decisions, especially when I’ve felt threatened; and where and why I ski the locations I do today. That trip brought me closer to God and helped me understand the deep and rich roots of faith that run through the generations of my family. It also created my wonderful, rewarding, sober life, which is a constant cycle of discovering who I am. n
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vtskiandride.com September 2015 00
Breaking Into
The
Backc A short skin from the trails of Bolton Valley Resort Matt Testa finds a backcountry paradise that has powder shots to please everyone, novices to experts.
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MORE THAN EVER, PEOPLE ARE VENTURING BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES AND INTO THE WOODS,THE BOWLS AND SNOWFIELDS. AND EVEN HERE IN VERMONT, SOME ARE GETTING LOST AND DYING. HERE’S WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW.
ountry Y
ears ago, June Mendell and a small group of good friends began planning an ice climbing trip to Maine. Their intention was to climb and then ski Mt. Katahdin. Two of their party, though savvy about ice-climbing, were inexperienced skiers. After some discussion, it was decided that they would train in easier places around Vermont, skiing into their chosen ice-climbing areas instead. For June, an accomplished skier who was, at the time, new to ice climbing, these would serve as a testing ground for her axe and crampon chops; for the others, it would help them get familiar with the strange sticks attached to their feet. For a final practice mission before attempting Katahdin, the team decided to ski to Bone Mountain in Bolton and then climb. On the approach, one of their party, Mark – unused to his alpine touring bindings and skins – fell on a gentle downhill grade, faceplanting into the snow. June noticed he was having difficulty getting up. As she skied up to him, she saw blood on the ground. “My nose feels funny,” he said. Mark then proceeded to pull a six inch stick out of his nostril. Instead of everyone turning back June, who measures a scant 4 feet 10 inches, volunteered to help Mark back down to the car. The rest of the party skied on. As they drove to the hospital, Mark became increasingly incoherent. June did her best to keep him talking. At the hospital, Mark was rushed to the ICU where he spent a week recovering from what turned out to be a traumatic brain injury. The doctors said later that Mark had arrived at the hospital with almost no time to spare. He was lucky, but not everyone can count on that kind of fortune. That incident happened 30 years ago and since then June has been a powerful force in the Vermont skiing community. Not only can she recite every single powder pocket in Vermont that was ever worth a damn, she sits on a mountain – no pun intended – of experience and
BY ZAK KEENE
has shared lines with such legendary figures as explorer Ned Gillette and backcountry adventurer and former Nordic racer Todd Eastman. A certified Wilderness First Responder, June, now in her 60s, has been involved in backcountry rescue in and around Vermont for years. She has made turns all over the U.S., Canada, Europe and Chile. “I’m nothing special,” she says as I sit at her dining table, in Elmore, Vt. “I’m just a conservative little old lady on tele skis” she says modestly. “But if it’s white, I’ll ski it.” This is something I admire about June: It’s obvious that she knows what she knows, and won’t apologize for it. Yet she is far from arrogant. As we talk about what this winter will look like and the dangers that those new to backcountry skiing could face, I get the sense that our conversation is not one that people have every day, but one that people investing in alpine touring ski equipment probably should be having. The allure of stepping “out-of-bounds” cannot be denied. However, neither can the dangers that come with it. “This coming winter, it will be more important than ever for people to be prepared before heading off trail,” she says. Here are her tips on how to have a safe adventure.
Get To Know Your Gear “A dress rehearsal is one of the most important, and also one of the most overlooked, parts of backcountry preparation,” says June. She goes off on a rant about how crazy it is that some people step into the backcountry without knowing their gear inside and out. No matter the manufacturer or level of your gear, you are responsible for using it correctly. The latest and greatest in ski technology does not mean that everything will go off without a hitch on your first day out. A dress rehearsal is essential, and long before that first backcountry adventure is attempted you should be taking your new setup into the backyard for a hike around the woods or skinning up your local ski hill.
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Note that uphill policies vary from ski area to ski area and you may need to buy a ticket, only ski certain runs or only ski certain hours. Practice putting your skins on and taking them off. Make sure that you can lock into your bindings and step out of them just as easily. The same principle applies to any avalanche safety gear: beacons, probes, shovels, etc. The more familiar you are with these tools, the easier – and safer – your outing will be.
to everyone’s needs. The goals of the trip should never take precedent over the safety of a partner or team member. Injuries or medical conditions that suddenly arise – like dehydration – should be treated seriously, not ignored in favor of the summit. Last, remember that it is always safest to head into the backcountry with three or more. If someone gets injured, one person can go for help while the other stays with him.
Get In Shape
Know The Terrain
Whether you’re training for a marathon or a day in the backcountry, give yourself every advantage. That snow may look nice and fluffy, but trudging through it is going to ask more of your body than you know. Short of taking on “leg month” at the gym, uphill skiing or hiking is the best fitness prep available. Start logging those miles now – your legs will thank you later. If travel plans take you to the higher mountains from lower elevations, remember to account for that altitude difference by allowing extra time for your adventure.
Sure, you may have scouted a line from the ski lift a hundred times or the boot pack up the Chin might seem obvious, but once you leave resort boundaries things can look different very quickly. One of the biggest mistakes skiers make is following someone else’s tracks. The backside of Killington Mountain is one of the areas where Vermont’s search and rescue teams tend to visit frequently looking for skiers who have chased powder only to find they have a five-mile slog out.
BACKCOUNTRY GUIDES Find A Guide Never underestimate the value of finding someone who can teach you the tricks of the trade. Friends, family and others can be incredible resources for your backcountry education. But if you are new to the sport, hiring a guide or joining a tour or clinic at places such as Bolton Valley Resort or with the Catamount Trail Association are good bets. At the same time, don’t be complacent when following a more experienced friend out of bounds, simply because they know what they’re doing. It is important to do your own homework. Too often, a lesser-experienced person will go along with a group because they trust their friends to keep them safe. And remember – it is never too late to say, “I’m uncomfortable with this.” Better to risk being seen as a worry-wart than to wind up in trouble. The best policy is to know how to read and interpret the signs for yourself. There is also a shared responsibility on both sides: an experienced skier or guide should be conscious of who they are leading into the backcountry, be conservative in their approach, and never take a beginner into an area that they may not be ready for. When travelling with other people, it is important to be responsive
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Perhaps the best place to get acquainted with backcountry skiing is at Bolton Valley Resort. This year, the ski area is doing season-long rentals of alpine touring gear, as well as daily rentals. The resort has miles of trails for ski touring with easily-accessed short powder shots. Last season, Bolton Valley also began hosting “Babes in the Woods” backcountry ski clinics for women. Another option, the Catamount Trail Association hosts a variety of single and multi-day tours starting in January. Each is led by an experienced skier and covers a section of the trail, which runs the length of Vermont. Some offer overnight stays at huts. If you are new to an area or to backcountry skiing, consider hiring a guide. The following are resources for gear, guiding or instruction. Bolton Valley Resort, Bolton, boltonvalley.com Catamount Trail Association, catamounttrail.org Killington Mountain Guides, killingtonmountainguides.com Petra Cliffs Climbing & Mountaineering, Burlington, petraclliffs.com Sunrise Mountain Guides, Stowe, sunrisemountainguides.com Umiak Outdoor Outfitters, Stowe, umiak.com/ski-tours
In February, 2020, two brothers, both experienced skiers, made a wrong turn as they headed into Stowe’s sidecountry. They got lost and one ended up plunging to his death over a 200-foot cliff while his brother had to be rescued from the top of the cliff. Riverbeds, cliffs, ravines and dense stands of evergreens don’t always show up on topo maps–and they can be hidden under layers of deep snow. Even well-marked trails such as The Catamount Trail, can be hard to follow. Around Vermont, new areas are being gladed and mapped specifically for backcountry skiing, such as the Brandon Gap and Braintree Forest Glades (see Rastavt.org) and in southern Vermont, the Dutch Hill Alliance. These are great places to start safely exploring new terrain.
Anticipate the Conditions A rule of thumb that many locals follow is to not venture off trail until there is 50 inches posted at the snow stake atop Mt. Mansfield. Early snows can make everything look powdery soft but they can also hide downed trees, small streams and other hazards. Before you head out, watch the
weather for a week or so. If it’s rained and then frozen again, you’ll be dealing with breakable crust in the woods. And keep in mind that it can often snow at elevation and then turn to rain midway down the mountain. Know too what the weather for your day holds and be prepared.
Photos by Josh Hummel, Bolton Valley Resort, J. Hummel
Be Realistic About Your Abilities That last run or even those last few turns are a siren song that will always be calling your name. However, until you feel comfortable with your gear, your level of fitness and knowledge of a certain area, it’s best to stick with easy terrain. In the mountains, caution is always the best policy. Simply getting an early start can be the difference between success and failure. Whether you’re a beginner or a backcountry veteran, don’t get cocky; start earlier than you need to.The worst case-scenario is that you wind up back at the car with sunlight to spare and time for happy hour down the road. On a related note, never mix backcountry travel with alcohol. There is no situation in which that can be called a good idea. Alcohol lowers one’s inhibitions and leads to bad decisions. It can also cause your blood vessels to dilate, making your skin feel warmer than it actually is, which is a real problem when you’re out in the cold. “It’s a shame that booze is part of the culture in some circles,” June laments, referring to the beer-swilling good ‘ol boys, who hooter and
holler their way down the hill. “It sets a bad example for people just getting into the sport. Plus, it’s just plain dumb. I have no patience for that stuff.”
Make a Plan B, C and D Resorts will shut down the lifts due to high winds or severe cold, but there are no such closures for the out-of-bounds areas. It is up to the you to make your own travel restrictions. June’s adage: “Discretion is the better part of valor.” The weather, especially in the Northeast, is always changing. Meteorology in this area is not a precise science, but more a tea-leaf reading. Learning to evaluate the weather changes as they occur will help keep you out of trouble. If the conditions are not favorable for Plan A, then have something else – a modified goal – that you can switch to. Then, have another backup, and so on. Also, if you are following a trail such as the Catamount Trail, be aware that trail markers can get buried in a blizzard and blowing snow can cover what might have been a clear
track the day before. Knowing where you are at all times is key, as well as knowing where and how you might bail out from your original destination if conditions change.
Program Your Phone The device you hold in your hand can be an effective tool in the planning and execution of backcountry travel, as well as a huge insurance policy. In addition to giving you access to mapping applications, you can actually call someone if trouble arises. There are countless GPS and mapping applications available for smartphone users: Gaia, Peak finder, and Open Snow, to name a few. Cover all the bases, and make sure you have downloaded everything that you might need (especially maps). Just as with the rest of your gear, it makes sense for you to get well-acquainted with these programs before heading out to shred.That means, dress rehearsal! In the event that you get lost and don’t have service, trying to set up your GPS app on the spot is probably not going to work very well. Another common mistake is leaving a hundred applications open on
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your phone. When you’re getting ready to leave for the day, make sure that all unnecessary windows are closed. This will prolong the life of your battery and give you more time to play with, should the worst happen. It is also a good idea to have the local ski patrol, mountain rescue and/or SAR number saved to your phone. In the event of an accident, your first impulse may be to call 911, but in reality, that wastes precious time as they will only be able to relay that call to the agencies I just mentioned. Cut out the middle man.
Prepare Your Pack
THE BACKPACK CHECKLIST
Before you head out make sure you’ve packed the following. Ask yourself: “What happens if I have to spend the night out?” and be prepared. Headlamp and spare batteries Lighter or matches First-aid kit Leatherman or Swiss Army knife
The contents of your backpack should vary based on the size and scope of your objectives. Generally speaking, the essential tools for safe skiing are the same – helmet, goggles, proper attire, etc. That being said, if you’re heading into the backcountry, here is a list of essential items everyone should have with them (see The Checklist). It is always tempting to shed weight, but do not skimp on the basics. These tools, while adding to the load you need to carry, will often come in handy. Lastly, “Your brain is the most important thing that you bring backcountry skiing,” says June. “At the end of the day, it’s about getting people to use their heads. I don’t want to have to rescue them because that really [expletive] ruins my day.” With a little extra effort, preparedness is a very reasonable goal, one that everyone should aspire to. There is no better feeling than the certainty that you are categorically ready, equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to be safe when you wander off trail. n
Duct tape, light rope and extra straps Hand saw and cord or wire (so you can fashion a gurney, if needed) Plenty of food and water Handwarmers (also a nifty tool for keeping your phone batter alive longer) Extra gloves, socks, base layers, neckwarmers and puffy. Emergency space blanket Scraper – for spring skiing conditions when warm snow freezes and sticks to your skis. Map, compass and cell phone. Even if you have everything on your phone, be familiar with how to use a map and a compass and carry them. These tools could very well save your life.
20 Langdon St. Montpelier, VT • (802) 225-6736 • onionriver.com 46 Holidays 2020 vtskiandride.com
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For Future-Retro, the latest Warren Miller release, former racer-turned freeskier Jim Ryan went back to carve up his old Killington stomping grounds. Here, the Vermonter shows how much fun it can be to roll your skis on edge and let ‘em rip.
READY FOR NEXT LEVEL SKIING? Want to up your game? Here’s what to work on and how taking even just one lesson can help.
S
ure, you’re a pretty good skier who can handle pretty much anything the mountain throws at you. But can you do so consistently with speed and style? No matter the skis, no matter the terrain. Watching Jim Ryan (photographed here), a racer and freeskier raised at Killington, arcing down Superstar in the latest Warren Miller film, Future-Retro is a good way to see how it should be done. As we age up, we get stuck in our habits: how we ski, where we ski and our body positions become reflexive. Taking a lesson can help break down some of the bad habits and instill some good ones. Do you vary your stance width based on conditions? Do you use a turn to accelerate or just to slow down? Answer no to any of these and you’re likely a good candidate to up your game with a little coaching. Answer yes and you’re… well, you may be Jim Ryan.
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This season, a private lesson also often comes with the added benefit of cutting lines. What’s not to like? DO YOU GO WITH THE FLOW? One of the best sensations you can get skiing is that feeling of flow. Skiing is about redirecting energy around the hill and controlling your descent speed, which is different from your actual speed. Many skiers miss this. When you master the various shapes of turns, you can control your speed without so much stop and go.You can direct your energy a bit more back up the hill to take the edge off your descent without putting on the brakes. Turns are for turning, not just for braking.
COACH
Photo by Chandler Burgess/Killington
By Doug Stewart
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COACH
Jim Ryan demonstrates the hard-charging wide stance that growing up as a Killington racer taught him.
WHAT’S YOUR STANCE? Many skiers have a set stance width that they use all the time. While your height and hip width may influence your stance width, every skier should have a range they can tap into.When things are firm and fast, it’s time to let lots of weight and energy go to the outside leg and get really inside the turn.This means shortening the inside leg a ton and setting your skis in a wider stance so you can roll them on edge.When it’s a slower day and in soft snow and bumps, however, you can stay more over your feet and let a nice narrow stance create a more singular platform from both skis. Great skiers should be able to do both when the time comes.
is always so much more to explore. Most skiers develop a specific type of turn that works well for the gear and snow that they ski most of the time. Trying a different type of ski, or hitting a different type of snow, can help you develop a broader sense of what it means to ski. Sometimes, keeping the skis under you and letting them skid a bit is the right move, and other times getting them out from under you and on a high edge that holds like crazy is the right move. There is a huge variety of fun moves to make on skis, and a true expert has experience with all of them.
DO YOUR BOOTS REALLY FIT? Advanced skiers may know a lot, but when it comes to boots, you can never know enough. As a bootfitter, I know that nearly 87% of skiers are in a boot that is at least one size too big. From my work with ski instructors, I’ve found that about 40% of them are still in a boot at least one size too big. Just spending 30 minutes with a knowledgeable ski pro or a boot fitter can solve this problem. Keep in mind, your feet are the drivers. Skiing with a boot that doesn’t fit right is a bit like driving when you are tired: sure, you can still do it but you’re not going to be as precise.
ARE YOU EXPLORING NEW TERRAIN? Everyone knows the locals have it all figured out. Even the best skier in the world will ski a little better after getting to know a place. That’s why getting some time with a true local can be a game changer. With the current excitement about getting off the beaten track and discovering new adventures in the sidecountry, getting this knowledge from a pro first hand is the best way to go. Whether it’s just a recommendation for which part of the mountain to ski when, or it’s a true secret stash few know about, this is one of the best reasons to connect with an expert. After over 25 years skiing and teaching at Stowe, I’m still finding little gems each year! n
ARE YOU GETTING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE? So many skiers are really good at a certain part of the sport. Whether it’s skiing the trees, or hitting rails, or just making lots of short turns on groomers. But there
Doug Stewart is a Professional Ski Instructors of America examiner and staff trainer at Stowe. When he’s not training ski instructors you can find him bootfitting at Skirack in Burlington,Vt.
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We’ve got all the essentials to make your winter adventures delicious and memorable! OPEN DAILY LIGHT FARE MENU CONVENIENT DRIVE-THRU
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By Jackson Hogen & Steve Cohen
THE BEST SKIS FOR THE EAST
See what a test team of top skiers have named the best all-mountain, do-anything skis for the East.
L
et’s be realistic: if you’re skiing Vermont—or anywhere in the East—on 99 percent of the days you really don’t need a big surfy powder ski. The good news: the all-mountain ski is back and ready to be your go-to tool. The superfat skis that were once a badge of honor for sidecountry explorers have given way to the more practical, all-mountain ski that can truly be a quiver of one. The all-mountain East genre is a mix of the narrowest off-trail models and the widest on-trail skis with waists averaging 85mm- 94mm. In keeping
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with the current fashion for all things off-trail, most models are extensions of a family with roots in a “big mountain” (read: powder ski) archetype. But they remain excellent on-trail skis because they’re still skinny enough to get on edge easily. Because they handle most any terrain on an Eastern mountain, these are the every-day, do-it-all tools. Women have made this genre by far the most popular in the U.S., and these skis work for both first-ski buyers and lifelong participants. Men should pay heed, for a lot of guys jumped on super-fat skis when
BLIZZARD BRAHMA 88 Sidecut: 128/88/110 | Radius: 16m @ 177cm | $840
Historically, softer skis haven’t been able to withstand the vibrations induced by traveling fast over hard snow. In short, they handle as well as a Yugo with bald tires. So, it’s a joy to discover the new Brahma, an all-terrain ski with the strength and stability of an old school GS race ski that can be reined in to less than 40mph and still move edge to edge with the ease of a figure skater. The old Brahma 88 already used a poplar/beech core and two sheets of Titanal, so it wasn’t the “power” side of the power/finesse divide that needed shoring up. Two performance points in particular required attention: a flex pattern that allowed for easier turn entry/ exit and optimizing flex, shape, and baseline by size. The reason flex is primordial is because if a ski is easier to bend without losing its grip on hard snow, the pilot can use less of his/her precious energy to get from turn to turn. Like a gifted drummer, this year’s Brahma can keep the beat no matter what tune you ask it to play. FISCHER RC ONE 86 GT Sidecut: 130/86/116 | Radius: 17m @ 175cm | $799.99
they were the thing and their skiing suffered for it. A switch to an All-Mountain East ski will get you back on track. Steven Cohen and Jackson Hogen of Realskiers.com (both former gear test editors of national ski publications) assembled a group of some of the top skiers and ski testers in the country to review the 2021 offering from major brands. Here’s what they have to say about the best in the bunch, as well as our take on Vermont-based Renoun’s first woman’s ski.
The essence of the Fischer RC One 86 GT? Think of it as a carving ski with wanderlust. An Austrian brand, Fischer’s collective mind rarely meanders far from the racecourse, so it’s natural that the RC One 86 GT is a carving machine first and an off-trail implement second. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. The tip and tail are outfitted with Bafatex®, a synthetic compound meant to muffle shock and keep every inch of the 86 GT’s fully-cambered baseline plastered on the snow—not to mention 0.8mm’s of shaped Titanal to further cow hard snow into silence. For a ski with all-terrain dimensions, the RC One 86 GT shows a decided preference for carving over drifting, and hard-snow, technical skiing versus flotation. If your everyday surface is groomed—but when powder appears, you want to pounce on it—Fischer’s latest spin on a frontside ski with offtrail pursuits deserves your attention.
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HEAD KORE 87 Sidecut: 130/87/110 | Radius: 16m @ 180cm | $750
Head was selling freeride skis before it cooked up the Kore series. But we’ll bet you can’t name one of them as they barely sold a stick in the U.S. The three-model launch of the Kore series changed all that overnight. The first vintage sold out immediately, so Head quadrupled production. And sold out again. Then along came the Kore 99 to fill the space between the wildly successful 93 and the series sweetspot, the 105, and it sold to the wall, too. When you’re on a roll, it’s hard to pass the dice, so this year Head pushed the boundary of its off-trail collection down to the Kore 87. Considering that initially the focal point of the Kore series was the 105, an 87 is a mighty skinny sibling. (BTW, this phenomenon, once a rarity, is now commonplace.) But as the Kore concept has proven in its every iteration, when the name of the game is off-trail versatility, Kores come to play. For off-piste playgrounds like moguls and trees, the Kore 87’s crazy-light construction and narrow silhouette allow it to slither through spaces where bigger boards flounder.
it’s also one of the first skis made by Kästle for Kästle in over two decades. To get to the point, the resuscitated MX88 is a gem, perhaps the smoothest, most unperturbed ride in a genre overstocked with stellar skis. The changes to the new MX88 are similar to the tweaks applied to the Blizzard Brahma 88 and Nordica Enforcer 94 in that the particulars sound inconsequential, yet the total effect is stunning. Using poplar in the core in lieu of silver fir makes the MX88 considerably lighter than the MX89, so the new model feels more nimble. The forebody now has a hint of early rise but it doesn’t compromise snow contact because the new Hollowtech 3.0 tip design muffles shock before it can knock the edge offline. All these embellishments make the MX88 easier to bow and more subtle in its transition from edge to edge. The new MX88 takes less effort to guide without surrendering an ounce of its power quotient, so it’s more amenable to the movements of the less skilled skier. While it’s not necessary to ski the MX88 with the speedometer pegged, it would be a shame not to let it run. LIBERTY V92 Sidecut: 133/92/120 | Radius: 17.5m @ 175cm | $950
K2 MINDBENDER 90 TI Sidecut: 127/90/114 | Radius: 17.9m @ 177cm | $800
Last year, K2 completely changed every core model in its line, without straying one centimeter from its core values of forgiveness and ease of operation. Even though the Mindbender Ti series, of which the 90Ti is the narrowest, aims for a more advanced skier, the skis area not so burly they can’t be controlled by adventurous intermediates. The Mindbenders’ Ti Y-Beam construction puts Titanal over the edge in the forebody but moves it away from the edge in the tail. This adjusts the skis’ torsional rigidity requirements to create more bite in the forebody and easier release of the tail, without affecting their even, balanced flex longitudinally. Light and responsive to a gentle hand on the reins, the Mindbender 90Ti may at first blush feel a tad too loose in the tip to trust at warp speed, but it proves trustworthy if given a chance to run at high rpms. An elevated platform connected to the core by its robust sidewall gives the Mindbender 90 Ti turbo power when rolled on edge. “It turns the way you ask it to and holds with confidence on hardpack,” attests reviewer Ward Pyles. KÄSTLE MX88 Sidecut: 130/88/114 | Radius: 17m @ 175cm | $1,249 The return of the MX88 to the Kästle line is a significant re-launch, as it’s not only a revered model with more than 10 years of history,
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Liberty was a small brand that had previously carved out a niche as a bamboo and-carbon specialist with a knack for making lightweight wide-bodies. Then, in 2018, they figured out how to integrate an aluminum strut into their construction, trimmed down their usual silhouette to something more svelte and BOOM, Liberty stepped up to a whole new level of performance. The second generation of Liberty’s Vertical Metal Technology (VMT) came to market last year. Version 2.0 added anonther strut to the original dual vertical laminates, a modification that pays off when skied aggressively. That said, the V92 doesn’t require high speeds or steeply angled edges to feel utterly in control. Every sinew of the ski seems dedicated to maintaining snow contact. If the modestly-rockered tip deflects upward for a microsecond, the struts manage the moment so the edge underfoot is never perturbed. Like all the V-Series, the V92 requires zero adaptation on the part of the pilot. Just ski from a centered stance with whatever means of angulation floats your boat, the V92 will hold an edge no matter how you stand on it. It’s an ideal match for someone who hasn’t bought a new ski in ages, wants the benefits of new technology, but doesn’t want to re-learn the sport. NORDICA ENFORCER 94 Sidecut: 127/94/115.5 | Radius: 16m @ 179cm |$800 Whenever a brand invests in new molds, it has an opportunity to re-examine every detail. For the Nordica Enforcer, this meant creating five new sizes, each with a unique baseline and sidecut. Adjusting the rocker/camber intersections for every length results in a
CENTRAL VERMONT’S PREMIERE SKI SHOP. RUN BY SKIERS, FOR SKIERS. ON THE OKEMO ACCESS ROAD.
YOUR FULL-SERVICE SKI SHOP Bootfitting Specialists | Ski Race Service Center AT & Backcountry | 2021 Skis, Demos, Rentals and Apparel 802-228-2776 | OKEMO Access Rd. | Ludlow, VT | TheBootPro.net
These trails have trained national champions and generations of family skiers.
JOIN US THIS SEASON!
Middlebury’s Snow Bowl
middleburysnowbowl.com Because of the pandemic, our facilities will be open this season only to Vermont residents and individuals who meet the state of Vermont COVID-19 restrictions on cross-state travel.
vtskiandride.com Holiday 2020 55
ski that feels fully-cambered, its abrupt but brief rocker zones solid and unflappable, both literally and figuratively speaking. The Enforcer 94 may not actually confer expert status on anyone who steps into a pair, but it sure won’t hold anyone back. It’s a nearly perfect ski in that a lateral drift or trenchcutting carve is immediately accessible at all times. Every movement feels intuitive, unforced, and integrated with the flow of the mountain. It’s hard to pigeonhole the Enforcer 94 as a specialist at any one thing, for it has the chameleonesque ability to be whatever its pilot wants it to be. The key to its mutability is how mindlessly simple it is to transition from a crisp edge to a friction-free drift. This facility is what makes the Enforcer 94 masterful in any terrain, from brittle hardpack to fluffy powder and every crud-junk-chowder consistency in between. It’s the epitome of an all-terrain tool. SALOMON STANCE 90 Sidecut: 126/90/108 | Radius: 18m @ 176cm | $800
No ski can ever truly be great for groomers and for powder as every model is part of a design family that‘s inherently biased to one side of the mountain or the other. This prelude explains why Salomon felt compelled to create a second off-trail line, named Stance, when they already had a successful freeride series in the QSTs. The latter are unmistakably meant for off-piste, while the Stance 90 tilts the 50/50 equation in favor of frontside features, beginning with two sheets of Titanal and a shallower sidecut with a more slender silhouette that’s quicker edge to edge. Its square tail in particular is appreciably narrower than the norm in this genre, but it keeps the ski’s orientation down the fall line. The impression of quickness off the edge is enhanced by its lightweight design that in fact weighs less than the QST 92 and far less than Salomon’s Frontside flagship, the S/Force Bold. The Stance 90’s lightweight structure certainly contributed to our testers giving it higher aggregate scores for finesse properties versus power attributes, the only one of our top eight recommended models to do so. VÖLKL KENDO 88 Sidecut: 129/88/111 | Radius: 17m @ 177cm | $775 The quality that continues to distinguish the Kendo 88 from a very strong field is that it seems able to raise its game in every circumstance. No matter how or where the skilled pilot asks it to stretch its performance—go faster, react quicker, ride more quietly, dice up bumps, or cruise groomers—the Kendo 88 handles it all in stride. The single most important quality an all-mountain 56 Holidays 2020 vtskiandride.com
ski can possess is total indifference to terrain selection. On this score, the Kendo 88 has no peer. It transitions from wind-affected crud to crisp corduroy as if those two conditions were the same. On hard snow, it’s so quick to the edge the skier can’t even tell it’s rockered, and it’s so stable in crud you can relax, drop the reins, and let the boys run. The Kendo 88 uses a “3D Radius Sidecut” with a long radius forebody, a tight shape in the midsection and longest radius in the rear. This allows it to behave like a GS cruiser at relatively low edge angles and morph in a moment to a snappy SL stick when it’s tilted and pressured. An energetic turn finish isn’t unique to the Kendo 88, but it’s nonetheless a relatively rare commodity in today’s market.
W H E N YO U R B O OT S F I T B E T T E R , YO U S K I B E T T E R
S H O P P R O F I L E S | S K I B O OT R E V I E W S | F I T T I N G A DV I C E
UNIVERSITY Certified Bootfitters
NORTHEAST
Connecticut
Wethersfield The Alpine Haus (860) 563-2244
Massachusetts Newton Boston Ski+Tennis (617) 964-0820
TESTERS
Wachusett Mtn. Mountainside Ski & Sport (978) 464-2300 x4 Westborough Boston Ski+Tennis (508) 616-2024
New Hampshire Newbury Bob Skinner’s Ski & Sport (603) 763-2303 Plymouth Richelson’s Feet First (800) 371-3447
New York
The Realskiers team reflects the composition of the world of experts, including ex-racers and current jibbers, instructors, coaches, product developers, specialty retailers and local hotshots who can turn a ski and a phrase. Top row: Ingrid Backstrom, Jackson Hogen, Corty Lawrence. Bottom row: Emma Whitelande, Kim Reichelm. Edie Thys Morgan. Not pictured: Pauline Astruc, Robin Barnes, Kim Beekman, Jill Beers, Claire Challen, Megan Dingman, Madeline Dunn, Brooke Froelich, Elaine Furtney, Theron Lee, Steve Olson. McKenna Peterson, Ward Pyle Kaylin Richardson, Jim Schaffner, Jennifer Simpson, Jack Walzer, Cara Williams, Juliette Willamann
Ludlow/Okemo Mt. Northern Ski Works (802) 228-3344 Ludlow/Okemo Mt. The Boot Pro (802) 228-2776 Stowe Inner Bootworks (802) 253-6929 Stratton/Bromley Green Mountain Orthotics Lab (802) 875-1122
Ellicottville Mud Sweat n’ Gears (716) 699-8300
Warren/Sugarbush Alpine Options (802) 583-1763
Glenmont/Valatie Steiner’s Sports (518) 427-2406
Warren/Sugarbush Mountainside Ski Shop (802) 583-9299
New York City U.S. Orthotic Center (212) 832-1648 Rochester Foot Performance Ctr. (585) 473-5950 Windham Mt. Boot Lab at Windham Mt. Sports (518) 734-4300
Vermont Killington Northern Ski Works (802) 422-9675
MID-ATLANTIC
New Jersey Morris Plains Pelican Sports Center (973) 267-0964
Virginia Leesburg Pro-Fit Ski & Mtn. (703) 771-7669
For the most complete information on alpine skis visit our partners at RealSkiers.com
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Presents
VIRTUAL
Red Bench Speaker’s Series
Topics Relevant to Todayʼs Skiers and Riders 7:00 pm via ZOOM Dec. 3rd Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast Virtual Book Launch with author, David Goodman Jan. 21st Influential Women of Snowboarding Moderated by Paul Graves
FREE
Register Here: www.vtssm.org/news-events
Voted “Best Cross-Country Ski Area in Vermont” 2019 Seven Daysies Awards Season Passes Available 10/1
60 Miles of Scenic Mountain Trails Cross-Country Skiing & Snowshoeing Rentals Home to von Trapp Brewing & Bierhall Austrian-Inspired Rooms & Restaurants 700 Trapp Hill Road, Stowe, VT | www.TrappFamily.com | 800.826.7000 58 Holidays 2020 vtskiandride.com
Women’s All-Mountain East Skis TESTERS LOVED THE NEW WOMEN’S SKIS. HERE’S WHY:
BLIZZARD BLACK PEARL 88 Sidecut: 128/88/110 | Radius: 14m @ 165cm | $780
Cara Williams, part of Blizzard’s Women2Women movement for nearly six years now, says “the technology that Blizzard has created from our feedback keeps getting better.” Enter TrueBlend Woodcore, a game-changing core at the heart of the new Black Pearl 88. The new Black Pearl 88 delivers stability at high speeds and in all types of conditions. The 2020 skis are actually slightly heavier (+150g) than the previous model, but once you click in, the function and performance outweigh the literal weight of a ski. The new Black Pearl 88 is less nervous, especially on harder and steeper snow, which is partly due to a women-specific Titanal platform in its midsection that runs edge to edge underfoot. The subtle rocker at tip and tail has less contact with the snow for added float and liveliness. In all conditions, the Black Pearl 88 gives skiers —novice to expert— a smooth and confident ride. Blizzard added a 177cm length and changed to 6cm size breaks that give the buyer more options. Every length is calibrated to create an optimal, round flex that travels well in all conditions. DYNASTAR M-PRO 90 W Sidecut: 118/88/108 | Radius: 13m @ 162 cm | $900
The M-PRO 90 W is an all-new woman’s freeride ski and part of Dynastar’s new M-Line collection. Featuring a directional freeride shape, the M-Pro 90 bridges the freeride/all-mountain segments offering fast, precise performance for advanced to expert women skiers. In terms of construction, the new M-Pro W range is totally different from the previous Legend W series skis. The goal was to develop a more modern product with a better balance of power
and playfulness, something that was very performance-oriented but also didn’t lose sight of the fun factor. The M-Pro 90 is quick and nimble, yet strong and damp: the perfect combination for a fun, confident everyday ski that’s not overly demanding yet delivers strong performance and pure allmountain versatility. HEAD KORE 93 W Sidecut: 127/85/107 | Radius: 14.3m @ 171cm | $750
The Kore 93W shows great versatility. It’s gentle and easy to tip and carve at lower speeds. But throw it into gear, and it rips robust trenches or massacres any ungroomed condition that you throw at it. The ski is equally stunning at high-edge angles or low-edge angle steering, pivoting, and shmearing.Tester Robin Barnes said “It dazzled me on groomers, sliced and diced through the crud, and perhaps most astonishing was the way it deftly handled frozen coral-head bumps covered in 10 inches of heavy pow.” At 93mm underfoot, there is really no reason to fret about which ski to bring for the day. It does it all and makes you feel like a champ doing it. The Kore 93 is the ski for a skilled skier who wants a ski that can handle the hard-charging days as well as the cruise-y days. The Kore W series is adopted from Kore line with little modification – just moving recommended mounting point 1 cm forward to make front of ski more accessible.
Looking for a different type of ski or want more info on these skis? Visit RealSkiers. com. And if you are in need of boots, try bootfitters.com vtskiandride.com Holiday 2020 59
K2 MINDBENDER 90C ALLIANCE Sidecut: 127/90/113 | Radius: 14.5 m @ 163 cm | $650
its brother, the Endurance 88, and a touch of rocker in the tip and tail, this ski isn’t one you have to muscle into a turn and it’s perfectly happy taking some spins into the sidecountry. If most of your turns are going to be front-side, this ski will help you pick up the pace and feel more confident on slick conditions, open the throttle as you cruise the corduroy or pop into the trees to find hidden pockets of powder.
“My days of being a big mountain ripper are past. I have a closet full of trophies and a body covered in scars. My goal these days is to be the most fluid skier on the mountain. I want my skis to complement my style and not punish me when I make a mistake,” says tester Kim Reichelm. The Mindbender 90C Alliance is her go-to resort ski and the most popular ski for her Women’s Ski Adventure clients. The C stands for carbon; there is no metal in this ski making it more flexible tip to tail, which allows it to engage into the turn easily and be more forgiving coming out. The carbon adds torsional rigidity that keeps the ski from chattering on hard snow and adds some snap for carving and in bumps. Says Reichelm. “It carves, it skids, it’s fun in the bumps and even has some float in a little bit of fresh snow. The best part is, I don’t have to work hard to ski fluidly on this ski.”
ROSSIGNOL EXPERIENCE 88 TI W Sidecut: 127/88/117 | Radius: 14 m @ 166 cm | $750
NORDICA SANTA ANA 93 Sidecut: 125/93/112 | Radius: 14.4 m @ 158 cm | $750
A former Junior Olympic and NorAm level ski racer, Madeline Dunn needs a ski that can turn on a dime, float in the powder and rip the groomers, often on the same run.The Santa Ana 93 does just that for her, day after day. Says Dunn: “It’s my go-to ski for any day that I plan to take at least a few groomer laps, knowing I’ll be off-piste on every other run.” This year’s collection of Santa Ana skis dials down the dosage of metal to a single sheet of Titanal that varies in dimension by model and size. This shift to one piece of metal instead of two (as is the case with the Enforcer) in the women’s line has been a game changer for the brand. One piece of metal delivers just the right amount of sturdiness while also keeping the ski lighter for a lady who likes to ski bell-to-bell. RENOUN EARHART Sidecut: 127/88/111 | Radius: 14.5 m @ 170 cm | $899
Born and bred in Vermont, Renoun builds skis that are made to handle those days when the slopes are hard as asphalt. Renoun uses nonNewtonian polymer, VibeStop (HDT), which actually stiffens under stress and helps reduce chatter. The Earhart, the first ski Renoun has made for women, like its brethren, holds tight when the going gets fast and doesn’t lose its grip. With a slightly tighter turn radius than 60 Holidays 2020 vtskiandride.com
Whether you’re a seasoned intermediate starting to explore off-piste terrain or an expert skiing all over the mountain in any conditions, these skis will take you where you want to go with confidence. The Experience 88 transitions from off-piste to on-piste terrain with ease, making them the choice for the majority of days on the mountain. “I know I’ll always have a good time no matter the conditions,” coach and TV host Claire Challen notes. “ I use my Experience 88s for my own free-ski play days because I like to explore off-piste, but I also to like to ski fast on groomed trails. They’re also fantastic do-all skis for instructing because I can confidently navigate all terrain and snow conditions, switching up trail choices per the needs of my clients. The 88s are playful and easy to turn yet also stable at higher speeds. I can go from solid carving turns on groomed and hard-pack conditions and hop over to an ungroomed trail for some fresh powder turns.” VÖLKL SECRET 92 Sidecut: 130/92/113 | Radius: 16 m @ 163 cm |$825
The Secret 92 is the single ski quiver for the powerful female skier. Says tester Kaylin Richardson: “It is the first ski I’ve had the pleasure of owning that I can pull out on any given day, with any given conditions, and never have any regrets. The Secrets rip in virtually every condition.” At 92mm underfoot they lay big, aggressive arcs on corduroy, rivaling any carving ski, while transferring to off-piste crud effortlessly. “I was skeptical that the narrow waist would perform as well in deep powder, and granted, when it is super fluffy, I don’t get as much float. However, they still do well, and I have had many awesome powder days on my Secrets,” she says. “As a former ski racer who is 5’10”, I can overpower many women’s skis when I really go for it. The Secrets are slightly stiffer than some of their contemporaries, and I love that.” Their multilayer woodcore and full sidewall design make for a ski that holds an incredible amount of energy without requiring a Herculean effort. The Titanal Frame creates a stability at speed on any surface, they are playful without being squirrely, and can cut through virtually any snow condition like butter. n
These trails have trained national champions and generations of family skiers. JOIN US THIS SEASON! Middlebury’s Rikert Nordic Center
www.rikertnordic.com
Because of the pandemic, our facilities will be open this season only to Vermont residents and individuals who meet the state of Vermont COVID-19 restrictions on cross-state travel.
The Green Mountain State is home to some of the best breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries in the world. Call ahead for a reservation or to order take-out brews and drinks. For more information, links and maps to each location check out www. vtskiandride.com.
VERMONT BEER, WINE, CIDER + SPIRITS
133 North Main St, St. Albans, VT 802-528-5988 | 14thstarbrewing.com 14th Star Brewing Co. is veteran-owned Vermont craft brewery on a mission to brew world-class beer while enriching the communities we serve. Using the freshest local ingredients, we impart military precision and creativity into every batch of 14th Star beer. Reserve ahead and find your favorite 14th Star brews in our Brewery Taproom. Our beer is also available on tap and in cans statewide and Brewed With A Mission™ to give back to various charitable and veteran organizations.
316 Pine Street, Burlington, VT 802-497-1987 | citizencider.com Come visit our Cider Pub, where we bring together locally crafted cider and food and drinks to go. We work with local growers and makers to bring good food and cider to the people. A community of folks who believe that cider loves food. Try some cider or try a bite and celebrate local community at it’s best. Cider for the people, made by the people.
116 Gin Lane, Montpelier, VT 802-472-8000 | www.barrhill.com Open daily, 2-8 p.m;
We’re now offering cocktails to go and a free bar snack with every order at our distillery overlooking the Winooski River in downtown Montpelier. We use raw northern honey to capture the countless botanicals foraged by honeybees in our award-winning Barr Hill Gin, barrel-aged Tom Cat Gin, and Barr Hill Vodka.
3597 VT-74, Shoreham, VT 802-897-2777 | champlainorchards.com Visit us at our Shoreham Farm Market or find us at your favorite craft retailer to try our award winning, orchard-made ciders. All our ciders are made onsite with our ecologically grown apples and our orchard is solar powered.
FIND MAPS AND MORE AT
vtskiandride.com/drink-vermont
Rt 100 Waterbury Center, VT 802-244-8771 | coldhollow.com Open seven days a week. Taste real, modern day hard ciders…made from our own real sweet cider made in a real Vermont barn. Taste the difference. We’re Vermont to the core.
610 Route 7, Middlebury, VT 802-989-7414 | dropinbrewing.com Drop-In Brewing is Middlebury’s small, independent, locally-owned brewery, and is home to The American Brewers Guild Brewing School. Our tap room is open Tues. - Sat. noon to 5 p.m. serving beer to go. ou can find our beer on draft in restaurants and bars across Vermont, and our cans in retailers that carry craft beers. For more information, check out www.dropinbrewing. com, or call us at (802) 989-7414.
1859 Mountain Rd, Stowe, VT 802-253-4765 | idletymebrewing.com
155 Carroll Rd, Waitsfield, VT 802-496-HOPS | lawsonsfinest.com
Our beer line-up represents a traditional take on classic European brewing with a healthy dose of the Vermont hop culture. Whether your preference is a brown or pale ale, Helles Lager or our famous Idletyme Double IPA, we have a beer you’ll love! And it’s brewed right here at our pub and restaurant.
Visit our family-owned award-winning brewery, timber frame taproom, and retail store located in the picturesque Mad River Valley. We produce an array of hop forward ales, specialty maple beers, and unique brews of the highest quality and freshness, and offer light fare. en daily.
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LAST CALL? 8814 Route 30, Rawsonville, VT Junction VT Rt 30N and VT Rt 100N 802-297-9333 | craftdraughts.com An intimate shop with over 300 craft beers plus ciders, meads and two rotating Vermont ta s for growler fills. must stop for craft beer lovers traveling through southern Vermont.
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6308 Shelburne Rd, (Rte. 7)Shelburne, VT 802-985-8222 | shelburnevineyard.com Open Thurs.-Mon. 12-7, by reservation. Taste and enjoy our award-winning wines as we welcome you and share our adventure growing grapes and making wine in VT’s northern climate. Located in charming Shelburne, just south of Burlington.
1333 Luce Hill Rd., Stowe, VT 802-253-0900 | vontrappbrewing.com Von Trapp Brewing is dedicated to brewing the highest quality Austrianinspired lagers with a Vermont twist. Experience “a little of Austria, a lot of Vermont,” in every glass. Come visit our bierhall and restaurant at the brewery!
17 Town Farm Lane, Stowe 802-253-2065 | stowecider.com Fresh-pressed hard cider crafted in Vermont. Ciders range from super dry and preservativefree to others containing local fruits, hops, and uni ue barrel aged offerings. Visit our tasting room at 17 Town Farm Lane across from the Rusty Nail, in Stowe.
1321 Exchange St, Middlebury, VT 802385-3656 | woodchuck.com As America’s original hard cider, we have always done things our own way, forging a tradition of quality and craftsmanship with every cider batch we craft. At Woodchuck, our cider makers meticulously oversee the details of every cider before any bottle or keg leaves our cidery. It’s this attention and passion for cider that ensures we always deliver a premium hard cider that is true to our roots. Enjoy the brand that started the American cider revolution.
VERMONT BEER, WINE, CIDER + SPIRITS
Find out more: 802-760-8550.
The Chairlift Q+A
MAKING BLACK MAGIC “Mad Man” Bobby Johnson may be the first Black ski school director in America. But he’s a pioneer in other ways, too.
So, if we were on a chairlift right now where would it be? The Black Chair at Magic, of course! But if you ask me what trail I was on, I would say “the space between them” – I’m a woods skier. What does it mean to be the first Black ski school director? I am also the first Black, UBC card-carrying journeyman carpenter and born-again Christian who is a ski school director. My Lord taught me to serve and my message going forward to our team at Magic, and to all the people I work with and teach, is inclusivity. It doesn’t matter who you are, you deserve to have fun skiing. My hope is that perhaps I can be a mentor to others, too. I’ve mentored other African-American ski instructors like Russell Fleming, a longtime Killington instructor and member of the Brotherhood of Skiers who was going for his PSIA gold. Sadly, he passed away in 2019. That guy was amazing. Everyone loved Russell, even if you fought him (and I did) you loved him. He mentored me socially. You met your wife in ski school? I was teaching and my supervisor walks out with this beautiful woman and I wonder who the lucky guy is who gets to teach her. Turns out it was me. We had a week of lessons and I noticed that Nichelle learns differently from most anyone else I had ever taught. I could tell her something and the next day she would be able to do it. We’re married now and she’s a PSIA Level 1 instructor.
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What’s your approach to teaching? Everyone has their own style of learning and I like to meet people and really listen to them to understand how they learn best: by reading? By doing? By watching? That means that as Ski School Director I greet skiers as they arrive for privates. I also hope to help every new group I can get up the chairlift the first time – as long as I’m not in a lesson myself at the time. Have you been treated differently as a Black skier? I’m 5 feet 5 and it is easy to look down on me both literally and figuratively and yes, that’s happened, in lessons and even in PSIA. Early on, while I was teaching at Smuggler’s Notch, I had the head of PSIA hide my skis on me. Why? I just don’t know. How did you learn to ski? When I was at the University of Vermont a teaching assistant took us to Smuggler’s Notch and it was the worst lesson ever. I ended up falling as I got off at the mid-station chair. But soon, my college friends started to teach me. In 1983, after UVM, I was working at IBM in Essex Junction but I wanted to be outside more. I started working construction then decided that if I was going to be out in the cold, I might just as well teach skiing so I signed up to take a PSIA course. That same year, I became a born-again Christian, thanks to a small church in Jericho. You also snowboard and tele ski? Yes, one of the best pieces of advice I ever got was to strive to do something that is just beyond your goals. I got my Level III gold pin in Alpine skiing and then got the gold in telemark and am working on it for snowboarding. I found that being good at one aspect of the sport actually makes you better at the others. If it wasn’t for snowboarding, I wouldn’t be the skier I am. If it wasn’t for telemark, I would not be the snowboarder or skier that I am. And if it wasn’t for my son Sander and chasing him around the house, I would forget how old I am all the time! n
Photo courtesy Bobby Johnson
B
obby Johnson was a Level III PSIA instructor at Gore Mountain in New York when, during a roundtable Ski Vermont put on diversity, he met Geoff Hatheway, the president of Magic Mountain in Londonderry, Vt. Hatheway offered Bobby the job of Ski School Director. Bobby, 59, his wife Nichelle (also an instructor) and son Sander (2) live in Mendon, Vt. now and, off-season, in New Jersey. Thursdays through Sundays you will now find Bobby setting up private lessons (only privates will be offered to individuals and households) at Magic.
sugarbush.com
be here
If you ski or ride to get away from it all then you need to be here. Sugarbush is a treasure waiting to be discovered, hidden away in Vermont’s iconic Mad River Valley. Our legendary terrain and rich history beckons. Come for the adventure and camaraderie and leave the crowds behind. For the 00 best deals on discounted tickets, lodging and more, visit sugarbush.com. September 2015 vtskiandride.com
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