Vermont Ski & Ride, January - February 2015 by AddisonPress

50-plus events not to miss!

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Tough Trails

Taylor Wunsch: UVM racer takes different road to the top

The Secret of ‘Ski Bum’ racing January - February 2015

Steps to Cure the Backseat Blues! FREE!

TO TIME HEAT

– THINGS UP

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Okemo’s NEW Lift... Your Ride is Ready!

HEATED SEATS the first chairlift in the Northeast with heated seats

ORANGE BUBBLE provides protection from the wind on even the coldest of days

SEATS SIX whole family or whole group of friends get to ride up together

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Be sure to visit okemo.com for great deals on lift tickets and lodging as well as a calendar of all the great events happening at Okemo Mountain Resort.

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

If you’re a beginner, a collegiate racer or a retired Olympian, there’s a weekly ski bum race in the state for you – no experience necessary.

9 US Nordic Scene

Annie Pokorny describes the racing lifestyle of many Nordic skiers in the US and why she’s set her sights on competing on the international stage.

Cover Photo: Hugh Johnson carves his way down FIS at Smugglers’ Notch. Photo by Dennis Curran

10-11 “Backseat Blues”

Sitting in the “back seat” is a problem that plagues skiers of all ability. Instructor and former US Team ski racer Lisa Densmore Ballard shows you how to beat it in just six steps.

14-15 Taylor Wunsch

A UVM senior charts his way to the top of NCAA racing via a path not often followed by the nation’s top racers.

20-21 Toughest Trails From Mount Snow to Jay Peak, we outline 76 of the biggest, baddest trails out there, and invite you to post your conquests.

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Vermont

Editor/Publisher, Angelo Lynn angelo@vtskiandride.com

Advertising Sales Christy Lynn

Assistant Editor Evan Johnson

Contributing writers Annie Pokorny, Lisa Densmore, Chalky White, Joel Lehman, Greg Dennis Graphic Artist/Production Stephanie Manning For news tips or to advertise call 802-388-4944 or email: info@vtskiandride.com Advertising & Editorial Office: Vermont Ski & Ride Magazine 58 Maple Street, Middlebury, Vt. 05753 802-388-4944 (also offices of the Addison Independent)

Vermont Ski & Ride Magazine is owned and operated by Addison Press Inc., a Vermont company locally owned since 1946. Vermont Ski and Ride Magazine is published monthly November through March.

SKI THE LEGEND & SAVE! SAVE

BIG Buy Tickets Online Single chair photo credit: John Williams Single skier photo credit: Jeb Wallace Brodeur

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

• Terrain Variety • Challenge • Value • Service • Character • Sustainability

• & Overall Satisfaction madriverglen.com 802-496-3551 PA G E 3

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contents

Food Tour Kicks off 2015 Program

Photo by: Ryan Denning ryandenning.com

From Vermont’s highly recognizable brands like Cabot Cheese, Ben & Jerry’s and Vermont maple syrup to local goodies like Stir Chocolates, enjoy all the flavors of Vermont during the 2015 Specialty Food Day tour. “What could be better than skiing and riding into the base area and finding local Vermont goodies to sample,” said Sarah Wojcik of Ski Vermont. “We are excited to kick off another great specialty food tour in 2015 and showcase some of Vermont’s best products together.” Specialty Food Days for 2015 are scheduled for: •Tuesday, January 27: Mad River Glen Resort’s Roll Back the Clock Day •Friday, January 30: Jay Peak Resort’s Farmer Appreciation Day • Saturday, February 7: Bromley Mountain • Sunday, February 8: Magic Mountain • Saturday, February 14: Middlebury College

Snow Bowl’s Winter Carnival • Tuesday, February 17: Smugglers’ Notch • Saturday, February 21: Quechee Ski Area • Sunday, February 22: Pico Mountain • Saturday February 28: Sugarbush Resort • Saturday March 14: Killington Resort • Sunday, March 15: Bolton Valley • Saturday, March 21: Okemo Mountain • Sunday, March 29: Stratton Mountain Returning Vermont food vendors include: Cabot Cheese, Vermont Maple Syrup Makers Association, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Keurig Green Mountain coffee, Kimball Brook Farms chocolate milk, Gringo Jack’s chips and salsa, Liz Lovely Cookies, Vermont Spirits, Cedar Hollow Farms cheese and spreads, and It’s Arthur’s Fault sauces. New vendors include Stir Chocolates, Ambrosia Confections, Perfect Balance drink mixes and Long Trail Brewing.

Gadd Brook Development proceeds

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New This Year. Buy Lift Tickets Online & Save!

Warren, Vt. — Gadd Brook Slopeside, Sugarbush Resort’s next development project at Lincoln Peak, is moving forward this spring. The Gadd Brook project will comprise 16 ski-in/skiout condominiums averaging 1,800 square feet. It will offer a mix of two, three, and four-bedroom units. The proximity to the slopes and the surrounding views are key selling points for the development. Parking will be provided by construction of an underground garage. The Design Group of Warren is serving as the architectural firm for the project, and also overseeing interior design. Naylor and Breen Builders of Brandon has been hired as the general contractor.

Some of Naylor and Breen’s recent projects include the Marble Works Residences and Two Brothers Tavern, both in Middlebury, Vermont. The Design Group most recently served as architects for Sugarbush’s Rice Brook Residences, completed in December, 2013. Gadd Brook Slopeside is named after Damon and Sarah Gadd, the original founders of Sugarbush. Gadd Brook, a small brook named after the Gadd’s several years back, runs between the site of the new development and The Farmhouse and The Schoolhouse at Lincoln Peak. Construction of Gadd Brook is scheduled to commence in April 2015 and be ready for occupancy in early 2016.

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“Best beer town in New England.” - Boston Globe

Save up to 50% off retail rates by purchasing tickets in Bolton Valley’s new online store at boltonvalley.com.

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Drink It Up! Restaurant open for lunch Fri-Mon | $4 Fernet draughts everyday

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VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 1/13/15 3:36 PM

Publisher’s Desk

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VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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run” status, we’re cool with that. Snap it, post it and it’ll count. To get you started, here’s a few of my all-time favorites: Fall Line at Mad River Glen, anytime there’s a dump of 8 inches or more; take it from the top and parallel the lift line all the way down. If you’re feeling game, do Chute and parade in front of the single chair crowd or hit Gazelle We set out to identify some of the toughest ski runs in the state, and in the process devel- under the Sunnyside Double. At Sugarbush, Stein’s on a spring day (or in powder) when the oped a bucket list of 76 challenging runs for skiers and riders to check bumps are soft is terrific; ditto for the adjacent trail, The Mall; Lincoln Peak’s Ripcord any day it’s off. Then we thought, why not let readers share experiences of their halfway decent. At Mt. Ellen, the classics are FIS, Black Diamond and Exterminator after a good adventures down those runs. Via Instagram. storm; Tumbler, Cliff Run and Hammerhead are good honorable mentions at Mt. Ellen. KillingHey, if we’re getting photos, why not make skiing these 76 black ton’s Outer Limits is another favorite on a warm spring day or after a powder dump. Killington diamond runs at these dozen ski resorts — and other black diamond has dozens of other options, but Bear Mountain on a sunny day in the spring is hard to beat. Jay runs in Vermont that readers may submit — into a fun contest and Peak has unparalleled glades, while Stowe has the state’s best top-to-bottom vertical with the give away a few lift tickets and other cool prizes to those who post front four — Goat, National, Starr, Lookout, plus Lift Line. In the right conditions, on any given the most Instagram shots on the greatest number of “tough” runs in day, they can all be favorites. the state? Trails on my to-do list: the three steepest at Smugg’s — Liftline, Freefall and the Black Hole; So we are. the couple at Magic Mountain, Black Magic and Black Line; and a repeat trip to Jay’s steep glades Check out the story on Pages 20-21, including an invitation to post on a powder day — and any day in the Mad River Valley or Stowe that has 8 or more inches of your photos using our Instagram hashtag. Tag your photos: #vtskiandride, #vttoughtrails, then fresh snow. (Darn, that’s the trouble with skiing elsewhere — when it snows, you always want to name the trail you’re on and the ski area. A shot of the trail sign wouldn’t hurt. And if you have stick close to home, ski your favorites, and hang out with friends après ski. That just makes the a GoPro or something similar, send us a video to post online. It’ll be fun, you’ll win some prizes contest all that much harder.) and we’ll all push ourselves to ski at a few different Set your goals, pick your trails to check off, areas throughout the state. and have fun. But a word about selecting the most difficult ********** trails in the state. Speaking of fun, join a ski bum league and In the East, conditions make all the difference. race a few gates. Not that good at going through Skiing the top of National at Stowe in the soft gates, you say? No matter, the secret about ski snow of early season is a vastly different experience bum racing is that you don’t need to be good than skiing it mid-winter when the ice has formed to have fun. Most leagues even have handicap into what locals fondly call the “slide of death” to systems that even out the skiers’ ability so that the first moguls 75 feet below. The same is true of the slower racers contribute to the team score FIS at Sugarbush’s Mt. Ellen. Or skiing Rumble on just as much as the faster racers. Castlerock Peak with icy conditions versus after a Ages range from 5 to 75, from rookies to colfoot of powder is the difference between sanity and legiate racers and a few former Olympians. insanity. Snowboarders get in on the action, too, as Vermont’s toughest trails are like that. There are do tele-skiers. It’s about being on the moundays when the difficulty is off the charts because tain, improving your skiing and riding, and the of the conditions, and days after big snows that the A skier plays in the powder on Mad River’s Fall Line, one of the many tough runs at the ski area. camaraderie of getting together afterwards for same run could be a skier’s dream. A foot of snow Photo courtesy of Mad River Glen munchies, a few brews and good times. We can turn a hazardous chute into a romp in the park. check out a few of the ski bum leagues in the So, pick your days and have fun, or if you like gnarly, do that and we’ll all have fun seeing the state (Page 6-7) and provide contact info for the club nearest you. photos or videos. ********** You’ll note we stuck to the trails that are identified on each resort’s trail map. We know there Whether skiing the toughest runs or racing or just ripping a groomer, ever find yourself on the are a lot of off-piste areas that offer greater challenges, but that’s a different deal. We’re sticking backs of your skis? I do, and it’s never good. Getting your weight back is a sure-fire way to get offto the identified trails on the published resort maps, and will celebrate the wide variety that’s balance and crash. Ski instructor and former US Ski Team member Lisa Densmore provides six out there. There are a dozen in Stowe and Smuggler’s Notch; a dozen-plus more at Mad River helpful tips to keep your weight forward and flex your ankles into the tongue of your ski boots. and Sugarbush, plenty at Jay, QBurke, Killington and Mount Snow, and several more at Bolton She writes as well as she skis, making this story on ski technique insightful and easy to digest — Valley, Stratton, Magic and Okemo. We focused on the double-black diamond runs, with a few complete with a half-dozen photos to illustrate her points on Pages 10-11. single black diamond runs based on length, moguls and other factors, but this is a squishy area, Practice your sport, push limits, laugh, love, repeat. so if you feel a black diamond run that is not mentioned in the story is worthy of the “toughest

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No experience necessary to have fun racing Photo by Bromley Resort

Every week racers take to the racecourse on Lord’s Prayer at Bromley for the annual Innkeeper’s Race Series.

By EVAN JOHNSON

olds,” he says. “There are former Olympians, there are people who have barely ever skied. HANCOCK — On a bitter January afterIt’s all ages and abilities. It’s all very casual and noon, the light on the lower portion of it builds a sense of community and camaraMiddlebury College Snow Bowl’s Allen run is derie.” growing flat as flurries of snow sweep across The weekly races at the Snow Bowl are a the mountain face in bone-chilling microcosm of a scene going on gusts. The icy chill reflects the surthroughout the state. Every winter, face conditions as well. It’s Vermont skiers and snowboarders of all levels hard pack; better sharpen your click into their bindings or strap on edges if you want a grip. their boards every week and take For some, conditions might warto the course at their favorite hill rant skipping the afternoon, but in a in pursuit of a faster time, bragging wooden shack concealed by a stand rights and maybe a gift certificate to of trees, a group of ski racers shuffle a local restaurant as well. their way up to a starting gate, ready In Stowe, Marion Baraw says if for their runs down a winding giant there’s anything that can bring slalom course. people of all ages, incomes and proOne at a time, under direction fessions together, it’s skiing. of the course marshal, they plant “It’s part of the magic of the sport their poles and explode down the and I call it the Peter Pan syndrome,” hilltoward the first gate, buffeting in she says. “You never grow up. After the wind. the races, the 20-year-olds are hangJim and Margaret Eagan ski recing out with the 76-year-olds.” reationally and have been competThe Mount Mansfield Ski Club ing in the league for the past four (MMSC) was established in 1920 and years. The two live in neighboring has a long history with athletes and Salisbury and ski at the Snow Bowl coaches competing on the national regularly. While the two describe and international skiing stages. But themselves as recreational skiers, local skiers, snowboarders and telethey still enjoy coming to the Snow skiers don’t have to train for world Bowl every Friday afternoon to race A racer enters a turn in the Dos Equis Ski Bum Race series organized by the Killington Ski Club. Photo by Killington Mountain Resort class racing to experience the thrill in the mountain’s Ski Bum League. of competition. On Tuesdays, more “Neither of us are really racers,” says Mar- such description monikers as “Down the Hill nine years ago, says the weekly races attract than 100 skiers and riders gather at the slopes garet. “But racing is a good indicator of your – Not Over It,” “Apres-Nordorks,” “The Gate- skiers of all ages and abilities. at Stowe Mountain Resort to take on a headskiing technique. It’s one thing to be able to keepers,” “The Frothy Walruses,” and “Easy “It ranges from five-year-olds to 75-year- to-head GS-style course for a weekly series PA G E 6

ski fast when you’re skiing on your own, but you have to be much more precise on a race course.” Now in its ninth season, the Middlebury Snow Bowl Ski Bum Races attracts teams of at least four every Friday. Team names include

Riders.” Racers include long-time skiers who may have raced in programs through high school or club teams, to collegiate skiers and semi-pro, to recreational skiers who are racing for the first time. Holmes Jacobs, who helped start the league

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Like many leagues around the state, the Innkeeper’s race series at Bromley is open to all ability levels.

points than someone who finishes first. That’s the way it’s always been programmed. It’s inclusive and not just for people who are really good racers.” That’s not to say that Stowe doesn’t see its share of high-caliber racing talent. McKeon remembers in the ’80s when members of the Austrian Olympic team, who were working at Stowe Mountain Resort as ski instructors, used to join the locals for the races. They dominated, of course. At Killington, over 200 alpine and telemarkskiers and boarders organize every year into teams for a race series operated by the Killington Ski Club. The 14-race series runs until late March, with new teams entering every week in two divisions. Chuck Hughes, events

manager for the Killington Mountain School says even Killington president, Mike Solimano, competes on a team. While Stowe uses a handicap scoring system, Killington employs a system of “A” and “B” levels in men’s and women’s categories in alpine and telemark skiing and snowboarding. “If you clobber the field by a certain margin we move you into the next category,” Hughes explains. “That way it’s fair. If you do win the category in the B section, we move you to the A section in the next year. That way you can’t be reigning B champion two years in a row.” You don’t have to have any racing experience, but you do have to be 21 to join (and to enjoy the Dos Equis specials at the ski bum parties that follow).

Looking to shorten his time, a racer caves a turn close to a flag while competing in the ski bum race series organized by Killington Ski Club.

Photo by Killington Mountain Resort

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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of races. This year’s youngest racer is 20. The oldest is 76. Baraw has been organizing the races at the Mount Mansfield Ski Club since their start 45 years ago, earning her the unofficial title, “Queen of the Ski Bum Races.” Having helped with the races since their start, Baraw credits the race’s established handicap system that levels the playing field. Racers can only improve by a maximum of 20 points per week. In the past two years the volunteers that run the races have developed a computerized program that takes race results and reconfigures everyone’s handicap for the following week – a much faster system than when Baraw used to configure the points and each racer’s score and handicap on paper. Bud McKeon, owner of the Fiddler’s Green Inn in Stowe has been competing in the series since 1972, when he and a group of coworkers created a team. The competition was great and the parties that followed were even better. After over 30 years of racing with the club, he’s still taking to the slopes to crash gates with all levels of skiers and riders. “It’s always a laugh when you beat someone you shouldn’t have and you get to rub it in their face,” he says with an added laugh. Following the races, there’s always a party at a local establishment and participants can win all kinds of prizes. “You’re bound to win something,” he says. “You might win a gift certificate for wings at the Sunset Grille or dinner for two at the Stoweflake Resort. You never know.” Beer and prizes aside, McKeon says the other reason people should consider joining their local ski bum series is for the ability to improve their skiing. Because points are assigned based on how much teams improve each week, McKeon says, the better skiers have a higher handicap, which levels the playing field for the rest of the group. “That’s why it’s better to have a good mix [of skiing abilities],” he says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a lousy skier, you can still get more

Photo by Bromley Resort

At Sugarbush, racing lasts all winter with the Sugarbush Racing Club, a group of adults who are living (or re-living) their ski bum days on the slopes of Sugarbush and in the Mad River Valley. The club competes Thursdays on Sugarbush’s NASTAR course in a dual giant slalom format. For skiers in southern Vermont, Mount Snow’s own Valley League runs until March on the Charlie’s Chase course. New this year, racers do not have to be on a team and can race as a free agent. If you don’t have a team or can’t commit to a whole season, check out the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge, a fun series of free races throughout the Northeast including stops at Okemo, Killington, Q Burke and more. Back at the Snow Bowl, after the lifts have stopped turning and the sun sets, skiers head back down Route 125 into downtown Middlebury, where they retire to the Two Brothers Tavern for some après-ski food, drink and camaraderie. Organizers raffle off gift certificates and everyone sticks around for another beer or some more chicken wings, greeting friends and making new ones. It’s a friendly atmosphere that for many is amain reason for participatingin this kind of a racing event. Gordie Eaton, 75, from Middlebury, started racing in high school, won the NCAA downhill championship as a racer for Middlebury College and went on to ski on the 1960 US Olympic Team and World Championship in 1962, before helping coach the 1968 U.S. Olympic team. Today, he competes on a ski bum team with his son, Chris, who’s one of the fastest on the hill. Gordie is a few seconds behind him these days, but still beats most of the crowd. While he says he enjoys the skiing and seeing his team’s score at the end, the whole point is the good times that come with it. “Ski racing is fun in itself,” he says. “The best thing about skiing is you get a few runs in and hang out with people. Skiers always want to have a good time and that’s what we do.”

Sugarbush and Champlain College Offer On-Snow Film Camp for Youth Warren, Vt. – Sugarbush Resort and Champlain College are partnering up to host the Fresh Tracks Film Camp, beginning January 24, a program that offers teenage skiers and riders the opportunity to take their passion for filmmaking onto the mountain. John Egan, former Warren Miller film star and Sugarbush’s Chief Recreation Officer, hosts the on-snow portion of the class. The class begins by taking participants on a morning fresh-tracks adventure where Egan introduces the technique of capturing action-packed video footage. Egan will lead the group to some of his favorite Sugarbush trails in pursuit of great video footage. “It’s a great opportunity for kids to develop their skills in a field that’s become more and more relevant in recent years,” says Egan, “Not only that, but ski and ride footage is a fun way to help them learn.” Once done filming, students will then head

indoors where Kevin Murakami, from Champlain College’s award-winning Emergent Media Center, will instruct them on how to transform their mountain experience into a short film. The goal is to have students come away with a polished short film after three classes. The camp is offered three consecutive Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to noon beginning Saturday, Jan. 24. A reception featuring the students’ finished short films will be held the evening of the last class on Feb. 7th. Students interested in participating will need a laptop computer with Adobe Premiere Pro, and a GoPro camera. A flash memory drive is not essential, but is recommended for the class. The camp costs $198 per student with an additional three-day film camp lift ticket available for $180 for non-passholders. The program is designed for kids ages 13-18. For more information, or to register, visit Sugarbush.com.

Efficiency Vermont’s recycling pays off for skiers via Learn-to-Turn program Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

MONTPELIER, VT. — When Vermont ski resorts swapped out old snow guns for efficiency upgrades this season in the Great Snow Gun Round Up in order to make more snow with less energy, they also elevated Vermont’s ski industry and created more opportunities for new skiers and riders to learn the sport. After Efficiency Vermont pledged the nearly $7,000 in scrap metal proceeds from the 27,420 lbs of metal from recycled snowguns to Ski Vermont’s Learn to Turn programs, HKD Snowmakers, the preeminent snowgun supplier for Vermont resorts, generously matched that amount with another $10,000 to help promote Ski Vermont’s efforts at getting new

skiers and riders onto Vermont’s slopes. Ski Vermont’s Learn to Turn initiatives include $29 beginner packages during the month of January, the Bring a Friend challenge and the Fifth Grade Passport. Contributions will also support the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport’s incentive to get Vermont kids outdoors this January, by purchasing even further discounted beginner packages for Vermonters under 18. The Council is currently offering the $29 package to 250 Vermont children for just $10. See more details on this initiative at vermontfitness.org.

January is Learn to Ski and Ride month at Vermont’s 18 ski resorts Warren, VT (January 12, 2015) – Sugarbush Resort kicked off National Learn to Ski and Ride Month earlier this month, offering a $29 first-timer ski or snowboard lesson. Participants who take advantage of the $29 lesson can apply that lesson toward the resort’s award-winning First-Timer-to-Life Timer three-lesson program, graduates of which receive a free Sugarbush season pass for the 2014-2015 season. As part of a national effort to increase participation in skiing and snowboarding, Sugarbush Resort has teamed up with Ski Vermont, an industry association, to offer ski and ride lessons for as low as $29. The $29 first timer lesson is a two-hour group lesson that includes rentals, instruction, and a lift ticket, offered every day during the month of January except Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Sugarbush’s First Timer to Life Timer Program offers three consecutive group lessons including rentals, instruction, and a lift ticket, followed by a FREE All-Mountain Season Pass PA G E 8

– a $1,679 value – to those who complete the program. The First Timer to Life Timer program is offered throughout the season, but during the month of January, the $29 first time lesson can be bundled into the price of the program, bringing the total cost down from $255 to $185, a $70 savings. The First-Timer-to-Life-Timer Program has already graduated 83 participants, all of whom have received season passes. “We know that once our guests feel the excitement of sliding on snow, they’ll be hooked. And there is no age limit to this program—we’ve had twenty-year olds and 70-year olds become Sugarbush First-Timer-to-Life-Timers,” said Sugarbush Ski & Ride School Director Russ Kauff. “There’s no better New Year’s resolution than learning a new outdoor activity.” Reservations for the $29 first timer lesson, and for the First-Timer-to-Life-Timer program, can be made by calling the Sugarbush Ski & Ride School desk at 888.651.4827.

Mobile apps have become valuable tools for dozens of ski and ride activities.

Ski Vermont photo

Best Apps for Skiers and Riders By EVAN JOHNSON Your smartphone puts the world at your fingertips, and that includes while you’re on the slopes. Can’t find your car in the parking lot? There’s an app for that. What to know your speed while racing down your favorite run, and know the vertical drop? There are apps for that, too. Need to locate your friends on the slopes, or in the lodge? Unbelievably, you do can that on an app, too. Here are some of the latest apps we’ve found geared to skiers and riders:

FIND MY FRIENDS

Let’s say you’re going down the trail and you go left and your friend goes right. Now you don’t have to make plans to “meet at the car” in case you get separated. This app uses GPS to help you track them so you’ll know if they’ve taken a left or right turn or if they’re waiting for you at the lodge.

REALSKI

This is an augmented reality app that grabs information from your phone’s compass, camera and GPS to track your location on the mountain in real time. The app displays trails and their difficulty, locations of the nearest restrooms and, as an added bonus you can mark the location of your car on the map so that you won’t have to wander around the parking lot clicking your keys. The app costs .99 cents and links to your preferred mountain.

LIFTOPIA

Liftopia is the perfect app for people looking to ski on the cheap. This app searches for discounted tickets at over

150 ski areas in the US from Alaska to North Carolina all the way to mountains in Europe, South America and even Australia.

APLINE RELAY

If you’re the competitive type, here’s an app for you. Alpine Relay tracks your vertical feet, maximum speed, and even clocks your time on the chairlift. Then, you can read your stats right there on the slope, or login online to track your stats throughout the season, compare with friends, push to social media sites and replay the runs in 3D.

SKI AND SNOW REPORT

This handy app provides the location and conditions of local mountains, including up-to date temperatures, snowfall rates, and access to local web cams.

ROUTE 802 APPS

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our own apps that feature guides of what to do at several of the state’s ski resorts. Route 802 (the number refers to Vermont’s single area code) is a network of mobile apps across the state that features restaurant and lodging listings, family activities, professional services (for the electrical, mechanical, plumbing or heating issues you may have) at many of the state’s southern resorts and Stowe. The list includes the Killington App, All Aboard Rutland, Okemo App, Mount Snow 360, Middlebury Mobile and Unlost Stowe. Check out the features at Route 802. Send us other apps that you’ve found useful while on the slopes and we’ll post them to this story online.

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

The US Nordic Ski Scene: Where I am, how I got here and where we’re going

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

cross country skiing is so ingrained in European mountain cultures that kids clip into skis before they can walk, race before they can talk and grow up to diagonal stride to work, because local trail systems make skiing more direct than driving. If gifted athletes show talent early enough and make it out of populous junior racing pools, they lead the lives of celebrities. Funded by their home governments and compensated by endorsements, these skiers win BMWs at races and don the covers of fashion and gossip magazines. They’re also incredibly fast. But, despite our drastically different ski culture and lack of funding, American skiers are starting to beat them. That is the dream, to be catching, and passing, the elite Europeans. Getting yourself to Europe for World Cups is the first step, one that

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[The Europeans and When I tell people I’m a professional crossCanadians country skier, I get varied reactions. Some are have their verpositive, others rest dismissively somewhere in sions of Superthe “what a nice hobby” spectrum. Tours, too. The But the common element of nearly all of Fins, Swedes my encounters is confusion. “How did you get and Norweto be doing that?” they ask, trying to discern gians compete for World Cup spots through exactly what that is. the aptly named Scando Cups, while central To many Americans, elite Nordic (another and eastern Europeans attend Europa Cups. term for cross-country) skiing is a quadrennial Because the level of competition is generally occurrence, appearing once every four years higher there, many US athletes compete for during Olympic coverage before disappearfunding from the National Nordic Foundaing again into oblivion. But there’s a lot more tion to race as guests in these races. This year, going on in professional Nordic skiing around the NNF will support racing in Slovenia and the country and the world outside of the France.] Olympic cycle, and it may be close enough for When you do make a World Cup and ski you to see in your backyard. your way into the top 30, you may then In fact, I know it is, because in describbecome a regular of World Cup coming what I do, how I got here and where petition, racing in a different country I’m going, the snowball always gets roll(sometimes continent) every weekend ing on the local level. Like, really local. and joining the ranks of regular world Having a strong ski community to champions and Olympic skiers. Right call home helps your odds of becomnow, I’m still on the development level, ing an elite skier. As kids, young athI race SuperTours and have my eye on letes in model ski communities such as U23 world competition, but the World Peru, Stowe, Middlebury, Manchester Cup is where I aim to go. or Craftsbury enroll in the Bill Koch While Scandinavians are thrust into League (named for Olympic bronze the sport, the product of culture and medalist, Vermont native and product critical mass, Americans make it to of local ski culture) and spend weekthe top by way of pure grit. They step ends tromping with their friends in the up through the development ladder, snow and getting a taste for (friendly) funding themselves through grassroots competition. campaigns and charitable grants, living For those who liked the taste and off meager sponsorship stipends and want more racing, the opportunity to expired Powerbars, in pursuit of that take racing to the regional level preshigher caliber, that highest step. ents itself at the end of middle school. Kikkan Randall, three time overall At this stage in my ski career, I was a sprint world cup leader and reigning little more concerned with boys and World Champion, exemplifies that soccer than I was skiing, but the high process. Finishing last in her first round school club system is set up so athletes of World Cups and skiing on and off can compete as seriously as they want. the US Ski Team, she kept pushing, Regional races are held weekly where kept believing and made it to the top. athletes compete to represent their The real endurance of the sport is stayregion at Junior Nationals. ing in it long enough to see results. In middle and high school, I raced in And the world wants us to; they’re the Pacific Northwest and Intermounrooting for us. tain Divisions (I grew up in Spokane, Elite Nordic skiing is catching on in the US, with the goal to catch up to their European competitors. I spent the first week of the Sochi Photo by Trent Campbell Olympics in Meroker, Norway, the NorWash.), just two of nine regions across the country, including the junior powwegian development mecca known for erhouse that is New England. Which is the other side of the choose-your- I am currently standing on. To do so, you must producing the world’s fastest junior skiers. One The end-all be-all of junior racing (that’s ages own-adventure: full time racing in pursuit of stand out as an exceptional domestic competi- of those skiers joined the US contingency to 14-20) is Junior Nationals. Each year, a differ- international success. Many up-and-coming tor by leading the standings on the SuperTour watch the Norwegian broadcast of the openent region hosts the event in March and those juniors choose this path instead of college, circuit. The SuperTour is kind of like the NBA, ing ceremonies. As we watched her Olympic athletes who qualified through home compe- because racing internationally requires almost with a few less spectators (and salaries). team promenade through the stadium, I asked titions go head-to-head for national titles that an entire winter of travel in Europe, requiring It’s a domestic circuit in which club teams her which of them she wanted to see win the can help them climb the national rankings, athletes to miss college races and classes. from all over the nation (I belong to SMS T2 Olympics. earn a spot on a collegiate ski team, or a date As a sophomore in college, I raced well from Stratton Mountain) travel to compete “I want an Kikkan or another American to for the dance at the end of the week (which enough to qualify for U23 World Champion- against each other in a series of races. Stretch- win.” She answered. “It’s boring when we sweep could also be argued as the end-all be-all ships in Liberec, Czech Republic. The previous ing from November to March, the Super- the podium, no one gets better that way.” of junior racing). [Stowe hosted the Junior month, Quebec City hosted a World Cup, the Tour circuit snakes its way through Montana, That’s the real goal, what keeps us here: Nationals in 2014 at the Trapp Touring Center.] first in North America, and seeing that level Michigan, Vermont (Craftsbury 1/30-2/8), progressing the game. From the local level to When an athlete does well enough at the of competition, even from the sidelines, com- Wisconsin and Idaho, split into three periods. international, American skiing is about seeing national level, he or she reaches a kind of pelled me to pursue the highest echelon of Based on results in races within each period, what’s possible, about pushing ourselves past choose-your-own-adventure when deciding to skiing possible, whatever it took. the SuperTour leader at the end of each period expectations and making skiing better, at every attend college and ski at the collegiate level, or At World Championships and World Cups, earns start rights at World Cups in the next level. train full time and try to make the US Ski Team US skiers race against athletes whose national period (what every skier hopes will be her big and race internationally. When I reached this pastime is Nordic skiing. Beyond Scandinavia, break).

By ANNIE POKORNY

chapter in my book, I chose both. I started with college and enrolled at Middlebury College in Vermont (excellent academic program with a good ski team.) Like clubs at the junior level, NCAA colleges race against each other on the regional stage before qualifying athletes to the NCAA National Championships, which shuffles between Western and Eastern hosts every year. From January to March, athletes who race in the NCAA compete in a pool of athletes aged 18-24 from all nationalities and racing experience. These kids race almost as much as the pros and are expected to maintain high training schedules in their academic environments. With the import of dozens of Scandinavian and Central European racers, as well as successful national athletes, the top NCAA athletes leave the circuit ready to tackle international racing.

Annie Pokorny is a writer from Spokane, Wash., who skis professionally for SMS T2 at Stratton Mountain, Vt. She is currently skiing on the international circuit.

10 using their ankles to make micro-adjustments to the terrain and snow conditions. You’ll know your ankles are working correctly, if your shins are against your boot tongues 24/7.

uring the Backseat Blues

WATCH YOUR HANDS:

KEEP YOUR TORSO TALL:

LOVE THE FALL-LINE:

PLANT YOUR POLE:

Your hand position has a direct impact on what your skis do. If you drop your hands by your hips, they will likely pull you into the backseat. Your hands should be level with your belly button and slightly wider than your hips, as if you are holding a tray of hot drinks. You’ll know your hands are in the correct position if you can see them at the bottom of your vision when you look straight ahead.

Bending at the waist to move your weight forward has the opposite effect, moving it back. As your chest drops, your butt sticks out more behind you. It’s also a lot tougher to roll your skis on edge and be agile if you bend a lot at the waist. Tighten your buttocks and keep your core engaged and strong through each turn to cure the habit. You’ll know your torso is in the correct position if your chest points forward rather than at your ski tips. Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

Many skiers subconsciously fear the fall-line, that point midway through a turn when the skis point down the hill. As a result, they pull back instead of moving forward into each new turn. In the transition between turns, as your feet pass under you, your hips should move forward toward the new arc, re-centering your weight. You’ll know you’ve re-centered correctly if your ski tips seek the fall-line, making your turns easier to initiate.

Lisa Densmore Ballard demonstrates proper technique by keeping her torso tall and remembering to keep smiling.

By LISA DENSMORE BALLARD Photos By JACK BALLARD Being centered over your skis in a balanced position is one of the cornerstones of alpine skiing technique. If you’re standing on snow, modern ski boots place you in this position with your shins against your boot tongues. Why can’t you stay there when you start turning down a slope? Sitting back is one of the most common problems skiers have on the slopes. It happens to beginners, experts and everyone in between, and it can happen any time, when speed picks up, on steep terrain, in moguls, in powder or in uneven snow conditions. It even happens on perfectly groomed trails! It’s the main cause of a fall. PA G E 1 0

There are a number of reasons why you might end up “in the back seat”, skiing with your hips behind your feet. Improper technique is a big culprit. Your ski boots may be too stiff. If you feel anxious about your speed, the terrain or the conditions and hold back, you’ll likely sit back, too. Or perhaps your tactics are the cause, such as how you absorb a mogul (or not). Whatever the case, here are six ways to cure the backseat blues.

WIDEN YOUR STANCE:

If your feet are too close, you can’t roll your skis on edge very far because your ankles, knees and hips can’t move laterally. As a result, as you arc a turn, your hips naturally

drop back pulling your weight back. Your feet should be at least hip-width apart at all times, wider as a turn progresses on steeper terrain and at faster speeds, and your knees should not touch. You’ll know your stance is correct if you leave “railroad tracks” on the snow on the flats, and you can step off your downhill ski at any time on the steeps.

FLEX MORE AT THE ANKLES:

As a turn progresses, your ankles should flex more and more. If they don’t, the centrifugal force of the turn will pull you onto your heels. It helps to loosen the top buckle of your ski boots. Ankle flex is also your primary shock absorber. Expert skiers are constantly

With so much happening with your feet, it’s easy to forget planting your pole just before each turn. If you don’t plant your pole, you’ll likely carry your hands too high or too low. Both hand positions pull you into the backseat. A correct pole plant should be about half way between the toe of your binding and the tip of your ski on the downhill side. The steeper the terrain, the more you should reach down the hill, both for timing and to help move your weight forward into the next turn. You’ll know you’re planting your pole correctly if it helps you turn easier, rather than hinders it or seems like an extra motion. Get out of the back seat, and you’ll ski with more style and confidence! A former member of the U.S. Ski Team, Lisa Densmore Ballard is a long-time Vermont skier and a certified USSA ski coach. Over 6,000 skiers have attended her “Your Turn” ski clinics around the United States. To ski with Lisa, visit her website, www.LisaDensmore.com

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Above & Below: Lisa Densmore shows how to love the fall-line.

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Above & Below: Lisa Densmore shows proper ankle flexion.

From top: Lisa Densmore demonstrates widening her stance, keeping her hands forward and properly planting a pole. VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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Sugarbush, Bolton Valley Expand Uphill Travel By EVAN JOHNSON WARREN — For skiers and riders looking to earn their turns, a number of resorts around the state have introduced uphill travel policies or expanded existing statutes. This winter has seen updates to uphill travel from Sugarbush in the Mad River Valley and Bolton Valley, located in Bolton, Vt. In December, Sugarbush Resort announced significant changes to its uphill travel policy. Starting this winter, skiers and riders are permitted to hike or skin before and after operating hours at both mountains on designated trails.

Those interested will be required to pick up a free uphill travel pass from Guest Services prior to the first time they skin or hike. The pass will be valid all season. To coincide with the resort’s grooming schedule, both mountains have designated routes for uphill and downhill travel depending on the time of day. At Lincoln Peak, uphill travel is permitted on Easy Rider to Lower Pushover to Pushover to Birch Run between the hours of 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. and Racer’s Edge to Lower Snowball to Snowball to the top of the Valley House chair between the hours of 4:00 to 7:00 a.m. Due to plowing, parking for hiking and skinning is

Enjoy 60km 25km of groomed groomed trails, trails, rated rated as as some some of the nicest trails in New England! Enjoy lunch at the Ski Center and and stay stay in one of Vermont’s most most scenic scenic and historic inns tucked in the Vermont’s heart of of Robert RobertFrost Frostcountry countrywith withexquisite exquisite dining. dining. heart For For more more information information go go to to www.blueberryhillinn.com www.blueberryhillinn.com

Blueberry Hill Ski Center Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

Goshen,Vermont Vermont• 802-247-6755 • 802-247-6735 Goshen,

provided at Lincoln Peak in the heli lot, located to the right of The Schoolhouse. Hikers and skinners must ski or ride down the same designated routes. At Mt. Ellen, uphill travel is permitted on Easy Does it to Straight Shot to Cruiser to Lower Rim Run to Rim Run between the hours of 4:00 to 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. Parking is provided in the lot next to the Sunny Double lift. There will be times when uphill travel is closed due to weather conditions. Skinners and hikers are asked to check the Sugarbush snow report before proceeding. Once the resort ceases operation for the winter season, hiking and skinning will be permitted. Those who are looking to boot pack uphill are asked to not hike directly in skinning tracks. Enjoy 25km ofEnjoy groomed trails, trails, 25km of groomed groomed trails, rated rated as as some some 60km A public forum on the policy has been trails in New England! rated as some ofof the thenicest nicest rescheduled for Jan. 24 in the Castlerock Pub at trails in New England! stay in one Peak of Area. Enjoy lunch at the Ski Center and and stay the Lincoln Vermont’s most most scenic scenic and historic inns tucked in the Vermont’s Meanwhile, Bolton Valley announced its first heart of of Robert RobertFrost Frostcountry countrywith withexquisite exquisite dining. heart dining. uphill travel policy on New Year’s Eve. Enjoy lunch at the Ski Center For For more more information information go go to to www.blueberryhillinn.com www.blueberryhillinn.com Josh Arneson, communications director for and stay in one of Bolton Valley says while the resort maintains Vermont’s mostBlueberry scenic and Hill1,000 of Nordic and backcountry terrain, Skiacres Center historic inns tucked in the uphill traffic Goshen, Vermont • 802-247-6735 Goshen, Vermont • 802-247-6755 on the resort’s alpine trails was previously prohibited. However, like many resorts heart of Robert Frost country in Vermont, Bolton Valley still saw plenty of with exquisite dining. traffic before and after normal operating hours “We had been seeing it for years already,” For more information go to says Arneson. “Especially in the spring. When the lifts close at four or five you would see a www.blueberryhillinn.com dozen cars in the parking lot with people get-

ting ready to skin up when it doesn’t get dark until seven. In the early morning, at five or six, people would go out and have some fun before going to work.” Arneson says the new policy allows skiers and split-boarders to access the area while mountain operations can make snow or continue grooming operations. On Wilderness Peak, uphill traffic moves up Turnpike to Peggy Dow’s. On Timberline Peak, uphill traffic follows Twice as Nice, to Woods Hole and Brandywine. No uphill traffic is permitted to the top of Vista Peak. During hours when lifts are open, uphill skiers must have a lift ticket for the day, season pass, Nordic day ticket for the day, or Nordic season pass. Uphill skiers do not need a lift ticket or pass outside of operating hours. Once skiers have reached the top using the designated routes, they may descend by any trail they choose. Arneson says the new policy has been well received by the Bolton community. The Catamount Trail Association also leads Tuesday morning skins up Wilderness Peak. “So far, people have been very excited and very supportive of it,” he says. Editor’s note: Interested in learning more about uphill travel at your favorite resort? Check out our compiled list of uphill policies at www. vtskiandride.com

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VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 1/13/15 11:06 AM

New to Skiing? Four Misconceptions Explained by Chalky White

Chalky White is a professional ski instructor and has taught students in the Alps, New Zealand and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

Some skiers, even a few new to the sport, have little fear when skiing, but that’s often because they’ve practiced and have undergone sound training. The more adept you become as a skier, the more fear-based emotion is pushed to the “back-burner” and is, as practice continues, largely replaced by new-found confidence and more fun. • “I’m beyond the basics.” Ninety-five percent of skiers, including some professionals, do not fully appreciate and utilize the power of balance – at least not consciously. Many simply believe they are fully balanced, but this is often delusional and maybe arrogant thinking. The best advice is to be a constant student, which means consistent vigilance toward one’s balance.

A great skier is one who can consistently recover following balance losses. You may be frustrated that you lost balance at all. However, the ability to recover with ease is a sign that you are well-balanced. • “I don’t want to pre-release from my ski bindings; my gear seems okay.” Just as it is silly to think that gear alone will make you a good skier, so too is the idea that gear doesn’t have specific requirements. Most vitally, you’ll want to make sure ski bindings adhere to the right D.I.N. (German for “Deutsche Institut Fuer Normung”) standard. If your bindings are accurately set to suit your age, ability and weight, and if you are skiing with proper technique, you will probably not pre-release from them.

Some skiers tamper with these professional standards to prevent release, which can be extremely dangerous. Other important facets, White says, include boots – the most important gear item for technique – and ski poles, which should be the correct length. “I have heard far too many disturbing stories due to the inaccurate setting of the binding alone,” White says. “Too many of my friends, and the general skiing fraternity, have experienced broken legs. Don’t be one of many skiers, experts included, who neglect the binding setting. Get your skis’ bindings regularly checked by a professional, and don’t tamper with them.”

Updated Plan for Kingdom Heritage Lands Announced NORTHEAST KINGDOM, VT. — The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has completed an updated plan for the Kingdom Heritage Lands, which includes changes to the management plan for West Mountain Wildlife Management Area and the public access plan for the Plum Creek Timberlands. The updated plan includes management strategies for rare species that are just beginning to recolonize the area, such as American marten and Canada lynx, along with methods for adapting to climate change and improving flood resilience. The plan describes new strategies to maintain and increase public access in the West Mountain area, while honoring the ecological vision of a core special treatment area to complement

widespread active habitat management in the surrounding lands. The plan also directs new active habitat management to benefit a wide array of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse and American woodcock. The Kingdom Heritage Lands comprise a vast network of bogs and forests in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, encompassing West Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Plum Creek Timberlands, and the Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge. They host unique wildlife such as moose, bobcat and spruce grouse, and are well-known known for their diverse recreational opportunities and rugged character. First purchased in 1998, the Kingdom

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Heritage Lands represent perhaps the most ambitious conservation project in the state’s history. “These lands are a true conservation success story,” said Louis Porter, Commissioner for Vermont Fish & Wildlife. “Our partners and all of the people of Vermont have something to celebrate today. We’ve strengthened our management strategy for these lands through the valuable input provided by all of those who care about these lands and offered their opinions during this process.” Public input has been extensive throughout the 18-month collaborative process of updating the 10-year management strategy. The plans are now available online atwww.

vtfpr.org/lands/kingdomheritage.cfm. West Mountain Wildlife Management Area, at 22,000 acres, is the largest wildlife management area in Vermont. It is managed for public use and conservation through a partnership that includes the departments of Fish & Wildlife and Forests, Parks, & Recreation, along with the Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and numerous stakeholder groups. This partnership, in collaboration with the Vermont Land Trust, also manages a public access easement on the 84,000 acres of surrounding land owned by Plum Creek Timber Company.

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As the season gets underway and skiers of all levels journey to the snow capped mountains, chances are that a great many of them will do some things that won’t help their cause, says ski instructor and ski author Chalky White. “You can boil down skiing to a few basic principles, but like any sport, there are many finer details that matter, and with an activity like skiing, the details can mean the difference between a safe ski trip and a hazardous one,” White says. “Skiing is a truly wonderful sport; it changed my life! I hate to think that there are beginners who may be steered away from it due to avoidable mistakes. And, there are those who’ve become decent skiers – they love the sport and they continue skiing each season – but they’re held back by questionable technique and inaccurate practice.” White wrote the bestselling how-to book, “The 7 Secrets of Skiing,” and crafted a program for business professionals and celebrities called ‘Ski the World with Chalky White.’ White starts by reviewing four common mistakes skiers make when learning to ski or working on their form. • “I’m too old to be a great skier, so I’ll just wing it.” Some people are raised on the slopes, carving up the snow at age 6 and entering competitions at age 8, White says. Most folks, however, have average natural ability and aren’t raised on skis. But, as I was they can, if accurately trained, become very competent skiers. If you’re completely new to skiing, take the time to learn some basics – preferably with a qualified instructor. The most important fundamental to learn is balance, as applied to skiing; all sports rely on balance to some extent, and for skiing it all starts there. • “I can be great if only I can overcome my fear.” Indeed, hurling one’s body down what they perceive to be a steep slope of slippery snow takes courage. It makes sense to have butterflies at the top of a slope, but overcoming nerves alone won’t make you great.

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Taylor Wunsch: Doing it his way

UVM senior Taylor Wunsch slams a gate while racing for the Catamount ski team. Photos by St. Albans Messenger

By JOEL LEHMAN Growing up with a ski coach for a father, it was no surprise that BFA-St. Albans graduate Taylor Wunsch would go on to race at the collegiate level. It’s the 23-year-old’s rise to becoming one of the top U.S. collegiate slalom skiers at national powerhouse University of Vermont, accomplished without the years of private academy training most of his teammates have, that is truly rare. Wunsch, the son of Tricia and Steve Wunsch of Swanton, has been preparing for his senior year at UVM, where he leads an alpine ski team that is annually in contention for a national championship. Surrounded by teammates from all over the world, most of whom made it to UVM through the top racing academies, Wunsch skied at BFA on the public high school circuit his freshman year, and played football and lacrosse for the Bobwhites until he was a junior before finally racing and going to school PA G E 1 4

full time at Mt. Mansfield Winter Academy as a high school senior. “Not a lot of people understand that,” said Steve Wunsch, a building and trades teacher and the alpine ski coach at BFA. “Most live away from mom and dad from an early age. Taylor never did that.” Taylor skied with his older brother, Sam, as a freshman, and the two nearly led BFA to a state alpine skiing championship that season. As a sophomore, he commuted between Smuggler’s Notch and BFA, working with coaches in the morning before driving back to take classes in the afternoon. By the time Wunsch was a junior, it became apparent he had the drive and ability to ski at a higher level. So at age 17, every day he drove through Fairfax to the Cambridge side of the notch, parking at the resort where he would grab a snowmobile and ride it to the Stowe side to work with the Mt. Mansfield Academy coaches. After practice he’d ride the sled back over the notch to his truck, returning in time

to attend classes in the afternoon in St. Albans. It’s almost unheard of for a public high school racer to make it to a top collegiate racing program. But while at MMWA his junior and senior year, the University of Vermont coaches began to take notice. “It’s not a common path, which is what makes it special,” UVM head alpine coach Bill Reichelt said from Colorado, where Wunsch and the rest of the team were in early season training. “We were exposed to him at [MMWA] while we could get a good sense of his abilities. The timing was right and it was a good fit.” At BFA, Taylor played football and lacrosse, physical sports that would make a ski coach at any private academy cringe. But Alpine racing has a high burnout rate, and Wunsch credits life outside of skiing for keeping him stronger, fresher and more athletic. “For me, I wanted to stay a normal high school kid,” he said. “It’s one of the reasons I didn’t get tired of skiing. You always need that break and it re-energizes you.”

Wunsch finished his junior season at UVM as the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association points leader in slalom. He placed in the top five in every slalom race he skied in that season, and won the event at the EISA championships. “With maturity comes savvy,” said Reichelt. “He’s balanced and he’s very fit. He matured to know when it’s time to take risks. He’s just a more natural slalom skier.” “He’s strong as hell,” said Steve Wunsch. “Now he needs to stay healthy.” Taylor grew up in Swanton skiing at Smuggler’s Notch and Jay Peak Resort, where his brother teaches. Despite the racing pedigree, he was eager to ski in the terrain park or the woods. But whether he was running gates or ducking branches, he had a clear ability to go faster than everyone else. Prestigious private academies such as Burke Mountain were considered, said Steve, but Taylor enjoyed football and lacrosse and had plenty of friends at BFA. He gradually eased into an early morning routine traveling to

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Wunsch leans into a turn while on the course at Stowe, where he trained with the Mount Mansfield Winter Academy.

point out that the U.S. Ski Team needs good slalom skiers. To get to that level, Wunsch’s best hope is to win a NorAm championship, which brings an automatic bid to the U.S. Ski Team. It’s a long road to put yourself in a position to win the event, his father said. A points system dictates start position. Racers with a low ranking have

late starting slots, leaving an unskiable course. But Wunsch is traveling around the country and the world, accumulating points, racing against the region’s and nation’s best. “It’s a slow climb to get to the NorAms,” said Steve. “Your point profile is so important.” For now, as a senior and a Vermonter, Taylor hesitates when asked whether he’ll be taking

on a leadership role for the UVM alpine team, which again is projected to finish near the top nationally. Everyone skis at a high level on the team, he said. To the new members? Maybe. “I just want to keep going until I’ve reached my full potential,” Wunsch said. “And I don’t feel I’ve done that yet.”

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MMWA at the base of Stowe Mountain Resort. He wrote an essay about those 6 a.m. snowmobile commutes through the notch in rain and piercing cold for his University of Vermont application. He continued to ski for two more years after high school at MMWA before enrolling at Vermont. “That’s a reason why it was hard for him,” Steve said. “He never fully committed to one sport.” Through his racing travels, top coaches told Taylor that the only way to become a faster skier was to ski with better racers. And so he did while at MMWA. “When I went, there were a lot of faster kids. It just pushes you,” Taylor said. Rather than cheering him on from the starting gate, Steve now watches from the finish line or behind a safety fence on the course. “It kills me,” Steve said. “You drive five hours to watch him ski for 30 seconds. But I love watching him. It’s nerve-wracking because I know there are so many variables for the athletes for a 50-second course.” As Wunsch looks to finish his senior year at University of Vermont, he hopes to grow stronger in giant slalom, a faster event than the technical slalom course. Giant slalom can be harder on the body with its icy, choppy courses and wider gates. “I don’t think much flusters him,” Reichelt said. “If anything, giant slalom is a combination he hasn’t been able to unlock yet.” After that? Taylor and Steve are quick to say they hope more skiing is in the future for the radiation therapy major. Steve was quick to

WINTER EVENTS | 2015 Photo by Evan Johnson

JANUARY:

SUN |

Ro Jam Bo Rail Jam Stratton hosts a rail jam series with the chance to win $10,000 in cash and prizes. www.stratton.com MON |

Start Fun, Start Free: Intro to Skiing and Snowboarding Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

The Bromley Ski and Snowboard School offers three free days of introductory skiing and riding lessons this season. Available for ages six and older, the package includes rental equipment, lift access and instruction. Must call to register at (802) 824-5522 x301, space is limited. www.bromley.com

SAT |

24 Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge at Jay Peak Jay Peak hosts a free ski race open to the public. Skiers and snowboarders are divided by gender and age group to compete for medals in each category. In addition to the race, prizes are given away throughout the day. www.jaypeak.com

Winter Carnival Ice Carving Festival Professional carvers turn blocks of ice into art at the Spruce Peak Plaza. www.stowe.com

K-Town Showdown Killington hosts a rail jam with prizes for winners. Registration is available online as well as the day of the event. Helmets are required. www.killington.com

NATO Telemark Workshop, Bromley These annual events cover the elementary concepts behind telemark skiing to the higherend hybrid, free heel techniques including step, jump and hop tele’s, linking smooth turns and free heel parallel. Visit NATO’s website for more information & to register. www. telemarknato.org

Berkshire East Rando Race Using climbing “skins” with alpine touring or telemark bindings (or even splitboards), racers start at the base of Berkshire East, ascend, then descend (on marked in-bounds ski area trails), as fast as possible, over multiple laps. www.nerandorace.blogspot.com SAT - SUN |

24-25

Wounded Military Heroes Weekend The Bart Center for special needs will host

the tenth annual Wounded Military Heroes weekend. This weekend is dedicated to our service veterans who have been wounded in action. www.bromley.com

Ski for heat This annual fundraiser supports heating assistance throughout Vermont. Go to www.skiforheat.org for a list of participating Nordic centers and alpine resorts. SUN |

Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge at Q Burke Q Burke hosts a free ski race open to the public. Skiers and snowboarders are divided by gender and age group to compete for medals in each category. In addition to the race, prizes are given away throughout the day www.skiburke.com

Telemark Turn Clinic The Catamount Trail Association hosts an introductory level class for the beginning and intermediate telemark skiers looking to develop and refine their skills. The clinic will be held at Pico Resort. www.catamounttrail.org

JAN - FEB:

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Burton Mountain Festival Stratton hosts a weekend full of activities including snowboard demos, live entertainment and the Burton Riglet Park. www.stratton.com

FEBRUARY:

SUN |

NASTAR Championships Recreational skiers compete at Okemo Mountain Resort against their peers in their ability group for a chance to qualify for the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championships at Snowmass, Co. www.okemo.com

Introduction to Overland Touring A skier catches some rays while skiing off Sugarbush’s Lincoln Peak. PA G E 1 6

Photo by John Atkinson

The Catamount Trail Association holds an introduction-level clinic at the Bolton Valley

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Photo by Evan Johnson

Resort on traveling the Catamount Trail or other backcountry terrain on lightweight Nordic touring equipment. www.catamounttrail.org

peak at the course for the 2015 Stowe Derby down Stowe’s Toll Road. One ride per person. www.stowederby.com FRI - SAT |

Intermediate Overland Touring Intermediate Overland Touring Course will take the form of a teaching tour where the group will explore easier backcountry trails in search of teachable moments. www.catamounttrail.com

Telemark Turn Clinic

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Winter Carnival The Middlebury Snow Bowl and Rikert Nordic Center host the NCAA Division 1 Alpine and Nordic ski competition. Ski Vermont will provide the snacks during Specialty Food Day. www.middleburysnowbowl.com

Camel’s Hump Challenge Camel’s Hump Nordic Ski Area hosts an annual backcountry loop traversing around Camel’s Hump, Vermont’s third-tallest mountain. The event is a fundraiser for the Vermont Alzheimer’s Association. Details are available on the event’s Facebook page.

Ro Jam Bo Rail Jam Stratton hosts a rail jam series with the chance to win $10,000 in cash and prizes. www.stratton.com

Unconventional Terrain Competition As part of MRG’s Triple Crown Series, the Unconventional Terrain Competition challenges skiers with signature “Ski It If You Can” steeps, cliffs, jumps, and rocks, as they plunge the lift line course on the Paradise Trail. This event is part of the Ski The East Freeride Tour. www.madriverglen.com SUN |

Stowe Derby This annual event races down the Stowe Toll Road on cross-country skis into the village of Stowe. This year features a fatbike division. www.stowederby.com

Mad River Valley Ski Mountaineering Race

Kare’s 30’s Annual Tele Fest

The Mad River Valley Ski Mountaineering Race tests the competitor’s endurance, equipment and skiing skills while skinning up and skiing from Mad River Glen to Sugarbush along the Long Trail. www.madriverglen.com SUN |

Bromley hosts the Kåre Andersen Telemark Festival with tele events like clinics, the annual Race, clinics and fun for the entire family. www.bromley.coim

Hope on the Slopes Jay Peak hosts an eight-hour ski and snowboard event that raises money to support the American Cancer Society. Participants can compete in teams or as individuals in fundraising or vertical feet challenge. Contact: Bryan Smith, 802-327-2154 or bsmith@ jaypeakresort.com. www.jaypeakresort.com/ HOPE

Introduction to Mountain Touring This track is intended for expert level skiers and riders who are new to exploring the backcountry. This course will cover layering strategies, what it means to be prepared, navigation, efficient touring and uphill techniques, etc. www.catamounttrail.org

Cross-country skiers glide along the trails near the Mountain Top Inn and Resort.

SUN |

Fisk Trophy Race The oldest alpine trophy race in North America comes to Suicide Six for its 78th consequtive running of the event. www.suicidesix. com

Intermediate Overland Toauring Intermediate Overland Touring Course will take the form of a teaching tour where the group will explore easier backcountry trails in search of teachable moments. www.catamounttrail.org FRI |

Stowe Derby Recon For a donation to Stowe Nordic, take a sneak

Introduction to Overland Touring The Catamount Trail Association holds an introduction-level clinic at the Bolton Valley Resort on traveling the Catamount Trail or other backcountry terrain on lightweight Nordic touring equipment. www.catamounttrail.org

THU |

FamilyFun Winter Carnival Smuggs’ teams up with FamilyFun magazine to host the FamilyFun Winter Carnival, an afternoon of games, giveaways, face painting, music, free barbecue and more. www.smuggs. com SAT |

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Introduction to Mountain Touring The Catamount Trail Association holds a clinic for expert level skiers and riders who are new to exploring the backcountry. This course will take the form of an instructional tour and will cover layering strategies, what it means to be prepared, navigation, efficient touring and uphill techniques, etc. www.catamounttrail.org SAT |

13th Annual Romp to Stomp Out Breast Cancer Snowshoe Run/Walk Stratton hosts a snowshoe fundraiser for Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

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The Catamount Trail Association hosts an introductory level class for the beginning and intermediate telemark skiers looking to develop and refine their skills. The clinic will be held at Bolton Valley Resort. www.catamounttrail.org

event is part of the Ski The East Freeride Tour. www.madriverglen.com

WINTER EVENTS | 2015 Continued from page 17 The event features 3K, 5K and kids snowshoe races. www.stratton.com

Backcountry Bash at Mount Greylock Using climbing “skins” with alpine touring or telemark bindings (or even splitboards), racers start at the base of Mount Greylock, ascend, then descend (on marked in-bounds ski area trails), as fast as possible, over multiple laps. www.nerandorace.blogspot.com

Southern Vermont Freeskiing Challenge Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

Competitors tackle the hardest trail at Magic to find out the best skier/rider on the mountain. The Black Magic trail under the chairlift is riddled with technical cliff bands at the top of the course, with a wide-open pitchy section towards the bottom. The event is the second stop in the Ski The East Freeride Challenge. www.magicmtn.com

MARCH:

SAT |

Castlerock Extreme Challenge Sugarbush Resort Hosts the third stop of the Ski The East Freeride Tour on the challenging Castlerock trail. Competitors pick the best line for a piece of the $1,000 cash purse. www.skitheeast.net

Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge Killington hosts a free ski race open to the public. Skiers and snowboarders are divided by gender and age group to compete for medals in each category. In addition to the race, prizes are given away throughout the day www.killington.com SUN |

Jack Jump World Championships The 2015 Jack Jump World Championships features homemade jack jumps, prizes,

crashes and plenty of racing action at Mount Snow’s Charlie’s Chase racecourse. www.mountsnow.com THU - SUN |

12-15

Vermont Open Stratton’s freestyle series hosts competitions in rail jams, slopestyle, big air and banked slalom divisions – all with $20,000 in prize money up for grabs. www.stratton.com SAT - SUN |

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Carinthia Freeski Open The Carinthia terrain parks at Mount Snow host the annual AFP-certified event with a cash purse for the pros and prizes for skiers in the amateur divisions. www.mountsnow.com

Slash and Berm Banked Slalom Killington hosts a banked slalom race in The Stash terrain park. Riders will be rewarded for picking the best lines and nailing the best tricks on rock jibs, log rides, rainbow trees and miniature buildings. The action continues on Sunday with a Shop Team Invite only banked slalom event. www.killington.com SUN |

Catamount Trail Classic Fun-raising Tour A classic tour designed for the experienced skier with a sense of adventure prepared for the unexpected runs from Bolton Valley Resort to the Trapp Family Lodge. This event raises funds for the CTA’s Ski Cubs Youth Ski Program. www.catamounttrail.org

Start Fun, Start Free: Intro to Skiing and Snowboarding The Bromley Ski and Snowboard School offers three free days of introductory skiing and riding lessons this season. Available for ages six and older, the package includes rental equipment, lift access and instruction. Must call to register at (802) 824-5522 x301, space is limited. www.bromley.com

Mount Mansfield takes on shades of pink and purple at sunset. PA G E 1 8

Photo by Stowe Mountain Resort

Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge Bromley hosts a free ski race open to the public. Skiers and snowboarders are divided by gender and age group to compete for medals in each category. In addition to the race, prizes are given away throughout the day at a mountain. www.bromley.com SUN |

The C.O.M.P Carinthia parks at Mount Snow host the third plaza-style snowboard competition. www.mountsnow.com

Spring Demo Day Okemo hosts a full day of demos from top ski and snowboard companies at the Okemo base area. Participants can visit the demo tent area in the Jackson Gore Courtyard to testdrive the latest in equipment at no charge. A credit card imprint and signed waiver is required. www.okemo.com

Bromley Rando Race Using climbing “skins” with alpine touring or telemark bindings (or even splitboards), racers start at the base of the mountain, ascend, then descend (on marked in-bounds ski area trails), as fast as possible, over multiple laps. www.bromley.com SAT - SUN |

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24 Hours of Stratton Participate as an indivudal or as a team of up to 12 in a 24-hour fundraiser for the Stratton Mountain Foundation. Contact Tammy Mosher at 802-297-2096 or strattonfndn@yahoo.com

Ski the East Freeride Tour Championships Jay Peak hosts the final round of the Ski the East Freeride Tour over two days. The preliminary runs will be on Saturday on Green Beret or Upper River Quai trail (depending on conditions) where the competitors will get a chance for 1 run to win over the judges. The finals will be on Sunday down The Face Chutes, where overall standings are judged based off of two runs. www.skitheeast.net

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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Tough trails

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A skier charges one of the many glades on the front side of Jay Peak. Photo by Jay Peak Resort

By EVAN JOHNSON, ANGELO LYNN With names like Devil’s Fiddle, Ripcord, National, Goat, Rumble, Middle Earth, Black Magic and Black Hole, the names of some of Vermont’s toughest trails are as enticing as their terrain. A few have pitches of up to 50-degrees and technical features that really ramp up the difficulty, including cliff bands, huge bumps, ice falls, narrow chutes and trees — but we’re not talking about skiing the woods, here, just the named trails on the trail maps. On Vermont’s classic advanced terrain bailout routes are few (if any) and the narrowness means there’s no shopping for turns. If you’re looking for bragging rights, look no further. Corduroy lovers need not apply.

MOUNT SNOW:

At the southernmost mountain in Vermont, look to the North Face for the most challenging terrain. Freefall and Ripcord, both located on the northern aspect, plunge down the fallline with pitches at 37 degrees. While Ripcord has large, unpredictable moguls, Freefall is steep and fast. On icy days, be sure those edges are sharp!

STRATTON:

Stratton’s double black diamond selection includes Grizzly Bear, Bear Down and Upper Tamarack off of the Ursa Express lift. For a longer run, take the gondola to the summit for a fast, carving run down Upper and Lower Spruce to get to World Cup, a steeper bump

run that wasthe site of the 1978 FIS slalom and GS world cup.

MAGIC MOUNTAIN:

One of southern Vermont’s smallest areas has some great terrain for advanced skiers and riders looking for a challenge. Black Magic, under the chairlift, is only about 15 yards widewith 40- to 50-degree pitches at the upper section. You can look forward to two major rock cliffs and a third headwall with large rock features and pine trees. After 500 vertical feet of that fun, Black Magic opens up into Black Line where you confront another cliff area and a steep face covering an added 800 feet of vertical drop.

OKEMO:

While Okemo is not known for its steeps, some of the resort’s steepest terrain is located at the Jackson Gore Peak, where you can find trails like Big Bang, Rolling Thunder and Eclipse. These long black-diamond trails drop almost 3,000 feet to the bottom of the Jackson Gore Express Quad, where you can loop these impressive runs over and over. On Okemo Mountain Peak, be on the look out for Nor’Easter, Outrage and the aptly named Double Diamond.

KILLINGTON:

David Babic cruises soft snow on Ripcord at Sugarbush.

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Photo by John Atkinson

At Killington, head to the Bear Mountain area to scope out Outer Limits and its next door neighbor, Devil’s Fiddle. While Outer Limits is steeper and usually has bigger bumps, Devil’s Fiddle has no snowmaking and is rarely,

if ever, groomed and can get pretty gnarly. At the main Killington Peak, Ovation, especially the lower third past the headwall, is another great steep along with Cascade, which has the steepest fall line from Killington peak to the K-1 base area. Downdraft, Flume, Escapade, Double Dipper and East Fall are the other steeps in the K-1/ Canyon area. The Canyon Quad chair gives you access to run hot laps on those steeps without having to do a full K-1 Gondola trip each time. Honorable mentions go to Conclusion and Vertigo.

SUGARBUSH RESORT:

With three terrific mountains at Lincoln Peak, Castlerock Peak and Mt. Ellen, each with vertical drops of 2,400, 2,237 and 2,600 feet, respectively, the steeps are everywhere. Mt. Ellen has two double-black runs dropping straight off the eastern face of its 4,083-foot tall summit: Black Diamond and FIS. Black Diamond is a narrow, steep, rocky run with some significant boulder drops and big moguls under the summit chair. FIS is the broader run adjacent to Black Diamond and is known for the steep, often icy top, big moguls and consistent pitch. Down on the skiers’ left, you’ll find the double-black Exterminator and Exterminator Woods, the trail being a classic bump run with steeps on the upper half. Neighboring Bravo (under the lift) also is a black diamond bump run with a broken cliff face half way down that you’ll need to navigate or bound down in a couple leaps. At Lincoln Peak, take Heaven’s Gate Triple chair to the summit and ski the double-black

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

21 Ripcord or skirt skier’s left off the chair into the double-black Paradise glades. Off of the Valley House Double Lift, or Super Bravo lift, reach the famous double-black bump run, Stein’s, named after Stein Erickson. The run is notorious for its steep, off-kilter entrance that leads to a consistently steep, long and slightly off-angle slope to the run-out below; a leg-burner top to bottom. Adjacent to Steins, is the single black run The Mall, a much narrower but straight-on pitch filled with bumps with the added stakes of being on Broadway directly under the lowriding Valley House Double lift, which prompts plenty of hooting and hollering on a sunny spring day when the bumps are soft. That still leaves everyone’s favorite on a powder day, Castlerock Peak. The double-black Lift Line is a classic run full of rocky outcroppings to catch ample air. Rumble may be one of the narrowest, steep and windy trails in Vermont. It is old-time Vermont skiing, but take your rock skis. Everywhere is good up there, but the single black Middle Earth is a world of its own on a powder day. It features moderate steeps, lots of bumps on a winding, narrow trail cut through the dense woods. Once you commit, you can’t bail on this one, and it can get rocky and icy in a spot or two about half way down. Honorable mentions go to black diamond trailsTumbler, Hammerhead, Twister and Morning Star.

MAD RIVER GLEN:

BOLTON VALLEY:

This resort is more known for its neighboring backcountry, racing leagues and night skiing, as well as its convenience to Montpelier and Chittenden County locals, than it is known for

its steeps, though it has a few steeper sections. Located on Bolton’s Vista Peak, Spillway is one of the steepest runs. Featuring occasional bumps, for many it is steep and fast enough. Off of neighboring Timberline Peak, Adam’s Solitude is partially gladed with multiple chutes.

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH:

At Smuggs, look no further than these three located on Madonna Mountain: Upper Liftline, located under the Madonna chair, is a mean and narrow chute with a band of ledges that drop off at steep headwall. Both this and nearby Freefall boast pitches of over 50 degrees. If those aren’t tough enough, located between the two is Black Hole, the only triple black diamond trail in the East.

Q BURKE:

Burke is known as a racer’s mountain, with the famous Burke Mountain Academy at its base. But it also has some remarkably good narrow, windy terrain that features some

shorter, but pithy steeps. Off the top of the mountain, the trails that will challenge you are the double-blacks Sasquatch, Dixiland, Fox’s Folly, Lower Powerline and two runs in the glades, The Jungle and The Birches. Half the upper mountain is rated diamond or black diamond with most of the rest intermediate. The beginner area is located on the lower half of the mountain, which has its advantages. There are also 100-plus acres of glades that hide powder for days.

JAY PEAK:

Up at Jay, advanced skiers look to a series of advanced chutes near the summit. The Face, The Saddle and Tuckermans Chutes are strewn with rocks and tree stubs, forcing you to pick a careful line all the way to where some of the best snow lies. And remember: you’re in full view of the folks riding up the Tram. The Jet, Exhibition and River Quai also offer some steep and fast skiing. The powder glades, of course, are legendary with Jay’s 400-plus inches of annual snowfall.

Ski Them All! Hashtag as you go! Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

With the world famous motto, Ski It If You Can, Mad River Glen has some of the most challenging free terrain in the state, made doubly hard because much of the steepest terrain has no snowmaking or grooming and leaves the natural terrain natural to provide jumps and obstacles to flirt with. Take the single chair to the top and take your pick of runs: Chute, Fall Line or Paradise. Chute is under the Single chair and as the description says, “it’s do or die bumps in front of a highly opinionated audience.” Ski it well, or maybe warm-up on Catamount Bowl, then hit Fall Line or strike out for Paradise.Fall Line features lots of twists and turns through dense woods, bumps and narrow chutes so that two trips down the run are never the same. Paradise is a remote romp along the ridgeline with lots of temptations to drop in early, and to your own peril. As the description says: “Many ski resorts would demand that you hire a guide to lead you down this hidden gem. At Mad River, if you can find Paradise, you are welcome to enjoy it. But beware! A snow serpent lurks in Paradise and has been known to tempt many a hapless skier into an early decent into hell.” That is no exaggeration. Ice falls lurk everywhere and open can chutes disappear after a few joyous turns. Gazelle, under the Sunnyside Double, is super-steep and scratchy at the top, but good moguls the rest of the way. Partridge is the most challenging trail off the Sunnyside Double with “steep bumps, rocks and trees.” There are 21 black diamond trails at Mad River, compared to 10 short greens, and 16 blues. Bring your game and romp. Sorry, no snowboarders, skiers only.

National, Starr and Lookout. The upper parts of each trail are generally steep, narrow and often icy, with plenty of rocks to hop around and large moguls. The upper sections of each trail at rock-strewn and steeper, demanding quick turns to stay where it’s skiable, with the lower majority of the trails featuring tight bumps ’til your legs scream stop. With one of the longest vertical descents in the state, on the state’s tallest mountain, you get more vertical skiing looping these five trails than anywhere in the state. Then add the classic black diamond runs Hayride and Nosedive (or vary this run with a gaunt down double-black Bypass) for variety. There’s also Hackett’s Highway under the Triple and Waterfall and Chin Clip off the Gondola. At Stowe’s Spruce Peak, there are several black diamond runs, with double-black Spruce Line directly under the Sensation Quad at the top.

#vtskiandride #vttoughtrails Name the trail you’re on and look forward to free lift tickets and other prizes for whoever posts the most! A young skier shoots through his line on Castlerock at Sugarbush.

Photo by John Atkinson

STOWE:

The Front Four (or five) at Stowe are legendary. Take the Quad to the top and head down, from skier’s left to right, Goat, Lift Line,

Above, a snowboarder airs into National, one of the toughest runs at Stowe.

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Photo by Stowe Resort

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Stowe Derby XC Ski Race Introduces New Fatbike Competitor Class

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STOWE — For the 70th edition of the Stowe Derby an unprecedented class of competitor will be introduced. In addition to classic Nordic skiing and skate ski categories, a new fatbike class will be added for winter cycling competitors and enthusiasts. The Stowe Derby is one of the oldest and most unique ski races in North America. It started in 1945 as a personal challenge between two amazing skiers, Austrian Sepp Ruschp and Erling Strom, world famous mountaineer from Norway. The challenge was the same as it is today – to race from the top of Mt. Mansfield to the historic village of Stowe on one pair of skis. The race attracts some 600 participants annually and for many, the challenging 20km course and its famous kamikaze 4-mile descent down the Toll Road has become somewhat of a rite of passage in the world of cross country ski racing. In 2015, the Mt. Mansfield Ski Club is proud to partner up with Mountain Bike Vermont to present the fatbike portion of the Stowe Derby. The race will include 100 fatbike riders competing in a parallel format to the traditional Derby race model. Once all ski competitors have completed the 4-mile descent down the Toll Road, cycling participants will follow suit, leaving from a non-lift accessed start gate situated on the upper trails of the Stowe Mountain Resort Touring Center.

The Snow Bowl has some of the best skiing & riding in the state!

• 500+ acres of trails, glades & woods with a border-to-border allaccess terrain policy

• Weekday passes only $35, weekends & holidays – $55 • Family-friendly atmosphere includes FREE access to our Sunkid Wonder Carpet, a cozy lodge with wireless internet, great food and warm drinks.

Come visit Vermont’s 3rd oldest ski area and learn why the Snow Bowl is beloved to all who know it!

www.middleburysnowbowl.com PA G E 2 2

Departing from the shoulder of Mount Mansfield, competitors will descend 650 vertical feet over the 14km of the remaining ski racecourse. Like the skiers before them, fatbike racers will navigate through Stowe’s hillside terrain followed by a sprint down the scenic rec path before crossing the finish in front of the jeering fans in the center of Stowe Village. “We thought it fitting to add a new tradition on the Derby’s 70th Birthday,” says Pascale Savard, 15-year lead organizer of the event presented by the Mount Mansfield Ski Club. “By introducingfatbikes we bring new life and excitement to the event, and many regular competitors intend to compete in both.” The Derby will now offer a “Fat-Meister” category. Ski racers from the freestyle race will also be able to compete as cyclists. Combined times will be added and the fastest skiing/ rider competitor will take away the first ever “Fat-Meister” crown. “Why add fatbiking,” asks co-organizer Ryan Thibault of Mountain Bike Vermont. “Fatbiking is the fastest growing segment of the mountain bike industry and has received massive publicity over the past couple of years in New England and Quebec. The technology has been proven and tons of folks have bought into the sport. They want a forum to show what they can do. What better outlet than a 70-year-old ski race that’s had a reputation for being outside the box since its inception!”

KILLINGTON & LUDLOW LOCATIONS Killington’s Largest selction of NORTHERN SKI WORKS

2089 Killington Road, Killington, VT 05751 (802) 422-9675 10 Main Street, Ludlow, VT 05149 (802) 228-3344 VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Registration Filling Up for 25th National Toboggan Championships

Tobogganers strut their stuff and their costumes at the annual Toboggan Championships in Camden, Me.

competition, the BANFF film festival and more. Media day for the 25th annual U.S. National Toboggan Championships will be held at the Camden Snow Bowl on January 30 from 11a.m. – 2p.m. and, for Winterfest, downtown at the same time.

For more information about Camden’s 2015 Winterfest, visitwww.camdenwinterfest.com. U.S. National Toboggan Championships information can be found at www.camdensnowbowl.com.

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Part of National Masters Championships | 25/50k Classic

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CAMDEN, Maine – Participation in the 2015 U.S. National Toboggan Championships looks to top last year, which saw record crowds, with a cap of 425 teams. The Championships will be held Feb. 6-8 in Camden, and is now one of the signature events during the nine-day Winterfest held in the Camden area. Registration opened November 11 and racing slots for twoperson, three-person and four-person teams are filling up. With 400-plus teams vying for the mahogany trophies, the competition is fierce to be the fastest down the 400-foot-long chute that was built in 1937. The championship has been listed as one of the “Six competitions for snow addicts” by CNN for 2015. For 24 years, costume-clad racers of all ages have slid down the wooden chute onto Hosmer Pond. They've done it dressed as the Cowardly Lion and Dorothy Gale, Crash Test Dummies and bags of Wonder Bread, and team names are as creative as the costumes, including the Insledibles, Chute to Thrill, Fastest Ash on Ice and Night of the Living Sled. Some prepare for the event by lubing their sleds with secret ingredients to heat up the competition, while others prepare for the tailgate and ice shack parties. The number of teams is capped at 425 to ensure each team gets two shots to compete in the finals. The event sells out every year and registration closes January 24, 2015. The cost is $30 per person. Experimental teams are $100 and can consist of two, three or four people per sled. The championship was founded in 1990 to give people an alternate outdoor winter activity. Since then the national championship and Winterfest have become a major fundraiser for the municipally-owned and operated Camden Snow Bowl and attracts people from all over the Northeast. Camden Winterfest is a week-long winter festival with events for everyone. Winterfest is hosting Maine’s only nationally sanctioned snow sculpture competition, a freestyle skiing

LOCAL

Breweries & Wineries 2

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VBA and Vermont Grape & Wine Council initiate Passport programs for guests who visit Vermont’s breweries and wineries.

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If you’re a lover of micro-brews and wines, the Vermont Brewers Association and Vermont Wine and Grape Council have developed Vermont Passport Challenge programs for guests who visit breweries and wineries in 17 the state. Those who visit four breweries, get a “Drink Vermont Beer” bottle opener; those who visit 10 breweries earn a “Drink Vermont Beer” t-shirt; and those who visit all the breweries get the grand prize: a “Collectors Set of Vermont Beer Gear.” The rules are simple: Visit a brewery or brewpub that is part of the challenge (listed on the Vermont Brewer’s Association website (www. vermontbrewers.com); enjoy a glass or pint and get your “passport” stamped at that brewery with their official VBA symbol. (The passport card is available on the VBA website or at most of the breweries.) Prizes are given out when the passport is mailed into the Vermont Brewers Association, 142 Kirk Meadow Rd., Springfield, Vt. 05156. (Be sure to indicate your shirt size if you qualify. The offer is valid while supplies last and is good only for breweries & brewpubs, not at wineries or cideries.) A similar program is being run through the Vermont Grape & Wine Council. For info on rules go to www. VermontGrapeandWineCouncil. com.

1. Lawson’s Finest The Warren Store

284 Main St. Warren, Vt 05674 802-496-3864 www.warrenstore.com Lawson’s Finest Liquids Warren, VT 05674 802-272-8436 www.lawsonsfinest.com The Warren Store is open 7 days/week, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m, bringing in a rotating line-up of bottles delivered every Friday. “Straight from the Green Mountains to your head!” The Warren Store is the best location to find Lawson’s beer, a small batch artisanal microbrewery. Lawson’s goal is to provide local brews of the highest quality and freshness, while crafting unique new recipes and emulating the best of widely appreciated styles.

2. Kingdom Brewing

353 Coburn Hill Road Newport, Vt 05855 Tel: 802-334-7096 w w w.King d omBrewingVT.com Tasting Room Hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 3:30- 6:30. We are the northernmost brewery in Vermont. This working farm has a sustainable ecosystem from a greenhouse for food production to a Black Angus beef herd for spent grain and trub recycling. Geothermal cooled and wood-fired hot water... we are Vermont Green.

3. Harpoon Brewery

336 Ruth Carney Drive Windsor, Vt 05089 802-6475491 www.harpoonbrewery.com Open daily, Sun-Weds 10am-6pm, Thurs-Sat 10am-9pm. We started the Harpoon Brewery in 1986 because—like today—we loved beer and wanted more quality choices, and we have spent as much time spreading the joy of beer drinking as we have focusing on recipes, ingredients, and brewing equipment. Hopefully our sense of gratitude is reflected in both the quality of the beer and the spirit of fun and enjoyment surrounding our beer and breweries. We invite all of you to visit our beautiful brewery in Windsor, Vermont.

4. Boyden Valley Winery & Spirits

64 Vt Route 104 Cambridge, Vt 05444 802-644-8151 www.boydenvalley.com Open daily, year round, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Ten Dollars per person includes a taste of six different types of wine, plus one cream liqueur and you receive a local chocolate truffle and a logo Boyden Valley Winery glass to keep. Tours (FREE) 11:30am & 1:00pm, “French Gourmet” Cheese Plates ($19.95+tax) seasonally 10am4pm. Boyden Valley Winery, a fourth generation family farm, produces international awardwinning Vermont wines; bold red wines, elegant white wines, light and flavorful rose and fruit wines, “Vermont Ice”: the premier line of Vermont ice wines, and the Vermont Ice Apple Crème and Vermont Ice Maple Crème liqueurs.

5. Drop In Brewing/American Brewer’s Guild

610 Route 7 South Middlebury, Vt www.dropinbrewing.com and on Facebook as Drop-In Brewing Company Open daily 11-7, Sundays 12-5. Steve Parkes and Christine McKeever, owners of Drop-In Brewing and the American Brewers guild pride themselves on educating brewers and creating worldly beers with Vermont Character with a focus on drinkability. Running a Newlands 15-barrel brewing system with a capacity of 750 barrels a year, Drop-In distributes to establishments all throughout Vermont. In a small but fun atmosphere tasting room customers can try our 6 beers on tap and take home any of three different sized growlers.

6. Otter Creek Brewing Company 793 Exchange St. Middlebury, Vt 05753 802-388-0727 www.ottercreekbrewing.com Open 7 days/week , 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Offers self-guided window tours and great food. Founded in

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

1991, Otter Creek is one of the oldest craft breweries in the State. We brew all of our beers in small batches to ensure freshness, using Vermont water, the best domestic malts and hops, and our own top fermenting yeast. Otter Creek is also home to Wolaver’s Fine Organic Ales and The Shed. Wolaver’s was the first USDA-certified brewer, leading the industry since 1997. The Shed has been a Vermont staple for generations and a local secret that is now available region-wide.

7. Long Trail Brewing Company

5520 US Route 4 Bridgewater Corners, VT 05035 802-672-5011 www.longtrail.com Open 7 days/week, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Sales and sampling and self-guided tours at the visitor center. Enjoy Vermont’s #1 selling craft beer at one of the most popular destinations in the state, the Long Trail Visitors Center. Whether you are interested in enjoying some of our year-round, seasonal, caskconditioned or limited “pilot brew” releases, you will find there is a flavor for everyone!

632 Laporte Rd./Rt. 100 Morrisville, Vt 05661 802-888-9400 www.rockartbrewery.com Open Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Tasting daily until 5:30 p.m. Tours run at 2 & 4 daily and you are welcome to see the brewery from the viewing window on your own ANYTIME! We are celebrating 15 years! Enjoy samples of our beers during your visit and have a growler filled to take home and enjoy later. We have the best selection of our bottled beers and we also have several local Vermont foods and cheeses to pair nicely with the beers.

9. Zero Gravity

American Flatbread 115 St. Paul St. Burlington, VT 05401 802-861-2999 www.zerogravitybeer. com Zero Gravity Craft Brewery is located inside American Flatbread Burlington Hearth where you will find 10-15 house brews on tap all year long. Beers that are brewed for food are our main focus and German and Czechstyle lagers and a variety of Belgian styles are usually well represented. Our TLA I.P.A. is a crowd favorite as is our medieval style Gruit

10. WhistlePig Whiskey

2139 Quiet Valley Farm Shoreham, Vt 05753 802-897-7700 www.whistlepigrye.com WhistlePig produces a straight rye whiskey, aged for at least ten years through a unique double-barrel process. Their three products available have each won accolades and great critical acclaim from reputable spirit journals and tasters around the world. WhistlePig embodies the perfect combination of proof, purity, and age — hitting “the sweet spot” in all three categories.

11. Magic Hat Brewery and Artifactory

5 Bartlett Bay Road South Burlington, Vt 05403 802-658-BREW MagicHat.Net Winter Hours: MonThurs 10-6, Fri-Sat 10-7, Sun 12-5 Winter Tours: Thurs-Fri 3,4,5 Sat 1,2,3,4,5 Sun 1,2 NOTE: We have changed our winter tour times on Sunday to be 1:00 & 2:00 PM Where ancient alchemy meets modern-day science to create the best tasting beer on the planet. Come watch our spores dance and play! Visit the Artifactory for FREE samples, FREE Tours and the most unusual shopping experience!

12. Woodchuck Cidery

1321 Exchange Street, Middlebury VT 05753 802-385-3656 www.woodchuck.com Come check out our new cidery in Middlebury, Vermont! The Cider House welcomes visitors with a tour center, gift shop, and of course, Woodchuck© Hard Cider on tap. The Cider House is now open and we are so pleased to finally be able to invite you over for a cider!

13. Fresh Tracks Farm Vineyard & Winery

4373 VT Route 12 Berlin, VT 05602 802-223-1151 www.freshtracksfarm. com

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Taste internationally award-winning Vermont wines made from grapes grown right here in our Central Vermont vineyard! Visit our renewably powered tasting room, picnic under the pergola, wander through our vineyards, and take home a free souvenir wine glass with your wine tasting. Try our unique dessert wine made entirely from our own maple sap. Visit our website for upcoming events, specials and update to date hours. We’re just 3.2 miles south of Montpelier!

14. Lincoln Peak Vineyard

142 River Rd New Haven VT 05472 802-388-7368 www.lincolnpeakvineyard.com Winter Hours: Open Wed-Sun 11-5 Jan-May: Sat 11-5, M-F by chance or appt Jun-Oct: Daily 11-5 Tastings; wine by the glass We—the Granstrom family—grow 12 acres of grapevines, make wine right here from our own grapes, and love to share how grapes grow in Vermont. Come taste our wines, enjoy a glass by the cozy wood stove or on the winery porch, and walk around the vineyard. Our wines have won three best-in-show awards at the Intl Cold Climate Wine Comp in recent years. 3 miles north of Middlebury, just off Rte 7.

15. Champlain Orchards

3597 Route 74 West Shoreham, VT 05770 802-897-2777 www.champlainorchards.com Open daily 10-4 November-June Open daily 9-6 JulySeptember Please call ahead if possible. We offer guided tastings of our Pruners Pride, Pruners Promise, Semi-Dry, and Cranberry Hard Ciders, as well as our Sparkling and Honeycrisp Ice Ciders - all made onsite with our ecologically grown apples. Picnic or take a short walk for stunning views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks.

16. Saxtons River Distillery

485 West River Rd. Brattleboro, VT 05301 802-246-1128 w w w.s apling liqueur.com Tasting room hours: Mon-Friday 9-5, Saturday & Sunday 10-4. Saxtons River Distillery is the home to Sapling Vermont Maple Liqueur. We will be adding new products soon, so stop by and see what

has just been bottled!

17. Jasper Murdock’s Alehouse at The Norwich Inn

325 Main Street Norwich, VT 05055 (802) 649-1143 w w w. n o r w i c h i n n . com Yearly Hours: Monday 5pm-9pm Tuesday - Thursday 11:30am - 9pm Friday & Saturday 11:30am - 9:30pm Sunday 12pm - 9pm Jasper Murdock’s Ales are crafted from fine English malts, with hops grown in England, locally, and in our own hop garden at the Inn. Our beer is pumped underground from the beer cellars to our pub at the Inn. Our brewery is not open for tours but the Alehouse is open for you to wet your whistle during the above hours. Our ales have won 4 silver medals and 1 gold medal in the last three years at the Great International Beer Competition and are sold only at The Norwich Inn.

18. East Shore Vineyard

Sugarbush - Lincoln Peak Sugarbush Access Rd. Warren, VT 05674 and 28 Church St Burlington, VT 05401 877-ESV-VINO www.eastshorevineyard.com Sugarbush Tasting Room: Open Friday-Sunday – Noon to 6PM. Burlington Tasting Room: Open Everyday except Tuesday - Noon to 6PM, open later weekends – Call for details. Wine tasting ($7+tax) receive complimentary glass. Join us at our two premier tasting rooms for tastings and pairings with some of Vermont’s finest chocolates and cheeses. East Shore Vineyard produces a variety of international award-winning Vermont made wines including: Traminette, Summer Snow, Cab Franc, Marquette, and Vidal Ice Wine.

19. Trapp Lager Brewery

700 Trapp Hill Road Stowe, Vermont 05672 802-253-5705 • www. trappfamily.com The Trapp Lager Brewery offers a selection of authentic Austrian lagers. Stop by for a pint and enjoy our mountaintop views in our DeliBakery, lounge, or dining room. The Trapp Family Lodge is a mountain resort in the European tradition by the family that inspired “The Sound of Music”.

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Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

8. Rock Art Brewery

ale, released twice a year on the summer and winter solstices.

of Vermont’s Best On-Snow Events

By EVAN JOHNSON You may not realize it, but in the next few weeks Vermont’s ski resorts will host some of the most exciting winter events in the Northeast in ski racing, Nordic events, snowshoeing, ice climbing and snowboarding. Mark your calendar and be early to get a front row seat for the action – or if you think you’ve got what it takes, sign a waiver and step up to the starting line.

AN 23 – 25: The Smuggs Ice Bash

For ice climbers, the annual Smuggs Ice Bash is an opportunity to compete, learn and meet other climbers and experience the thrilling sport of ice climbing. The weekend kicks off with a dry-tooling competition at Petra Cliffs Climbing Center in Burlington and then heads to Smugglers’ Notch (accessed from the Stowe or Jeffersonville side of Vermont 108) for clinics, demos and more. For more information, visit www.smuggsicebash.com. Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

AN. 23 – 24: University of Vermont Winter Carnival at Trapp Family Lodge

The top skiers from New England colleges and universities, including the likes of the University of Vermont, Middlebury College and Dartmouth College, compete throughout the weekend. The format for the skate races will be individual starts and the classic races will be mass start, with 5K and 10K men’s and women’s events. For more information, visit www.trappfamily.com.

AN. 31 – 34: Annual Craftsbury Marathon

This year, the Craftsbury Marathon will form the second part of the National Masters Cross Country Championship at the center. Ski between 25K and 50K on scenic terrain from neighboring Greensboro to Craftsbury. It’s one of the most beautiful Nordic courses in the Northeast, draws a large crowd and, like the Boston or New York City marathons, is one of the more exciting ski marathons in the region. For more information, visit www.craftsbury. com.

EB. 1: Mad River Valley Ski Mountaineering Race

This legendary race has expert skiers ascending the slopes of Mad River Glen, traversing along the Long Trail and descending Mt. Ellen. Watch them take off from the starting line, then head down the road to the base of Mt. Ellen to see the finish, or, better yet, enter. Mountaineering events are more about participating than watching. For more information, go to www.madriverglen.com

EB. 8: 78th Annual Fisk Trophy Race

The 78th consecutive running of the Fisk Trophy Race is a classic community racing event down the famed slalom course at Suicide Six, which was one of the first ski areas established in the US. Come for the race, and then head over to the Woodstock Inn and Resort for refreshments afterward. For more information, go to www.woodstockinn.com

A racer in the Mad River Valley Ski Mountaineering Race makes her way along the Long Trail to Mount Ellen. Photo by John Atkinson

EB. 13 – 14: Winter Carnival at Middlebury College Snow Bowl

The Middlebury College Snow Bowl and the Rikert Nordic Center host some of the best collegiate-level racers in the country in alpine and Nordic divisions. For more information, visit www.middleburysnowbowl.com.

EB 15: Camel’s Hump Challenge

This high-country traverse is approximately 25K and requires about six to eight hours of skiing around the summit of one of Vermont’s highest and most notable mountains, Camel’s Hump. The event is a fundraiser for the Vermont Alzheimer’s Association. It’s a great backcountry experience for a great cause. For more information, visit www.camelshumpchallenge.com.

EB. 21: Unconventional Terrain Competition

As part of Mad River Glen’s Triple Crown Series, the Unconventional Terrain Competition challenges skiers with signature “ski it if you can” steeps, bumps, jumps and rocks as they plunge down Chute, the trail under the Single Chair. For more information, visit www.madriverglen.com.

EB. 22: 70th Annual Stowe Derby

This legendary race is exciting for both spectators and the competitors alike. Nordic skiers make a hair-raising descent on Stowe’s historic Toll Road and then ski on the bike path to the center of the village. The skilled will make it down the course and to the finish line and the exceptionally skilled will complete it twice. This year, fatbikes get to be part of the action. For more information, visit www.stowederby.com.

ARCH 7: Castlerock Extreme Challenge

Sugarbush Resort hosts the third stop of the Ski The East Freeride Tour on the challenging Lift Line trail on Castlerock Peak. Competitors pick the best line for a piece of the $1,000 cash purse. For more information, visit www.skitheeast. com.

ARCH 7: Peak 2015 National Snowshoe Championship

A racer on the Middlebury College Alpine Ski Team cruises through a turn at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl’s Winter Carnival.

The Aimee Farm in Pittsfield is home to some of the hardest races in the country in every season of the year. The National Snowshoe Championship in March is no different. This winter, the weekend of snowshoe races will include distances of 6 miles, half-marathon, marathon and 100 miles on a rugged 6.5-mile loop course with a gain of 1,200 vertical feet. The 100-mile race has a 34-hour time limit – no exceptions. For more information, visit www.peak.com.

Addison Independent Photo/Trent Campbell

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VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

CROSS COUNTRY SKI AREAS N RTHERN VERM NT Bolton Valley XC Nordic and backcountry skiing are hallmarks of Bolton Valley Ski Resort. The highest elevation of Vermont’s crosscountry ski areas ensures great snow, usually from early November well into April. With over 100 km of Nordic trails, Bolton is considered by many to be the ‘best backcountry in Vermont’. The Nordic Center offers both Classic and Skate skiing lessons as well as guided tours and ski clinics. Snowshoeing is another popular activity; the resort uses Tubbs Snowshoes as rentals. Nordic ski and snowshoe packages with lodging are available. CONTACT: 4302 Bolton Valley Access Rd., Bolton Valley, VT 05477 Main phone: 802.434.3444 Phone 2: 877.9BOLTON • Fax: 802.329-6871 nordiccenter@boltonvalley.com STATS: Typical season:............................................December - early April Total Terrain...................................................................................88 km Machine-tracked..........................................................................26 km Skating Terrain...............................................................................26 km

Two centers located on Darlng Hill and near Burke Mountain offer something for everyone. At Kingdom Trails the atmosphere is noncompetitive, our focus is the quality of skiing and your awareness of the surrounding countryside. Eight main loops make up 50 km of trails to accommodate all skiing abilities. At the two Nordic centers on Darling Hill and Burke XC you can warm your feet and enjoy the splendid views. CONTACT: PO Box 204, East Burke, VT 05872 Main phone: 802.626.0737 Phone 2: 802.535.5662 info@kingdomtrails.org STATS: Typical season:..........................................mid December - March Total Terrain................................................................................... 80 km Machine-tracked.......................................................................... 50 km Skating Terrain............................................................................... 35 km

Catamount Family Center All year long enjoy recreating on our trails as you discover the four corners of our beautiful family farm. Go at a leisurely pace, taking time to enjoy yourself and your family. You can pull off the trails at scenic points to soak up memorable views of Mt. Mansfield or Camel’s hump to the east or Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks to the west. This farm is rich in history. The first governor of Vermont, Governor Chittenden, built the main house in 1798 for his son Giles. It has since passed to our family and is in its 6th generation of ownership. CONTACT: 592 Governor Chittenden Rd, Williston, VT 05495 Main phone: 802.879.6001 Phone 2: 888.680.1011• Fax: 802.879.6066 www.catamountoutdoor.com

Craftsbury Outdoor Center For over 35 years, this year-round resort in the Northeast Kingdom on over 400 private acres has offered outdoor activities for the whole family. In 2008, it was re-organized as a non-profit entity whose mission focuses on lifelong sports, stewardship and sustainability. Members (both day or annual) and winter time guests can enjoy 85k of groomed nordic ski trails, snowshoeing, orienteering, iceskating, backcountry tours, biathlon programming, and more. The Center has space for up to 90 houseguests in its variety of trailside accommodations. Choose from private cabins to comfortable lodges - all room prices include your meals in their Vermont Fresh Network Member dining hall. You’ll enjoy lots of fresh, local ingredients with every meal! If you’re ready for some indoor time, guests have access to amenities such as free wifi, massage therapists, sauna and fitness room - plus homey public spaces. Babysitting can be arranged with advance notice. CONTACT: 535 Lost Nation Rd, Craftsbury Common, VT 05827 Main phone: 802.586.7767 • Fax: 802.586.7768 www.craftsbury.com STATS: Typical season............................................ mid December - March Total Terrain ................................................................................ 135 km Machine-tracked ..........................................................................85 km Skating Terrain ..............................................................................85 km

Ski through fields and valleys, delineated by rows of trees and sugar bushes, with stunning views over open pasture lands of Mount Mansfield to the west, Burke Mountain to the east, the Lowell Mountain Range to the north and Caspian Lake below. There is no finer place for spring skiing and picnics. CONTACT: Caspian Lake, 1608 Craftsbury Rd., Greensboro, VT 05841 Main phone: 802.533.2647 • Fax: 802.533.7494 www.highlandlodge.com STATS: Typical season..................................................... December - March Total Terrain .................................................................................. 60 km Machine-tracked ......................................................................... 60 km Skating Terrain ............................................................................. 40 km

Jay Peak Nordic

and

Snowshoe Center

The Jay Peak Nordic and Snowshoe Center is located in the Golf Clubhouse and offers 20km of groomed and tracked terrain for beginners and experts alike. Pristine winding trails that amble through unspoiled wilderness coupled with unparalled mountain views are the hallmarks of our trail network. Snowshoers are welcome to experience the backcountry by day or be guided in the evenings on our fireside tours. A true destination resort, Jay Peak also offers ice skating, curling, lodging , dining, an indoor water park and plenty of night life. CONTACT: 830 Jay Peak Road, Jay, Vermont 05859. Main Phone (802) 988-2611 x4653 Reservations 1-800-451-4449 • Fax (802) 988-4049 info@jaypeakresort.com. STATS: Typical season......................................... Thanksgiving - mid-April Total Terrain....................................................................................25 km Snowshoeing trails.......................................................................... 5 km

Hazen’s Notch Located at the top of Vermont in the “Covered Bridge Town” of Montgomery near Jay Peak Resort, Hazen’s Notch is on the western edge of the snowy Northeast Kingdom. 70 Kilometers of groomed and marked trails pass through mixed maple, birch and evergreen forest and across gentle, open meadows. There are spectacular views of Hazen’s Notch and numerous peaks over 3,000 in elevation in the Jay Range and Cold Hollow Range of the Green Mountains, which completely encircle the trail system. 30 trails for all abilities provide loops of different lengths for classical cross-country skiing and or snowshoeing. Trail difficulty is evenly divided between easy, moderate and difficult. CONTACT: P.O. Box 478, Montgomery Center, VT 05471 Main phone: 802.326.4799 • Fax: 802.326.4966 www.hazensnotch.org STATS: Typical season......................................................... December - April Total Terrain ...................................................................................70 km Machine-tracked ..........................................................................60 km Skating Terrain ..............................................................................20 km

Highland Lodge & XC Center

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Morse Farm Ski Center Visit Vermont’s newest, family friendly cross-country touring center, with views of Camel’s Hump and the Hunger Mountain range. Professionally designed scenic trails offer a diverse choice of terrain, through softwood forests, sugarbush and across gently rolling open pastures. Suitable for all skill levels, from first-timers to seasoned experts, who will appreciate the banked turns on our many challenging downhill slopes. CONTACT: PO Box 1200 • 1168 County Rd., Montpelier, VT 05601 Main phone: 800-223-0090 www.skimorsefarm.com STATS: Typical season......................................................December - March Total Terrain ...................................................................................20 km Machine-tracked ..........................................................................20 km Skating Terrain ..............................................................................15 km

Sleepy Hollow Inn & Bike Center Come cross-country ski or mountain bike with us! Our trails are challenging and great fun. Visit Butternut Cabin, PA G E 2 7

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Burke XC/Kingdom Trails

STATS: Typical season............................................mid December - March Total Terrain................................................................................... 35 km Machine-tracked ......................................................................... 35 km Skating Terrain............................................................................... 35 km

CROSS COUNTRY SKI AREAS with a stunning view of Camel’s Hump and Vermont’s rolling Green Mountains. Our eight bedroom newly renovated country inn is gaining a reputation for great service and hospitality. We offer skiing, ice-skating, night skiing, snowshoeing, single-track mountain biking, and hiking. Our full line of rentals will surely make your visit hassle-free and memorable. CONTACT: 1805 Sherman Hollow Rd, Huntington, VT 05462 Main phone: 802.434.2283 Phone 2: 866.254.1524 info@skisleepyhollow.com www.skisleepyhollow.com STATS: Typical season......................................................December - March Total Terrain ...................................................................................40 km Machine-tracked ..........................................................................30 km Skating Terrain ..............................................................................25 km

Smugglers’ Notch Cross Country

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Smugglers’ Notch Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Adventure Center is conveniently located at the center of this yearround resort, providing a host of exciting activities for every member of the family. PSIA-Certified instruction in both classical and skate skiing; daily guided snowshoe treks and night tours on 24 kilometers of dedicated snowshoe trails; ice skating on a natural outdoor rink. With over 100

pair of Red Feather Snowshoes and plenty of skis, boots, poles and ice skates, Smugglers’ can outfit age 5 and older. CONTACT: 4323 VT Route 108 South, Smugglers’ Notch, VT 05464 Main phone: 802.644.1173 Phone 2: 800.451.8752 • Fax: 802.644.2713 smuggs@smuggs.com • www.smuggs.com STATS: Typical season........................................................December – April Total Terrain ...................................................................................34 km Machine-tracked ..........................................................................23 km Skating Terrain ..............................................................................28 km

Stowe XC Stowe Mountain Resort’s 35 kilometers of groomed and 40 kilometers of backcountry trails are the highest in Stowe. Also available are 5 kilometers of trails specifically for snowshoeing. They’re all part of the largest connected cross-country trail network in the East... a nordic skier’s dream, that also connects with the Trapp Family Lodge XC Center, Topnotch and Edson Hill ski touring centers. CONTACT: 5781 Mountain Rd., Stowe, VT 05672 Main phone: 802.253.3688 Phone 2: 800.253.4754 * Fax: 802.253.3406 info@stowe.com • www.stowe.com

STATS: Typical season................................................December - late April Total Terrain ...................................................................................70 km Machine-tracked ..........................................................................35 km Skating Terrain ..............................................................................35 km

Trapp Family Lodge Cross Country Center Located on the spine of the Green Mountains, they are blessed with good snow conditions all season long. The center offers 55 km of groomed trails that are interconnected to the Stowe Mountain Resort, Topnotch and Edson Hill ski touring centers, making a trail network of 120 km groomed trails and another 100 km of back country trails. The center has a complete retail store with accessories, clothing and equipment, a repair shop, a ski school and rentals of all kinds. CONTACT: 700 Trapp Hill Rd, Stowe, VT 05672 Main phone: 802.253.8511 Phone 2: 800.826.7000 • Fax: 802.253.5757 info@trappfamily.com • www.trappfamily.com STATS: Typical season........................................................December – April Total Terrain ................................................................................ 100 km Machine-tracked ..........................................................................55 km Skating Terrain ..............................................................................55 km

rikertnordic.com

JOIN US

at the Bread Loaf Campus in Ripton, Vermont for

WINTER FAMILY FUN!

Ongoing programs ~ check website for details ~ PSIA instructors

On the 700 meter speedskating oval: Saturday Morning: 1 km and 5 km races for youth and novices. Free Saturday Afternoon: 25 km race Saturday Evening: Seafood “Skaters” Buffet at The EastSide Restaurant, Newport, VT Sunday: 50 km race

On the 6 mile Nordic skating trail: Free skating, any distance, both days

The Great Skate:

Monday, Feb. 2nd, we skate or ski, or sled the length of the lake between Newport and Magog, if the lake and the ice favor us again this year. PA G E 2 8

Please join us throughout the 2014-15 ski season for activities and events for individuals and families. Check our website for program and event details, trail pass rates and more. Watch for our online shop, coming soon!

equipment rental ~ xc skis ~ fat bikes ~ snowshoes day passes ~ season passes ~ multi-day discounts rikertnordic.com open 7 days a week 8:30 – 4:30, Dec. – Mar. • 802-443-2744 VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

CROSS COUNTRY SKI AREAS CENTRAL VERM NT Blueberry Hill Blueberry Hill Blueberry Hill is continually expanding its trail network and maintaining high grooming standards. The ski lodge sits at just over 1,600 feet, ensuring a fair dumping with any snowstorm. 65 kilometers of groomed and wilderness trails spread across the beautiful Vermont countryside, with connections to the Catamount Trail and Vermont’s Long Trail. The Halfdan Khlune Trail climbs to 2,800 feet, making it the highest maintained ski trail in Vermont. The rental shop offers a full line of touring, backcountry and skating skis on a fi rst come, first served basis. We also have 40+ pairs of snowshoes, for both adults and children. CONTACT: RFD 3, Goshen, VT 05733 Main phone: 802.247.6735 Phone 2: 800.448.0707 • Fax: 802.247.3983 info@blueberryhillinn.com www.blueberryhillinn.com STATS: Typical season.........................................December to mid-March Total Terrain ...................................................................................65 km Machine-tracked ..........................................................................25 km Skating Terrain ..............................................................................25 km

“The Snow Bowl of Sugarbush.” For the last two years, we have skied everyday of the season after opening. The ski area offers 31 km of trails all of which are groomed. Some of the trails are lit for night skiing. CONTACT: 424 Robinson Road, Warren, VT 05674 Main phone: 802.496.6687 • Fax: 802.496.5198 STATS: Typical season........................................ December to mid-March Total Terrain .................................................................................. 31 km Machine-tracked ......................................................................... 31 km Skating Terrain ............................................................................. 31 km

Catamount Trail Association The Catamount Trail is a 300-mile public cross country ski trail that spans the length of Vermont. It offers a mixture of ungroomed backcountry terrain and groomed trails - a ski experience for everyone. Guidebook available. Maintained by the member-supported nonprofit Catamount Trail Association. CONTACT: Main phone: (802) 864-5794 info@catamounttrail.org www.catamounttrail.org

Mountain Top Inn

and

Resort

Eleven miles from Killington, 60km trails (40km groomed) classic, skate and pristine backcountry for skiing or snowshoeing on 350 of acres at elevation up to 2,100 ft. Varied terrain for all skill and age levels. Private or group lessons, rentals, snowmaking, daily grooming, ski shop (Rossignol demo equipment & rentals, Tubbs snowshoe rentals), snack bar. Designated pet friendly trails. Nordic ski and other seasonal packages available. CONTACT: 195 Mountain Top Rd, Chittenden, VT 05737 Main phone: (802) 483-2311 Phone 2: (802) 483-6089 Reservations: (802) 483-2311 • Fax: (802) 483-6373 stay@mountaintopinn.com STATS: Typical season..........................................................................late Nov.-April Total Terrain ................................................................................................60 km Machine-tracked ......................................................................................40 km Skating Terrain .......................................................................................... 60 km

Okemo Valley Nordic Center Okemo Valley Nordic Center features 22 km of traditional Nordic track trails and skating lanes that wind their way through pristine meadows and Nordic hillsides and along the Black River. The Nordic Center also has an additional 13 km of dedicated snow-shoe trails. Okemo Valley features modern trail grooming and terrain ideally suited for all ability levels. Cross-country ski and snowshoe rentals are available, along with group and private lessons. CONTACT: 77 Okemo Ridge Rd, Ludlow, VT 05149 Main phone: 802.228.1396 Phone 2: 800.78.OKEMO • Fax: 802.228.7095 info@okemo.com • www.nordic.okemo.com STATS: Typical season..................................................................December – April Total Terrain ............................................................................................... 22 km Machine-tracked ..................................................................................... 22 km Skating Terrain .......................................................................................... 22 km

Ole’s Cross Country Center Mountain Meadows XC Area Located in the heart of the Green Mountains, Mountain Meadows cross-country ski area has been attracting skiers from all over the world for the past 35 years. Snowmaking, new trail marking system, improved trails through spectacular meadows and hard woods.

The combination of snow and scenery at Ole’s Cross Country Center in the Mad River Valley is perfect for skiing and snowshoeing. Discover 30 miles (50K) of moderately rolling trails groomed for classic skiing and ski skating. All abilities can ski to panoramic views of Sugarbush or into the rare quiet of the deep woods. Rent cross country ski gear and snowshoes at Ole’s, including skating skis. Learn to cross-country ski bet-

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

ter. We offer fun lessons for beginners to coaching for racers. We love to share our favorite sport. Adventure with us on a guided ski or snowshoe tour. CONTACT: PO Box 1653, Waitsfield, VT 05673 Main phone: 802.496.3430 Phone 2: 877.863.3001 • Fax: 802.496.3089 www.olesxc.com STATS: Typical season................................................................November – April Total Terrain .............................................................................................. 50 km Machine-tracked .................................................................................... 50 km Skating Terrain.......................................................................................... 45 km

Rikert Nordic Center Located 12 miles east of Middlebury on Route 125 in Ripton, VT - 2 miles west of the Middlebury Snow Bowl. Situated on the Bread Loaf Campus of Middlebury College bordered by the Green Mountain National Forest and the Robert Frost Homestead, the center offers 50 km of carefully groomed trails for classic and skate skiing and snowshoeing for all abilities. Included in this terrain is a new world class 5km FIS sanctioned race course that was built this fall. The newly renovated shop offers rental equipment, repairs and maintenance and is fully ADA accessible. A staff of instructors offer both private and group lessons. CONTACT: Route 125 Middlebury College Bread Loaf Campus, Ripton,VT Phone: 802 - 443- 2744 mhussey@middlebury.edu • www.rikertnordic.com STATS: Typical Season: ...........................................................December - March Total Terrain: .............................................................................................50 km Machine Tracked:....................................................................................50 Km Skating Terrain:..........................................................................................40 km

Three Stallion Inn Touring Center Come and enjoy the “Sporting Life” on 35 km of x-c skiing and snowshoeing trails that criss-cross our 1,300 wooded acres and open pastures. CONTACT: Three Stallion Inn, Randolph, VT 05060 Main phone: 802.728.5656 Phone 2: 802.728.5575 • www.3stallioninn.com STATS: Typical season............................................................. December – March Total Terrain ...............................................................................................50 km Machine-tracked .....................................................................................35 km Skating Terrain ..........................................................................................17 km

Woodstock Nordic Center Just out from the ski center are 10 km of gentle “meadow” skiing that connect to our fitness center and the 20 km of woodland trails on Mt. Peg. There are also 30 km of trails located across the village green on Mt. Tom – and these quite often become the favorites of those who discover them. Skiing or snowshoeing Mt. Tom puts you on century old carriage roads PA G E 2 9

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Blueberry Lake

CONTACT: 209 Thundering Brook Rd, Killington, VT 05751 Main phone: 802.775.7077 Phone 2: 800.221.0598 • Fax: 802.747.1929 www.xcskiing.net STATS: Typical season.................................................................November – April Total Terrain ............................................................................................... 57 km Machine-tracked ..................................................................................... 57 km Skating Terrain........................................................................................... 57 km

CROSS COUNTRY SKI AREAS in the midst of Vermont’s first tree farm and Vermont’s first National Park site. CONTACT: Route 106, Woodstock, VT 05091 Main phone: 802.457.6674 Phone 2: 800.448.7900 • Fax: 802.457.6699 email@woodstockinn.com • www.woodstockinn.com STATS: Typical season............................................................. December – March Total Terrain ...............................................................................................60 km Machine-tracked .....................................................................................50 km Skating Terrain ..........................................................................................20 km SOUTHERNR EGION

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Brattleboro Outing Club

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The BOC Ski Hut is the place to cross-country ski in Brattleboro. It’s so close and convenient, it’s practically XC in your backyard! Just two miles from town, the Ski Hut is where friends and family gather to make the most of winter. Learnto-ski programs after school, ski and snowshoe rentals on weekends, special events that celebrate the gift of winter. We maintain trails for all tastes- — Classic-only trails meander through the woods, while our fairway trails are groomed wide with both skating lanes and stride & glide tracks. In fields adjacent to the fairways, our Hunde-loipes (Hound loops) for dog-lovers and their pets are groomed regularly. CONTACT: 348 Upper Dummerston Rd. • PO Box 335 Brattleboro, VT 05302 Main phone: 802.254.4081 Contact our web page at BrattleboroOutingClub.org xc@brattleborooutingclub.org STATS: Typical season...................................................mid December – March Total Terrain ...............................................................................................33 km Machine-tracked .....................................................................................25 km Skating Terrain ..........................................................................................20 km

Grafton Ponds Outdoor Center Grafton Ponds focuses on cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice Skating (no ice skating) Biathlon, and tubing on a 600-foot hill. There are 15 km of Nordic trails groomed with a snow-cat and a tiller (which includes 5 km with snowmaking) and 15 km of back-country trails, along with another 10 km of snowshoe trails. They offer a wide variety of terrain and a full service cross country center including rental, retail and snacks. A series of winter activities, including family and kids programs, demos, clinics and races, take place throughout the season. Grafton Ponds is part of the Grafton Inn, which offers special ski & stay packages. CONTACT: 783 Townshend Road, Grafton, VT 05146 Main phone: 802.843.2400 Reservations: 800.843.1801 • Fax: 802.843.2245 info@graftonponds.com • www.graftonponds.com STATS: Typical season..................................................December – Mid-March Total Terrain................................................................................................45 km Machine-tracked......................................................................................15 km Skating Terrain...........................................................................................15 km

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Timber Creek Cross Country Ski Area Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home Hildene is a historic house built by Robert Todd Lincoln primarily as a summer home. It is open year-round and includes the mansion and gardens, farm and restored Pullman palace car. In the winter months, we offer ski and snowshoe rentals for children and adults, and lessons by appointment. CONTACT: 1005 Hildene Rd, Manchester, VT 05254 Main phone: 802.362.1788 • Fax: 802.362.1564 www.hildene.org STATS: Typical season............................................................. December – March Total Terrain................................................................................................14 km Machine-tracked......................................................................................14 km Skating Terrain..............................................................................................0 km

Prospect Mountain Cross Country Ski Center

Across from Mount Snow, cradled by the Green Mountains, is Timber Creek… a very high quality cross country ski area. With a dependable mountain climate and a high elevation, an abundance of snow becomes a way of life at Timber Creek. The skier has a choice of adventures on a trail system that meanders and explores where you can ski the forested hills or reach up to the high Green Mountain ridges. CONTACTS: Route 100 North, West Dover, VT 05356 Main phone: 802.464.0999 Fax: 802.464.8308 www.timbercreekxc.com STATS: Typical season............................................................. December – March Total Terrain................................................................................................14 km Machine-tracked......................................................................................14 km Skating Terrain ..........................................................................................14 km

Viking Nordic Center

Prospect Mountain Cross-Country Ski Center is located on Route 9 in Woodford, Vermont, just 7 miles east of Bennington. At the highest base elevation of any ski area in the state, Prospect Mountain has earned its reputation of being the “snow magnet”. Prospect has over 35 km of expertly groomed ski trails, and offers excellent skiing to everyone from racers to families. The full service ski shop includes a heated waxing room and a professional waxing service. Adult and children’s skis, snowshoes and baby sleds are available for rent. The spacious Base Lodge Restaurant is open 7 days/week. Open everyday from 9 am to 5 pm. CONTACT: Route 9, Woodford, VT 05201 Main phone: 802.442.2575 STATS: Typical season................................................................November – April Total Terrain .............................................................................................. 35 km Machine-tracked .................................................................................... 35 km Skating Terrain ......................................................................................... 30 km

Viking Nordic Centre is one of the oldest cross-country ski centers in North America. With 40 kilometers of trails we offer something for every skier. From the rolling gentle terrain of our inner trail system to the long loops through the woods of our outer trail system, beginners and experts can find terrain that will both please and challenge them. After a long day of skiing you can enjoy a hearty cup of soup in our Olympic Café; or bring your own lunch for a picnic at our warming hut overlooking Vermont’s Stratton Mountain. CONTACT: 615 Little Pond Rd, Londonderry, VT 05148 Main phone: 802.824.3933 Fax: 802.824.4574 www.vikingnordic.com STATS: Typical season............................................................. December – March Total Terrain ...............................................................................................40 km Machine-tracked .....................................................................................35 km Skating Terrain ..........................................................................................30 km

Wild Wings Ski Touring Center

Stratton Mountain Nordic Center Stratton Mountain Nordic Center is located out of the Sunbowl Lodge at Stratton Mountain Resort. We offer 10 km for cross country skiing and for snowshoeing. The beautiful wooded trails are groomed for both classical and skate skiing. The terrain offers something for novice to advanced skiers. Inside the base lodge we have a full service rental and retail shop. Open daily from 8-5. Lessons available. CONTACT: RR 1 Box 145, Stratton Mountain, VT 05155 Main phone: 802.297.4114 Phone 2: 800.STRATTON • www.stratton.com STATS: Typical season............................................................. December – March Total Terrain ...............................................................................................10 km Machine-tracked .....................................................................................10 km Skating Terrain ..........................................................................................10 km

Classic skiing at its best. Family skiing or ski to train. Tracks set with Piston Bully — they last longer. Ski through the woods or along the brook. The animal tracks we see regularly include bobcat, rabbit and deer. Rental and lessons available. CONTACT: Box 132, Peru, VT 05152 Main phone: 802.824.6793 wwxcski@sover.net • www.wildwingsski.com STATS: Typical season..............................................................December – March Total Terrain ............................................................................................... 25 km Machine-tracked ..................................................................................... 25 km Skating Terrain .............................................................................................0 km

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

Parting thoughts

Making ski memories, old and new By GREGORY DENNIS

tain. Watching youngsters load the short Sheehan chairlift at the Snow Bowl, I recall how a T-bar once serviced that slope. Teaching lessons at the Bowl as a teenager, I would shepherd a class of kids onto that lift, hoping no one would fall and decide to be dragged up the hill, holding onto the T-bar from a horizontal position. Some of those kids are now in their forties and have taught their own children to ski. They may now be many miles from the Snow Bowl. But I’ll bet they still tell their kids about a magical little ski area where they learned to love the sport. Skiing has connected my family as nothing else has. My brother, Kevin, and I were raised in a small town a bit west of here by two Southerners who came north and learned to love the slopes. We ruined many a pair of gloves getting uphill on a rope tow, and our jeans left blue sitzmarks wherever we fell. Our parents’ love of skiing in turn brought the four of us to Vermont every winter for a week. We always spent the first night in Rutland, and I can still tell you the exact location of the old Lindholm’s Diner and the Candlestick Motel down the road. We would spend the rest of the week at Sugarbush, Mad River and Glen Ellen, staying at Beckridge (now the Featherbed Inn),

where Elsie Becker and her sister Dorothy served up hearty breakfasts and dinners to fuel our skiing.When the Beckridge cooks took one night a week off, we would occasionally eat dinner at Chez Henri,the now 50-year-old restaurant that to this day is operated by the founder, Henri Borel. As Kevin put it, those experiences as kids in the Vermont mountainsmade us “lifelong skiing fanatics.” So it was that when Kevin and I left high school, we both chose to go to college here. We could get a good education and go skiing after morning classes. And some years later, I had the good sense to move back to Vermont as soon as I could afford to buy a season pass at Sugarbush. Kevin and his wife raised three kids to love skiing. The kids have spent most of their ski time in Utah, but his older daughter, Charlotte, has completed the circle of the generations: She’s renting a ski house at Sugarbush this winter. - Gregory Dennis’ column is archived on his blog at www.gregdennis.wordpress.com. Email: gregdennisvt@yahoo.com. Twitter: greengregdennis.

VERMONT’S WINTER ADVENTURE CENTER

Women’s Discovery Camps Return To Sugarbush on Jan. 30, March 9 WARREN, VT. — The Sugarbush Ski & Ride School is hosting two editions of its Women’s Discovery Camp this winter — a weekend camp from Jan. 30– Feb. 1, and a weekday camp from March 9-11. In a move specifically designed to make it easier for working women and mothers to attend the camps, Sugarbush takes the novel step of including for each participant either a half-price full-day kids program in The Schoolhouse children’s learning center or a half-price companion adult lift ticket for each day of the camp. “Snow sports schools often hear from women that they’d love to participate in a women’s-only camp, but that they are unsure how they’d be able to make it happen,” says Russ Kauff, Director of the Sugarbush Ski & Ride School. “Our goal is to answer that question before it’s asked and make it easier for women to take a little time for their own benefit, their own fun, alongside like-minded people.”

The Women’s Discovery Camps are sponsored by Skida, a Vermont company providing functionally stylish headwear and accessories. “The company and its staff are a compelling story about Vermont women pursuing their vision with energy and enthusiasm, and it dovetails perfectly with the tone we set in our camps.” The Sugarbush Ski & Ride School’s long history of leading the way in the industry means that they don’t have to search high and low for exceptional women coaches. Some of the school’s best and most experienced instructors are women, says Kauff, so they don’t have to break stride to staff a women’s program with an exceptional team. The program includes an evening round table discussion, ski demos, video analysis, morning stretch sessions, group meals and après ski parties to round out a fun few days. The camp is $475 exclusive of day tickets, which are available at a discount for campers.

VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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Every sport has its own nostalgia. Red Sox fans remember where they were when the Curse of the Bambino was finally broken. Patriots partisans know exactly how Tom Brady engineered that last Super Bowlwinning drive. Basketball fans even trek to the dreary hall of fame in Springfield, Mass. But few sports are as redolent with nostalgia as downhill skiing is. That’s partly because, except in the Alps, skiing isn’t a spectator sport. It requires being outside on a hill, doing it yourself. So by definition it’s way more involving than sitting in the stands. “Skiers make the best lovers,” sex expert Dr. Ruth Westheimer once declared, “because they don’t sit in front of a television like couch potatoes. They take a risk and they wiggle their behinds. They also meet new people on the ski lift.” Of course it’s deeper than that. But who can be against behind-wiggling and meeting new people? I’ve been thinking about ski memories these days, perhaps because Christmas is the most nostalgic of holidays. I remember being rained out of Killington one Christmas when we were kids, and learning how to ski powder at West Mountain a couple years after that, when a Christmas Eve blizzard dropped two feet of snow. Our recent weather has many Vermont skiers thinking of good times on the hill, too. The early-season skiing has been terrific this year: top-to-bottom runs over Thanksgiving followed by last week’s storm, which smeared the Green Mountains with nearly two feet of white stuff.

Like a lot of Vermonters last week, I lost my electrical power. Unable to work in my home office, I soldiered through a day of working in a café and at a friend’s house. When the lights didn’t come back on for a second day, I gave up and went skiing instead. It took a slow trip over Middlebury Gap through the destruction that had virtually shut down Ripton, but I made it over the mountain to Sugarbush. I hope I’ll remember for years to come that when the storm disrupted everyday life, I had the good sense to get out and sample the freshies. Skiers recall the tiniest details of their experiences because the sport connects us – to the mountains, to the exhilaration of zooming down the hill, to the camaraderie on ski road trips and in the lodge and on the lifts. A carload of us once drove for hours from the Vancouver airport through the mountains of British Columbia to the slopes, listening over and over to a CD compilation of truck driving songs. By the time we reached the lodge, we truly hated those songs. But we laugh every time we hear one of them. We remember anticipating the skiing to come as we did the drive, the bad jokes and road coffee --and the Dave Dudley song about how he’s got his diesel wound up and she’s runnin’ like she never did before. Whenever I see a youngster on the slopes, it cheers me up a bit. I know she’s having an experience she’ll remember as a teen and young adult. If we don’t cook the planet in the meantime, she might even bring up her own kids to ski. In her later years she’ll recall that once she was young and knew how to fly down a moun-

Greg Dennis is a Middlebury resident, lifelong skier and frequent writer who blogs at www.gregdennis.wordpress.com. Twitter: greengregdennis.

UPCOMING EVENTS Martin Luther King, Jr. WeeKend ceLebration Sat, Jan 17 – Sun, Jan 18 Visit sugarbush.com for details

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FreSh tracKS FiLM caMP Sat, Jan 24, Jan 31 & Feb 7 Lincoln Peak

abundance LeaderShiP training courSe

Mon – Thu, Jan 26 – 29, Lincoln Peak

WoMen’S diScoVerY caMP Fri, Jan 30 – Sun, Feb 1, Lincoln Peak

MrV Mountaineering race Sun, Feb 1, 9:00 AM Mad River Glen to Sugarbush

Jr. caStLerocK eXtreMe Sat, Feb 7, 10:00 AM, Lincoln Peak

eSSentiaL eLeMentS: bLacK diaMond cLub caMP

Saturdays, Feb 7 to Mar 1, Lincoln Peak

Mt. ellen’s $30 thursdays* are the perfect excuse for a “SicK daY.” Call into work and take a “(cough) SicK daY,” head to the slopes of SicK daY.” Mt. Ellen at Sugarbush for $30 lift tickets and a, “whoa, that was a Company. Then hit up après for specials like Sick day iPa from Long Trail Brewing m. Sick day Lodging Specials and more information available at sugarbush.co

tour de Moon

Sat, Feb 14, 4:30 PM, Mt. Ellen * Valid Thursdays, non-holiday through Mar. 26, 2015. Holidays: Feb. 19, 2015.

LiFt oPerationS: Midweek, 9 AM – 4 PM Weekends & Holidays*, 8 AM – 4 PM * 1/19/15, 2/14/15 – 2/22/15 tour de Point caStLerocK MuSic SerieS Saturdays from 9 PM – 12 AM in Castlerock Pub PA G E 3 2

For more information on restaurants, activities and events call 800.53.Sugar or visit sugarbush.com. VERMONT SKI & RIDE MAGAZINE, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015