Vermont Sports March-April, 2019

SLED HOCKEY ALL STARS | THE KETO DIET & ATHLETES | SPRING GEAR

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MARCH/APRIL 2019

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10 MUD SEASON REASONS TO LOVE

THE BIGGEST, BADDEST BIKE RACE IN VERMONT TRAINING WITH VERMONT’S

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T he 2019

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Be dominant under the boards again.

BE YOU AGAIN. THE RIGHT SPORTS MEDICINE PROVIDER CAN HELP. Our team provides comprehensive sports medicine care, no matter how complex the injury.

Patients receive a course of treatment that’s ideally suited for them and built around the most advanced options available—whether operative, non-operative or a combination of both. If you live in the Burlington area, make an appointment with The University of Vermont Health Network’s sports medicine specialists at UVM Medical Center.

To make an appointment, call 802-307-1017.

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5 The Start

SPORTS

DESCRIPTION Sports Med Resize

10 Reasons to Love Mud Season

TACTIC Print NEW ENGLAND’S OUTDOOR MAGAZINE

And what's new to love.

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MATERIAL DUE DATE 2-8-19 PUB(S) Vermont Sports Magazine INSERTION DATE

Great Outdoors What the New Land Conservation Act Means

ON THE COVER: Blazing through the Northeast Kingdom in the 2018 Rasputitsa.

Photo by Megan McMahon

Plus, record snow depth, new Vermont land conserved, free snowshoes for all.

BUILT AT 100%

11 Health

Fat, Fuel and the Keto Diet

TRIM PUBLISHER 10.25" x Lynn 13" - publisher@vtsports.com Angelo

Does cutting out carbs make sense for athletes?

LIVE EDITOR/CO-PUBLISHER 10.25" x 13"- editor@vtsports.com Lisa Lynn

12 Feature

BLEED ASSISTANT EDITOR + .125" Abagael Giles

2019 Black Diamond Awards

abagael@vtsports.com

COLOR 4CDESIGN & PRODUCTION

Readers name the best in Vermont.

Shawn Braley

LASER PRINTED AT MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD 100%

17 Gear

Dr. Nathan Endres, Dr. David Lisle, Dr. James

Slauterbeck —University of Vermont Robert PROOF PRINTED AT Larner College of Medicine; Orthopaedics and 100%

Gimmicks or Great?

Rehabilitation; Jamie Sheahan, M.S., R.D.

Odd new products for spring.

SPECIAL NOTES CONTRIBUTORS Information

Brian Mohr, Phyl Newbeck, Leath Tonino

22

Feature For the Love of Mud, Snow and Gears

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Vermont's most popular bike race happens in April.

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25 Feature

The Mountain Warriors

Wilkie Bushby | (646) 831-5647 wilikie@vtskiandride.com

Why Vermont is turning out the toughest outdoor badasses in the armed forces.

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Calendar Race & Event Guide

42 Endgame

Gravel Redemption VERMONT SPORTS IS A PROUD MEMBER OF

Connor Laird gets baptized in the Birth Canal at Middlebury Gorge. Photo by Nicholas Gottlieb

Heidi Myers' hardest race.

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MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 3

THE START

10 REASONS WE LOVE MUD SEASON The Russians have a name for mud season. Maybe we should too. Photo by Meg McMahon

Y

ou may call this time of year mud season. Russians call it rasputitsa. I call it one of Vermont’s most under appreciated seasons. It’s a time of longer days, warmer weather and corn snow. Here, my 10 reasons to love early spring: 1. The Snow’s Still Here: The valleys may be wallowing in mud, but this season’s record snowpack should keep sweet corn snow in the mountains well into May. As skier and statistician Kristian Omland of Jericho notes on p. 8, “Only ten times since records were first kept in 1954 has the snow depth climbed to nine feet or higher, five times to more than 10 feet.”

2. Spring Skiing: Pond skimming, tailgating, outdoor bands and… you get the picture. This year also sees a host of new events such as the Tour de Trapps which takes skiers on tours (with food stops) that range from 5K to 50K around the Stowe trails. And there are also seriously silly ones, such as Magic Mountain’s downhill shovel race.

3. Winter Hiking and Camping: Long days, big snowpack, opportunities for snow caves... need we say more? The Green Mountain Club kicked it all off with Winter Trails Day on March 2.

4. Whitewater Madness: Big snows equal big waters and by April 13 when the New Haven Ledges Race sends kayakers screaming down the rapids above Bristol, there should be plenty of whitewater to practice in.

5. Fat Biking Fests: You may have missed Suicide Six’s new Abe-BERMham fatbike race or Winterbike, the fatbike fiesta that rolled into Kingdom Trails on March 2. But the season is just getting started. Rent a fat bike at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, at Kingdom Trails in Burke or at one of many local shops. Early morning hardpack makes for smooth riding.

Waterbury Vermont @ prohibitionpig

6. Great Gravel Rides. Mud season means some of the best gravel rides and races of the year. This April try the NEK’s Rasputitsa, Montpelier’s Muddy Onion or Dover’s Green River Rip. 7. Twisted Triathlons: This is when the fun triathlons start. Think RASTA’s Disastour (a paddle, pedal and run through Rochester). Killington’s new triathlon format features a lap of skiing, a lap of mountain biking and a lap of running.

8. Hungry Trout. Trout season in Vermont opens April 14 and some of the best anglers on the East Coast flock to Middlebury that weekend for the Otter Creek Classic.

9. Running in Daylight. The clocks change on March 10, leaving time after work to get that run in. With marathon season coming up fast, it’s time to put in the miles.

10. Sugar on Snow: It’s sugaring season.

Indulge a little. You earned it. —L.L. For the dates and details on all these events, check our calendar on p. 37.

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 5

NEWS BRIEFS

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA

IMAGINE HIKING FROM MAINE TO OREGON, VIA VERMONT ON MAJOR TRAILS. THANKS TO RECENT LEGISLATION, THE MISSING LINK—JUST 13 TO 16 MILES IN ADDISON COUNTY— IS A STEP CLOSER TO BECOMING A REALITY.

By Andy Kirkaldy

I

f you’ve ever dreamed of a trail that would have you hiking from sea to shining sea, Maine to Oregon (via Vermont, of course), take heart.

On February 12, the U.S. Senate passed the Natural Resources Management Act by a 92-8 vote.

The comprehensive public lands bill permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

And it includes a provision to link the North Country National Scenic Trail with the Long Trail and Vermont sections of the Appalachian Trails, by way of a new trail system in Addison County.

The Lewis and Clark Trail starts in Seaside, Ore. and stretches east, connecting to the North Country Trail in North Dakota. That trail runs through the Midwest and New York’s Adirondacks until it reaches its current terminus, the Champlain Bridge in Crown Point, N.Y. Under the proposed plan, the North Country Trail, projected to be 3,200 miles long, would pass through Addison County. There, it would intersect with the Long Trail, which in turn intersects with the Appalachian Trail at Willard Gap, just north of Route 4.

The missing link lies between the Long Trail in Addison County and the Champlain Bridge. That stretch (which the National Park Service estimates at 40 miles of trail), was originally contemplated as part of the North Country Trail but the Green Mountain Club objected to it in the 1970s. The club feared the link would lead to overuse and damage to the Long Trail, which the club manages. As a result, the linking stretch was not included in the 1980 authorization.

Above are the proposed paths for the 40-mile connector trail that would link the North Country Scenic Trail with the Appalachian Trail via Vermont's Long Trail.

As proposed, the connector would follow the Trail Around Middlebury and head through the Moosalamoo National Rec. Area. Photo by the National Park Service

Vermont Rep. Peter Welch (D) helped introduce the legislation on the proposed trail extension.

Senator Leahy’s aide Lincoln Peek said this bill is a vital first step, but cautions that much remains to be done, including finding funding, acquiring land rights and developing local partnerships. It could be a decade before the trail is a reality. But he also said the bill is a vital “first step.”

“The passage of this authorization in the Senate is a real victory.

The Vermont connection is literally the missing link,” Peek said.

“Finalizing the trail location and getting it built will take time and resources, and Senator Leahy, through his work on

the Senate Appropriations Committee, is already working to secure funding for this important project. He and his staff will also work to see that the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service are full partners with the local organizations and property owners who will be critical to building this trail.”

Leahy himself said reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund was another vital component of the bill.

The fund, which draws on land leases and extraction rights given to fossil fuel companies, provides grants and other help for natural resource projects.

The exact route is yet to be determined, but what a National Park Service document provided by Leahy’s

8 THINGS THE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT ACT DOES

In addition to protecting land throughout the West, adding new parks and National Heritage areas, the bill does a number of things and has benefits for just about every state. Here are just eight of the things the 662-page bill does that impact our region: • Protects 1.3 million acres of wilderness, areas which prohibit roads and motorized vehicles.

• Withdraws 370,000 acres near Yellowstone (Mont.) and North Cascades National Park (Wash.) from mining.

• Reauthorizes and protects the Neotropical Migratory Bird Act, which protects millions of acres of habitat for more than 380 species of birds that migrate between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

• Protects 620 miles of rivers in seven states from damming and designates sections of Connecticut’s Farmington and Salmon Brook Rivers, sections of the Nashua River (which runs through New Hampshire and Massachusetts) as well as 60 miles of Utah’s Green River as National Wild and Scenic Rivers.

• Ensures that President Obama’s “Every Kid Outdoors Act” allows fourth graders and their families free admission to all national parks.

• Opens all federal land (that is not designated otherwise) to hunting and fishing and allows hunters to transport bows across national parks to reach hunting areas.

• Creates a new Conservation Service Corps that will allow kids and veterans to work on public lands.

• Allows Fish and Wildlife officials to work with private landowners and match investment in restoring habitat.

office calls the “preferred corridor” runs from the Lake Champlain Bridge through West Addison farmland, the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area, Addison village, up and down (or possibly around) Snake Mountain and on to the Trail Around Middlebury. There the corridor offers two alternative routes, both reaching existing trails in the Green Mountain National Forest.

The National Park Service (NPS) plan estimates that about 13 to 19 miles of new trail would need to be built, with the rest relying on existing trails. The route choices depend in part “on which landowners are willing to cooperate in establishing the trail.”

The document states the NPS cannot obtain land by eminent domain for trail projects, but can purchase land or easements.

Cost estimates are not precise.

The NPS document foresaw the 13 to 19 miles of new trail “potentially requiring an estimated $450,000 to $6 million in land acquisition costs.”

The NPS document also claims benefits for property owners and neighbors: “Landowners may also see increased (or more stable) property resale values due to proximity to permanently protected open space.”

It also hoped for a boost for local businesses from “increased visitation and associated economic activity.”

The document describes a low-impact trail intended primarily for hiking that would allow other “compatible recreational activities such as snowshoeing, bird watching and nature study,” while noting, “The trail’s authorizing legislation prohibits motorized use.”

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 7

NEWS BRIEFS

A climber boulders over Lake Champlain, off Lone Rock Point. The crag is currently home to nine challenging sport climbs. Photo by Ben Moffatt

BOLTON DOME AND LONE ROCK POINT ARE BACK!

For the first time since 1990, Vermont climbers have access to the 43 established climbing routes at Bolton Dome in Bolton. The Climbing Resource Access Group of Vermont (CRAG-VT) purchased the 48acre property that contains the dome in summer 2017 with the help of a $358,750 Climbing Conservation Loan from the Access Fund, the largest Access Fund Climbing Conservation Loan in the national organization’s history.

In fall 2018, climber access to the crag, which was known as Trailer Park Crag in the '70s and '80s, was put on hold until the organization could get permitting and raise funds to build an onsite parking lot.

In February 2019, CRAG-VT president Kris Fiore announced that the organization has opened the dome, with plans to build a parking area as funds allow. Climbers are asked to park at the Smilie School on Route 2 or at the Bolton Quarry, but not on Champ Lane, the closest road to the crag.

“Whether its experienced climbers scaling 5.13 or kids climbing their first 5.3, this cliff has both to offer and we can’t wait to see climbers enjoying it this spring and for countless years to come,” wrote Fiore on CRAG-VT’s Facebook page.

Travis Peckam announced a revision to his Vermont climbing guide book Tough Schist. Routes are now available on the app version of the book in Rakkup.

Burlington’s Lone Rock Point will also be open to climbers in 2019, following a successful pilot season in 2018. The cliff, which is owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, was opened to climbers in fall 2017. CRAG-VT secured access to the cliff through a special use agreement with the Diocese that required climbers sign in at a kiosk and asked that they make a $5 donation for a permit. No more than eight climbers can use the area at a time. —Abagael Giles

8 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

It's already been a record-breaking winter for snow, when you look at individual months. Could the snow depth on Vermont's highest peak break the maximum depth ever recorded? It sure looks possible. Kristian Omland

A YEAR FOR THE RECORDS?

In 1954, scientists began recording the snow depths on a measurement stake near the ridgeline of Mt. Mansfield. Since then, there have been only ten years when the snow depth has reached 9 feet or higher and this year could set a record. In November, the stake recorded a record depth for that month, a feat that was repeated in January. As March came in like a lion, the snow was rapidly approaching the 9-foot mark.

The graph above shows typical snow depth over the course of the season (shades of gray represent the median snow depth, as well as that for 50% and 80% of seasons) with the five seasons that exceeded 10 feet in color. The current year is pink. We are right on the heels of the record season, 1968-69. That year, snow accumulated to 149 inches on April 2—that’s 12

feet, 5 inches, if you check your multiplication tables.

Snow sports enthusiasts should be aware that snow usually peaks at the stake in late March or early April. The inset shows date of maximum depth, which happens occasionally in February, occasionally after Tax Day, but 80 percent to the time falls between March 3 and April 17. Winter is far from over.

—Kristian Omland.

WILL BURLINGTON GET E-BIKES AND SCOOTERS?

If all goes as planned visitors and residents of Burlington, Winooski and South Burlington could have access to a fleet of 200 e-bikes and 200 e-scooters by early summer 2019.

If a proposal currently being weighed by the three towns is approved, the scooters and e-bikes

NEWS BRIEFS You may be able to grab a pair of snowshoes when you check out a book from your local library. Photo courtesy Smugglers' Notch Resort

LOOKING FOR SNOWSHOES? HEAD TO THE LIBRARY.

There's something new you can now check out your local library.

Through funding from the Vermont

Department of Health’s 3-4-50 initiative and RiseVT, 47 public libraries across the state are now letting community members check out free snowshoes, with sizes available for adults and children. RiseVT is a publicly funded community initiative to help more Vermonters get the resources they need to live a healthy lifestyle. They provide classes, organize community exercise and sports events and have compiled a comprehensive list of libraries that offer free snowshoes. Expect to see them organizing events in each of Vermont’s 14 counties by the end of 2019.

Check out RiseVT.org for a comprehensive list of libraries that offer snowshoes across the state, an events calendar and recommendations for local trail systems where you can snowshoe. —A.G.

Photo by - Dom Daher

will be supplied by the Gotcha Group, a North Carolina company that creates ridesharing services in cities across the country. The company has proposed offering rentals by the minute, as well as year- and monthlong subscriptions at various rates.

Last April, The Gotcha Group planted 105 pedal bikes around Burlington with financial support from the city, sponsors like Ben and Jerry’s and Seventh Generation and local institutions, including UVM Medical Center and Champlain College. The Gotcha Group brought the bikes to Burlington for a sponsorship fee of $200,000.

Nicole Losch, Senior Planner for the City of Burlington, says the city would like to make e-bikes available to residents “for the majority of the upcoming summer months.” E-bikes are an easy sell to city councilors and residents—they help people who might otherwise not be comfortable or able to pedal a bike get up Burlington’s big hills and the added speed can make users feel more comfortable cycling in traffic. Bringing electric scooters, on the other hand, will require some research and potentially new legislation.

“There is a lot of concern from the public and from decisionmakers about how scooters would be parked and if they would cause clutter on sidewalks or if people will ride them in places where we have said they are not allowed,” says Losch.

For more information about meetings and the project, visit burlingtonvt.gov/DPW/ Transportation/ETransportation.

—A.G.

CATAMOUNT ULTRA MARATHON

EARN YOUR B.S. ON THE SLOPES Starting this fall, Castleton University students will be able to complete an accelerated, three-year Bachelor of Science degree in Resort Hospitality Management through a combination of traditional classes and working paid positions at Killington and Pico Mountains. The new program replaces a prior one established in 2001 by Green Mountain College called the Killington School of Resort Management, which announced in late January that it will close at the end of the 2018-2019 academic year.

The program will be housed in a new College of Business at Castleton University. When operated by Green Mountain College, the program reported a 99 percent employment rate for its graduates, 35 of whom currently work at Killington Mountain Resort.

—A.G.

JUNE 22, 2019 Stowe, VT

CATAMOUNTULTRA.COM

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 9

NEWS BRIEFS PROSPECT MOUNTAIN PRESERVED FOR POSTERITY

As of February 28, Woodford’s Prospect Mountain is protected from development under a conservation easement from the Vermont Land Trust.

The mountain has over 30K of groomed cross-country ski trails, a large network of snowshoe trails and maintained alpine touring trails, relics from its early days as a T-barand rope tow-served ski area. Lift access continued through the 1990s.

In 2018, the Prospect Mountain Association, a nonprofit formed by a group of conservation-minded locals, purchased the cross-country ski area from owners Steve Whitham and Andrea Amadeo. Whitham and Amadeo had operated it as a cross-country ski business since the 1990s, when they purchased the property to save it from foreclosure.

They built the business with the intent to hand it over to the community.

Today, the mountain is the home of Williams’ College’s NCAA Division I cross country ski team. Funds for the transition came from donations, Williams College and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.

10 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

Prospect Mountain first opened to skiers in the late 1930s. Today, it's the highest-elevation cross country ski area in Vermont. Photo courtesy Prospect Mountain Association

HEALTH

FAT, FASTING AND THE KETO DIET

THE KETO DIET HAS BECOME POPULAR WITH BOTH ATHLETES LOOKING TO BOOST PERFORMANCE AND PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT. BUT DOES IT MAKE SENSE? BY JAMIE SHEAHAN, M.S., R.D.

E

very year it seems there is some new diet that takes the world by storm. Now, Atkins, Paleo and Whole30 can step aside because America has found a new dietary sweetheart: The ketogenic diet, also known as “keto.”

Social media is rife with posts of successful weight loss stories from people after “going keto.” What you may not know is that keto is no longer seen as just a weight loss panacea and many are turning to a ketogenic diet to address health concerns such as diabetes and heart disease. Athletes too have taken notice, wondering if this high-fat, low-carb diet could give them the edge they’ve been looking for. But is keto really ideal for athletes or is it just another passing fad?

THE THEORY BEHIND GOING KETO

Before determining if a keto diet can help your performance, it’s necessary to understand the basic principles. Despite its recent popularity, the ketogenic diet is far from a recent phenomenon. In the 1920s a doctor treating epilepsy noticed that patients’ seizures subsided after fasting for two to three days. This shift was attributed to the body metabolizing fat as fuel by necessity when the body’s stores of carbohydrates were no longer available. Further research revealed this same metabolic shift could be attained without fasting, but instead by providing patients with a diet extremely limited in carbohydrates and very high in fat. Thus, the ketogenic diet was born.

Normally our body is fueled by a combination of carbohydrates and fat. Severely restricting carbohydrates depletes the body’s glycogen stores so that carbohydrates are no longer an available fuel source. In order to supply needed energy, the body breaks down more fat and produces ketones, which provide fuel for the brain. This state of “ketosis” can be accomplished by fasting for a period of two to three days or by limiting carbohydrates to no more than 20 to 30 grams per day.

Unlike Paleo or similar lowcarb diets, protein intake remains moderate and instead fat intake is increased to 70 to 80 percent of one’s total energy intake for the day.

Since protein and fat are satiating, people on the keto diet tend not to feel as hungry as those on other diets.

With the number of people claiming success with the keto diet you might

Following a ketogenic diet means cutting out grains, legumes, fruit, milk and high-carb veggies in favor of higher fat foods like nuts, seeds, poultry, seafood, eggs, butter and oils.

assume it is an easy diet to follow.

You would be wrong. First off, most people claiming to be “keto” are far from it. If you’ve never followed a low-carbohydrate diet then the concept of limiting yourself to 20 to 30 grams of carbs per day might not strike you as hard, but it is just that.

Sticking to a keto diet means basically cutting out grains, beans, legumes, fruits, milk and highercarb veggies. This leaves dieters largely with a menu of meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, cheese, butter, oil, avocado, nuts and seeds. It also limits healthy foods such as fruits, which are high in carbs and provide many of the vitamins the body needs.

Going “keto” requires extreme attention to counting carbohydrates and doing so day in and day out.

Going over 20 (or 30, if you are larger) grams in one day, even a little bit, shifts the metabolism out of a state of ketosis. That’s not easy to stick to when you consider that one banana would cap out your carb count for the day.

WHY ATHLETES TURN TO KETO

Low-carb diets are nothing new for athletes. Many adopt low-carb diets to become “fat-adapted.” The goal is to train the body to become more efficient at burning fat for fuel. It makes sense when you think about it. The body

can store enough glycogen to sustain about two hours of moderate-intensity activity. Once these stores run out, lack of available energy causes athletes to “hit the wall.” Fat, on the other hand, is plentiful in the body and even the leanest athlete has enough fat stores to power them for days of continuous activity.

So, wouldn’t it be great if we could just burn fat for energy instead of worrying about that dreaded moment our legs refuse to take another step? If only it were so easy.

To be clear, the body never exclusively fuels itself off of carbohydrates or fats.

What fuel your body prefers comes down to how hard you’re working. During lower- to moderate-intensity activities such as a walk or slow jog, fat serves as the primary fuel source with carbohydrates contributing a small amount of energy.

As intensity increases, fat utilization decreases and carbohydrates become the preferred fuel source for the body. This is known as the “crossover effect.” Those training for endurance events are not only training their muscles to be strong enough to tackle a new distance, but also training their bodies to maximize this crossover effect by adapting the body to use fat as a fuel source more efficiently.

So, if we can teach our body to push this crossover effect through training, why not our diet?

The keto diet may do just that. Recent research has focused on whether a lowcarb diet can delay this conversion,

thereby allowing an athlete to exercise longer without the need for constant replenishment from sources like sports drinks or gels. One study found that athletes consuming a ketogenic diet were able to burn more fat during exercise than their carb-consuming counterparts. BUT… and this is a big “but,” the ketogenic athletes were not able to exercise at higher intensities. This means athletes adhering to a ketogenic diet can sustain continuous exercise longer, but are limited when it comes to speed.

That is not to say the keto diet won’t potentially yield a performance benefit for those seeking to hit a P.R. In sports where strength-to-weight ratio is key, the ketogenic diet can provide weight loss during an athlete’s offseason. Short-term studies have shown individuals following a ketogenic diet can lose a significant amount of weight.

However, just as with any diet, any weight lost will likely be regained if individuals return to their old eating habits. Keto is likely no more effective than the plethora of diets marketed to those seeking to lose weight. Another caveat is we do not yet know the longterm health effects of a ketogenic diet and many physicians worry that such a high-fat diet could increase risk for heart disease or other chronic conditions.

THE TAKE AWAY

Despite all the hype, the keto diet is not a magic bullet for weight loss or athletic performance. Ultimately a keto diet may allow you to exercise for longer periods of time, but you will only be able to do so at low to moderate intensity. Translation: if your goal is to complete an ultra endurance event without concern for a time goal then keto may mean you’ll need to stress less about eating while on the go during the event. However, if your goal is to push yourself in an event of any duration then the keto diet could be detrimental to performance.

As the Director of Nutrition at The Edge in Burlington, Jamie Sheahan, M.S., R.D. works closely with athletes to develop customized fueling plans to optimize their health and performance.

Sheahan is also an adjunct professor of sports nutrition at the University of Vermont. An avid runner, she has completed more than 20 marathons.

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 11

T he 2019

BLACK DIAMOND AWARDS

THE BEST OF VERMONT

WE ASKED YOU TO HELP NAME YOUR FAVORITE PLACES, EVENTS AND SHOPS­—AS WELL AS THE PEOPLE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE THIS PAST YEAR. HERE ARE THE RESULTS OF OUR ANNUAL SURVEY.

Bolton Valley Resort's sidecountry stashes (top left), Sugarbush's sweet terrain and Rikert's scenic trails earned them top honors in this year's survey.

I

n 2012, Vermont Sports launched the Black Diamond Awards as a way to find out what you love about outdoor sports in Vermont.

Since then, each year, we tabulate your answers and share them.

We love to get new entries (hello, Grundberg Haus and Sam’s Outdoor Retailers in Brattleboro!). We want to know what you like about Vermont Sports (“stories about local people doing extraordinary things”), and what you don’t like (“survey is too long” and “stop sharing our ‘secret’ spots!”).

And we take to heart your suggestions (profile Airbnb’s in sports destinations, improve the paper and design).

Perhaps the answer we love the most? When we asked, on a scale of 1 to 5, how passionate you are about being outdoors, 72 percent rated yourselves a 4 or higher, telling us you’re “outside whenever I’m not at work” or that you “live to be outside.” That’s why we trust that you know what you’re talking about when you vote on who’s the best.

12 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

Photos courtesy Bolton Valley Resort, Sugarbush Resort and Rikert Nordic Center

backcountry clinics and rentals (as well as its phenomenal

SKIING & RIDING As Sugarbush celebrated its 60th anniversary and Mad River Glen its 70th this year, both resorts captured your hearts. For the first time, Mad River Glen moved into the top three in the rankings, displacing perennial favorite Stowe.

Another change: for many, backcountry skiing is now almost

terrain and two huts) earned it top honors for sidecountry.

Brandon Gap and the trails put in place by the Rochester/ Randolph Area Sports Trails Alliance (RASTA) beat out both Camel’s Hump and Mt. Mansfield as the best backcountry destination. In cross country skiing, high scores went to areas that have snowmaking—Trapp Family Lodge, Craftsbury and

as popular as alpine skiing, with half of our respondents

Rikert Nordic Center—with Prospect Mountain, now under

claiming it as their second favorite sport. Bolton Valley’s

new ownership, winning for southern Vermont.

BEST ALPINE AREAS 1. Sugarbush 2. Jay Peak 3. Mad River Glen 4. Stowe 5. Smugglers' Notch BEST SKI AREA EVENTS 1. Killington World Cup, Killington 2. Vermont Open, Stratton 3. Castlerock Extreme, Sugarbush 4. Triple Crown at Mad River Glen 5. Harris Hill Ski Jump, Brattleboro

BEST NORDIC AREAS, NORTH 1. Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe 2. Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Craftsbury 3. Jay Peak, Jay BEST NORDIC AREAS, CENTRAL 1. Rikert Nordic Center, Ripton 2. Woodstock Inn, Woodstock 3. Blueberry Lake, Warren BEST NORDIC AREAS SOUTH 1. Prospect Mountain, Woodford 2. Wild Wings, Peru 3. Mountain Top Inn, Chittenden

BEST NORDIC EVENTS 1. Craftsbury Marathon 2. Stowe Derby 3. Camel’s Hump Challenge BEST SIDECOUNTRY 1. Bolton Valley 2. Smugglers' Notch 3. Jay Peak 4. Stowe 5. Sugarbush BEST BACKCOUNTRY 1. Brandon Gap & RASTA Trails 2. Camel’s Hump 3. Mt. Mansfield

Backcountry off of Bolton.

Photo by Greg Maino

THE PLACES YOU LOVE

You could chalk Burlington’s win as “Best Sports Town” up to sheer numbers—nearly 9 percent of Vermont’s population lives there. But when you factor in all that’s going on there (the Burlington Surf Club went in last summer and a new 160-slip marina and Petra Cliffs' new climbing gym will open this year) it’s hard to argue that this isn’t the best sports town in the state. But Stowe, with its ever-expanding bike trails, hotels such as the Trapp Family Lodge, Edson Hill and Stoweflake and places like Piecasso, The Matterhorn and Doc Ponds, where the food is as good as the music, is a close second. Kingdom Trails remains the king of mountain biking. But with its build-out of 32 miles of downhill runs, Killington Resort has moved into second with Waterbury’s Perry Hill trails (located just outside of town, Joe’s was named best trail) a close third.

EVENTS

An Austrian lodge, bierhall and 62 miles of trails? No wonder readers voted Trapp Family Lodge their favorite hotel. Courtesy Trapp Family Lodge

BEST SPORTS TOWNS 1. Burlington 2. Stowe 3. Waitsfeld/Warren 4. Killington 5. Manchester BEST MOUNTAIN BIKING 1. Kingdom Trails, East Burke 2. Killington Resort, Killington 3. Perry Hill, Waterbury 4. Cady Hill, Stowe 5. Pine Hill Park, Rutland BEST MTB TRAILS 1. Joe’s, Perry Hill, Waterbury 2. Florence, Cady Hill, Stowe 3. Evolution, Waitsfield 4. Dead Moose Alley, Kingdom Trails, East Burke 5. Chandler Ridge, Salisbury BEST LODGES OR HOTELS 1. Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe 2. Woodstock Inn, Woodstock 3. Edson Hill, Stowe 4. Grunberg Haus, Waterbury 5. Stoweflake, Stowe BEST GYMS 1. Petra Cliffs, Burlington 2. MetroRock, Essex 3. The Edge, Burlington 4. Pico Sports Club, Pico 5. Vermont Sun, Middlebury

BEST CAMPING AREA/ STATE PARKS 1. Little River State Park 2. Green Mountain Reservoir 3. Moosalamoo National Recreation Area 4. Grand Isle State Park 5. Groton State Park BEST APRÈS SKI BAR 1. Matterhorn, Stowe 2. Doc Ponds, Stowe 3. Prohibition Pig, Waterbury 4. Black Line Tavern, Magic 5. Grizzly’s, Stratton BEST VERMONT BREWERIES 1. Lawson’s Finest, Waitsfield 2. Hill Farmstead, Greensboro 3. Long Trail, Bridgewater 4. The Alchemist, Stowe 5. Von Trapp Brewing, Stowe BEST PIZZAS 1. Piecasso, Stowe 2. American Flatbread, Waitsfield/Middlebury/ Burlington 3. Folino’s, Shelburne 4. Bluestone, Waterbury & Waitsfield 5. Ramunto’s, Bridgewater

The number of outdoor sports events held across the state has grown exponentially in the last few years. In this issue alone, we had to expand our events calendar to nearly five pages to include the growing number and breadth of events.

And races are outdoing themselves. Take the Vermont City Marathon: in 2018, for its 30th anniversary, it brought in Olympic medalist and Boston and New York Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi. New this year, the Prouty jumps to the top of the list of road riding events. The biggest charity event north of Boston, the Prouty has a goal of raising $3 million in 2019 to go toward Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Norris Cotton Cancer Research Center. While the Prouty weekend also features rowing, running and even golf, the bike rides—the Prouty 100 and the new Gravel Metric Century (which loops through Vermont’s back roads)—are the main draw. NEMBAFest won out in the mountain biking events, followed by the classic Vermont 50 and VMBAFest, which, we're sorry to hear, will no longer be held.

BEST RUNNING EVENTS 1. Vermont City Marathon, Burlington 2. Race to the Top of Vermont, Stowe 3. Middlebury Maple Run, Middlebury 4. Vermont 50, Brownsville 5. Covered Bridges Half Marathon, Woodstock BEST MOUNTAIN BIKE EVENTS 1. NEMBAFest, Kingdom Trails 2. Vermont 50, Brownsville 3. VMBAFest, Ascutney 4. Leaf Blower Classic, Stowe 5. Circumburke, Burke

BEST ROAD RIDES 1. The Prouty, Hanover/ Lebanon 2. Point to Point, Ascutney 3. Kelly Brush Ride, Middlebury 4. Vermont Gran Fondo, Bristol 5. Long Trail Century Ride, Bridgewater BEST GRAVEL RIDES 1. Vermont Overland, Reading 2. WATA Gravel Grinder, Waterbury 3. Rasputitsa, Burke 4. Muddy Onion, Montpelier 5. Braintree 357, Braintree

Clockwise from top: The crazy fun Nordic cross at Cochran's ski area and the tough Race to the Top of Vermont. Tinker Juarez leads the pack at the Overland Grand Prix. Riders on the rural roads of the 2018 Prouty and SUP'ers paddling for glory at Stand Up for the Lake. Photos : courtesy Cochrans, Greg Maino/CTA, Ansel Dickey/Overland, Herb Swanson/The Prouty, courtesy WND&WVS

TOUGHEST RACES 1. Race to the Top of Vermont, Stowe 2. Spartan Race, Killington 3. Vermont 100, Windsor 4. Infinitus 888K, Goshen 5. Circumburke, Burke BEST WATERSPORTS EVENTS 1. Stand Up for the Lake, Burlington 2. Onion River Race & Ramble, Winooski River 3. Dragonboat Races, Burlington 4. St. Alban’s Great Race, St. Albans

5. Lake Dunmore Triathlon, Middlebury WACKIEST RACES 1. Pond Skimming (everywhere) 2. Cochran’s Nordic Cross, Richmond 3. Harris Hill Ski Jump, Brattleboro 4. Paintball Biathlon, Mountaintop Inn, Chittenden 5. Mud & Ice Quadrathlon, Craftsbury

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 13

SHOPS & GEAR

Vermont, you love your local shops. And you love to buy new gear. In fact, nearly half of survey respondents spend more than $5,000 on gear and experiences each year and 76 percent buy their gear primarily from local, independent retailers, such as Outdoor Gear Exchange, which placed first or second in nearly every category. Last spring, when Outdoor Gear Exchange added another 4,000-square-feet to its 16,000-sq.-ft. retail space on Church Street, it also expanded its product line to include The North Face, added a larger bike shop downstairs and even more of the new and used camping and hiking gear it’s been known for. Other shops, however, are known as much for the expertise they offer as the gear they carry. Doug Stewart has helped make Skirack the go-to place for bootfitting and ski advice and Skirack’s Roger Costale (who retired in 2018) helped make the bike shop one of the best in the country, according to the National Bicycle Retailers Association. Likewise, the teams at Darkside in Stowe and Killington are the go-to sources for snowboard gear and shops such as Onion River, West Hill and The Mountain Goat have become meccas for local knowledge. As for the best Vermont-made gear? It’s hard to beat Darn Tough socks or Skida hats but we’re delighted to see newer local brands such as WhiteRoom and Renoun rising up the survey ranks.

PEOPLE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE What makes Vermont’s outdoor recreation scene stand out in the national landscape? It’s both the athletes who push the rest of us to do better and the people who work behind the scenes—both volunteers and professionals.

The Catamount Trail, playing a growing role in Vermont's backcountry. Photo by Greg Maino/CTA

BEST OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHER Many of Vermont’s outdoor photographers are also accomplished athletes. Jeb Wallace-Brodeur of Calais has hiked the 46

ADK 4,000-footers

and all of New Hampshire’s. Waitsfield’s Brooks Curran and Matt Kiedaisch, who often shoot Ski the East’s films, could ski in them as well. But few photographers live the dream they portray the way Brian Mohr of EmberPhoto does. The Moretownbased photographer not only shoots skiing, biking, camping, running, paddling and hiking, but often brings his whole family (wife, Emily Johnson and his two young daughters, Maiana and Lenora) along At Skirack (top) expert boot fitter Doug Stewart works with a customer. Outdoor Gear Exchange's Keckeley Habel shows how a pack should fit.

Photos courtesy Skirack, Abagael Giles

with him. As if that were not enough, he also built a rope tow (“The Barnebaken”) in his backyard and grows or collects most of the family’s food— all while shooting for this magazine and our sister publication, Vermont Ski + Ride as well as national magazines such as Powder, Outside and Adventure Journal.

BEST OUTDOORS SHOPS 1. Outdoor Gear Exchange, Burlington 2. Umiak, Stowe 3. The Mountain Goat, Manchester 4. Base Camp, Killington 5. Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, Brattleboro BEST SKI SHOPS: 1. Skirack, Burlington 2. Outdoor Gear Exchange 3. Umiak, Stowe 4. Basin Sports, Killington 5. Onion River Outdoors, Montpelier BEST BOARD SHOPS 1. Darkside, Stowe & Killington

2. Outdoor Gear Exchange, Burlington 3. Burton, Burlington 4. Splinters, Warren 5. Basin Sports, Killington BEST BIKE SHOPS 1. Skirack, Burlington 2. Outdoor Gear Exchange, Burlington 3. Earl’s, Williston 4. West Hill, Putney 5. Bicycle Express, Waterbury BEST VT-MADE GEAR 1. Darn Tough socks 2. Skida hats 3. Burton snowboards 4. White Room Skis 5. Renoun skis

14 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

ORGANIZATION THAT CONTRIBUTED THE MOST There have been some landmark gains by various non-profits this year. The Rochester/Randolph Area Sports Trails Alliance unveiled its vision for the Velomont Trail—which will connect trails in the Killington area to Waitsfield and eventually on to Waterbury and Stowe. Vermont Huts Association opened two new huts: one at Chittenden Brook Campground near Goshen and one in Huntington, and has plans to rebuild the hut at South Pond. But the organization that has laid the groundwork for all of this is our 2019 winner: the Catamount Trail Association.

Under the leadership of new executive director Matt Williams, the CTA has been working on Section 13 near Chittenden Reservoir, just north of Killington, to relocate the Catamount Trail so that it connects to the new Vermont Huts Association hut being built at South Pond. “A portion of this relocation will be co-located with the Velomont Trail,

Brian Mohr and family Photo by Brian Mohr/ EmberPhoto

Adam Morse training in Vermont and Sophie Caldwell, right, after her World Cup win in Davos.

minimizing trail density and forest fragmentation while appealing to a broad range of users,” says CTA’s Communications Director Greg Maino.

The CTA has also helped to spawn the Vermont Backcountry Alliance, which is growing and adding chapters around the state with the goal of improving backcountry skiing and riding. The organization hosts single and multiday tours of sections of the 200-mile trail.

The CTA also runs the Race to the Top of Vermont and is currently working to complete a reroute near Camels Hump that has been in the works for years. Watch for big news to come this summer from the CTA, Maino hints.

FAVORITE FEMALE ATHLETE It’s been a big year for Sophie Caldwell, the Perubased scion of the legendary Caldwell crosscountry skiing family. While Caldwell may not have won an Olympic medal (her teammates Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins did), she won the first World Cup sprint of 2018 in Austria and earned an 8th in the sprint finals behind Diggins' 6th in PyeongChang. Just this season, she has earned three World Cup podiums and finished in the top 5 in a handful of other races.

Currently ranked fourth in the world in sprint by the Federation International du Ski, Caldwell, 28, already has two Olympics under her belt and looks poised for a third. And this January, while skiing together in Vermont, Simi Hamilton, her long-time boyfriend and fellow U.S. Ski Team racer, proposed.

While Jessie Diggins, a recent Vermont transplant, may have won the gold, Sophie Caldwell won the most votes as Vermont’s Best Female Athlete in our survey.

Photos by Dave Trumpore and Reese Brown

riding the trails in the summer. In 2018, the Yetisponsored rider collaborated with photographer Dave Trumpore to tell the story of how he balances his job with competing on the Enduro World Series circuit.

Morse, who graduated in 2008, explains his choice of a full-time career in the first of three episodes in “The Working Man’s World Series” videos, which aired on Pinkbike.com: “I had achieved a degree in Mechanical Engineering, a pro cycling license and an empty bank account all in the same year.” In 2018, the Enduro Worlds had him racing in Chile, Columbia, Jamaica, France and Italy. While Morse’s best finish on the World Series was 52nd out of 322 (in the first race of the season), he won the first Maxxis Eastern States Cup racing as a pro and finished eighth (and the fourth American) at the U.S. Enduro Open at Killington among Pro Men. Not bad for a working stiff.

OUTDOORS PERSONS OF THE YEAR: STEVE AND ANDREA CHAREST Since taking over Petra Cliffs in 2012, Steve and Andrea Charest have helped shape and grow Vermont’s climbing community, all while serving on the board of organizations such as CRAG-VT (Climbing Resource Access Group Vermont) and the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy group.

The Charests have added new mountaineering programs to the Petra Cliffs Climbing Center and Mountaineering School and grown the Smuggs Ice

Bash ice climbing festival to an event that drew 200 participants in January. Now, they plan to more than double the size of Petra Cliffs in a new climbing center.

On February 22, the Charests announced that Petra Cliffs, which has operated in its current space for 18 years, closed on a 1.67-acre parcel that abuts City Market’s grocery store in Burlington’s South End. The move will more than double the size of the climbing gym, adding a rooftop lounge and yoga studio.

“We are still whittling down what the walls are going to look like,” said Andrea, recently. Climbers can expect walls 51-feet-tall and an overhang that allows for 60-plus feet of continuous climbing, more bouldering, more variety of roped climbs and rooftop yoga classes. Construction is slated to start at the end of March and the new climbing center could be open as early as October 2019.

This comes at a time when the family has also faced tragedy: on December 27, 2018, Steve, a 39-year-old father of a two-year-old, was guiding an ice climbing program in Smugglers’ Notch when a piece of equipment he was using failed and he fell 40 feet. He suffered trauma to his head, face, abdomen and left extremities and was evacuated by helicopter to the University of Vermont Medical Center. After spending 21 days in the intensive care unit and seven weeks in the hospital, Steve finally went home on Valentine’s Day. “His physical injuries are healing well and his brain and personality are back to where we know him. His rate of recovery has been astounding for how severe his injuries were and how complex his surgeries were,” said Andrea in late February.

Though Steve has climbed and guided all over the world, he’s made Vermont home. Since his days as an intern at Petra Cliffs in 2000, he’s dedicated his career to teaching the next generation of Vermont mountaineers and expanding access to climbing for Vermonters. “People just love him,” says professor Brad Moscowitz of Northern Vermont University’s Outdoor Education program. In 1999, Steve Charest was Moscowitz’s student and now Steve teaches outdoor skills to NVU students. “People love working with him and learning from him in the mountains.

And people trust him. He is just so good at what he does and such a stellar guide.”

FAVORITE MALE ATHLETE This year’s honor goes to someone who races as a pro while maintaining what is more-or-less an 8:30-to-5 job. Adam Morse spends most days working as a manufacturing engineer at Flex-ASeal in Essex Junction and evenings and weekends working out in the gym, snowboarding and fatbiking in the winter and doing what he does best:

Steve, Andrea and daughter McKinley with their dog Skadi at Lake Champlain last summer. Photo by Sam Simon

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 15

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GEAR

GREAT GEAR OR GIMMICKS?

SOMETIMES NEW PRODUCTS COME OUT THAT HAVE US SCRATCHING OUR HEADS. ARE THEY GREAT OR GIMMICKS? WE CALLED SOME IN TO TEST AND HERE’S THE BEST.

WhiskiPoles Grangers Down Care Kit

Wuru

Tracker Skishoes

S

pring is a time for tailgate parties, enjoying the last snow and getting your hiking gear ready for summer. These items just might make those longer March days better.

POLE FLASKS

Even considering ski poles that double as flasks brings up all sorts of questions about your priorities. But it also offers possibilities: tailgates, furtive parties on the slopes, BYO to the mountaintop bar, or the tamer idea of simply using them to hydrate during a skin (as long as your liquid doesn’t freeze). WhiskiPoles ($189) are essentially aluminum ski poles that are hollow so they can hold 8 ounces of liquid each. Unscrew the handles, use a funnel as you pour in the liquid, screw the handle back on tightly and you’re locked and loaded to go.

The poles feel solid and seem to work as well as most, with minimal sloshing when full (though a higher swing weight). The poles come with baskets and small shot glasses too. The biggest problem with them was cleaning them so if you do buy these, we recommend avoiding beverages that leave residues.

On the gimmick-to-good scale, we were pleasantly surprised and give this a 4 out of 5.

BETTER BLISTER CARE?

When a package of Wuru ($10.95) arrived, we wondered if someone was pulling wool over our eyes—or our feet.

The .75 oz bag of pure New Zealand wool looks like it came straight from the cleanest,whitest sheep you’d ever find.

It’s cozy and soft and the idea of applying it to a blister on your heel or hot spot on your toes—as the New Zealanders do— seems to make sense. That’s what sports marketer Matt Disney thought. After spending his honeymoon hiking in New Zealand, Disney launched Wuru. After all, wool absorbs moisture, insulates and provides a soft cushion. The directions tell you to apply a generous amount and the package implies there’s enough for 30 uses. A video on the website (wuruwool.com) shows how to wrap the wool (you don’t tape it) and how to pull a wool sock on over it. And that’s the rub (sorry, bad pun): it took several tries before the wool stayed in place.

Then all was well and good—until, after

about an hour of hiking, the wool began to bunch up. We might attribute that to user error—after all, Kiwis have been doing this for centuries, right?

A DOWN CARE KIT

Any time someone takes a cleaning product and puts it in a fancy box, we raise an eyebrow and scrutinize the price. Grangers Down Care Kit ($23), however, lives up to its price tag.

The kit comes with three, reusable spiky plastic balls, designed to fluff up down, and a 10 ounce bottle of cleaner that claims it also waterproofs. The balls do work better than tennis balls, especially on down sleeping bags, which always seem to bunch up. And the cleaner works as well as any other product at removing dirt. If it can also extend the life of a product (many cleaning products have chemicals that can break down the protective layer of a fabric) and help waterproof down, that’s a bonus we were not able to verify. However, Granger also has a Performance Repel ($7.27) spray that can be applied after washing as well as a range of other cleaning products.

HYBRID SKISHOES

There’s a trend in skishoes—think of them as either short freeheel skis that can be used with snowboots or snowshoes that glide—and Tom Gibson is on it. Gibson invented the Tracker Skishoes ($216), small, wide, skishaped pieces of high density polyethylene plastic with fishscales and metal teeth that grip the snow so you don’t slide back, but allow enough glide to let you shuffle forward. The skishoes come with a Redfeather binding and a specially-designed hinge adapter, as used on snowshoes. For skiers, there’s the option of using a NNN or NNNBC (backcountry) binding as well as the Salomon SNS binding. You can also customize them with removable crampons, climbing skins and even three-pin bindings (available at trackerskishoes.com).

The wider platform and the short length (they measure 6.75 inches wide and 33 inches long) make it far easier for a nonskier to use in deep snow than a ski and still get a sense of gliding. If you’re going up a steep hill, though, you might miss the traction of a snowshoe.

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 17

April can be the cruelest month, but for Magnus Sheffield and Vermonters Ansel Dickey (middle) and former World Tour rider Ted King (right, in the gray Velocio kit), that's what makes it fun. Photo by Meg McMahon

18 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

THE STRANGE SAGA OF HOW A MUDDY GRAVEL GRINDER IN THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM GREW TO BECOME VERMONT’S MOST POPULAR RACE—AND HOW ONE WOMAN HELPED MAKE IT HAPPEN. BY KIRK KARDASHIAN

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 19

I

t was happening again. Ansel Dickey was hoping 2018 would be his chance to erase the bad memories of the 2017 Rasputitsa, a 40-mile gravel race that has become notorious for dragging cyclists across the Northeast Kingdom’s gnarliest dirt roads in the mud, snow and cold of April.

Everything was going well. With five miles to go, Dickey, a two-time winner from Woodstock, Vt., attacked the small group of leaders. On the eight-percent grade of Pinkham Road he dropped almost all of them. Then the true adventure began. A route marker had gone missing, so instead of turning left onto a dirt road to the finish, Dickey and a few other riders went straight onto a snowpacked cross-country ski trail. There were downed trees across the trail, and other trails splitting off in different directions. They had to dismount their bikes and trudge through the snow.

“Oh, God!” Dickey groaned to Ted King, a former World Tour rider. “Where are we?”

As they pushed their bikes up yet another hill, the motivation drained from Dickey’s body. He was not having fun anymore, and he just wanted to be done. It reminded him of the end of the previous year’s event, where he dropped out of the top three in the final 500 meters, which threw in cyclocross barriers and run-ups.

Kevin Bouchard-Hall, the 2002 New England Criterium champion, was having fun. He had been gapped on Pinkham Road, but he clawed his way back to Dickey and ran by him on the ski trail. He knew they were lost too, but didn’t much care. “I was like, screw it!” he recalled. “I’m going to keep running. We can complain and get down, or we can just keep jamming this adventure, and that’s what I did.”

The found the route and BouchardHall went on to pass junior phenom Magnus Sheffield and pro cyclocross racer Anthony Clarke, and then ran his bike across the finish line at Burke Mountain in first place—because it was too snowy to ride.

MUD SEASON If there’s one rule for approaching Rasputitsa—the Russian word for mud season—it’s to expect the unexpected.

It is, after all, a 40-something-mile dirt-road bike race that takes place in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom in April, when the roads can vary from dry gravel to sticky mud, to ice and snow—sometimes all in the same year.

That sense of the unknown has per-

20 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

Pro cyclist Alison Tetrick flew in from California for the 2018 race. She won for women and finished 20th overall.

Photo by Meg McMahon

Cutline here

Photo by

Just for fun, in 2017 race organizers threw in cyclocross-style obstacles at the finish. Photo by Dan Cadroneon

vaded the race since its first edition, in 2014. Race founders Heidi Myers and Anthony Moccia mapped out the course during the winter, using online GPS software. A few weeks before the race, they went out to check the roads

and realized that some of them were unmaintained public highways—Class IV roads, in Vermont parlance—and completely impassable. But they had already published the course, so they went with it. They called the toughest seg-

ment—a wet, icy river bed—“Cyberia” and tried to make it as fun as possible.

At the top of that slippery hike-abike section, they offered maple syrup shots in ice-cube shot glasses, and had a guy dressed up like a Yeti lurking in the woods. “We just tried to mask our complete ignorance,” Myers said. One rider came to the finish and told his wife he had seen a Yeti, and she just assumed he was hallucinating from hypothermia. “But in the end,” Moccia explained, “all the feedback we got from that section was positive, so it became one of the hallmarks of our course.”

Myers and Moccia are good friends who used to work together at Louis Garneau, the cycling apparel company, in Newport. They devised Rasputitsa as a way to bring tourism to the area and show off the Northeast Kingdom’s vast and beautiful network of back roads.

Myers admired the famously punishing Paris-Roubaix race, a World Tour spring classic that traverses northern France’s cobblestone roads. She wanted to create an event with a similar feel in northern Vermont, where she grew up. But their race would have one major difference: it would ditch the nervous, hypercompetitive spirit of road racing and replace it with a welcoming, communityoriented atmosphere where people of

all abilities could participate together.

“We wanted the race to be about everybody, not just the winners,” Myers said.

It has proven a successful formula.

The first edition of the race had 347 riders—a lot more than they expected—and this year’s race will have close to 1,500, making it the largest cycling race in the state. That’s because it attracts a wide swath of the bike riding public, from current and former pros such as Olympic mountain bike racer Lea Davison and pros and former pros Alison Tetrick, Anthony Clarke, Tim Johnson and Ted King, to beginners like Paul Izyk, a 54-year-old construction worker from Central New York who weighed 290 pounds the first time he entered, in 2016.

Brand new to cycling, Izyk first heard about Rasputitsa through social media. Intrigued, he asked his wife if she wanted to take a trip to Vermont in April. Shockingly, she said yes. “It was the first race I ever did, and I was hooked,” he said. Although he finished second from last, he beat his goal and enjoyed the grassroots nature of the event, including the friendly volunteers and the local food. In his second year, he bested his previous time by 40 minutes. He praised the event so much to his friends at home that he convinced 15 of them to enter the following year.

“Heidi and Anthony have become special friends,” he said. “I’m going to do this race every year until I can’t.”

While creating an event that new cyclists can tackle, Myers and Moccia have also worked hard to grow the female and under-23 audience. The registration fee for U-23 riders is almost nothing, and the organizers created a special women’s-only event in February to introduce women to the joy of backwoods riding. That event, Bittersweet, is what snagged Lisa Barton, 46, a former triathlete from Boston. She had tried Rasputitsa once and dropped out at the bottom of Cyberia. The following year, she was invited to Bittersweet with 50 other women. “It was minusnine degrees, and we put on every layer we had and went fatbiking,” Barton said. “I had never been on a fatbike before. It was a crazy adventure, and none of it made sense to me, and then suddenly it did. A little switch flipped in my brain. Triathlon is over. I’m only going to ride my bike from now on.”

What exactly changed? Barton saw beyond the competition of sport and began to understand its true nature: fun. “The Vermont spirit came out,” she explained. “I don’t have to try to be this perfect triathlete, where your kit is per-

Rasputista puts cyclists on the rugged and scenic roads of the Northeast Kingdom while people are still spring skiing at Burke Mountain. Photo by Meg McMahon

Cyberia is a gruelling climb up a snowy creekbed. Here, racers are rewarded with cookies and shots—of Vermont maple syrup. Photo by Meg McMahon

fect, you’re always aero, and you’ve got your nutrition dialed. All of a sudden, this pressure was kind of gone.” She bought a gravel bike and now spends her free time riding dirt roads with friends. There are probably thousands of stories like Barton’s, the rapid coalescing of a new tribe of laid-back dirt bikers, just in it for the adventure.

GRAVEL EXPLOSION Vermont is chock-full of organized rides tapping into that spirit. They have rugged names like the “Overland,” the “Ranger,” the “Raid Lamoille,” and the “Irreverent.” Last year, Myers and Moccia introduced an event with a gentler name: Redemption.

It was still plenty hard—100 miles and 9,000-feet of climbing—but it was held on Labor Day weekend on a warm, sunny day. The good weather perhaps gave Rasputitsa riders an opportunity to redeem themselves from

the mud-spattered misery of April.

This year, Redemption will come in the form of a gravel stage race: three days of riding, based at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington from August 30 to September 2. The Old Stone House was a boarding school opened by Alexander Twilight, the first African-American to earn a college degree in the United States (Middlebury, 1823). The building’s massive granite stones were pulled from farmers’ fields nearby, and while the school is no longer in operation, the landscape probably doesn’t look much different than it did in 1836 when the school was completed. Gravel roads bisect dairy farms and fields of hay and corn, and sometimes they narrow into two-rut paths through the forest, where you can imagine horses pulling carriages 150 years ago. “It’s the epitome of natural, rural Vermont,” Moccia said, “and

a perfect setting for a gravel event.”

The Redemption Gravel Stage Race will benefit the Davis Phinney Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to helping people with Parkinson’s disease. Phinney is one of the best cyclists in U.S. history—his palmares include two stage wins at the Tour de France—and Parkinson’s hit him at age 40. He created the foundation to help people living with the neurodegenerative disease cope with its many challenges, such as tremors, rigidity, postural instability and depression.

That mission is especially relevant to Myers, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s three years ago, at the age of 37. At first it affected her ability to use a pen, but as the disease progressed it froze her shoulder in place, making it nearly impossible to ride a bike. As if the physical effects of the disease aren’t bad enough, it has altered her brain chemistry such that her body doesn’t produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that, among other things, allows a person to feel happy. She’s not one to feel sorry for herself, but the chemical reality in her head was sending her into deep depression. For more than a month, she woke up crying every day. Her relationships suffered. Recently, her doctors have figured out the right dopamine replacement treatment, and she’s happier than she’s been in 10 years.

But there is no cure for Parkinson's.

There’s not even a treatment plan. Instead, Myers deals with it by organizing Rasputitsa and Redemption. She and Moccia, true to the nature of gravel, have a lot of fun with it. Last year, their entire marketing and social media campaign revolved around a David Bowie

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 21

It's not lonely at the top. A peloton that features top pros takes off from the start. Photo by Meg McMahon

"We wanted to make this inclusive," said organizer Heidi Myers. Rasputitsa may be one of the few races where an amateur on a mountain bike can race the same course as a pro on a custom gravel ride. The reward for all? Good grub—and lots of mud. Photos by Dan Cadrone

theme. This year, Prince is the reigning gravel rocker. Both Myers and Moccia have spouses and multiple children, so the events have become something of a family business—even though the proceeds go to charity (Rasputitsa benefits Little Bellas, which gets girls on mountain bikes). “Sometimes it’s pretty easy to wrap myself up in this bubble and play the victim, and I hate doing that,” Myers said. “Knowing that I have to make 1,500 people

22 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

happy in April is a good distraction.”

As it happens, the race serves as a good distraction for riders, too. There’s not a whole lot of cell phone coverage in the Northeast Kingdom—Vermont Governor George Aiken’s nickname for this roughly 2,000-square-mile expanse of pristine woods, mountains and bogs.

Wi-fi is sparse. Intentionally or not, the area is the definition of underdeveloped. And that’s what makes it special.

In everyday life, our phones are dinging

constantly, our email inbox demands attention, social media begs us to write advertisements for ourselves. But for one hard day, maybe even the whole weekend, a small town’s worth of bike riders can focus on seeing their friends, dialing in their bikes, and getting a dose of the mad, unforgiving beauty of Vermont in spring. That’s a vital part of the experience for Lisa Barton, who puts in long hours working for an office furniture firm. Business is good and she’s

driving all the time, working, talking.

The dirt roads of the Northeast Kingdom are more than roads, they are invitations to disconnect. “Let’s go play in the woods, where there’s no signal,” she said. “There’s something so refreshing about that.”

Kirk Kardashian lives in Woodstock and writes for a number of national magazines. He also races bikes.

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People from all sectors of the military, Special Forces, the FBI and others come to the Green Mountains to train with the Vermont Army National Guard. Here, a soldier learns to ice climb in Smugglers' Notch.

Photo courtesy the Vermont Army National Guard

IN FEBRUARY, THE U.S. ARMY SENT AN ELITE GROUP OF MOUNTAINEERS TO REPRESENT THE UNITED STATES AT AN INTERNATIONAL MILITARY COMPETITION. HERE’S WHY THE TEAM CAME FROM VERMONT.

BY ABAGAEL GILES

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 25

Above, from left to right, Edelweiss Raid team members Tim McLaughlin, Charlie Flood, Pantelis Geralis and Drew Gelinas talk strategy with Dan Westover and Hunter Cote on a training tour in Smugglers' Notch.

The team had just two opportunities to ski as a group before the race. Physical conditioning was left up to individual team members. Photo by Abagael Giles

T

he wind was howling through the notch. As the storm blew through the cliff-lined granite

corridor, eight soldiers dressed in standard-issue

Army

camouflage

squared

chests

and

their

kept

moving, kicking and gliding across the snow on lightweight touring skis.

Their objective was to ski the 20 kilometers from the Route 108 road closure near Smuggler’s Notch on the Jeffersonville side, up Spruce Peak,

down

to

Stowe

Mountain

Resort, back up Mt. Mansfield, down the Bruce Trail and back over to Stevensville in about four hours. My plan was to accompany them, part way.

The conditions were brutal. The wind whipped cold crystals of snow that stung exposed skin. Once we turned off

The rules of the Edelweiss Raid require that soldiers ski on the equipment the Army issues them for combat.

Here, Pantelis Geralis descends Spruce Peak on a lightweight Dynafit touring setup. Photo by Abagael Giles

soldiers—all members of the Army

bad, I’m trying a new way of taping them.”

and Army National Guard—chatted

The group moved seamlessly as a unit.

amicably, checking in with each other

in the storm. The soldier behind me

wind was gusting to 40 miles per hour

McLaughlin, set a skin track that climbed

mumbled through his balaclava to

and the chairlifts were swinging—

straight up the steep, wooded terrain.

another, “Hey, how are those blisters?”

empty. The trails had been scoured into

Moving at a brisk pace, the eight

From behind came the answer, “Not so

bright, blue ice. After consulting a trail

of Route 108, the untracked snow in the trees was covered in an unyielding rain crust. The leader, Army Mountain Warfare

School

Instructor

Tim

26 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

When we crested Spruce Peak, the

map and talking with Charlie Flood, a Stowe ski patroller in their ranks, they cheerfully ripped their skins off, stowed them in their jackets and disappeared down the slopes into the swirling snow.

Most backcountry skiers would have been deterred by the weather, but these guys were psyched.

Their mission? To train for the Edelweiss Raid, a mountaineering competition for teams of military personnel that blends skimo racing and mountain warfare tactics in a harrowing two-day race through the Tyrolian Alps on February 27 and 28. This team is the first group of soldiers the U.S. has ever sent to the race in its 10-year history— and six of the eight are Vermonters.

TRAINING THE TOUGHEST Vermont’s Edelweiss Raid team represents some of the most highly trained mountaineers in the U.S. Military.

Drew Gelinas is a coach for the U.S. Army Biathlon Program and former U.S. Ski Team coach. Will Timmons is a former national champion collegiate Nordic ski racer for the University of

The Vermont National Guard's Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment or Mountain Brigade is the U.S. Army's premier mountain warfare brigade. Photo courtesy Vermont National Guard

Wyoming and Rob Niles, a U.S. Army Mountaineer and sugarmaker from Marshfield, has summitted the 22,349foot Himalayan peak Ama Dablam. The team also includes Major Nathan Fry, Tim McLaughlin, Micah Nevard, Scott Stone and freeskier Pantelis Geralis.

All have trained with the Vermont Army National Guard at the Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, the U.S. Army’s premier training center for mountain operatives since 2003.

“A lot of people, even those who live in Jericho have no idea what comes through our door at the Mountain Warfare School,” says Major Fry, Training Division Chief since 2014 and the team’s leader. “Navy Seals?

Airforce? Paramedics? The FBI? They all train here, with Vermont National Guard instructors.” When I sat in on a land navigation course at the school this month, I asked a participant what unit he was with. He cautiously responded, “I’m with Special Ops.” The Green Mountains have long been a training ground for the United States’ Armed Forces. The 10th Mountain Division was founded

Above, members of the Alpha Company practice moving undetected in Jericho. White camouflage keeps them hidden while they practice using their equipment in sub-zero temperatures. Photo courtesy VT National Guard

here in 1943 with the help of Stowe ski patroller and National Ski Patrol founder Charles “Minnie” Doyle.

The division, comprised of many Vermonters, went on to win major battles in some of the most technical terrain American troops encountered in World War II. The unit was disbanded

during the Cold War and has since been reinvented as a light infantry brigade.

Vermont’s modern tradition of military mountaineering starts in 1983, when the Vermont Army National Guard volunteered to host what was then an experimental unit called Alpha Company at Camp Ethan Allen in Jericho. The

camp was already home to the army’s biathlon team, and many of the early recruits were biathletes and skilled recreational mountaineers and skiers.

In 1994, the Vermont Army National Guard Mountain Warfare School was designated the sole producer of the Skill Qualification Identifier E: the military’s formal certification for mountain warfare skills. For years, members of the Vermont National Guard served as instructors at the school, teaching visiting units and soldiers from across the country how to rappel, navigate in the mountains, rock and ice climb, ski tour, evacuate casualties in vertical terrain and more. In 2003, the school came under ownership of the Army, but is still operated and staffed by the Vermont National Guard.

WHY VERMONT? The scrappy Vermonters have built a reputation for producing highly trained soldiers. In 2005, the Army sent instructors from the Vermont National Guard to provide mountain warfare and cold weather training to U.S. and Afghan special operations forces

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 27

in Afghanistan, home to one of the tallest mountain ranges on Earth: the Hindu Kush. The 500-mile-long range includes Noshaq, a nearly 25,000-foothigh peak. At 6,000 feet, the country’s capital, Kabul, is one of the highest in the world, a city bounded by mountains.

Sargent Jeremy Neskey was one of the guardsmen deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Neskey, a paramedic from southern Vermont, has also worked search and rescue in Alaska’s Denali National Park and for Yosemite Search and Rescue.

In 2010, Neskey found himself charged with retrieving an injured soldier from one of the worst possible places: an exposed desert summit in Afghanistan, out of reach of a Black Hawk helicopter and in a combat zone. He helped stabilize the patient, and then carry them via a litter over a red rock ridge with steep, technical terrain. “We were on a ridgeline that was like the top of Mt. Mansfield, but at 9,000 feet in the desert. There were no trees, no cover, just sun-baked dry rock like what you’d find in Arizona.”

They carried the litter down rotten, crumbly bedrock for what felt like ages, until they finally made it to the valley.

“I’d trained for it and was able to help someone,” he said simply. Now he teaches other army personnel to do the same, and also teaches wilderness rescue skills and emergency medicine.

He teaches students to rig three-toone hauling systems, largely using the gear they carry in their standard rucksack. “The challenge is that you can’t waste any weight or add to what a company would be carrying,” says Neskey. “Here, we teach people to set up a standard military litter and then how to move it in 45-degree terrain.”

Though Neskey is not competing in the Edelweiss Raid, many of the team are his fellow instructors. They carry a similar degree of expertise.

And for those who have not seen mountain combat, Austria will put their mastery of those skills to the test.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE? “If you look across the world, virtually every country has mountainous terrain,” says Mountain Warfare School Commander Matthew Brown. “What we teach here are the individual skills necessary to operate that collective group in mountainous terrain. When they are put into this scenario in a combat situation, we don’t want the environment to be the enemy.”

Each year, about 700 soldiers

28 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

Becoming an instructor at the Army Mountain Warfare School requires advanced certifications in civilian guiding and is usually offered only to seasoned members of the Mountain Brigade. Photo courtesy Vermont National Guard

are selected by their unit leaders to attend the Army’s Mountain Warfare School. Admission is competitive. The school offers about ten Basic Military Mountaineering courses annually, with 64 students per class. Anywhere from four to 12 are dropped each course.

The goal? To train soldiers who are already skilled in infantry (riflery, moving as a group, setting up observation towers, securing terrain, rescuing casualties on the ground) and have passed a standard army physical fitness test to do those same tasks in the mountains. Often that means securing a mountain pass and moving supplies or people through it or rescuing a casualty.

Generally speaking, this work does not involve the type of feats performed by Sylvester Stalone in the 1993 movie "Cliffhanger." Soldiers aren’t usually moving on skis, and they certainly aren’t shooting from them.

During the two-week Basic Military

In the basic military mountaineering course, AMGA Single Pitch instructors teach fellow soldiers the basics of ice and rock climbing.

Photo courtesy Vermont National Guard.

Mountaineering

course,

soldiers

start class as early as 5:30 a.m. each day and finish late in the night. They slog through the forests in the cold and wet, navigating the maze of gullies and ridges that dominate the

topography near Camp Ethan Allen.

The point is to teach soldiers to operate in the worst conditions they would encounter in combat. At the end of each skill session, you either pass or you don’t—regardless of your rank.

For example, halfway through the course, soldiers have one week to learn 17 knots, after which they are given 30 seconds to tie each and explain its purpose to an instructor.

In the land navigation exam, soldiers race against the clock to plot and navigate to a series of waypoints scattered across a course that covers two mountains.

These exercises, like all the others, are designed to prepare students for the final exam: The Mountain Walk. At the end of the course, instructors guide students, wearing full ice climbing gear, up a low angle gully in Smugglers’ Notch and test their skill at moving on a fixed line. Students must rig and ride a rappel and demonstrate to instructors that they can make decisions in an exposed setting.

On March 14, 2018, during a Mountain Walk test, six Vermont Army National Guard soldiers were caught in an avalanche that carried three of them nearly 900 feet and two students 500 feet over a 50-foot cliff band in Smugglers’ Notch. Five were injured and two spent multiple nights in the hospital with injuries that ranged from fractures to contusions and lacerations.

A report released by the Army in September 2018 stated that at the time of the accident, “no one in the squad was wearing a beacon, shovel or probe.”

The same report indicated that just two days before the accident on March 12th, “the Advanced Military Mountaineering Course primary instructor first identified a ‘weak layer’ in the snowpack…one of several elements of, or precursors to, avalanche conditions.”

Following the accident, Army Mountain Warfare School hired Acadia Mountain Guides, a private guiding company from Maine, to help them develop better risk management.

“Managing risk is a daily event for us,” said Commander Brown. “We make sure our instructors are very well trained in the potential hazards, that they meet all of the same certifications as civilian guides so we aren’t putting people in bad situations. But you can never completely take the risk out of your training—otherwise it’s not training.”

According to Commander Brown, the Army’s intent is not to send every soldier to Vermont to become an expert rock climber, ice climber or skier. It’s to train select soldiers headquartered

the race, teams are tested on 13 tasks, including avalanche rescue, technical mountaineering skills, throwing grenades and making a ski descent roped together as a group of eight, a feat that is supposed to mimic glacier travel in a combat scenario. Most first-year teams drop out and the competition is stiff.

“There is an all-female team competing this year from Russia that has an incredible roster of athletes,” said Fry, “I think they will kick our butts.”

The goal? To be the first rookie team in the race’s history to finish and to represent the best of U.S. military mountaineering.

The final "exam," the Mountain Walk, involves climbing a gully in Smugglers' Notch on fixed lines. In March, 2018, students in the advanced military mountaineering course were swept away when an avalanche occurred in a routine training zone called Easy Gully.

Photo courtesy Vermont National Guard

in Vermont, the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), to be able to teach their units those skills should they need them.

THE BEST OF MILITARY MOUNTAINEERING It was Major Nathan Fry who first pushed for the U.S. to send a team to the Edelweiss Raid. “I was at a training in Austria, and some of my colleagues over there were like, ‘Hey, how come you guys never send anyone?’”

Fry saw the Raid as an opportunity to show the Army, and possibly the

country as a whole, how important

conference and part opportunity to

mountain

is.

swap training protocols and ideas with

Commander Brown was convinced.

European allies. The event calls itself

“This training is essential, because

“the unofficial World Championships

it ensures that we are not sending

for mountain troops," and features a

units into combat that do not have

high alpine race over 40 kilometers,

training

with 4,000 meters of elevation gain

something

warfare

in

training

mountain

that

has

warfare—

happened

in

over two days in the Austrian Alps.

our military history,” says Brown.

Unlike

According to Fry, who has a

mountaineering

master’s degree in Environmental and

camp in the mountains. Each member

Natural Resources from the University

is required to carry a rifle and a

of Vermont, the Edelweiss Raid is

rucksack and the team has to carry an

part

evacuation sled. Over the course of

elite

competition,

part

trade

in

a

traditional

race,

the

ski

soldiers

THE FEW, THE STRONG When he isn’t instructing full-time at the Mountain School Fry is a lecturer at UVM. He’s a medium-height guy with a face that is a more weathered from the elements than you’d expect for his age.

Fry, 34, grew up in rural Louisiana.

“I’m lucky I survived my first experience with the vertical world,” he says, recalling a day when he rappelled with a figure eight belay device and a piece of rope he and his friends stole off of a grain silo. Compelled by the discipline and structure the Army offered, he joined as an infantry officer after college. He moved to Vermont to take a job as a full-time instructor at the Mountain Warfare School in 2013, after a stint working for the National Forest Service as a deputy district ranger in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

“The Army has afforded me opportunities I never would have had as a civilian. It’s led me to climb in Europe and South America. I’ve been to the Arctic twice, and I work with some incredible mountaineers,” says Fry, who now lives in Huntington with his wife and kids. “I think you’ll hear that from a lot of the guys on the team. It takes resources to be able to gain these skills, and the Army offers some incredible opportunities.”

As the team’s initiator and cocaptain, Fry recruited the racers for the Edelweiss Raid. Drew Gelinas, a former coach for the U.S. Ski Team’s Nordic Combined program, was an obvious choice. “These skills are important,” says Gelinas. “It doesn’t matter how advanced technology gets—every fight comes down to people being on the ground.”

Pantelis Geralis is a Burr and Burton Academy graduate who has made a career with the Colorado National Guard teaching fellow soldiers skills he's gained through his continued relationship with the Mountain Warfare

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 29

"We want to show people that the 10th Mountain Division is still here, that this is something that we, Americans, are good at."

When the Mountain Brigade first came to Vermont in the early 1980s, the Army recruited local climbers and skiers. "It's easier to teach a mountaineer to be a soldier than to teach a soldier to be a mountaineer," says Major Fry. Photo courtesy Vermont National Guard.

School in Jericho. “I started skiing in terrain parks, but I eventually found my way to the backcountry,” says Geralis, who is now a competitive skimo racer.

“We want to show people that the 10th Mountain Division is still here, that this is something we, as Americans, can do and are good at.” He says Vermonters may have a leg up on the rest of the Army. “The cold almost adds an extra enemy. It’s an element that you can sometimes use to your advantage as much as it can be used against you.”

Another obvious choice? Team cocaptain Tim McLaughlin, a Mountain Warfare School instructor who lived at the base of Mt. Mansfield for the better part of 15 years. He started mountaineering in Oregon's North

30 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

Cascades while serving in the Ranger Battalion and joined the Vermont National Guard’s Mountain Battalion after his active duty was up in 2007.

“When I first started working at the school in 2007, I was living in a van. I’d park it down at the lot at Mad River Glen for a week at a time and ski for days as soon as the teaching season ended.” Now, Fry says, McLaughlin is one of the strongest backcountry skiers on the team.

For his part, McLaughlin is always thinking about how he would move if he were in combat. This goes back to his days in Afghanistan. “Even if I am climbing recreationally with guys from the school, I’ll try to think about where I’d want to be.”

THE EDELWEISS RAID On February 27, 2019 the eight soldiers raced onward across the Tyrolian Alps, sweating in the hot sun. They could see the finish for the first day.

Moving single file, they pushed across the ridge to the top of a steep slope.

They were gassed. Nearly 30K into the Edelweiss Raid, Austria presented the one thing their training in subzero blizzard conditions in Vermont couldn’t prepare them for: miles of buttery-soft snow under bluebird skies.

With M-4 rifles stowed against their packs, the soldiers maneuvered into a line, passing a rope along and tying in as they went. They’d assessed avalanche danger, simulated a casualty extraction on skis and rappelled from makeshift

anchors. Now, they faced a daunting task: to ski four kilometers as a group of eight, roped up. “Ready?” called McLaughlin. “Go!” The soldiers sideslipped and snow-plowed gingerly to the base. Miraculously, they passed four teams.

The next day, Niles, the sugarmaker from Marshfield and a long-range riflery instructor for the National Guard, made an impressive performance in the shooting competition. Fry said, "In the end, it was the Vermont-hardened mountain instructors on our team who helped us show what we could do."

The Vermonters couldn't help but hoot as they skied down steep, mashed potato snow to finish 13th of 23 teams.

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to get off his mountain but I got four runs in first. Mt. Philo and Lincoln Gap are also good places to jack jump. Route 108 in Smuggler’s Notch is another option but it’s crowded and everyone has their dog off leash so you can’t go fast. I love to do early morning hikes up Mansfield before the ski area opens.

FEATURED ATHLETE

THE WORLD CHAMPION RETURNS Name: Mark Stirewalt Age: 53 Lives in: Waterbury Center Family: Wife, Linda; daughters Emily, 23 and Hannah, 19 Occupation: Wastewater plant operator Primary sports: Jack jumping and disc golf

M

ark Stirewalt, perennial winner of the Jack Jumping World Championships (held annually at Mount Snow) has spent years trying to convince ski areas that jack jumping is a safe alternative to skiing and snowboarding. Less safe, perhaps, was the day he took his jumper down the headwall at Tuckerman’s Ravine.

When did you start jack jumping?

In the early 1980s, I took my Flexible Flyer to the top of Lincoln Gap. Those aren’t the most maneuverable sleds and as I was bombing down, I got passed by this hairy dude on a jack jumper who was laughing at me. When we got back to the top, he explained what a jack jumper was and even let me try his. I was hooked and I went home and built one.

How do you make them?

I started with plywood but after ripping a few in half, I discovered that hardwood weighs more and works better. I generally use maple. You want the seat to be a little wider than your hips. You mount the seat on a ski with roughly 14 to 15 inches in front and 12 ½ inches in back. A common mistake is making the seat flat; you actually want them to slope a little bit with the front two to three inches higher than the back. I mount the seat to the ski with metal brackets, using the screws from the binding I’ve removed. Initially, I thought longer skis would be faster but lately I’ve switched to skis between 170 and 200 cm.

Are there others building their own jack jumpers in Vermont?

I don’t know of any local producer although I’ve heard of one person who builds them out of metal in Vergennes or Ferrisburgh and sells them for $100. Some people add snowmobile or motorcycle shocks and those weigh more—but they aren’t necessarily more

Five-time World Champ Mark Stirewalt had his sights set on making it six on March 3, at Mount Snow.

responsive. At one point, I bought a spring that was made for jack jumpers from a company in Michigan. The company went belly up and I got hold of their spring set-up and it’s upped my game. It still isn’t a smooth ride but it takes out some of the jarring.

What kind of skis do you use?

These days I use modern shaped skis. I get many of them at the Stowe dump which my wife refers to as “Bloomingdale’s.” The affluent people are constantly buying new skis and leaving their old ones there.

Have you used a snowboard?

When I was working at Sugarbush I was given a snowboard and tried that. It was amazing on powder until I broke it. I’m still trying to find another one. Almost everyone uses skis but Andy Yeager, who was a Sugarbush patroller, used a jack jumper with a snowboard for a race in the late 1990s at Mad River Glen and was able to go up the chairlift with it. With a snowboard you can float, arc and do intentional 360s but you have to put in twice as much effort to lean it on edge.

How fast can you go?

I don’t know exactly but it’s fast enough that your eyes get watery. I’ve been toying with entering the citizen’s downhill at Jay Peak but I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Skiers can catch air and then land but despite the name, you really don’t want to be jumping.

How do you get down the mountain in one piece?

I’m one of the first jack jumpers to use a seat belt. There are a lot of traditionalists who pick on me about that but if they want tradition, they

should have barrel staves instead of skis. You have to stay centered on the seat and a belt locks you in so you can use your arms as outriggers. Most jack jumpers hold onto their seats but I only do that when it’s really fast or bumpy.

When it’s too fast, the wind wants to lift your feet over your head so it’s good to have your arms free.

How do you steer?

Steering is entirely with your hips and the core of your body. What a skier does with their knees and ankles to enter a turn, we do with our butts and hips.

You don’t have to tip a lot to turn. It’s a bit like cheating now with the new shaped skis. It’s become effortless to turn whereas on the older skis you had to shovel it around. There is a misconception because people see us dragging our feet and they think it’s for steering. It’s really more for balance but also because you can’t keep your feet up the whole time. We stop by putting all our weight onto one edge. We also meet all skier responsibility codes.

Where are the best places to jack jump in Vermont?

There are very few mountains that still allow us to use their trails. Mount Snow has an annual race on the first Sunday in March (March 3). Jay Peak lets us use their tram and two of their quads and Bolton Valley allows jack jumpers off the Vista, Mid Mountain and Timberline lifts as long as they have tethers. There’s a chance that Hard’ack in St. Albans might allow jack jumpers, but they have a rope tow and it’s really hard for us to use that. Many years ago, before I got my seat belt, I went to Cochran’s and had a hard time getting on the rope tow. When Mickey [Cochran] saw me, he screamed at me

What about the time you jack jumped the headwall at Tuckerman Ravine?

That was in 1994. I was about to become a dad and wanted to jack jump the headwall before I had too many responsibilities. On a jack jumper, if you’re on steep terrain and go to turn, your seat tips and you unweight and you accelerate exponentially. For the top half I was skidding on my seat and praying I wouldn’t get my feet caught underneath it. There was so much snow getting in my goggles, but I couldn’t slow down to wipe them clean. Finally, I got the ski under me and made some turns. At the bottom I looked great but I really hope nobody saw me at the top.

If I ever go again, I’ll go down via the Auto Road.

Tell us about the World Championships.

The Mount Snow race has been taking place for almost 40 years. There are folks who come all the way from Michigan and others who come from Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire. I finished first in 2009 and 2011 and then I had a hat trick finishing first in 2014, 2015 and 2016 followed by a second-place finish in 2017. I couldn’t race last year because I had a hernia and that was really hard. I plan to win the race this year or wipe out trying.

The bummer for me is that with the seat belt, if you miss a gate, it’s hard to go back up and get it because you have to do an uphill duck waddle.

Are there other local races?

We’re also having a race at Bolton Valley starting at 6 p.m. on March 16.

In the 90s we used to race every third Thursday at Bolton with Magic Hat as a sponsor. Our best turnout was 72 racers. They come out of the woodwork for these events.

Is the sport staying alive?

They say the sport started when roads were rolled by horses. Just as grooming has changed, most people have gone with newer equipment but there is a lot of young blood getting into the sport.

There’s a whole subculture out there of people whom I’ve heard about. I’ve got a good-sized email list that I use to keep people informed about events but it’s mostly word of mouth.

-Phyl Newbeck

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 33

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T

he game was tied and in overtime.

It was February 3, 2019 and the Central Vermont Pioneers were in Lake Placid, N.Y., to face off on the ice against the Buffalo Sabres Sled Vets at the Empire State Games. The two previous games against that squad had also ended in a tie. After a scoreless first period, Buffalo scored early in the second period, but with three minutes left, the Pioneers scored, tying the game.

Then, in overtime, Jake Lavigne, 23, headed towards the goalie’s left side and slid a wrist shot into the bottom right corner on a pass from his father Ernie, 65, to Rachael Grusse. The Pioneers took home the gold medal.

For a team that was only formed in 2016 and whose players range in age from 10 to 60, it was a remarkable victory. This year was their second straight gold medal win at the Empire State Sled Hockey Championship.

But what made this year’s win even more remarkable is the fact that the team includes three sets of fathers and sons: Richard and Kyler Quelch of East Calais, Troy and Jakob Kingsbury of Waitsfield and Ernie and Jake Lavigne of Barre. In each case, the sons have physical disabilities, but since the league allows each team to have three able-bodied members, the fathers can strap themselves onto sleds and share the sport with their kids.

Sled hockey, also known as sledge hockey, is described by the Northeast Sled Hockey League as “the fast, exciting, rough-and-tumble version of ice hockey played primarily by people with lower limb mobility impairments.”

The game is essentially the same as ice hockey, except the players use a sled with two hockey skate blades mounted under a seat. Players also use two sticks. One end of each has a conventional hockey stick blade and the other end has a stainless steel “pick” which can be dug into the ice to propel a player forward. In competitive play, hard checking, raised-puck shooting, and penalty killing are as much a part of sled hockey as they are in stand-up hockey.

Jake Lavigne of Berlin was a soccer player before a 2008 mountain bike accident left him paraplegic. His father Ernie later invited his friend Sandy Craige to the house to talk to his son.

The two men had played stand-up ice hockey together before an accident led Craige to sled hockey. Jake admits he hated his first time on the ice. “I thought it was really hard and I quit,”

THE SLED HOCKEY ALL-STARS

WHEN THREE SETS OF FATHERS AND SONS TOOK TO THE ICE, SOMETHING AMAZING HAPPENED. BY PHYL NEWBECK.

The Central Vermont Pioneers: (L-R) Jakob Kingsbury, Troy Kingsbury, Jake Lavigne, Ernie Lavigne, Kyler Quelch and Rich Quelch.

he said, “but they hounded me and soon I really enjoyed it.” Jake has attended the National Sled Hockey Development Camp twice, and has taken part in two National Disabled Sled Hockey festivals.

In addition to sled hockey, Jake started playing wheelchair basketball with a friend. Ernie would get in a chair to join them. Ernie was so ferocious at defending that the friend suggested he try sled hockey. Since Jake didn’t have his driver’s license yet, Ernie was already at all the games and practices, so he strapped on a sled and has been playing ever since. “When we first started I made Jake work really hard,” Ernie admits. “Physically, I was being a bully but I wanted him to realize people would push him and he learned quickly.

Now I push him but he just takes the puck and skates away.” Jake agrees that his father’s aggressive playing style helped him. “I’m not afraid to get hit because of him,” he said of his father, who has earned the nickname, “the Hammer.”

Now 22 and working for the Vermont Center for Independent Living, Jake is the Pioneers' team captain. “It’s a great bonding experience playing with my father,” he said. For Ernie, there is joy in a recent role reversal. Last season, the team travelled to Canada and Jake was not happy with his father’s performance in the first game. “He told me I wasn’t being aggressive enough,” said Ernie “and he was right. I took it to heart and after the second game he told me I had played better.”

Assistant captain Kyler Quelch, 15, previously played for the Burlingtonbased Vermont Sled Cats. When the Central Vermont Pioneers were formed, he relished the opportunity to play closer to home and his father Rich decided to give the game a try. Rich had never played hockey so he had a steep learning curve. “It’s a really competitive game,” he said. “There is something about players who live with challenges every day and take that mentality onto the ice. It’s something I wanted to be part of.” Last year, Rich had the thrill of providing an assist on a goal scored by Kyler.

Born two months premature, Kyler was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was two, but he refuses to let his physical limitations keep him from cycling, skiing, swimming, hunting and fishing. When he was eight years old he had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park and he followed that up with a stint in the broadcast booth. “I love the thrill of playing a sport that includes everyone,” he said. “Everyone is able to get involved in the action.”

A 17-year-old junior at Harwood Union High School, Jakob Kingsbury was born with spina bifida. He tried a wide variety of sports and loved ice hockey the best, but each of his three seasons playing stand-up hockey resulted in season-ending stress fractures. In 2014, he discovered sled hockey and in 2016 he was nominated to attend the National Sled Hockey Development Camp in Buffalo, New

Photo by Phyl Newbeck

York with athletes from across the country. Jakob is hoping to return to the camp and then try out for the U.S. Development Team or the Junior National Team. He currently serves as co-captain for the Pioneers.

Jakob’s father Troy, a former race car driver, joined the Pioneers this year.

Playing hockey had never been on his to-do list and he readily admits that when Jakob stopped playing stand-up hockey he was initially happy to be freed from driving his son to early morning practices. “It’s a different dynamic since most parents just get to watch from the sidelines,” says Troy.

The NESHL, formed in 2005, now includes five teams with roughly 65 players. There are also five New York teams which are not in the league and several club teams including the Burlington-based Sled Cats, the Ice Vets of White River Junction and the Lyndonville-based Sled Dogs. Players range in age from 15 to 60 and include a number of veterans.

As sled hockey becomes more popular, it is getting more play.

Last year’s championship game in Lyndonville aired on WDEV, marking the first time a Vermont adaptive sports event was broadcast on the radio.

The fathers and sons urged those with an interest in the game to try out for any of the Vermont sled hockey teams, noting the benefits for all involved. “He’s found something he’s passionate about,” Troy Kingsbury said of his son Jakob, “and that leads to an improved outlook.”

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 35

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RUNNING/SNOWSHOEING MARCH 2 | Green Mountain Club Winter Trails Day, Londonderry Meet at Flood Brook School for a day of guided group hikes, winter skills workshops, snowshoe demos, kids’ activities and an après party. greenmountainclub.org/winter-trailsday 9 | Sugarhouse Snowshoe or Trail Run 5K, Shelburne Celebrate sugaring season with this 5K snowshoe fun run at Shelburne Sugarworks. facebook.com/shelburnesugarworks 15 | Dion Nor'easter Punxsutawney Phil, Londonderry Bring your USSSA-legal snowshoes and your headlamp for this nighttime snowshoe race on lit trails at Viking Nordic Center. cvrunners.com 16 | 6th Annual Shiver Me Shamrocks 5K, Rutland Kick off St. Patrick’s Day by running or walking to benefit Come Alive Outside. First 35 entrants win a Nordic hat. cvrunners.com 16 | 2nd Annual Leprechaun Dash 5K/10K, Shelburne Pick out your best green running clothes for this St. Patrick’s Day-themed race. First male and female winners in the 5K and 10K categories win a pot of gold. racevermont.com 24 | 40th Annual Kaynor’s Sap Run, Westford This 10K is an out and back on the muddy, hilly country roads of Westford. gmaa.net

APRIL 13 | 13th Annual RunVermont Half Marathon Unplugged, Colchester Run 13.1 miles or join a relay team. Earn a Switchback beer at the brewery at the finish line. runvermont.org 13 | Spring Fling 5K/10K, Shelburne Run, walk or jog this out-and-back race, followed by a pancake breakfast with local maple syrup. racevermont.com 15 | Dream Big 5K: Walk, Run or Roll, Essex Professionally-timed races for folks of all ages and abilities.

This course is wheelchair and stroller-friendly. eddfund.org 20 | Sleepy Hollow Mountain Race, Huntington A gnarly but scenic 10K trail race at Sleepy Hollow Cross Country Ski Center. sleepyhollowmtnrace.com

21 | 23rd Annual Mutt Strutt, Waterbury Support the Central Vermont Humane Society with this 3-mile fun run for dogs and their owners at Little River State Park. cvrunners.org

11 | Road to the Pogue, Woodstock Race 6.1 miles along the carriage trails of Mount Tom at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park, paced by Icelandic ponies. roadtothepogue.com

27 | 45th Annual Paul Mailman 10-Miler and 5K, Montpelier A race primarily on dirt roads, this is the Road Runners Club of America 2019 Vermont 10-Mile State Championship and part of the Central Vermont Runners race series. cvrunners.org

11 | 10th Annual Spring into Health 5K, Townshend Run 3.1 miles on paved Grafton Road to the finish at the Townshend green. gracecottage.org 12 | Persist 5K Run/Walk, Burlington Choose between a 3.1-mile course and a 1-mile course along the Burlington Bike Path. persist5k.com

27 | 41st Green Mountain Athletic Association Rollin’ Irish Half Marathon, Essex Junction This half marathon takes a rural and scenic route on rolling, mostly dirt roads. gmaa.net

15 | Maple Leaf Marathon, Springfield Run eight laps of a 3.3-mile course for a full marathon or four laps for a half marathon. newenglandchallenge.org

27 | Pittsford Trail Runs 5K and 1-Mile, Pittsford Bring your dog for this fun trail run at the Pittsford Recreation Area. pittsfordvermont.com

18 | Barre Town Spring Run 5K, Barre Central Vermont Runners host this race from the Barre Town Recreation facility. cvrunners.org

27 | 13th Annual Springfield Dam Run, Springfield Support the local food shelf and other charities when you compete in the half-mile fun run or the four-mile race. springfielddamrun.com

18 | Champlain Bridge 5K, Crown Point, N.Y. Join the La Chute Running Club in supporting free nutritious snacks for Crown Point School students in this scenic 5K cross-country race on trails in Crown Point. lachute.us

28 | 41st Annual Sap Run, St. Albans Run 8.5 miles on an open road or complete the race as a relay team during the Vermont Maple Festival. First race in the Franklin County Triple Crown. vtmaplefestival.org

18 | 6th Annual Craft Brew Races, Stowe Run a 5K, then participate in a craft beer festival, featuring more than 40 Vermont breweries. craftbrewraces.com

MAY 4 | 41st Green Mountain Athletic Association Pump it Up 5-Miler, Jericho This rolling 5-mile race follows Old Pump Road and is an outand-back in the foothills of the Green Mountains. gmaa.net 5 | Middlebury Maple Run, Middlebury Catch Vermont’s sweetest half marathon, split it up as a team or try the three-mile race at this annual favorite.

Finishers get a pancake breakfast and free maple syrup. middleburymaplerun.com 5 | Annual 5K Run/Walk for Jim, St. Albans A memorial 5K run for Jim Bashaw to support Grand Isle and Franklin County residents suffering from catastrophic illness. runforjimbashaw.com 10-11 | Peak Bloodroot Ultra, Pittsfield Race through the rugged foothills of the Green Mountains in the 100-miler on Friday, followed by the 50-miler, 30-miler, 10-miler and kids’ hike on Saturday. peakraces.com 11 | Adamant Half Marathon and Relay, Adamant This scenic figure eight course runs past the hills and ponds of Calais and East Montpelier. Part of the Central Vermont Runners race series. cvrunners.org 11 | Girls on the Run Central Vermont 5K, Castleton A special event to promote girls in sports. gotrvt.org 11 | LCMM Half Marathon and 5K/10K, Ferrisburgh Run from Basin Harbor Club with lake and mountain views along the way. racevermont.com

18 | Kingdom Games Dandelion Run, Derby Choose between a half marathon, a 10K, a four-mile, a two mile, or a one-mile run or walk through the dandelion fields and the hilly but beautiful Northeast Kingdom. kingdomgames.co 18 | Girls on the Run 5K, Brattleboro Support girls participating in sports with this fun 5K for adults and kids alike. gotrvt.org 19 | Race Around the Lake, Barnard Catch a 5K run/walk or 10K run around Silver Lake at Silver Lake State Park. Both courses feature wooded trails, back roads and scenic paths, followed by live music and a free catered lunch for participants. barnarts.org 19 | Vermont Sun Half Marathon, Lake Dunmore Choose from a half marathon course and a 5K or 10K course near the shores of Lake Dunmore starting at Branbury State Park. Free photos, drinks and snacks for contestants. vermontsuntriathlonseries.com 25 | 18th Annual Timberlane Dental Mini Marathon, Burlington Half marathon and one-mile fun runs, as well as a two-mile timed event for kids 4 to 14 leading up to the United Bank Vermont City Marathon and Relay. runvermont.org 26 | Vermont City Marathon, Burlington RunVermont’s annual marathon through downtown Burlington finishes at Waterfront Park. vermontcitymarathon.org

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 37

JUNE 1 | Colchester Causeway Race, Colchester Choose a 5K, 10K or 15K. The race begins at Airport Park and follows a gravel trail out onto the historic and scenic Causeway before returning to the finish at Airport Park. colchestervt.gov/358/Causeway-5K-10K15K-Race 1 | Girls on the Run 5K, Essex Junction This is the northern Vermont iteration of this special series to promote girls running and getting involved with sports and an active lifestyle. girlsontherun.org 1 | 7th Annual West River Trail Run, South Londonderry Run 11 miles on exciting terrain on a one-way trail from South Londonderry to Jamaica State Park along the West River. thecollaborative.us/westrivertrailrun 2 | Covered Bridges Half Marathon, Woodstock Run 13.1 miles through scenic covered bridges around Woodstock, starting at Suicide Six Ski Area. cbhm.com 3 | 40th Annual Vermont Milk Run, Enosburg Falls A 6.2-mile course that runs through the heart of dairy country, along the Missisquoi River with moderate hills and scenic views. Part of the Franklin County Triple Crown and the Vermont Dairy Festival. vermontdairyfestival.com 4 | Five Fifty Fifty Run/Walk for Mental Health, Burlington Run or walk a 5K This is one of 50 fivekilometer races being held in each state over 50 days to raise support for mental illness. fivefiftyfifty.com 7 | 23rd Annual Kids Track Meet, Montpelier All central Vermont kids in pre-school through 6th grade are invited to compete in this fun, free track meet, with events ranging from the mile run to the 100-meter dash as well as a softball throw and long jump competition. cvrunners.org 8 | 42nd Annual Capital City Stampede, Montpelier Central Vermont Runners hosts this 10K road race out and back, half on paved roads and half on dirt. cvrunners.org 15 | NH-VT Covered Bridge Half Marathon and Relay, Colebrook, N.H. Choose between a half marathon, a 16.2-mile race and a 5K, all on the same scenic course in northern Vermont and New Hampshire.

Food and live bluegrass music at the finish. nhvthalfmarathon.com

38 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

16 | 9th Annual GMAA Equinox Trail Race, Charlotte Hosted by Green Mountain Athletic Association, this fun but challenging 5K trail race follows fields, single track and old sugaring roads. gmaa.net 22 | 6th Annual Salomon Catamount Ultra 25K/50K Trail Race, Stowe Choose between a 25K and 50K course on a rolling, hard-packed dirt trail through highland pastures and hardwood forest at the beautiful Trapp Family Lodge trail system. Followed by the Salomon Running Festival with free demos, local food and beer and more. catamountultra.com

NORDIC/SKIMO MARCH 2 | 45th Annual Mount Washington Cup, Bretton Woods, N.H. Bretton Woods Nordic Center hosts a 10K freestyle race through their extensive 100K trail network. brettonwoods.com 2 | Frigid Infliction and Test Your Nettle Adventure Races, Bolton Valley Join a team of two or three for this multisport adventure race series through the Bolton Backcountry. Take on a 10hour orienteering challenge featuring snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and a surprise activity, or “test your nettle” with the three-hour race. gmara.org 2-3 | New England Bill Koch League Nordic Festival, Ripton Rikert Nordic Center and NENSA host this full weekend of Nordic races, activities and fun for kids. nensa.net/bkl-festival/ 4 | The Endurance Society Pico Skimo Event, Pico Mountain Grab your skis and skins and choose between race divisions of one, two or three laps on Pico’s uphill travel route, with a ski descent on mountain trails for 2,000 feet of vertical gain per lap. endurancesociety.org 8-10 | 3rd Annual Mt. Washington Backcountry Festival, Gorham, N.H. Celebrate all things backcountry skiing and riding. Demo the latest touring gear, take an avalanche safety course or opt for a range of guided courses in the Presidentials, followed by parties and speakers. skimtwashington. com 9 | Middlebury Skimo/Rando Race, Middlebury Snow Bowl A U.S. Ski Mountaineering Associationsanctioned skimo race involving skinning uphill, bootpacking and descents on alpine skis. Event also includes shorter, modified course options for those new to the sport. nerandorace.blogspot.com

10 | Valley Cup, Warren A 10K freestyle cross-country ski race (5K for U15). olesxc.com 10 | Bread Loaf Annual Citizens’ Race, Rikert Grab your Nordic skis for this series of races for all age groups at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton. Choose between a 5K skate or classic race, or enter your kids in the lollipop race.

Or bring your fatbike. rikertnordic.com 10 | Mansfield Nordic Club New England Club Relay Championship, Craftsbury Outdoor Center Compete in this NENSA Club Cup Series event, set up as a relay race featuring four legs of 5K (two classic and two freestyle) ski racing. mansfieldnordic.org/events 16 | New England Rando Race Series presents “The Sun,” Bromley Race uphill using skins and then race back down to the mountain’s base. Part four in a five-part annual series. nerandorace. blogspot.com 16 | 33rd Annual Lake Placid Loppet Cross Country Ski Races and Nordic Festival, Lake Placid, N.Y. The Mt. Van Hoevenberg trails are the site of these classic and freestyle races, featuring a 25K and 50K course plus 12.5K, 6.25K and 3K citizen race options, followed by dinner and a raffle. mtvanhoevenberg.com 17 | Skimo Challenge, Mont SainteAnne, Quebec Choose one of three ski trails for your ascent up Mont Sainte-Anne on skis, a splitboard, snowshoes or trailrunners. Race up the 600m climb by foot or choose a longer, traditional skimo course, with 1,600- to 1,800m of elevation gain over about 18K and a bootpack. skimoeast.com 17 | Tour von Trapp, Stowe This inaugural event offers skiers of all abilities and skill levels tours ranging in distance from 5K to 50K around the Trapp Family Lodge property in Stowe. Tours will be interspersed with stops for fun, food and drink along the way. trappfamily.com 20 | Olympic Gold Medalist Kikkan Randall Speaks, Huntington Kikkan Randall, who, along with Jessie Diggins became the first American woman to win an Olympic Gold medal in Nordic skiing in 2018, will be speaking at Sleepy Hollow Cross Country Ski Area. skisleepyhollow.com 23 | NE Rando Race Series: Something Bigger, Sunday River, Maine Choose between a competitive race division with a course featuring nearly 6,000 feet of vertical gain/loss and a recreational division in this race to benefit Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation. nerandorace.blogspot.com

29-31 | U.S. Biathlon National Championships, Jericho Watch the best biathletes in the country compete at the Ethan Allen Firing Range. Bring your own skis on Saturday for the Novice Biathlon race and clinic. eabiathlon.org

APRIL 7 | Cochran’s Nordic Cross, Richmond See how fast you can go uphill, downhill, through slalom gates and over jumps and obstacles in this festive citizens’ Nordic ski cross race for all ages. Don’t miss the free pancake breakfast with Slopeside Syrup. cochranskiarea.com

ALPINE SKIING/RIDING/ JACK JUMPING MARCH 2 | 2nd Annual Master of the Mountain Extreme Biathlon, Magic Mountain Compete to be named the best skier or rider in the East in this mad dash down Black Line. The course is half extrem­e ski competition and half giant slalom. magicmtn.com 2 | Light the Night Rail Jam, Okemo Skiers and riders of all ages are welcome to compete in this nighttime rail jam competition on Bull Run, for a $5,000 purse. okemo.com 2 | One Liner Rail Jam, Sugarbush Catch live music from the deck of the Green Mountain Lodge with Crusty Cuts at this after-hours rail jam at Mt. Ellen’s base.

Competitors get one hour to hit one line for a chance to win prizes. sugarbush.com 2 | Skiing History Day, Bromley Dust off your woolens and join the International Skiing History Association for this new event, featuring a vintage skiwear slopeside parade and a multigenerational alpine downhill race. Don’t miss the exhibit at the lodge or the after party. bromley.com 3 | Hope on the Slopes, Jay Peak Resort Partake in an all-day vertical challenge competition to see who can ski the most vertical feet and raise funds for the American Cancer Society. jaypeakresort.com 3 | Rippers and Racers Day, Richmond A free clinic for kids six to nine to try ski racing at Cochran’s Ski Area. Even the day tickets are complementary. cochranskiclub. com 3 | 7th Annual High Fives FAT Ski-AThon, Sugarbush Participants complete as many “fun-runs” as possible at Lincoln Peak on the Valley House Lift to raise funds for the High Fives Foundation. sugarbush.com

8-10 | The 7th Annual Vermont Open, Stratton This annual celebration of snowboarding features live music and an epic rail jam open to riders of all ages and abilities for a prize purse of over $20,000. stratton.com 9 | Vertical Challenge, Burke Mountain Skiers and riders of all abilities are welcome at this event, which is part of the Vertical Challenge, an annual race series across the East Coast. verticalchallenge.com 9 | Castlerock Extreme, Sugarbush Expert skiers are riders are invited to charge the cliffs and drops of Sugarbush’s toughest terrain in this stop on the Ski the East Freeride Tour. Awards for the top three men and women competitors and a Big Air contestant. Registration closes March 7. sugarbush.com 9 | Flyin’ Ryan Memorial–IFSA National FWQ2 Competition, Mad River Glen Test your mettle on some of the most challenging terrain in the East in this Ski the East Freeride Tour freeskiing competition, open to all ages. The event is a fundraiser for the Flyin’ Ryan Foundation. madriverglen. com 9 | Annual Ride and Ski New England Apres Party, Jay Peak Free live music from Hoopla and giveaways. jaypeakresort.com 9-10 | Park Affair, Mount Snow Join fellow female riders for a lady-shred weekend packed full of park riding, progression, socializing and making memories. mountsnow.com 10 | Vertical Challenge, Bromley Mountain Skiers and riders of all abilities and ages are welcome at this event, which is part of the Vertical Challenge, an annual casual alpine and snowboard race series across the East Coast. verticalchallenge.com 14 | Ski & Snowboard Photography Talk, Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum, Stowe Join photographers Shem Roose, Ashley Rosemeyer, Nathanael Asaro, Rick Levinson, Briah Mohr, Jesse Schloff and the legendary Hubert Schriebl with moderator Dave Schmidt for a behind the scenes look at the world of professional photography in winter and outdoor sports. vtssm.org

15-17 | The 17th Annual Adirondack Backcountry Ski Festival, Lake Placid A weekend-long celebration of skiing with demos, instructional clinics, backcountry tours, guest athlete slideshows and feasting, with a skimo race at Whiteface Mountain. mountaineer.com/ski-fest 16 | 2nd Annual Real to Steel, Jay Peak Open to skiers and riders, at this competition you can test your skills on challenging upper mountain terrain of Upper Quai and your tricks in the Interstate Terrain Park with one run on each course. There is a kids’ division. jaypeakresort.com 16 | SideSurfers Banked Slalom, Sugarbush Competitors get two runs each in this snowboard-only banked slalom event at Mount Ellen, through table tops, berms, rollers and more. sugarbush.com 16-17 | 7th Annual 24 Hours of Stratton, Stratton Form a team or compete as an individual in this 24-hour ski and ride party. Lifts will be open for a full 24 hours. Catch the opening party on Friday. stratton.com 20 | Annual Pond Skim, Jay Peak Test yourself (as long as you are 16 years old or older) against Jay’s pond in this fun competition where costumes are encouraged.

Prizes for: best run, best costume, best bail and best splash. jaypeakresort.com 23 | 39th Annual George Syrovatka Ski Race, Jay Peak This annual ski race benefits Leukemia research and features a dual slalom for both ski and snowboard racers and a post-race after party with a raffle. jaypeakresort.com

30 | 2019 Triple Crown Unconventional Terrain Competition, Mad River Glen The first leg of the Triple Crown Competition series sends skiers down the Lift Line trail aand challenges them to ski all of the steeps, cliffs, jumps and rocks they can. madriverglen.com

1 | April Fools Day Special, Mad River Glen Act foolish in the ticket office and you ski for half of the regular ticket window rate. madriverglen.com 6 | Vertical Challenge Finals, Jay Peak Claim the fastest time of the season in this recreational alpine ski and snowboard downhill race open to all ages and abilities. jaypeakresort.com

30 | Hibernation Park Jam, Killington Join fellow park skiers and riders for a fun lunch and park jam with divisions for groms, men and women in both ski and snowboard categories. killington.com

6 | Slush Cup and Splash For Cash, Okemo Costume-clad competitors skim across an 80-foot-long man-made slush pond in the Jackson Gore Base Area. okemo.com

1 | 2018 Triple Crown Mogul Challenge, Mad River Glen Race through a grueling moguls course on the Chute Trail—so single chair riders can have a bird’s eye view of the competition. madriverglen.com

6 | Nor’Beaster Bud Light Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge, Killington Amateur bumpsters take to the slopes of Outer Limits to battle for a place in the final competition, held the same day. This is a great spectator event. killington.com

31 | Bud Light Glade-iator, Mount Snow A mogul skiing contest on the soft springtime bumps of the legendary Ripcord. Bump and jump skills will be judged on time, form, line and aerial maneuvers on the jumps.

Spectators, don’t miss the slopeside cash bar. mountsnow.com

6 | Pond Skimming, Sugarbush Can you skim across the 120-foot pond at Lincoln Peak? Awards for best costume, style and splash. sugarbush.com

APRIL

13 | Nor’Beaster Pond Skimming, Killington

1 | 2019 Triple Crown Vertical Challenge, Mad River Glen See how much vertical you can rack up in one day on Mad River Glen’s Chute and Lift Line trails. The record is 30 runs and over 60,000 vertical feet. madriverglen.com

Catch Killington’s annual pond skim event, with prizes awarded for bst overall skim, best costume, biggest splash, best kids skim and the Judges’ award. killington.com

MAY 1 | May Day Slalom, Killington Show your stuff on corned hero snow at this super fun, spectator-friendly spring ski race. killington.com

23 | Retro Jam, Okemo Bring out your acid-washed jeans, your brightest neon and smoothest on-snow moves for this 1980s-inspired on-snow style and trick competition. Prizes for Best Daffy, Best Method and Best Outfit. okemo.com 23 | Mad River Glen Junior Mogul Challenge, Mad River Glen Kids 15 and under test their mettle against the shapeliest moguls in New England in this alpine downhill race. madriverglen.com 25 | Spring Fling and Annual Pond Skim, Stratton Challenge yourself to ski across Stratton’s pond to live music! Prizes for best costume and best fall. stratton.com 28 | 15th Annual Peak Pitch Vermont 2019, Sugarbush At this networking and fundraising even=t, entrepreneurs are paired on a chairlift with an investor or advisor and provided the chance to deliver their elevator pitch on the way up the mountain. sugarbush.com

Transition Bikes are in the house!

Come test ride the 2019s Smuggler Carbon GX or Scout GX 49 Brickyard Lane, Putney Vermont

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Photo: oliver Parish

7 | History of Lost Ski Areas in Waterbury and Stowe, Waterbury Center Join historian Brian Lindner at the Green Mountain Club Visitor Center for a talk about the history and origins of skiing in the Stowe area and how Stowe Mountain Resort came to be. greenmountainclub.org

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 39

BIKING MARCH 1-2 | Winterbike, Kingdom Trails, East Burke The East’s largest winter fatbike festival returns to Kingdom Trails. mbtvt.com 3 | 23rd Annual Ski, Shoe and Fatbike to the Clouds, Gorham, N.H. This race, open to Nordic skiers, snowshoers and fatbikers, starts on the Great Glen Trails system, then climbs 2,200 feet over 6K with an average 12 percent grade on the snow of the Mt. Washington Auto Road. greatglentrails.com-skishoe-fatbike 24 | Vermont Overland Maple Adventure Ride, West Windsor An epic gravel road ride on crazy Vermont mud season roads with two sections of snow-covered Vermont pavé at Ascutney Outdoor Center. vermontoverland/vomar/

APRIL 13 | Green River Rip G03, Dover Pass by Mount Snow on pavement, then jump onto gravel roads through pastures and farmland for this 30-mile ride with a new drop of 2,031 feet. vtdirt.com 20 | Muddy Onion Spring Classic Gravel Grinder, Montpelier Come out of hibernation for this fully supported 36.9-mile gravel grinder covering the amazing dirt roads Central Vermont has to offer. Don’t miss the parking lot after-party, with beer and food. onionriveroutdoors.com 27 | Rasputitsa, Burke Mountain Rasputitsa is Russian for mud season and this race lives up to its namesake as a 40-mile loop gravel race through the rugged backroads of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

Fatbike, mountain bike, open and singlespeed categories. rasputitsagravel.com

MAY 4 | 2019 Waterbury Gravel Grinder, Waterbury Join the Waterbury Area Trails Alliance for a rugged gravel grinder, with a 25-mile course or a 40-mile course on a mixture of dirt roads and their trails. waterburytrails.com

2019 US Biathlon National Championships March 29, 30, 31

Ethan Allen Firing Range, Jericho, VT Volunteers & Spectators Welcome

Novice Biathlon Race

Beginners Welcome - Just bring your skis!

Saturday March 30th 1:00 Registration & Safety Clinic 2:00 Race Start

More Info at: www.eabiathlon.org 40 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

4-5 | Skirack’s Annual Bike Swap, Burlington Drop off your bikes and components, trailers, wheels, roof racks and more April 29 and May 3 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Swap runs from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 4 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 5. skirack.com 4-5 | Earl's Cyclery Bike Swap, South Burlington Drop your bike off May 2-3, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sale: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 4 & 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 5. earlsbikes.com 5 | Cranko de Mayo, Waitsfield This gravel grinder, hosted by Lawson’s Finest Liquids, features 32 miles of riding in the Mad River Valley, with 3,900 feet of vertical and two covered bridges on class IV roads. madriverriders.com 18 | 4th Annual Richard’s Ride, Cochran’s Ski Area A day of fun riding for the whole family, this event features a metric century ride, mountain bike rides at Cochran’s Ski Area and a short kids' ride. richardtomfoundation.com 18 | Crank the Kanc Time Trial, Conway, N.H. This epically scenic hill climb carves its way through the White Mountain National Forest on paved roads, with 2,340 feet of elevation gain over 21.3 miles. mwvbicyclingclub.org 20 | 3rd Annual Guilford Gravel Grinder, Guilford Join 545 Velo for this 40-mile race on the backroads of Southern Vermont. facebook.com/guilfordgravelgrinder 26 | Coyote Hill Classic-NECS XC Series Race, Bradford Mountain bike races for kids and adults alike on the trails at Coyote Hill Mountain Bike Camp. coyotehillcamp.com

JUNE 7-9 | Tour de Kingdom, Burke Choose from a series of rides, including a century in the Lake Region, The Moose (a 200-mile ride) and an international ride around Lake Memphremagog—or opt to ride all three days of this epic cycling festival. kingdomgames.co/june-tour 8 | The VTMonster Gravel Grinder, Ludlow A 70-mile ride with 9,000 feet of vertical gain on gravel roads that will “loosen your fillings and crush your legs.” ridinggravel.com/event/vt-monster 9 | The Ranger, Tunbridge Features 32 miles and over 4,000 feet of climbing on class IV roads followed by free beer and a slice of pizza from the NOFA-VT wood-fired oven. thrangervt.com

9 | Tour de Heifer, Brattleboro Choose between 3-, 15-, 30- and 60-mile rides, all on the dirt roads of Southern Vermont. strollingoftheheifers.com 12 & Weekly | Onion River Outdoors Women’s Intermediate Mountain Bike Clinics, Montpelier Explore different trail systems around the Montpelier area every Wednesday with fellow women and non-binary riders.

Clinics will focus on building skills, confidence and fun.

Clinic includes one evening of bike maintenance at the shop.

Repeats Aug. 7. bikereg.com/womens-mtb-clinics 12 & Weekly | Onion River Outdoors Women’s Beginner Mountain Bike Clinics, Montpelier A fun, supportive clinic for beginner women and nonbinary riders. Includes on-trail time and an evening of bike maintenance at the shop. Repeats Aug. 7. bikereg.com/ womens-mtb-clinics 22 | The 200-on-100 Double Century, North Troy This is a single-day double-century that travels the length of Vermont, from the Canadian Border to the Massachusetts state line, primarily following VT-100. 100-200.org 22-23 | Long Trail Century Ride, Killington Join businesses throughout the Killington region to raise funds for Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports and take in some of the most beautiful road cycling in Vermont. Choose from 100-, 60- and 40-mile loops followed by a barbecue with live music at Long Trail brewery. killington.com 28-29 | NEMBAFest, Kingdom Trails, East Burke NEMBAfest is the biggest Mountain Bike Festival on the East Coast! With over 90 vendors from across the bike industry, over 4,000 attendees, over 100 miles of trails for all ability levels—the vibe and the setting is amazing. Come camp and make it a weekend. kingdomtrails.org 29 | 5th Annual RAS Gravel Adventure, Peru Ride 41.6-miles of mostly gravel roads with 4,000 feet of climbing and the famed JHR Climb, featuring a 21 percent grade. support4shane.com 29 | Vermont Gran Fondo, Bristol Test yourself in this ridiculously challenging, mountainous and scenic road race with options for a 108-mile ride, a 65-mile ride, a 77-mile ride and a 39-mile ride. vermontgranfondo.com 30 | Central Vermont Cycling Tour, Montpelier Choose between a 13.6-mile ride, a 33.75-mile ride and a 59-mile ride in this epic gravel grinder through central Vermont. crossvermont.org

WATERSPORTS/MULTISPORT/ OTHER MARCH 3 | Jack Jump World Championships, Mount Snow Complete with speed, racing action and epic wipeouts, the Jack Jump World Championships return to Mount Snow’s race course. mountsnow.com 22 | Seminar: Dog Paddling 101, Morrisville Learn best practices for paddling with your dog, plus helpful gear and training techniques. ncal.com

23 | 1st Annual Magic Mountain Downhill Shovel Championships, Londonderry Magic Mountain Ski Patrol host this inaugural event and fundraiser. Grab your shovel and get ready to cruise down a 550-foot course—with some speed. magicmtn.com

APRIL 13 | 11th Annual New Haven Ledges Race, Bristol Advanced whitewater paddlers take on the 1.3 miles of boulder gardens, waterfalls and class IV and V rapids in this classic race and celebration of Vermont whitewater. npmb.com 13-14 | Otter Creek Classic Fly Fishing Tournament, Middlebury Middlebury Mountaineer hosts this annual catch and release, fly fishing only, event. All profits from the OCC11 are donated to Project Healing Waters for local conservation and education programs. mmvt.com 18-21 | Riverfest, Hanover, N.H Dartmouth College’s Ledyard Canoe Club hosts a weekend of events, including the Mascoma Slalom and the Wells River Rumble. ledyardcanoeclub.org 27 | Upper Ashuelot Canoe and Kayak Race, Keene, N.H. Choose between a 13-mile, 7-mile and 4-mile course on this flatwater canoe and kayak race. Pro course is 14 miles with a portage and upstream loop. Amateur courses have no portage and are all downstream. neckra.org 28 | Blackwater Slalom, Dover N.H. Race through suspended gates through class II and higher rapids on the Blackwater River in N.H. Part of the New England Slalom Series. Don’t miss the townwide Roast Pork Dinner on Saturday night. nessrace.com 27 | RASTA’s DisasTour VIII, Rochester Celebrate community and resilience with this 19K pedal, 8K paddle and 11K run through Rochester, Hancock and Granville. Do all three legs or compete as part of a relay team. rastavt.org/disastour 27 | Killington Triathlon, Killington This mountain triathlon features a new format: ski, bike run.

Expect one lap (on the mountain) of skiing/snowboarding, one lap of mountain biking and one lap of running. killington.com 27-28 | Saratoga Paddlefest, Saratoga, N.Y. Take the latest canoes, kayaks and SUPs for a test run at clinics with demos, lectures and classes and food. Repeats May 17-19 in Old Forge, N.Y. mountainmanoutdoors.com

MAY 3 | West River Dam Release, Jamaica State Park, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers schedules regular controlled dam releases from the Ball Mountain Dam. This year, there will be two releases: on May 3 and Sept 20-21.

Paddlers can enjoy class III-IV rapids on the West River. vtstateparks.com/jamaica 5 | Otter Brook Canoe and Kayak Race, Roxbury, N.H. A 5-mile Class III race from the base of the dam on Otter Brook to the Route 12 bridge, just south of Keene, N.H. Otter Brook is a narrow, twisty stream with lots of rocks to maneuver around. neckra.org

11 | Round the Mountain Race, Saranac Lake This 10.5-mile flatwater canoe race runs from Lower Saranac Lake to Bluff Island and onto the Saranac River, through the lower Locks, to Lake Flower. saranaclake.com 12 | Fiddlehead Slalom, Montpelier Slalom through suspended gates on the Winooski River’s class II and higher rapids in this event, which is part of the New England Slalom Series. nessrace.com

JUNE 1 | Vermont Paddlers Club Whitewater Novice Clinic, Waterbury This two-day clinic will introduce beginning paddlers to the basics of boat handling, river reading and driving a boat through moving water. vtpaddlers.net 2 | Onion River Race and Ramble, Bolton Canoe or kayak this 10.5-mile route on the Winooski River, from Bolton to Richmond. winooskiriver.org 22 | Lake Dunmore Triathlon and Vermont Sun Triathlon, Salisbury Swim 600 yards, bike 14 miles and run 3.1 miles in the Vermont Sun Triathlon, or try the Lake Dunmore Triathlon, which features a 0.9-mile swim, a 28-mile bike leg and a 6.2-mile run. This is the Vermont Sun Triathlon series’ 34th season. vermontsuntriathlonseries.com 22 | Missisquoi Paddle-Pedal, Richford This event combines 6.5 miles of paddling down the Missisquoi River and 5 miles of cycling on the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail. northernforestcanoetrail.org 22-24 | Winni River Days, Franklin, N.H. Catch live music, clinics, beer and food plus camping in downtown Franklin. Two days of various whitewater races, plus free morning yoga. millcitypark.com 23 | The Winni Slalom, Northfield, N.H. Race through suspended slalom gates in this class II whitewater race on the Winnipesaukee River. nessrace.com 30 | Brattle Paddle Canoe, Kayak and SUP Race, Brattleboro Choose between a 9-mile and a 3.5-mile flatwater course on the Connecticut and West Rivers. neckra.org

JULY 14 | Vermont Sun Triathlon and Branbury Classic Triathlon, Salisbury Swim 600 yards in Lake Dunmore, bike 14 miles and run 3.1 miles in the Vermont Sun Triathlon or try the Branbury Classic: a 1.5-mile paddle followed by a 14-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run. Part of the Vermont Sun triathlon series. vermontsuntriathlonseries.com 14-15 | Vermont Paddlers’ Club Class II Clinic, Deerfield, Mass.

BYO equipment for this two-day whitewater paddling clinic. Expect to spend time in class II rapids building skills. vtpaddlers.net 28 | Colchester Triathlon, Colchester Join in one of the longest-running triathlons in Chittenden County. Swim 500 meters or kayak 1.5 miles, bike 12 miles and run 3 miles. Start and finish at Bayside Beach. colchestertri.com

AUGUST 11 | Lake Dunmore Triathlon and Vermont Sun Triathlon, Salisbury Swim 600 yards, bike 14 miles and run 3.1 miles in the Vermont Sun Triathlon, or try the Lake Dunmore Triathlon, which features a 0.9-mile swim, a 28-mile bike leg and a 6.2mile run. vermontsuntriathlonseries.com

ONGOING Jan. 15-March 19 | Tuesday Night Nordic Race Series, Craftsbury Outdoor Center This Nordic race series runs every Tuesday evening from Dec. 11 to March 19 at Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Distances range from 5K to 10K. craftsbury.com March 3 & 16 | Pool Sessions with the Vermont Paddlers’ Club, Burlington Brush up on whitewater skills or practice your roll in the pool at the University of Vermont. vtpaddlers.net March 11-April 1 | Introduction to Fly Tying Clinics, Castleton Learn the basics of fly tying with this great introductory series on Monday evenings. Learn terminology, tools and basic fly patterns. events.r20.constantcontact.com March 28 & April 18 | Pool Sessions with the Vermont Paddlers’ Club, Johnson Brush up on your roll for paddling season with this clinic at the Northern Vermont University pool. vtpaddlers.net

FILMS AND FESTIVALS MARCH 8 | LunaFest, Burlington Vermont Works for Women presents a traveling film festival of short films by, for and about women. lunafest.org 21 | The Impossible Climb Book Tour, Burlington Author Mark Synott will speak about his experiences climbing with Alex Honnold. facebook.com/ OutdoorGearExchangeVT 23 | Vermont Brewers Festival, Killington Choose from over 100 local beers at this amazing open-air beer festival, hosted by the Vermont Brewers’ Association, at Killington’s K-1 lodge. killington.com

APRIL 13-14 | Sugar and Strings, Stratton Celebrate maple sugaring season with the creators of WinterWonderGrass in this free music festival. stratton.com 20 | Nor’Beaster Bud Light Dazed and Defrosted, Killington Enjoy live music, cold brews and free on-snow demos plus samples from local Vermont food brands. killington.com 25 | Northern Forest Canoe Trail Paddling Film Festival, Burlington Outdoor Gear Exchange hosts Rapid Media’s Paddling Film Festival world tour featuring films about whitewater, sea kayaking, canoeing and SUP. northernforestcanoetrail.org

MARCH/APRIL 2019 | VTSPORTS.COM 41

ENDGAME

I

t’s like riding on washboard. Your grip becomes a little tighter, even awkward. You aim for control but deep down inside you know that the road owns you. The vibration wears you down, exhausting both your body and your mind. This might sound like a common experience in gravel riding, but this is how I also describe daily life with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease.

My name is Heidi Myers. I am a longtime cyclist, the co-founder of a gravel race in Vermont called the Rasputitsa Spring Classic and a 16-year bike industry marketing professional for Garneau.

Three years ago, I found myself unable to write. I could hold a pen, but when I took it to paper the result was tiny and illegible. That was just the beginning. I knew something was really wrong at the 2015 Bike MS Cape Cod ride, when arm tremors and shoulder stiffness kept me from finishing. I was just 10 miles from the line after completing 65 miles.

I was diagnosed with YOPD less than a year after, at the age of 37.

Because of Parkinson’s, today I struggle with balance, memory, behavior, depression and movement disorders. My ability to ride a bike is limited because my right shoulder is so stiff I typically need to ride onehanded. I was never an extreme athlete, but I quickly went from doing century rides and half-marathons to barely being able to last 10 miles on a bike.

When Stage 2 came along, my symptoms progressed to severe stiffness, tremors and severe depression.

Parkinson’s develops when the cells begin to die on the substantia nigra part of the brain. These cells produce dopamine, and the loss of that neurotransmitter is what leads to issues with movement. But dopamine also controls the brain’s reward system: When you cross the finish line at a bike race, your brain releases dopamine and makes you feel good about your achievement. With Parkinson’s, I see few dopamine rewards or finish lines.

Life gets dark. The chemical changes in my brain cause negativity and stubbornness. Relationships suffer. I’ve lost emotional control in front of loved

42 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2019

GRAVEL REDEMPTION

IF THERE’S ANYTHING TOUGHER THAN RIDING 40 MILES IN MUD AND SNOW IN APRIL IN THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM, IT’S THE WOMAN BEHIND THE NOW LEGENDARY RASPUTITSA. HERE’S HER INSPIRING STORY. BY HEIDI MYERS Olympian Lea Davison set me up with a mountain bike because she thought it would help my rigid upper body feel more comfortable. Over drinks at last year’s Rasputitsa, I connected deeply with 2017 Dirty Kanza champion Alison Tetrick and her struggles with traumatic brain injury.

Unlike disciplines like cyclocross or road racing, most gravel events are devoid of categories and thus elitism.

It’s a mass start that ends in a shared beer at the finish line regardless of your ability. That’s why gravel breaks

Heidi Myers, far right, the co-founder of Rasputitsa, now Vermont's largest bike race.

The gravel racing community has been my redemption. What separates cycling from almost any other sport is community, and this one is like a family. Race day for me is a zillion hugs and handshakes. The bicycle has become a vehicle of hope ones and family. I’ve spent months of my life withdrawn and crying daily.

There is no treatment, no cure, and some days, little hope of normalcy.

This is why the biggest obstacle for me, and most Parkinson’s patients, is the lack of motivation to fight.

But I have one saving grace: the Rasputitsa Spring Classic.

There are studies that suggest people with Parkinson’s Disease may have higher levels of creativity. If that is in fact true, it’s manifested itself through my drive to create insanely challenging gravel road races. I founded Rasputitsa, a 40-mile gravel race in Vermont, five years ago, before my diagnosis.

Since my disease has progressed, organizing the race has become my source of happiness and my reason to push on.

Photo by Nolan Myers

The event has helped me pull through my internal struggles. With Parkinson’s, the combination of the inability to ride and my mental symptoms, which include cognitive impairment, often leads to a feeling of isolation. But because of Rasputitsa, one day a year I feel that I, too, belong. I lose focus on what I can’t do as I instead focus on what 1,500 people are trying to do. The emotional impact this has had on my wellbeing has been exponential.

Even my family recognizes this.

When I was first diagnosed, they implored me to scale back on my duties with the event, to accommodate my handicaps. But now my husband, sons, parents, siblings and in-laws have come to recognize the power this race has on me, and they show up on race day to do any volunteer job I delegate to them.

My sons Nolan, 12, and Thayer, 8, are growing up at gravel events. Nolan is our staff photographer and he supplies all our images on social media. Thayer runs our retail sales at the event. To them, April means Rasputitsa as much as December means Christmas.

The gravel racing community has been my redemption. What separates cycling from almost any other sport is community, and this one is like a family.

Race day for me is a zillion hugs and handshakes. The bicycle has become a vehicle of hope. At Rasputitsa last year, I watched a group of girls decorate their bikes with #imwithheidi decals.

Olympian Lyne Bessette donated all the proceeds from 100b7, a gravel ride she puts on in Canada, to me.

down barriers. It doesn't isolate. Pros line up with amateurs and everyone celebrates together afterward. And when I see each rider power through the tough event I created, it makes me feel like I can power through too.

Redemption, redemption, redemption.

Now for Stage 3. This time it isn’t

a diagnosis. It’s a gravel stage race I’m planning for Labor Day weekend in 2019: Three off-road stages in northern Vermont, properly titled the Redemption Gravel Stage Race. To my knowledge, it will be the first gravel stage race on the East Coast. But leading the gravel market with a new staged format isn’t the goal. The inspiration behind the multi-day event is that it resembles the YOPD fight: It doesn’t stop at the end of the day. It is endless and unrelenting, and the only thing that can and will pull you through is surrounding yourself with community.

All proceeds will go to the Davis Phinney Foundation, which provides resources to people living with Parkinson’s.

Living with a degenerative disease is a personal journey. But in both bicycle racing and life with Parkinson’s, knowing you’ll be able to have a beer at the end of the day with your friends gives you something to push for even when things get hard. If I can convey that to the world through my gravel events, if I can encourage more riders to go beyond their limitations as I continually work to go beyond mine, then that’s my reason to keep fighting.

Register

for

Rasputitsa

and

Redemption Gravel Stage Race at rasputitsagravel.com

awesome food. over 100 beers.

1,000 records. lots of fish stories.

serving dinner every night and lunch friday - monday.

802 760 6066 docponds.com @docponds

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