BREAKING SAD (SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER) | CRAFTSBURY’S UBER ATHLETE | CYCLOCROSS SEASON
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Skida founder Corinne Prevot wearing her neckwear and hat—and Anon goggles, another Vermont brand. See her story on p.22. Photo courtesy Skida
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5 The Start
16 Feature
30
When deer season and holiday shopping collide.
The face of hunting in Vermont is
34 Endgame
'Tis the Season
6
The New Hunters and Why We Need Them changing. Here's why.
Great Outdoors
News Briefs
When companies do good; Vermont athletes rise to the top; Nationals come to Crafstbury, a new Derby date and more.
13 Health
Breaking SAD
Expert advice on how to beat the winter blues.
22
Feature
Just Sew Stories
A new wave of athlete entrepreneurs, stitching together gear for the outdoors— in Vermont.
28
Calendar
Race & Event Guide 7 Mountains I Did Not Conquer
Author Leath Tonino reflects on the joy (and anguish) of leaving a peak unclimbed.
Reader Athlete
The Groomer Duathlete
By night he grooms cross-country ski trails. By day he competes in world championships.
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NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 3
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THE START
'TIS THE SEASON Chelsea Camarata of Kaden makes mountain bike apparel that is specially-designed to be comfortable for women. Photo courtesy Kaden.
T
his issue, we focus on two seasons that converge at this time of year—hunting season and holiday shopping—both vital to our state. “Vermonters love to buy local,” as Sarah Segall notes in “Just Sew,” our story on Vermont’s outdoor apparel start-ups and the entrepreneurs behind them. Segall, the Stratton woman who started Orsden skiwear, is not just talking about local food and beer. As holiday shopping starts, there are any number of good reasons to buy gear and apparel that’s from Vermont. Buying local supports our economy. Vermont-made products tend to be made in smaller batches than those produced by large national brands. And, more and more, they tend to be produced with an eye toward sustainability. For example, Eva Shaw now makes her HoodEs at the Vermont Teddy Bear factory and employs local seamstresses. Amelia Leme’s bright Mana Threads are not only made from recycled products but also use biodegradable fabrics. Eastward, the new line from Ski the East, is being sewn in India at Fair Trade-certified factories using organic and recycled materials. But perhaps the best reason? These products and others are produced by athletes who really know their sports. A glance down our list of 30 more outdoor gear products from Vermont may not reveal the elite athletes who started them. Dick Dreissigacker and Judy Geer, the folks behind Concept2, were Olympic rowers and their daughters, Emily and Hannah, have both been on the Olympic biathlon team. Bob Dion of Dion Snowshoes has five national championship medals in snowshoeing. Dave Dodge, founder of Dodge Boots, raced at Burke and at UVM before becoming an engineer for Rossignol, Burton and other companies. Jason Levinthal of J Skis pioneered the twin-tip ski when he launched his previous business, Line Skis. As for that other season, hunting? It’s a long-loved tradition and part of the fabric of Vermont life. But it is in danger as fewer
people are getting into the sport and as Vermont's landscape changes. Perhaps no one embodies the spirit of the “new” hunter more than Heather Furman. Furman is a former ultramarathon runner, climber and co-founder of CRAG-VT and now, head of the Vermont chapter of The Nature Conservancy. To find out why she got a rifle as a birthday present, read Abagael Giles’ fascinating story “The New Hunters (and why we need them).” After reading it, you might want to add a rifle to your holiday wish list too. Outdoor recreation—be it skiing and snowshoeing or hunting and fishing—is vital to Vermont’s economy. This October, Gov. Phil Scott announced a new grant program designed to help Vermont’s villages and towns become more “outdoor recreation friendly.” The Vermont Outdoor Recreation Communities Pilot Grant Program will award grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 to one or more Vermont communities. The funds can be used to support environmental stewardship, recreational programming, events, capital projects, marketing and planning. As part of the application, communities will have to demonstrate how they expect to grow their local economies by leveraging new outdoor recreation zones. Applications for the grants are due December 14. To learn more, visit fpr. vermont.gov/VOREC. The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation is also accepting grant applications from towns for funds provided by the National Park Service (NPS) through its Land and Water Conservation Fund. NPS has said it will provide as much as half of the funding for projects that conserve land or develop it for outdoor recreation. Pre-applications were due Oct. 15 and full applications are due Dec. 17. For more information, visit fpr.vermont.gov/ recreation/grants/lwcf. That's a present we call can use. —Lisa Lynn and Abagael Giles, Editors
Stop by, grab some swag and gift certificates.
NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 5
NEWS BRIEFS
NATIONAL CHAMPS COME TO CRAFTSBURY This winter, Vermonters will have the opportunity to toe the line with some of the top cross-country skiers in the country when the Craftsbury Outdoor Center hosts the U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships in January. It’s the first time since 2012 that the Nationals have come to Vermont. Last year’s Nationals were in Anchorage, Alaska. Running from Jan. 3 through 8, 2019, the event features an open mass start on Sunday, Jan. 6, with a 30K race for men and a 20K race for women. Both races will be loops, making for great spectating. Both events are open to anyone who wishes to register. On Friday, Jan. 4, Olympians and U.S. Nordic
6 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
Team members such as Ida Sargent of Barton (who grew up training at Craftsbury), will race in the classic sprint series. “Anyone can enter the time trial [for the sprints],” says Craftsbury Nordic Race Director Ollie Burruss. “The top 30 in the men’s and women’s fields will qualify for an open heat to compete for several rounds of head-to-head racing for the national championship. The spread from first place through 30th is a difference of about 15 seconds, so it will be an action-packed afternoon,” said Burruss. Skiers will be competing for SuperTour points, which contribute to their ranking and ability to qualify for a spot on the U.S. Team at the World Championships in Seefeld, Austria. This year’s event will also feature sit ski races for para-athletes and will serve as a qualifying event for the Paralympics. Athletes will race in a staggered sprint
format. “If you have any base-level knowledge of cross-country skiing and see someone race on a sit ski, you are just blown away by how strong you have to be to compete and by how tough they are,” said Burruss. Other events include a 10/15K classic individual start, a classic sprint, a freestyle mass start and a freestyle sprint. —Abagael Giles
RETURN OF THE STOWE DERBY? For the last three years, one of the most iconic races in Vermont has been cancelled due to weather. This year, the Stowe Derby, which has historically drawn as many as 900 racers in classic, freestyle and now even fat bike divisions, is being moved up to January 13, with the traditional date of Feb. 24 as the “rain” date. “We’re crossing our fingers,” says Brooke Mitchell of
Fast and furious Olympic-caliber racing like we saw in the 2018 SuperTour finals returns to Crafstbury this January . Photo Reese Brown/USSA
the hosting Mount Mansfield Ski Club. The Stowe Derby typically takes skiers from the top of the Mt. Mansfield Toll Road in Stowe, over roughly 20 kilometers and more than a 2,700 foot elevation drop down to the town of Stowe, on a combination of alpine and Nordic ski trails. Between 1945 and 2016 the race was only canceled twice; once due to lack of snow and once during the heat of World War II. Then came 2016, one of the worst snow years on record. The following year, scouring winds and rain left the course with a surface like a luge-run. In 2018, lack of snow also made the course unsafe. "This year, with the new date and the traditional date as a back-up we’re hoping we can make it happen," Mitchell says. To get updates, visit mmsc-mmwa.org. —Lisa Lynn
NOVICE MARATHONER MAKES OLYMPIC TRIALS For most runners, qualifying for the Olympic Trials is a long-term dream. For 28-year-old Meagan Boucher, it happened in her second marathon. On October 21, the St. Johnsbury resident qualified for the 2020 Olympic marathon team trials after setting a women’s course record in the 30th annual Baystate Marathon in Lowell, Mass. Boucher ran the course in 2:42:23.7, shattering the previous course record of 2:45:36. To earn a spot at the Olympic Trials, she had to finish with a time of 2:45:00 or less. Boucher beat her only other marathon time (the 2017 New York City Marathon) by 15 minutes. Boucher, who grew up in Manchester, N.H., teaches geometry at St. Johnsbury Academy and is the
assistant coach for the cross-country team. In her first year at the University of New Hampshire she earned a spot on the cross-country team as a walk-on and competed in middle distance events and steeplechase. She became interested in running marathons after a running injury caused her to shift her focus to triathlon. “It really opened me up to the routine of training for two, three hours a day. But then I realized that what I really cared about in those races was the running leg,” said Boucher in October. Her initial goal was to run a sub 2:50:00 marathon. “Then I asked my coach, Sam Davis, if I should just go for it. He was apprehensive at first, but then we had a conversation and he said I should,” said Boucher. Davis, a well-known coach from Burlington, helped her to develop a plan to pace herself such that by
NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 7
NEWS BRIEFS
Mazie Hayden (front, with red bike) led the UVM Mountain Bike Team to a win.
the halfway mark of the marathon she would be on pace to qualify for the Olympic Trials. “I didn’t think I’d beat it by two minutes,” said Boucher. “I was shocked by how I did.” Boucher finished the race in 20th place overall. Burlington resident Scott Mindel, 32, was the overall winner with a time of 2:23:51.2. The 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials for marathon will run on February 29, 2020 in Atlanta, Ga. Between now and then, Boucher says she plans to focus on her speed. “I may run the Boston Marathon this spring.” She says she’s excited to get back into training, but for now, is “really excited to be eating donuts and recovering.” Her favorite place to run near her home of four years is the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. —A.G.
GERARDI PODIUMS On Saturday, Oct. 13, Vermonter Hillary Gerardi became the first American to podium in the Overall category at the Migu Skyrunning World Series. Gerardi, who is originally from Saint Johnsbury and now lives in Chamonix, France, took 16th place in the last race of this year’s series, the Limone Extreme SkyRace, a 29K footrace in Lombardy, Italy, on Oct. 13. Gerardi was one of 927 runners from 37 countries who competed in the race. The runners tackled 2,500 meters of elevation gain, at times climbing hand over hand on third class terrain to complete the race. The top overall ranking in the World Series is based on a runner’s top two finishes of the season in the Sky Classic and Sky Extra categories.
8 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
Photo courtesy UVM Cycling Club
At 55, Fritz Bedford is still setting world records.
Photo courtesy Barbara Hummel
of Landgrove, Vt., competing for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, took third place in the Women’s Short Track Cross Country Club category. The UVM Team returned the bikes to local retailers after the race, but Spencer said, “Even when the UVM team is in a pickle, we always stick together and work through a problem. It was a stressful time and we all came together to reach a solution… the other cycling teams and local community members really stepped up to let [us] borrow bikes. It just goes to show how great the cycling community is!” —A.G.
Gerardi took second place for the series in the Overall category, finishing the season with 390 points, just four points fewer than the world champion, Ragna Debats of Netherlands. Kilian Jornet was the Overall champion for the Men’s series.—A.G.
A NEW WORLD RECORD On Oct. 20, at the Upper Valley Aquatic Center (UVAC) in White River Junction, 55-year-old Fritz Bedford broke the U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) national record for the 50-meter butterfly, with a time of 26.55 seconds. Bedford, of Hanover, N.H., and the New England Masters Swim Club, also took down the masters’ world record for the 100m backstroke, which had previously been held by Steve Wood, with a time of 1:00:78. Bedford was a 19-time All-American swimmer at St. Lawrence University. After that, he coached swimming at the University of New Hampshire for three years before becoming an engineer. He currently holds seven national records and one world record for USMS age group events. —A.G.
A TEAM ON FIRE? On Oct. 18, the University of Vermont mountain biking team got some bad news. After traveling to Missoula, Mont., to compete in the 2018 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships, a group of student riders learned that a FedEx truck carrying 13 team bicycles had caught fire en route. Their bikes were mangled and melted. Club President Sara Spencer made
Boucher winning her second marathon.
Photo courtesy
Baystate Marathon
a call to Trek Bikes. According to velonews.com, her call was referred to Gary Whitebird in customer care. Whitebird had raced at the collegiate level as both an undergraduate and graduate student and rallied to have parts for eight bikes shipped to Open Road Bicycle and Nordic in Missoula, where staff assembled them at the last minute. Trek supplied the bikes for free and the UVM team was able to race, with the additional help of a few borrowed bikes from students at Fort Lewis College and University of Montana at Bozeman. Mazie Hayden of Pittsfield, Vt., took first place in the Women’s Downhill Club and the Women’s Dual Slalom Club races. Team president Nicholas Lando of Ringwood, N.J., took second place in the Men’s Cross-Country Club category. U.S Nordic Team member Katharine Ogden
TOUGH SOCKS FOR A GOOD CAUSE In June 2018, just months after Kikkan Randall and Vermonter Jessie Diggins became the first American women to win an Olympic medal (gold) in Nordic skiing, Randall announced that she had stage 2 breast cancer. Randall, a 35-year-old mom from Alaska has vowed to stay active throughout her treatment. “Maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle will not only help me get through this but keep me stronger during the battle,” writes Randall on her website, kikkan.com. On Oct. 26, Northfield, Vt.'s Darn Tough announced a partnership with Randall to produce a specially-designed pair of micro crew ultra-light cushion socks emblazoned with the slogan “It’s going to be OK,” designed by Randall’s brother Tanner Randall and June ShenEpstein of Darn Tough. Two dollars from every pair of socks sold will go to AKTIV Against Cancer. You can purchase socks at kikkan.com. —A.G.
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BREAKING SAD
HEALTH
ONE OF THE NATION’S TOP EXPERTS IN SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER, UVM’S KELLY ROHAN IS STUDYING HOW TO BEAT THE WINTER BLUES. BY EMMA COTTON
E
very October, Corey Burdick starts
longer the men were exposed to bright
an unusual morning routine. She
sunlight, the more rapidly their bodies
pours her first cup of coffee, then
produced serotonin. “Our findings are
sits down next to an Apollo goLITE—a silver
further evidence for the notion that changes
square about the size of a camera that emits a
in release of serotonin by the brain underlie
bright, blue light. Basking in the glow of this
mood seasonality and seasonal affective
artificial dawn, she tries to stave off a very
disorder,” the study concluded.
severe case of the winter blues.
If light helps produce serotonin, and
A few years back, during one of those
increased levels of serotonin alleviates
particularly cold, dark winters that keeps
symptoms of SAD, one might logically
you indoors, huddled by the woodstove,
conclude that exposure to light helps SAD
Burdick stopped feeling like herself. An
patients, even if the light exposure occurs
avid runner—she’s run the Vermont City
in the middle of the afternoon. According to
Marathon, the Green Mountain Marathon
Rohan, gaining this exposure from natural
and a handful of halfs—she wasn’t used to
sunlight is even better than using a light box.
feeling listless and unmotivated.
“At first I thought, maybe I just have the
sky than from a light box,” Rohan says. “A
winter blues, because it’s dark all the time,”
light box produces 10,000 lux. On a clear,
she says. “But I wasn’t coming out of it, and
sunny day, you can get 100,000 lux outside.
nothing seemed to be helping. I just felt so
in school and in relationships,” she says.
down. It was during that time that I knew
“That’s where we can draw the line, I think,
something was really off.” Burdick dove into
between people who really have SAD versus
research and found an answer that made
people who are around the water cooler just
sense: Seasonal Affective Disorder.
commiserating that they don’t like winter.” Rohan doesn’t know what, exactly,
WHAT IS SAD?
causes SAD, but it might have something to
Simply put, Seasonal Affective Disorder is
do with biological clocks being thrown off-
clinical depression that follows a seasonal
kilter by the changing seasons. Normally,
pattern. As the days shorten, patients
around bedtime, the brain secretes the
can lose interest in activities that they
hormone melatonin, which signals to the
normally enjoy, have trouble concentrating,
brain that it’s time to sleep. In some SAD
gain weight, sleep longer, and in the most
patients, that dose of melatonin arrives later
extreme cases, have thoughts of death or
than it should.
suicide. Winter drains the light from the sky
In a lab, Rohan can test whether a
and takes our primary source of Vitamin D,
patient’s biological clock is running on-
barbecues and swimsuits with it. It subdues
schedule by taking hourly samples of blood
and sends us into a state of hibernation or
or saliva and assaying those samples to see
worse, depression.
when melatonin is produced. But this testing
More than 14 million Americans suffer
is cumbersome and expensive, so Rohan
from the disorder, (appropriately abbreviated
instead uses clues from patients’ sleeping
SAD). Prevalence ranges from less than two
habits to determine whether winter light is
percent of people in southern states, like
disrupting circadian rhythms.
Florida, to nine percent in northern states,
like Vermont.
rising in the morning—maybe hitting snooze
to
Some treatments for SAD are similar traditional
right through that alarm clock, unable to
non-seasonal depression, like cognitive
wake up,” she says. “That’s because the
behavioral
melatonin might still be being produced (in
therapy But
and
there’s
for
over and over again, or maybe sleeping
classic,
medication.
treatments
“The patient might have a lot of difficultly
antidepressant one
very
big
the morning), in theory, for somebody who’s
difference: SAD patients can be treated
got this kind of a pattern.”
with light.
That’s where light therapy comes in.
Kelly Rohan, a leading expert in SAD and
Bright light, like that emitted from Burdick’s
a professor at the University of Vermont’s
Apollo
Department of Psychological Science, says
melatonin. Used consistently—the normal
symptoms are identical to those of major
treatment is 30 minutes each morning—the
depression. "It causes a lot of distress for
light can simulate an early dawn, readjusting
the person, and impairment in their ability
the biological clock and promoting normal
to function in important roles, like at work,
sleep patterns.
goLITE
lightbox,
suppresses
Of course, the snow will reflect that light, so
SUNSHINE AND SEROTONIN After Burdick was diagnosed with SAD, she tried various forms of treatment until she found a routine that worked. Now, she selftreats using a combination of light therapy, Vitamin D supplements, Omega-3 fish oils (no study backs this as a treatment for SAD, but Burdick swears by it), exercise and social activity. But one of the best treatments, she says, is sunshine.
“If I can get outside on a sunny day, I find
that really helpful, especially if the sun is reflecting off the snow,” she says. “It’s hard to get motivated, but if you can force yourself to get up and out there, even for a five or tenminute walk first thing in the morning, it really makes a big difference.”
“There’s more light to be had from the
According to Rohan, not all SAD patients
show evidence of a slow-running biological
if you’re out there doing winter sports, you can really get a lot of light.”
Rohan says that, while not every SAD
patient will benefit from spending time outdoors, the sunlight and fresh air could help athletes and people who enjoy getting outside in other seasons feel much better. In an effort to practice what she preaches, Rohan jogs four miles every day.
“It has to be below zero and usually ice
on the ground for me not to go,” she explains to her patients. “How do I do this? I dress appropriately. I understand in the winter I have to put on more layers. Sometimes even ski pants, and sometimes crampons. But I’m willing to do that, because I know that if I go, I’ll feel better than if I don’t go.”
clock. In those cases, the patients wouldn’t
TALKING POWER
need to re-adjust their circadian rhythms,
Treatment for SAD extends beyond light
making the morning light box treatments
treatment, whether it’s natural or on a timer
less useful.
on your bedside table.
But light still helps, maybe because
of its link to the production of serotonin,
showing that cognitive behavioral therapy
a neurotransmitter that contributes to
(CBT) helps alleviate winter depression much
feelings of happiness. In a study published
more effectively than light therapy. Out of
in Psychological Medicine in March of
177 research subjects, 46 percent of patients
1998,
scientists
treated only with light therapy reported
administered a substance that depleted the
that their depression returned the following
serotonin levels of SAD patients during the
winter. Only 27 percent of those who were
summertime, when they were unaffected by
treated using CBT felt the symptoms again.
the disorder. Upon receiving this treatment,
the symptoms returned.
therapy extends beyond the psychologist’s
Then, in a study titled, “Effect of
office. There are two components: the
Sunlight and Season on Serotonin Turnover
“cognitive,” and the “behavioral,” and each
in the Brain,” published by The Lancet in
works to pry loose the underlying thoughts
2002, scientists took blood samples from
and behaviors that fuel depression.
101 healthy men and determined that the
Cambridge
University
In fact, in 2015, Rohan released a study
At its most effective, cognitive behavioral
On the cognitive side, the psychologist
NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 11
4 WAYS TO BEAR THE WINTER BLUES
One of the challenges of switching seasons is embracing new sports and finding new ways to train with friends. These fun events will get you out there. See Calendar, p. 32, for details.
Running > Snowshoeing | Runners often think of winter as a time for cross-training and gym workouts, but with snowshoes, you can run on trails through forests all winter long. Vermont’s burgeoning snowshoe scene features a growing number of races. Try the Susan G. Komen Snowshoe for a Cure at Stratton on Jan. 6 or the PEAK Snow Devil Snowshoe Race in Pittsfield on Feb. 17. If you're looking to test yourself, try the 100-mile Winter Ultra, also in Pittsfield on Feb. 17. Running / Cycling > Nordic Skiing | Nordic skiing (particularly skate skiing) helps maintain both the cardio fitness and the strength that's built up all summer. But jumping into these sports can be daunting. f you're a runner, sign up for Craftsbury Outdoor Center's Skiing for Runners Camp, Jan. 24-27. Start with fun events, like the Stowe Derby, a race from the top of the Mt. Mansfield Toll Road all the way to town. Costumes welcome. Note a new date this year of Jan. 13. Mountain Biking > Fatbiking | Many of Vermont's best mountain bike networks now groom for fatbikes and many cross-country ski centers own a rental fleet. Rikert Nordic Center’s Fatbike Round-Up is a day of rides, cookouts, and camaraderie on Dec. 22. Check out for Uberwintern, a fatbike festival in Stowe, Jan. 5 or head to Kingdom Trails for Winterbike, March 1-2. Rock Climbing > Ice Climbing | As you might guess, these translate pretty well, and that’s not all: Ice climbing has one of the best parties of the winter, Smuggs Ice Bash, Jan. 25-27, which includes clinics for beginners, presentations, dinners and an (indoor) kick-off party.
encourages patients to identify, challenge
on that, and make that one of the pleasant
and change negative thoughts about winter.
activities that they’re going to strive to do to
Using the Socratic method, the psychologist
get out of hibernation mode.”
asks the patient to look objectively at the
depressing thoughts, then use evidence to
through running. “You have a support
argue them.
network with runners,” she says. “You have
“For example, if we can take people
group runs. You have this community. You
from the thought, ‘I hate winter,’ to, ‘I prefer
don’t always want to see people, but it’s
summer,’ which is more neutral in tone and
actually really beneficial.”
doesn’t have as much effect on mood, they’re
going to feel better,” Rohan says.
back, she now has an effective tool belt of
On the behavioral side, the psychologist
skills she can use to curb the symptoms. She
asks the patient to avoid “hibernating”—that
has learned how to call back her happiness
is, wrapping up in a blanket and watching
during the winter—especially on sunny days
TV, or allowing phone calls from friends to
when she’s running with friends.
go unanswered. Rohan says it’s important to
Burdick finds that sense of community
While Burdick’s SAD used to hold her
“Those days are magical,” she says.
find activities to enjoy, whether that means
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braving the cold temperatures or finding indoor alternatives. But those who enjoy
Dr. Kelly Rohan is currently recruiting
outdoor exercise can fight SAD from multiple
volunteers ages 18 years old and older for a
angles.
clinical trial through which diagnosis, light
“Exercise seems to have anti-depressant
box treatment and cognitive behavioral
properties,” Rohan says. “So, if I work with
therapy are offered at no charge. Interested
someone who’s depressed, and I know that
volunteers can call 802-656-9890 or visit
they like to exercise, I will try to capitalize
our website at: uvm.edu/~sadstudy.
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FEATURED ATHLETE
GROOMER & DUATHLETE EXTRAORDINAIRE Name: Keith Woodward Age: 67 Lives in: Moscow Family: Significant Other, Patricia Driscoll; rescue dog, Simon Occupation: Groomer at Craftsbury Outdoor Center Primary sport: Duathlon
M
ost people know Keith Woodward as the groomer and trail keeper at Craftsbury Outdoor Center but there is another side to him that people may not be so familiar with. This past summer Woodward finished first in his age group at the ITU World Duathlon Championship for the second straight year. He has also been inducted into the Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame and in 2012, USA Triathlon named him its Grand Master Duathlete of the Year.
What was it like to win your age group for the second straight year at the Duathlon World Championship in Germany? I had a target on my back from finishing first the previous year so it was especially rewarding to earn the respect of my fellow competitors, both international racers and Americans. In 2013 I won the Worlds in Ottawa in the standard duathlon [a 20K run, 40K bike and a 5K run]. The next two years the weather was really hot and I finished fourth and the last two years I raced the draft legal sprint length (a 5.5K run, a 19.9K bike, and a 2.5K run, where drafting is allowed on the bike leg) and finished first each time. I was really happy with my finish this year and also humbled since on that day I was the best in the world. How did you become an athlete? I started running when I was in high school in Newbury, Vt., when I realized my Little League dreams of playing for the Boston Red Sox weren’t going to happen. I was a catcher and I didn’t have much of an arm. I was actually a bit of an anomaly when I started running and people would recognize me because I was the only one running on the road. I ran
Keith Woodward, laying out trails at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, where he's help tend trails since 1976. Photo courtesy Keith Woodward.
cross-country at Keene State and was an All-American. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I always enjoyed it. Is it true that you did your first marathon in 1971 with virtually no preparation? A friend of mine and I had started a track club at Vermont Tech with the goal of racing against local high schools but then the guy who was in charge got put on academic probation. I heard about the Rouses Point to Plattsburgh marathon after I’d been running for three weeks and I guess I had another three weeks to prepare. I did it in a pair of blue flats that were like Keds but I finished in 3:32. Marathon running was still in its infancy here and another guy ran in hiking boots and wool socks. The following year I wore basketball sneakers and I did better. I’ve done 13 marathons but I never finished in a time that I thought I was capable of running. My last marathon was in Philly in 1983 and I thought I’d take a short break but I haven’t gone back to it. I’ve done some half marathons and this year we’re going to do the Chickamauga in Tennessee in November as part of a vacation.
In 2012 you had a week when you won three silver medals in seven days. Can you tell us about that? The first one was my breakthrough race for the standard duathlon at the World Championships in France. I had been racing since 2008 and my highest placement before then was sixth so I was very happy. The next race was the USA Track and Field’s 2012 USA Masters 5K Road Championships. I had a silver and my team (the GMAA 60+ team) finished second by less than a second in a photo finish. I guess I didn’t think it was that much of a big deal because one was a team medal but honestly, getting second as a team was more fun than finishing second as an individual. How did you get to be inducted into the Mt. Washington Road Race Hall of Fame? At one point I had the record for the most times running the race with either 36 or 37. I finished first in my age class several times. I’ve been overtaken because I missed some of the last few years thanks to racing duathlons. That was only the second year they had the Hall of Fame so it was a real honor to be nominated. I
went back last year and finished second in my age group even though I didn’t have a particularly strong race. Tell us about how you train. I’ve been cutting back on running to just three days a week at most and I try to bike at least four days. This year we had such a wet, cold spring that it was harder to get into the biking routine but it didn’t hurt me that much in the Worlds because of the draft legal rules (meaning I could legally draft off other cyclists). If I run 20 miles a week it’s a big week. I average maybe 120 miles a week on the bike in the summer. I even did a little bit of fatbiking last year. I confess that I have really poor eating habits. Working at Craftsbury I get breakfast and lunch and that’s where I get my salad and vegetables. Otherwise, I eat a lot of pasta. How long have you been the groomer at Craftsbury? I started working at Craftsbury when Russell Spring first bought the place in 1976. I grew up on a farm in East Corinth and when we sold it, I kept some of the machinery. Before coming to Craftsbury I did some haying and
NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 15
odd jobs and worked for a carpenter in Stowe for a few years. I came up and coached two one-week running camps in the summer of 1976 or 77 and I loved it. I came back for at least two or three more years and then at one point they started the Elderhostel which is now called the Road Scholar program and I came and washed dishes for a month. They needed someone to help with the grooming and they only had one beat up snow machine. I was supposed to work three hours a day for room and board but sometimes it was up to 80 hours a week. At that time, the biggest events were the high school races. There weren’t many guests so I was basically grooming for the staff. That’s changed, hasn’t it? It’s amazing. We didn’t even have a tractor; we just weed-whacked the trails and we had one beat up alpine groomer. Today we have three Pisten Bully grooming machines, four snow machines, four tractors and riding lawn mowers. We have access to three full-sized excavators and one mini excavator. Doing trail work is easy now.
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Do you get to enjoy those trails? I used to be competitive, both in biathlon and regular Nordic ski racing. I’d go to National and World Masters’ Championships and usually get the silver in the Worlds and be part of the gold medal team for the relays, but I haven’t been to Worlds since 2008. The last few winters, my training and desire to ski has waned a little. Ever since we put in snowmaking, I’ve been skiing less. Once I’m out there I enjoy it. World Masters are in Norway this year and I have it tentatively on the calendar. Hopefully I can get in shape before then. What other sports are you doing? I’ve actually been doing more snowshoe racing and I went to Nationals for that this year. Conditions were a lot better than one year when the Worlds were in Syracuse and we raced on ice and mud which actually was really fun. Snowshoeing is easier than skiing because you don’t have to worry about wax. I don’t ski race that much because there aren’t that many citizen races although we have one here at Craftsbury on Tuesday nights. Nordic ski racing isn’t that much of a vibrant sport anymore because many college racers stop when they graduate. The Stowe Derby was always my favorite event but lately it’s been getting cancelled due to bad weather. Hopefully it will make a comeback.
What do you enjoy about grooming? It’s rewarding to see people reap the benefits of my work. I notice it more in the summer when people are riding the mountain bike trails. There used to be nobody in the parking lot at 5 p.m. except the overnight guests but now it’s full. It’s fun to see. What is it like to be able to watch the elite athletes at Craftsbury? We almost take it for granted because you get to know them so well that they become just regular people. It’s interesting to see their training methods. I wish I’d known 20 years ago what I know now. I never had a coach and I ran too much and didn’t rest enough when I was starting out. I’m learning a lot from the elite athletes but it’s a totally different world now with all the testing and technology. It’s almost too scientific. I have a Garmin, as well as a power meter for my bike and I hardly ever use them. I just go by feel. Anyone been really helpful? Co-worker Sheldon Miller has helped me with strategy, technique and training tips for cycling. I’m hoping to get some running tips from Craftsbury’s new running coach, Heidi Caldwell. She was the second place finisher at this year’s Mount Washington Hill Climb. What are you excited about for the upcoming season at Craftsbury? This is going to be a great year. We’ve got our season opener in early December and the Eastern Cup later in the month and then we’ve got the U.S. CrossCountry Ski Championships in January. That will be the biggest event we’ve ever held here so we need to hope for good early season snow. What is the key to winning, in your 60s? For me the hardest part is getting out the door and trying to be consistent. I can’t do the hard intervals I did even ten years ago. I just try to do a little bit at a time and I’ve started going to the weight room to do strength work so that I can keep racing. As long as you can be competitive, it’s worth the effort to get out the door and put in the hard work. I’ve competed for a long time and it’s the only thing I know how to do. —Phyl Newbeck
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The New Hunters (and why we need them.)
AS THE NUMBER OF HUNTERS IN VERMONT DECLINES, THE SPORT’S VETERANS ARE WORKING TO EDUCATE A NEW GENERATION TO STEWARD THE LAND. BY ABAGAEL GILES
18 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
Hunters play an important role in keeping Vermont's deer populations in check. Since the early 1990s, the statewide deer population has remained relatively stable, at about 150,000 individuals. However, where those deer are located has changed dramatically. Photo by Heather Furman
NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 19
he air is still. In the predawn light,
T
She also finds hunting deeply rewarding.
Heather Furman moves slowly.
“I find that my awareness of what is around
Layered in a mix of technical
me and the diversity of experiences I have in
outdoor gear and rugged camouflaged
the woods are so much greater than when I
clothing, she walks through the cold hollows
was trail running with the goal of covering
of her Jericho Center land to the woods at
ground and territory,” says Furman. “Now
neighboring Mobbs Farm.
I’m content to spend a whole day exploring a
In the silence, her slow breathing is
quarter-mile of forest. I couldn’t say that five
barely audible. Beneath her feet, the leaves
years ago when I was running back-to-back
are brittle with frost. She makes her way
25-mile training runs on my weekends.”
to her deer stand, which she installed at a place near a small creek, at the edge of an
THE DECLINE OF HUNTING
area where there has been a recent timber
Overall, hunting is on the decline and
harvest. She chose the location weeks prior
Furman is part of a group of new hunters
by following informal paths and reading
working with veterans of the sport to recruit
signs of deer—trees where the bark is
newcomers. This spring the State of Vermont
scraped off, game trails. She climbs the
hopes to roll out a new hunting mentorship
ladder of the deer stand very slowly. With
program, one of a host of programs it runs
cold hands, she juggles rifle and pack. Then,
to address issues like access to land and
seated, she waits. In the stillness, she listens
retention rates.
while the trees creak and the forest begins
Since 1990, the number of hunting
to wake up. As a wood thrush launches
licenses issued to Vermont residents has
into its two-toned, ethereal song, the dawn
declined by nearly 50 percent. In 1991, the
chorus starts.
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
After a long time, a deer appears,
issued about 92,000 licenses to residents.
soundless. Furman’s heartbeat picks up and
In 2017, the department issued just 54,836
she breathes intentionally as she raises her
resident licenses. That’s fewer than the
rifle. Slowly, calmly, she takes aim through
department issued in 1945, when, at
the sights of her gun, steadies it on a nearby
315,000, the state’s population was roughly
branch and waits for a clean shot. After
half of what it is today.
several long, cold, still minutes, the deer
Vermont is not alone in this trend.
freezes. In the blink of an eye, it is gone.
Nationally, a report by the U.S. Fish and
Heather has been through this routine many times in the four years that she has
Wildlife Service found that the number of Heather Furman spent four years preparing physically and mentally for her first kill. "The most important thing for me was to be sure that the animal didn't suffer," Furman said. She is pictured here with the pronghorn antelope she shot in Wyoming this fall. Photo courtesy Heather Furman
hunters in the United States declined by 11
of deer hunting, I shot a pronghorn antelope
as a park ranger at Maidstone State Park
of Fish and Wildlife reports that roughly 15
on a trip to Wyoming.” Her patience paid
in the northeastern part of the state. She’s
percent of Vermonters hunt. In the Northeast
off. “When I finally had the opportunity to
now the Director of the Vermont Chapter of
Kingdom counties of Orleans and Essex,
be in that situation and actually pulled the
the Nature Conservancy, which stewards 55
that number climbs to nearly 25 percent,
trigger, I was calm in heart and mind and
natural areas around the state. Fifty-four
close to what the statewide average was in
was able to make a highly accurate, instant
are open to hunting
1974. Ninety percent of hunting carried out
been hunting. But, as she later tells me, that’s OK because “two weeks ago, after four years
kill.”
percent between 2011 and 2016. On average, the Vermont Department
in Vermont is for white-tailed deer.
Furman is a former ultra marathoner
Furman, 48, is one of about 55,000
who has competed in more than a dozen
According to Scott Darling, Wildlife
resident hunters in the state of Vermont
ultra races, including the Vermont 50,
Management Program Manager for the
and she’s an anomaly. Roughly one in four
where she had a top ten finish in 2013.
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department,
Vermont men hunt and for most, it’s a
She’s also a former rock climber who
tradition passed down to them by their older
has climbed at the 5.11 grade and is the
Vermont, hunting licenses account for
male relatives. Only one in ten Vermont
cofounder of the Climbing Resource Access
roughly one third of department revenues,
women hunt. Furman is also unusual in that
Group of Vermont, CRAG-VT. She served as
which fund research, conservation efforts
she started hunting as an adult.
the group’s first president for six years, from
and regulation of more than 25,000 species
Furman started hunting grouse at the age of 36, after her husband Dave, an upland
that decline presents a challenge.
of fauna and 2,000 native plants. Annual
1999 to 2005. Furman
In
picked
up
deer
hunting
bird hunter and former rock-climbing
around the time when she retired from
guide, gave her a shotgun for Valentine’s
running ultra marathons. She had grown
Day. After years of rock climbing together,
accustomed to spending long hours at a
he was hoping to include her in a sport
time in the woods as a trail runner and was
Ed Gallo has no problem sharing his land and hopes to spread goodwill by being a good ambassador of Vermont's tradition of open access, something he says is a big part of the state's cultural history. Photo by Ed Gallo
license sales peaked between 1965 and 1987 but have been on the decline since. “It’s the primary funding source for the Fish and Wildlife Department as well as the match for much of the federal dollars we receive,”
that he was rediscovering. Shotguns are
compelled by the growing impact of deer on
native woodland plants from establishing
the tool of choice for bird hunting, which
the landscapes she works with at the Nature
themselves to regenerate the forest. This is
As Project Coordinator for the Wildlife
Heather never really took to. Four years ago,
Conservancy.
increasingly common in parts of the state
Management Program, Darling’s colleague
as the climate warms and deer populations
Chris Saunders studies the human factors
are no longer kept in check naturally by
involved in wildlife management. Saunders
predators and Vermont’s harsh winters.
hunts and fishes with his own sons. It’s a
at 44, she decided to try deer hunting and,
Hunting is an important tool for
naturally, her husband bought her a rifle for
managing
her birthday.
populations, which, when overpopulated,
Vermont’s
white-tailed
deer
Furman was born in Ohio and first
can strip a forest of its undergrowth, leaving
moved to Vermont over 20 years ago to work
the deer malnourished and preventing
20 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
As Furman says, she hunts because, “I like to do my part.”
said Darling in October.
tradition he learned from his dad, who works as a naturalist. He grew up hunting and
Chris Saunders (left) credits his father Dr. Andrew Saunders (right) with instilling in him a deep love of wildlife and the landscape. As an adult, Saunders hunts in part because he loves to bring home venison and other game meat. According to the 2017 White-Tailed Deer Harvest Report, compiled by Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, hunters harvested more than 15,984 deer during the four Vermont deer seasons in 2017, providing more than 3 million servings of local venison. Photo courtesy Chris Saunders fishing and likes to eat wild meat for health
know from national studies that people
reasons and for the connection it provides
have less time. They are working more,” says
him with his land. “Wildlife is extremely
Saunders.
important to me. I birdwatch rather avidly
and deer can become pests. In 2012, the state launched a HunterLandowner Connection Program, an online registry which allows landowners concerned
and am a gardener too, and I don’t see a
WHERE TO FIND DEER?
big distinction between these activities.
As more areas in Vermont become developed,
register with the State through a website.
It’s about getting intimate with nature and
bubbles of posted land—places where
Hunters are also encouraged to register, and
understanding where we belong.”
hunters are not allowed without permission
the state connects the two parties so that
from a property owner—increase.
they can arrange permission to hunt.
On the whole, Vermont’s hunters
about overbrowsing on their property to
are an aging population. Since 2000, the
A study of parcelization published by
Darling is quick to point out that
number of youth hunting licenses issued to
the Vermont Natural Resources Council
parcelization is a big source of declining
Vermont residents has diminished by more
(VNRC) in early October, 2018, found that
access. The average age of Vermont’s forest
than fifty percent, from about 10,000 in
the amount of undeveloped forestland
landowners is 60 to 65. “Everyone involved
2000 to just over 4,000 in 2017. “Research
across the state decreased by 12 to 15 percent
is worried. Will that land be passed down to
has shown that people who get into hunting
between 2004 and 2016.
their kids or sold? Will it be subdivided?” he
at an older age are less likely to keep it
Furthermore,
deer
populations
are
asked.
up over the long term,” said Saunders in
highest in the parts of the state that have
In October, a 776-acre property, the
October.
the most legally posted land. For example,
largest remaining parcel of undeveloped
Saunders says that decline is due in part
Grand Isle leads the state in terms of deer
land in Stowe, was listed for $10 million.
to Vermont’s aging demographics statewide.
density (30 per square mile) and also has
"We are losing parcels like this—those
“Hunters by and large come from rural
the highest percentage of legally posted
areas,” says Saunders. “The fewer young
land (eight percent). Franklin County is
people you have in rural areas, the fewer
close behind, with seven percent of its land
young people you’re going to have hunting.”
posted and 21 to 30 deer per square mile.
Kyle LaPointe started out as a bow hunter and now hunts with a rifle as well. In 2017, the overall success rate for deer hunters in Vermont was 18 percent. Photo by Kyle LaPointe
Saunders emphasized that hunting’s
In contrast, as of 2016, Essex County had
decline is also due to changing social
no posted land and a deer density of five to
is the maximum density that Vermont’s
circumstances. “It used to be that if you
nine animals per square mile, well below
woodland ecosystems can sustain. Beyond
were a rural kid, you hunted and you fished.
the state’s target of 20 deer per square mile,
that density, the natural cycle of forest
There are more things to do now. And we
the number biologists have determined
regeneration is inhibited by over-grazing
over 500 and 1,000 acres—at an alarming rate," said Furman. "Each one that is sold, subdivided and developed compromises productive intact habitat and eliminates the opportunity for traditional uses." VNRC’s report found that subdivided parcels are more likely to be developed and less likely to be used for forest management
NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 21
or for farming, uses that have supported
and leaves of] native timber species, like
hunting for much of Vermont’s history. As
sugar maples,” says Darling. “As their
Saunders noted, “Even if land isn’t posted,
populations become overabundant in parts
you can’t hunt in a field that is now a
of the state, we have seen a lack of sugar
Walmart.”
maples growing in the understory. That can have a big impact on landowners managing
THE OLD GUARD
their forests for maple products.” When deer
When Ed Gallo was growing up in Barre
are overpopulated, Darling says they impact
in the 1970s, he says you would have been
other native species. “Songbirds, pollinators
hard pressed to find a man or boy in Central
and butterflies are all fewer in number
Vermont who didn’t hunt. “Everybody went
where there is overbrowsing of the forest
to deer camp. During deer season, any
understory.”
business that primarily depended on male
Moose have their own problems, which
labor, like construction, was totally shut
are exacerbated by deer overpopulation and
down,” says Gallo. “Mom-and-pop stores
fed by warmer winters. Citing an estimated
would put out big signs that said, ‘Welcome
statewide population of just 1,650 moose,
Hunters’ and churches would sponsor cheap
in 2018 the state issued only 13 permits to
hunter breakfasts.”
hunt bull moose, and those permits were
Gallo is a retired software engineer who
only valid in the far northeast corner of
now lives in Richmond. He is vice president
Vermont. In 2017, the statewide population
of the Hunters Anglers Trappers Association
was estimated to be 2,000 and 80 permits
of Vermont. At 61, he is part of the old guard.
were issued. In the early 2000s, the moose
He learned to hunt from his father, who
population was closer to 5,000. Nuse and his
bought him his first gun when he was in fifth
wife Ingrid have been lucky to pull moose
grade. He speaks poetically but practically
tags twice. Both times, they were successful
about the land in the way of someone whose
in their hunt. He hopes that someday more
family has been tied to it for a long time.
Vermonters can have the same experience.
“Hunting is not about killing the deer,”
According to Darling, a study of moose
Gallo insists. For Gallo’s extended family,
calf survival rates in Vermont launched in
going to deer camp is a social affair that
2017 has preliminarily found that mortality
starts when the kids are about five or six.
rates among moose calves in the Northeast
There’s no drinking at his camp. You get the sense that there are no cell phones either. “I know guys who are quite old and go every
From 2009 to 2017, the number of female hunters in Vermont increased by 3 percent. Eric Nuse (above with dog Lex) says he's glad to see more diversity in the sport. Photo courtesy Eric Nuse.
are currently as high as 60 to 70 percent. The culprit is a parasite, the winter tick. “When we have milder falls, Winter Ticks
year but have never gotten a deer. It’s about
Wildlife in August, 86 percent of Vermont
Like Gallo, he says that these trends
stay out longer searching for a moose host.
lifelong friendships,” Gallo says. For him,
residents look favorably on hunting. It’s also
are tied up in Vermonters’ changing social
By winter, when moose are most vulnerable,
learning to hunt was also about learning to
safe. Only one hunting accident involving
attitudes about the land. According to
you see as many as 20,000 to 60,000 ticks
be still and patient. “You spend the night
a non-hunter has occurred since the state
the Northeastern Area Association of
on a single animal. This fingernail-sized
at camp together, but once daylight breaks,
made hunter education mandatory in 1975.
State Foresters, 80 percent of Vermont’s
parasite can suck almost all of the blood volume out of a calf,” said Darling.
you’re on your own. You live with your
This was confirmed by Eric Nuse,
forestland is held by private landowners. Of
decisions and you learn to enjoy being alone
a retired Vermont game warden from
that, about 2.9 million acres, or 62 percent,
in the woods.”
Making matters worse, in areas where
Johnson. For most of his 32-year career, he
is owned by families and individuals. “The
white-tailed
Gallo has no problem sharing his 120
was assigned to Lamoille County. He has
old Vermont way of leaving your land open
(more than 20 deer per mile by the state’s
acres with other hunters. He is quick to report
hunted waterfowl, turkey, deer and moose
for your neighbors to recreate on is fading
standards), they can transmit a parasite
poor behavior and always asks permission
in Vermont. He enjoys squirrel hunting. He
away. We still have a strong ethic of that in
known as brain worm to moose. The parasite
to hunt on others’ land regardless of whether
grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, where
most of Lamoille County and the Northeast
doesn’t affect deer but causes moose to
it is posted. “When I grew up, most of the
his father was a “consummate pick-up-the-
Kingdom.
appear disoriented and often leads to weight
land owners were farmers and most of them
roadkill kind of guy.”
Addison? Way less so.”
But
Chittenden,
Franklin,
deer
are
overpopulated
loss and death by paralysis. In short, “it’s not a good time to be a moose,” summarized
didn’t have a problem allowing you on their
At 70, Nuse is an active sportsman
property to cull the deer population. This
and serves on the Board of Directors for the New England chapter of the nonprofit
CHANGING CLIMATE, CHANGING POPULATIONS
Darling.
is a different era and it feels like a bit of a culture clash,” says Gallo.
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. This
Since 2017, the Vermont Department of Fish
the department is working to temporarily
Vermont’s tradition of open access is as
year, the group is partnering with the
and Wildlife has been working to develop a
limit moose populations in Vermont to one
old as our statehood and was born out of a
Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife
new ten-year big game management plan for
animal per square mile. Hunting is a useful
regionally distinct and very strong sense
to create a new hunter mentorship program.
moose, black bears and deer.
tool for doing so.
of community. Vermont has long had strict
“We find we have a lot of people who didn’t
Darling says Vermont’s harsh winters
The department has not yet been forced
laws in place that protect property owners
come from a hunting tradition or family who
are no longer consistent enough to cull deer
to reduce its services or programming
from liability and encourage this. However,
take hunter education and then say, ‘what
populations without human intervention
as a result of fewer hunting license sales.
a person who is new to a community
now?’” The idea is to connect new hunters
as in the past. Additionally, development of
However,
may not have the family connections to
and prospective mentors through weekend
previously wooded areas has allowed black
deer population and the state’s wildlife
their neighbors that were common in old
trainings, social gatherings and established
bear to expand their food sources to include
management budget will be affected shortly
Vermont and plenty of people are reasonably
connections to help more young people
human garbage, and Vermont’s deer are
if younger hunters don’t emerge to replace
distrustful of gun-toting strangers.
get involved with hunting. Nuse hopes the
no longer hunted by their historic natural
the funds provided by the ones who are aging
program will launch in time for turkey
predators—catamounts and wolves.
out of the sport. “Sadly, in other states where
However,
according
to
a
survey
conducted by the department of Fish and
22 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
season next spring.
“White-tailed deer prefer to eat [buds
To reduce the spread of winter ticks,
Darling
expects
both
the
overabundant deer exist in localized areas,
Deer are not evenly distributed across Vermont, and neither was the 2017 deer harvest . Areas west of the Green Mountains accounted for nearly 40 percent of the total deer harvest in 2017, despite containing just 24 percent of the state's deer habitat. In the diagrams above and left, each green dot represents a deer killed in the underlying town. The far right chart shows towns that experienced near-record total deer harvests in 2017. According to VDFW Deer Project Leader Nick Fortin, "the best deer habitat today is generally closer to where people live, while the big blocks of forest are fairly poor habitat." Charts by Nick Fortin, VDFW especially ex-urban areas, communities
LaPointe
lives
with
his
wife
and
have gone to paid sharpshooters,” says
three young kids on a small homestead
Darling.
in Townshend, Vt. He didn’t grow up in a
THE NEW HUNTERS
hunting family but taught himself to bow hunt at 21, when he found himself living off
For some young Vermonters, hunting
the grid on a remote property in southern
is compelling because it presents a rare
Vermont. He’s also a fly fisherman and
opportunity to unplug from today’s world
cross-country skier. He primarily hunts deer
of smartphones, to slow down and focus on
on public land in Windham County.
being still. They seem to want some of the
“Archery is like the fly fishing of the
things people like Ed Gallo and Eric Nuse
hunting world.” says LaPointe. “It is very
suggest we are all lacking: time to be still
quiet. There is no bang or loud noise. You
and present.
have to be very in tune with the wind and
As with rock climbing, Furman says,
your every movement. Lots of little factors
hunting demands your full attention. “When
have to come into play to make a good shot.”
you’re hunting, you have to find a balance
It also requires getting very, very close to
between being quiet and relaxed and not
a deer. “You have to get a lot closer to your
doing anything but being alert to what is
prey in order to ethically harvest them. In
around you,” she says. “I don’t have a lot of
Vermont, you’re talking 20 to 60 yards for a
quiet in my life these days. It’s a different
clean shot. With rifle hunting, depending on
way to be.”
how accurate you are, you could be several
For 31-year-old Kyle LaPointe, bow
hundred yards away or more.”
hunting is a quiet respite from a fast-paced
LaPointe is a member of Backcountry
work life as a paramedic. He works long
Hunters and Anglers and wishes the newly-
shifts to earn days off in a row, which he tries
planned mentorship program were available
to spend outside with his kids. The rhythms
to him when he was learning. He killed his
of hunting suit his life as a dad better than
first deer by arrow in Vermont last year.
his former passion: rock climbing.
Like Gallo, LaPointe sees value in
Putting good meat in the freezer is a
introducing kids to the outdoors through
bonus. “I’m a foodie,” he explains. “A lot
farming and hunting. He encourages his
of people my age who are getting into it as
five-year-old daughter to practice listening
adults care about conservation and where
and being still while they hunt grouse.
their food comes from.” That’s why he loves
“My wife and I raise and process pigs and
venison. “It’s the best meat you can get.
chickens on our farm and my daughter has
It’s free-range, local, totally organic. I love
always been a part of that. For her, that’s
being able to cook up intricate dishes for my
where meat comes from. If she grows up and
whole family,” said LaPointe, who is working
decides not to hunt and not to farm, that’s
to recruit his wife to the sport.
OK. At least she’ll understand that.”
too big, the deer get skinnier,” he lamented.
A VICIOUS CYCLE I met Furman on a crisp day in late October at the LaPlatte River Marsh Natural Area in Shelburne. It is a perfect example of an ecosystem that has been impacted by the overabundance of deer. Oaks and beech trees abut the muddy river banks, but there is very little understory. The measured density of deer at the parcel is 32 per square mile. The target is closer to 20 deer per square mile to meet the Conservancy’s management goal: to maximize the biodiversity of native bird, pollinator and plant species there. Deer
have
already
impacted
the
forest’s ability to regenerate. Since the Conservancy's recent effort to remove invasive buckthorn and honeysuckle cleared the forest floor, native plants have been slow to grow back. As Furman explains, the native plants they expected to replace the invasive species have been over-browsed by the numerous white-tailed deer, preventing new forest growth. Bow hunting is allowed at the 225-acre property, which Furman describes as “a wild landscape in a suburban setting.” Hunting is allowed on all Nature Conservancy properties in Vermont. At the LaPlatte site, the Conservancy decided to limit other types of access from 3 p.m. to 10 a.m., so that hunters would have more opportunity to hunt deer during the prime dawn and dusk hours. On our walk, we run into one local hunter, a gentleman named Ken, who has bow hunted at the preserve for 38 years. He told us he rarely sees large bucks in Shelburne anymore. “When the herd gets
His biggest concerns? Development and parcelization. “I think we hunters all consider ourselves conservationists. When you take an animal, it’s spiritual.” Overbrowsing affects more than just hunters. According to Furman, it can have long term impacts on forest regeneration and starts a vicious cycle. “A lot of private landowners who own larger parcels manage their woodlots for income. This problem can have long term effects on their ability to do so.” With too many deer, Foresters may find that when they harvest trees, the forest can't regenerate as quickly. Then, without a reliable harvest cycle, the financial instability of the woodlot makes them more likely to have to sell their land and divide it. “That impacts us from a cultural standpoint,” Furman says. “Whether you’ve lived here for a year, ten years, your whole life, the landscape and our relationship to it defines us as Vermonters. These issues affect all of us.” Furman gestured around her. “There is a deep culture of hunting in Vermont, born from a time when a lot of Vermonters hunted for subsistence,” she said. “The culture of hunting is an interesting one. It’s a changing tradition, with more young adults and women getting into the sport who want to be connected to their food.” Furman says that strong sense of connection with the land makes her optimistic that Vermont’s hunters and nonhunters can come together overcome these challenges. “We may not all agree about how, but we all want to enjoy our forests.”
NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 23
A NEW WAVE OF VERMONT ATHLETE/ENTREPRENEURS IS STITCHING TOGETHER GEAR FOR THE OUTDOORS. BY RACHEL COHEN, ABAGAEL GILES AND LISA LYNN
B
y now, the story is almost a
Turtle Fur headwear. Others have come and
can’t find it, some just go off and make it
plans for Hula, a co-working space that will
legend: In 2003, Cabot Hosiery of
gone: Jogbra started here in 1977. Ibex wool
themselves,” says Bradbury. “Think of the
occupy the site of the former Blodgett Oven
Northfield was facing tough times.
clothing was born in Woodstock that same
Burton AK line—no one else was really
building on the waterfront, just west of the
The family-owned private label sock maker
year. Isis women’s activewear came into
making high-end, technical snowboard
surf club. “I can see outdoor businesses
was looking at layoffs. Then Ric Cabot, son of
being in 1998 (Isis founder Poppy Gall now
apparel— or Eva Shaw’s HoodE, which she
being attracted to move here—we have a
the owner and a die-hard snowboarder and
designs for Darn Tough.) Those brands were
created because as a ski racer, she was cold
great lifestyle. How many other places can
outsdoorsman, came up with an idea: Cabot
bought, and, in some instances, shuttered,
and wanted something to wear over her
you leave your office if it’s windy and walk
would make its own brand of bullet-proof
but plenty of new ones are moving in.
helmet.”
downstairs to kiteboard or SUP at lunch
socks for the outdoors and offer a lifetime
“Vermont is a fertile proving ground
Bradbury has helped a number of recent
guarantee. Fifteen years later, Cabot’s Darn
for all sorts of innovations,” says David
start-ups—ranging from Renoun skis and
in the summer, or be skiing in an hour in
Tough is booming, adding new knitting
Bradbury, president of the Vermont Center
Skida hats to student projects at Middlebury
Co-working spaces and incubators have
machines and hiring new employees in
for Emerging Technology, an incubator
College such as Overeasy and SheFly—and
taken over Burlington and are popping
Northfield. Starting in January, it plans to
that provides coaching, co-working and
VCET is just one of several organizations
up around the state, ranging from The
churn out an additional 1.5 million socks.
mentorship and has spaces in Burlington
dedicated to growing start-ups in Vermont.
Lightning Jar in Bennington to Valley.Works
winter?”
Darn Tough is just one of Vermont’s
and Middlebury. “We have a lot of top
Russ Scully, owner of WND&WVS
in Waitsfield to the Incubator Without Walls
outdoor apparel success stories, along with
athletes here. They know what they want
surf shop in Burlington and founder of the
(iWOW) in Lyndon. “Think how cool it is to
brands such as Burton’s apparel line and
from a piece of gear or apparel and if they
Burlington Surf Club, recently announced
know you can have an office space just a few
Mana Threads' Amelia Leme (far right) creates bright, stretchy shorts, leggings, skorts and tops for everything from cycling to stand-up paddling. Photo courtesy Mana Threads/Ali Kaukas
24 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
miles away from Kingdom Trails,” Bradbury
others? They just might become the next
that was really fun. I found that by making
she could find some privacy, which usually
says of iWOW.
Jogbra or Burton or Darn Tough.
small-batch activewear I could use lots of
came in the form of a large piece of ice or a
different colors and designs, versus the
boulder. She'd then shed her three or four
all-black that larger companies often have
layers of clothing in sub-zero temperatures,
to make.” Mana Threads launched with a
answer nature’s call and hike back to work.
If you ask Brazilian Amelia Leme what
retail shop on Church Street in Burlington
“It was a waste of time, a waste of energy
brought her to Vermont she laughs and
in 2015. “We did $10,000 in sales the first
and it usually left me feeling cold for hours
quickly says “Snow. ” But that’s not the
day it opened,” Leme recalls. The shop was
afterward, to the point where I started
whole story. She arrived, originally as an
open for a year before she decided online
cutting my water consumption,” Edwards
au pair, studied at St. Michael’s College and
sales was a better business.
said. “After a few weeks, I thought, ‘There
Thirteen
years
ago,
Fresh
Tracks
Capital’s Cairn Cross launched Peak Pitch as a way for start-ups to pitch their companies to potential investors. The twist? The pitch takes place on a chairlift ride at Sugarbush each year. Alumni of Peak Pitch have grown into early-stage ventures such as Renoun skis and Powe. Snowboards. “There’s a principle in business that the faster you can prototype, build, test and improve, the faster you can come up with a good product. In Vermont, it’s easy to do if you’re creating an outdoor product because we have so many experts in outdoor gear willing and ready to test,” says Cross. In 2014 Cross took the Peak Pitch idea on the road—literally. Road Pitch is a sort of
Hell’s
Angels-meets-angel
investors
motorcycle tour of Vermont where the riders (mainly venture capitalists and successful entrepreneurs) meet with start-ups and listen to pitches in towns around the state. And from 2018’s Road Pitch several new businesses are blossoming in the outdoor field, including SheFly. Here’s a sampling of what Vermont’s new entrepreneurs in the outdoor apparel industry are up to. Some of these companies may not be around in five years but the
MANA THREADS: EXERCISEWEAR WITH FLAIR
went on to get her MBA.
This year, Leme is taking a new
has to be a better way to do this.’”
However, "the corporate life wasn't
direction: “We’re going to be making our
That was in 2015. Shortly after, Edwards
really me," says Leme. After returning to
line here in the U.S. and using fabric that’s
developed the idea for SheFly, “a layerable
Brazil, she and her boyfriend (now husband)
not only recycled but also biodegradable,”
line of outdoor pants for women that allow
moved back to Vermont in 2008. "I loved
she says with pride. manathreads.com. –
them to easily relieve themselves outside,”
snowboarding, had started mountain bike
Lisa Lynn
as she describes it. Edwards enrolled in MiddCore, a four-week
colors of Brazil so I started making my own
SHEFLY: SOLVING AN AGE-OLD PROBLEM
clothes."
Georgia Grace Edwards was working 10- to
and Sam Roach-Gerber. Over her winter
These days, Leme, now 42, is more
12-hour days as a guide on Juneau, Alaska’s
break, Edwards taught herself how to sew,
into surfing and stand-up paddleboarding.
Mendenhall Glacier when, as the only
and came back to campus with several pairs
Which explains why the newest shoot for
female guide, she noticed how the work
of snow pants, outfitted with zippers that
her clothing line, Mana Threads, took place
was different for her than for her male co-
went all the way around, from front to back.
at the Burlington Surf Club. The money
workers.
racing, and became a personal trainer," Leme recalls. "But I missed all the bright
Back at school at Middlebury College, course taught by VCET's David Bradbury
One of Edwards’ first class projects was
shot (below) shows the various elements of
To relieve herself on the glacier, Edwards
to develop a market survey. After receiving
her line–stretchy running tights, electric
had to trek across the ice field in her boots
more than 100 responses in less than 24
cycling shorts, bra tops and skorts.
and crampons, avoiding crevasses, until
hours, Edwards found that 25 percent of
Mana
Threads
started
out
as
a
young female adventurers she surveyed on
collaboration with her sister, who lives in
Middlebury’s campus had an "accident" in
Brazil. “I couldn’t find exercise gear here
the outdoors in the past year.
NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 25
Middlebury College entrepreneurs include SheFly's Georgia Edwards and Bianca Gonzalez (left) and Middlebury ski racer Eva Shaw, modeling her Overeasy HoodE (right).
Photo courtesy SheFly and Overeasy
“One in four grown women at Middlebury
School students,” reflected Shaw. “At our
College peed their pants in the past year
best, we could make four or five in an hour.”
because they couldn’t get their clothing out
Shaw said that each HoodE takes about
of the way in time or they couldn’t get to a
40 minutes to construct, start to finish. She
bathroom in time. It’s pretty crazy if you
continued like that, balancing orders and
think about it,” Edwards said.
sewing with school at Middlebury College,
So with the help of her co-founders,
until this past January, when she enrolled
fellow Middlebury College students, Bianca
in the Middlebury Entrepreneurs January
Gonzalez and climber and guide Charlotte
Term course. Like the SheFly gang, she got
Massey, Edwards set out to make SheFly a
coaching from VCET.
business. At first, she modified pants that
After hearing Shaw’s pitch, Bradbury
her friends and family members owned to
and Roach-Gerber advised that she go all in,
include wrap-around zippers. Now, she says,
hire seamstresses and launch a website. In the first day that overeasy.co was
SheFly is trying to create pants of their own
up and running, the company did $1,300
design from start to finish. “Pants were invented for men, and
in e-commerce sales. “We just had one
haven’t really been modified since then,”
seamstress and we didn’t even really have
she says. “We are tired of the shrink-it and
all the materials in hand,” said Shaw, who promptly hired more seamstresses and
pink-it strategy in women’s outdoor clothing design,” SheFly’s website reads. Despite facing the challenges that come
Chelsea Camarata models the line of mountain bike gear she designed for herself and other women.
brought in classmate and family friend Meg
Photo courtesy Kaden/Ryan Bent
Collins to help out.
with starting a business while being a full-
now studying in the Czech Republic) but
class in seventh grade and over a break from
In September, 2018, Overeasy was one
time student, Edwards and her team have
still phone in for meetings. Massey is a
college in December 2016, experimented
of seven finalists out of 44 applicants in
received their fair share of accolades. In
senior and juggling finals with growing the
with making an over-the-helmet hood.
the Female Founders Start Here Challenge,
2018, SheFly won first place in Burlington’s
business.
The result was the first HoodE: a faux-fur
sponsored by VCET. As runner-up, Overeasy
“Soup” pitch competition, held at the
In the meantime, SheFly, which began
creation that rests on top of a skier’s jacket
(which recently trademarked its name) won
co-working space Study Hall Collective,
by making snow pants, has expanded into
and can be pulled up and over the helmet
$5,000. Starting this fall, most of Overeasy’s
and won second place in Middlebury
hiking gear and long underwear and is busy
while skiing or sitting on a chair lift. The
HoodEs will be made at Vermont Teddy Bear
Entrepreneurs’ Final Pitch Competition.
fulfilling its first major order: Middlebury
garment has drawstrings that let you pull
Company, which will allow the company
SheFly was the regional winner for Road
Outdoor Programs’ Equipment Room, which
it snug against a helmet so it stays on while
to produce several hundred products at a
Pitch and made it to the finals in Burlington
provides outdoor gear for college students
you ski. When the hood isn’t needed, the
time. No seamstresses have been laid off
on Oct. 17 where, according to Cross, they
to rent free of charge, has ordered 10 pairs
drawstrings can be loosened so the HoodE
as a result of this transition—Shaw plans to
earned the second-highest score, just shy of
of SheFly’s “Long Janes” long underwear.
inconspicuously falls to the shoulders to
keep them on board to spearhead product
winning the grand prize.
Sheflyapparel.com —Rachel Cohen
look like a fluffy tube scarf. There are also
prototyping and any custom orders.
Perhaps the most exciting competition:
fleece-lined flannel patterns available, as
For now, HoodEs can only be purchased
applications to be part of Title Nine’s
OVEREASY: SLOPE STYLE HOODS
“I wore it over my helmet at the
outdoor retail shops in the next year, or on
Movers and Makers Pitch Fest in the San
Eva Shaw grew up ski racing in Vermont so
mountain on a few really, really cold days,
the slopes at the Middlebury Snow Bowl.
Francisco Bay area. “We finished ninth, but
she knows cold. And cold was the inspiration
and people kept asking me where I got it. I
overeasy.co —Abagael Giles
the cool thing is Title Nine is interested in
for the Middlebury College student’s start-
thought, ‘Wow maybe there’s a market for
talking with us,” says Massey of the national
up, Overeasy.
this,'” Shaw said.
SheFly was chosen from more than 200
well as wind and waterproof models.
online, but look out for them in Vermont
KADEN: AN MTB LINE FOR WOMEN
Shaw, who raced alpine for Burke
With just her sewing machine and a
The SheFly team now has a patent
Mountain Academy, is from a family of
few yards of faux fur, Shaw launched an
Chelsea Camarata grew up in New York but
pending and hopes to create a Kickstarter
ski racers. Her father, Tiger Shaw, was an
Instagram account in 2016 and started
after graduating from Champlain College in
campaign
research
Olympian and now heads up U.S. Ski and
taking orders for HoodEs. Soon she was
2009, knew she wanted to stay in Vermont.
and development stage and pair with a
Snowboard and her relatives still operate
scrambling to keep up.
Then she got into mountain biking. That
manufacturer. Edwards and Gonzalez have
Shaw’s General Store in Stowe.
women’s apparel brand.
to
complete
the
graduated (Edwards is a Fulbright Fellow
26 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
Eva learned to sew in a home economics
“I made over 175 HoodEs last winter
not only sealed the deal but gave her a new
with the help of two Green Mountain Valley
idea: “I quickly realized that it was really
is in its traditional position.
hard to find good mountain biking apparel for women that wasn’t really loud and that
“We’ve been starting slowly,” Segall
fit well.” So, she brushed up on her sewing
says, “doing all of our retail online and
skills and began designing jerseys for
direct to consumers.“ One thing that has
herself. “After a while, I got to where I had
helped is being in Vermont. “There’s a
something I really liked,” she remembers.
real commitment to buying local here and
She launched a Kickstarter campaign,
Vermont skiers are passionate and like to
which earned her $5,000, built a website
support their brands.” orsden.com –L.L.
and named her brand Kaden (“kind of like
JERRY OF THE DAY: RESPECTING THE SEND
the cadence on a bike,” she says). Now in its first year, Kaden has about 350 jerseys for sale and will come out with
Some people have learned how to make
a pair of cycling shorts for 2019. “These are
money by looking good on Instagram.
designed for women mountain bikers,” says
Burlington’s Colton Hardy has made money
Camarata. “They have lots of articulated
by looking bad, or at least hilariously goofy.
areas so they move with you and don’t ride up and gussets under the arm to reduce
UVM buds, Geoff McDonald and Chris James launched Ski the East and now, Eastward Photo courtesy Ski The East
“I never really had a plan from the beginning,” says Hardy, founder of Jerry of
chafing.” The colors and styling are simple
the Day. The website started off as a joke.
and muted. “I wanted something you could
Hardy was ski racing for the University of
wear out after cycling too, say if you grab a
Vermont alpine team when teammate Tim
beer with a friend,” she says.
Kelley (of the Cochran-Kelly ski racing dynasty) brought four pairs of boots to test
The line has already been picked up by
one day but forgot his shin guards.
three shops (Earl’s Cyclery in Williston, Waterbury Sports and the Village Sport
Hardy took a photo of Kelley and
Shop in Lyndonville) but Camarata, who
uploaded it to Facebook with the caption
has worked in digital marketing for Dealer.
“Jerry of the Day.” That was in 2012.
com and now Vermont Bicycle Tours, also
Since then, Hardy has made a practice of
hopes to sell direct through her site. Putting
uploading anything that strikes him as goofy
her MBA from Southern New Hampshire
(jeans and football jerseys on the slopes, fur
University to work, she wears just about
and most anything with an animal print),
every hat in the company–from design to
reckless, inept, or simply funny to his blog
marketing. kadenapparel.com —Lisa Lynn
and to Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
SKIDA: HATS AND MORE FOR ATHLETES
ski suits with goggles on upside down,
There are photos of people in one-piece
If there’s one person that the founders of SheFly and HoodE can look to as a role model, it’s Corinne Prevot, 28. In 2006, Prevot, a Nordic racer, started stitching together stretchy fleece-lined hats for her teammates at Burke Mountain Academy. By the time she graduated from Middlebury College in 2013, Prevot had founded Skida (Swedish for “snow"). This past May, she made Forbes magazine's national list of "30 Under 30 in Manufacturing" and was also featured in Outside magazine. Prevot’s hats are ubiquitous now, often seen on the heads of Nordic Olympic team members. Prevot, who is based in Burlington, frequently travels to Nepal where she sources the cashmere for her new line—and gets some mountain biking in when she can. In 2011, she received an order from a man who wanted to give 12 hats to his wife, who was undergoing cancer treatment, and her medical team. Instead of selling the hats, Prevot came up with the Skida Plus One concept, which allows customers to use a Plus One checkout code to help send an extra hat to a patient at one of eight cancer hospitals around the country. In 2017, Skida sold more than 100,000 Vermont-made products, Forbes reports. skida.com —L.L.
Colton Hardy and Lindsay Laird came up with"Jerry" wear, after Jerry of the Day took off. Photo courtesy Jerry of the Day
videos of skiers crashing into liftlines at high speed, gear blowing off roof racks and plenty of big sends… that didn’t quite make it. Jerry
ORSDEN: AFFORDABLE SKI WEAR
has also extended into other seasons. Recent footage (or footy, as Jerry would say) shows
Recently, Orsden founder Sarah Segall
a news anchor doing a live report, oblivious
was walking down the streets of New York
to an ATV that crosses the road behind her…
City when she spied someone in one of her
and flips.
ski jackets. “Of course, I ran up to them
Hardy now gets nearly 300 submissions
and asked them how they liked it—and the
a day and has more than 2,300 Instagram
response was all positive,” she says. For the
posts and 1.4 million followers.
past three years, Sarah and her husband
Early on, Hardy started selling t-shirts
Steven have been building Orsden, what
with the motto "Respect the Send." That’s
she calls an “affordable” ski-wear brand, as
morphed into a whole line of ironically goofy
a direct-to-consumer business from their
gear. “It’s gear that you would get as a gift,”
home near Stratton, Vt.
says Hardy—things like a purple fanny pack
The line features men’s and women’s
with skiers all over it, a sweatshirt designed
jackets and pants—all made with technical,
Sarah Segall of Stratton models her Orsden jacket.
four-way stretch materials—in muted colors.
Photo courtesy Orsden
to look like an ugly Christmas sweater.
realized there was an opportunity for a
people are ordering things like the Send-o-
new line of ski wear. “I heard so often from
Vision glasses, then wearing them in photos
other women they were constantly cold,” she
and videos and doing something stupid just
says. Instead of creating another puffy, boxy
so they can be featured as Jerry of the Day,”
jacket, she worked with designers to create
says Hardy.
“I like a slimmer profile when skiing,” says Sarah, “but I found a lot of the slim profile jackets and pants just didn’t flex or move and they were expensive.” Segall, a 2007 Dartmouth grad, and Steven met at Columbia Business School where they were both pursuing MBA programs. Steven had been a ski racer, Sarah an avid skier. She went on to work for a variety of high-profile retail and apparel companies including Revlon, Berluti, The Jones Group and Hermes. Segall grew up skiing at Stratton and
“It’s almost become this meta thing:
a tailored one, with a unique attribute: a
Behind all of this funny business, Hardy
zipper that goes diagonally across the body,
has managed to make enough to create a
finishing on one side of a high neck. “This
full-time job for himself and his girlfriend
allowed us to create that great high neckline
Linsday Laird, who helped design the first
that you can snuggle your face down into
t-shirts. A team of designers now churns out
when it’s cold,” she says. The men’s version
more than 40 items, but Hardy has final say
also has a high neck and hood, but the zipper
as to what gets sold. jerryoftheday.net –L.L.
NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 27
SKI THE EAST: BORN FROM ICE, RAISED IN NEW ENGLAND This month, you’ll see something new
THE VERMONT 30 IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO BUY LOCAL THIS HOLIDAY SEASON,
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dropping from Ski The East, and it’s not another ski video showing sick lines and big
Turtle Fur Hats
air. Nor is it another hoody with the nowfamous Ski The East logo. No, it’s a new line of apparel– “Eastward,” described as
Concept2 ergs
a “an outdoor lifestyle brand designed with a sense of place; inspired by the unique weather, terrain and history of Eastern North America.” The line is being sewn in India by Fair Trade-certified factories and will use organic and recycled materials. “We’re committed to environmental, social, and
sustainable
pursuits,”
says
Chris
"Rooster" James. Eastward is the latest way that James and his business partner and buddy Geoff McDonald
have
managed
to
reinvent
themselves in what could be called one of New England’s longest-running (and only) apparel/action sports film start-ups.
Dion Snowshoes
“Born from Ice,” is the tagline that often appears on the more than 600 SKUs (items) that have come out of the Williston offices of Ski the East. It’s also been the inspiration, for all that the two friends have produced in the last 14 years. “We met as freshmen at UVM,” says James, “and just started skiing together, filming each other and doing crazy things. We’re both from the East Coast and no one was really celebrating East Coast skiing.” “Natural Force,” their first official film
Dodge Boots
produced under their Meathead label, played to a standing-room only crowd of about 350 at UVM’s CC theater. Within a few years, they were touring films to more than
Renoun Citadel Skis
50 locations around New England and had lined up sponsors such as Subaru, Eastern Mountain Sports, Head Skis, Ben & Jerry’s, Clif Bar and others. “When I told my dad this is what I wanted to do after college he told me, “You’re living a pipe dream–it will never work,” James recalls. “Yeah Dad, that’s right I’m living the dream…” he remembers
Adirondack Guide Boat: heirloom, handcrafted rowboats
Louis Garneau: cycling gear from Canada, made in Newport, Vt.
saying.
Budnitz Bicycles: High-end belt-drive titanium bicycles
Mad River Rocket: sleds you can steer like a canoe
Burton: snowboards and apparel, Anon goggles and helmets
Norton: classic toboggans
their films, they began distributing the now-
Clustas: magnetic weight balls
Orvis: fly-fishing gear and apparel
ubiquitous Ski the East bumper stickers.
Concept2: rowing, cycling and ski ergs and oars
PowderJet: build-your-own snowboards
As the college buddies began touring
It didn’t take long for the stickers to
Darn Tough: socks with a lifetime guarantee
Powe. Snowboards: craft snowboards with eco-friendly design
morph into a brand and a brand to morph
Dion: performance snowshoes for running and racing
Renoun: carbon skis with hyper-damping technology
into a clothing line. In 2015, they opened
Dodge Boots: custom-fit carbon fiber ski boots
Rome SDS: snowboards, bindings and accessories
a retail shop but soon realized the traffic
Hammerhead Sleds: performance sleds
Silo: hand-crafted, custom made skis
wasn’t there. Where it was, was online: With
Height of Land Publications: Backcountry, Cross-Country Skier,
Snurfer/Vew-Do: the precursor to the snowboard, and
more than 90,000 followers on Instagram
Mountain Flyer and The Alpinist magazines
Vew-Do balance boards
they had a solid market.
Hemetic Trading Co.: Backpacks and luggage
Terry: cycling apparel, saddles and accessories for women
J Skis: limited edition, hand-signed skis
Turtle Fur: hats, headwear and accessories
Julbo: The French maker of goggles and sport glasses has its
Untapped: maple-based all-natural athletic fuel
U.S. headquarters in Williston, Vt.
Warren Pieces: handcrafted wood longboards and skateboards
KneeBinding: ski bindings designed to save ACLs
WhiteRoom: custom-crafted wood skis
And that’s a market they hope to extend with Eastward. skitheeast.net –L.L
Kombi: gloves, mittens and base layers that know cold
28 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
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VERMONT
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30 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
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NOV./DEC. 2018 | VTSPORTS.COM 33
ENDGAME
7 MOUNTAINS I DID NOT CONQUER
IF YOU WANT TO QUIET YOUR INNER-ALEX HONHOLD (AND EXTINGUISH ANY URGE TO FREECLIMB EL CAPITAN), JUST READ THIS. BY LEATH TONINO
A
uthor Leath Tonino has shoveled snow in Antarctica, worked as a
Sometimes, the view from below is better than summiting. Here, Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. Photo by Mark Cort
wildlife biologist in Arizona,
and has skied, paddled, biked and hiked the length of Vermont. But there are a few things he hasn’t done—namely, climb (most of these) mountains.
1. MOUNT EREBUS, ANTARCTICA It’s the world’s southernmost active volcano, a hulking ice monster with a beating magmatic heart. Need I say more? Okay, I’ll say more. I was working for the United States Antarctic Program at the time, and my superiors—who were many—kept telling me that I was at The Bottom of The World to shovel snow, not go on adventures. They explained that should I wander from the station, drawn heavenward by the promise of soul-purifying solitude or “whatever it is dudes like you [me] get off on,” my contract would be terminated, and I would be sent home. On top of that, they said, I would die. The volcano seemed to confirm this last part.
2. LA PLATA PEAK, COLORADO Chris remembered his ice axe but forgot his boots. And his pants. It was early December and our objective was the Ellingwood Ridge, two miles of confused jaggedness topped with a foot of fresh snow—horribly exposed, horribly loose, not for the faint of heart or, in our case, the faint of preparedness. Delicately, ever so delicately, I picked a line through the chaos. My stylish partner followed in tennis shoes and boxers worn over long underwear tights. The boxers were paisley patterned. A third of the way across we were forced to bail down a steep gully, not that I blame anybody or anything.
3. SGÙRR NAN GILLEAN, SCOTLAND “It’s only a wee scramble,” my guide Eliot said, then repeated it again as if I hadn’t heard him the first time, although he knew I had. We were stuck on a small ledge in the rain on the Isle of Skye’s Pinnacle Ridge. The rock: sharp, black gabbro. The rain: increasing. The surrounding peaks: terrifying names like Sgùrr Dearg and Basteir Tooth. I replied that there was nothing wee about the situation. Eliot, a mostly drunk, mostly chain-smoking, mostly fearless Glaswegian, said that I was being wee. It took many pints at the pub that evening to resolve this difference of opinion.
4. MOUNT RITTER, CALIFORNIA
feet from the edge of a 100-foot cliff; having
7. CAMEL’S HUMP, VERMONT
Of his first ascent, back in 1872, John Muir
tiptoed around black bears; having lost
She’s my personal Mount Everest, my
wrote the following: “After gaining a point
ourselves in a haunted alpine fog; having
Sagarmatha,
about half-way to the top, I was brought to
edged up to insanity at the relentless behest
Goddess Mother of the World. The first
a dead stop, with arms outspread, clinging
of mosquito hoards; having run out of food,
time I climbed her I was five years old and
close to the face of the rock, unable to move
courage and hope (in that order), we finally
accompanied by my father and sister. Since
hand or foot either up or down. My doom
reached the lake that led to the glacier that
then, I’ve stood atop her summit in snow and
appeared fixed. I must fall. There would be a
led to the peak. The peak we’d circled on our
rain and brightness, alone and with friends,
moment of bewilderment, and then a lifeless
maps a lifetime ago. The peak we no longer
in the company of dogs and wild birds, in
rumble . . . .” Sure, old, squirrely J.M. lived
cared to climb.
all seasons and moods. I’ve sipped from her
to tell the tale, but let’s recall that this was
Chomolungma,
my
springs and gulped down her clouds; I’ve
a man known for climbing Douglas firs in
6. MIDDLE TETON, WYOMING
eaten of her mossy, ferny flesh. I’ve slept
windstorms and rambling for weeks on end
There was ice in the couloir at 12,100 feet
with her, laughed with her, learned from her,
with only bread and tea for fuel. Anyway, I
and I had no crampons, nothing better than
suffered by her again and again and again.
was on a backpacking trip with my lovely
a sharp rock for a self-arrest. I retreated to
I’ve been up there, that’s all I’m saying.
girlfriend Sophia. Who needs “lifeless
a lower meadow and consoled my thwarted
But conquer her? Conquer Camel’s Hump?
rumble” when you’ve got “mac n’ cheese and
ambition with a long snooze in the sun.
Hardly. If anything, she has conquered me.
cuddling?”
When I awoke, there were marmots and pale blue butterflies flew like snowflakes around
5. MOUNT TOM TAYLOR, BRITISH COLUMBIA
me. I was held in the embrace of alpenglow. I
Having bushwhacked 60 miles of hellacious
was wrapped in the joy of a plan abandoned,
thicket; having watched one member of our
a desire released and forgotten. It was a joy,
party tumble down a slope and stop three
I thought then and still think now, that no summit could ever grant.
34 VTSPORTS.COM | NOV./DEC. 2018
my
Contributing editor Leath Tonino is the author of The Animal One Thousand Miles Long: Seven Lengths of Vermont and Other Adventures. This essay originally appeared in Orion.
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