SPECIAL 30TH ANNIVERARY ISSUE

from Vermont Sports November/December 2020

VERMONT

SPORTS

NEW ENGLAND’S OUTDOOR MAGAZINE

ON THE COVER:

In 2000, Brian Mohr discovered this powder paradise, somewhere in the woods between Mad River Glen and Sugarbush.Photo by Brian Mohr/EmberPhoto

PUBLISHER Angelo Lynn - publisher@vtsports.com

EDITOR/CO-PUBLISHER Lisa Lynn - editor@vtsports.com

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Shawn Braley

MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD Dr. Nathan Endres, Dr. David Lisle, Dr. James Slauterbeck —University of Vermont Robert Larner College of Medicine; Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation; Jamie Sheahan, M.S., R.D.

CONTRIBUTORS Brian Mohr, Phyl Newbeck, Leath Tonino

ADVERTISING Lisa Lynn | (802) 388-4944 ads@vtsports.com

ADVERTISING SALES

Greg Meulemans | (802) 366-0689 greg@vtsports.com

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

Dave Honeywell | (802) 583-4653 dave_golfhouse@madriver.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS, PRINTING & DISTRIBUTION ads@vtsports.com

EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION OFFICE Vermont Sports | 58 Maple Street Middlebury, Vt. 05753 | 802-388-4944

Vermont Sports is independently owned and operated by Addison Press Inc., 58 Maple Street, Middlebury, Vt. 05753. It is published 9 times per year. Established in 1990. Vermont Sports subscriptions in the U.S.: one year $25. Canada: (US funds), please add $5 per year postage. Email ads@addisonindependent.com

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VERMONT SPORTS IS A PROUD MEMBER OF

5 The Start 30 Years of Vermont Sports This magazine made at least one person move to Vermont.

7 Speak Up How Vermont Sports Started Founding publisher Kate Carter tells how and why she launched this publication in 1990.

9 News Ski Reservations Required Plus, Vermonters set records, VMBA seeks new executive director.

13 Calendar Race & Event Guide

9 Feature 10 Innovations Made In Vermont Whether it was 40 years of constant innovations coming from companies such as Burton or Concept2 or recent success stories such as Skida and Darn Tough, Vermont has been a place where new ideas flourish.

15 Feature The New Basecamps You may know all the usual spots but this winter get out and explore these emerging outdoor hubs and take part in the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance treasure hunt.

23 Feature The Vermont Sports 30 Meet the people who have had a lasting impact on the landscape of outdoor recreation here in the last 30 years.

34 Endgame Frozen in Place How do you savor this fleeting season? By Leath Tonino

ADVERTISERS!

The deadline for the January issue of Vermont Sports is December 18. Contact ads@vtsports.com today to reserve your space.

THE START 30 YEARS OF VERMONT SPORTS

Think back, if you can to what Vermont was like in the early 1990s. Burton had forged a path for snowboarding and it was growing like wildfire. Concept2 was revolutionizing fitness equipment. Events like the Burlington Criterium, the Burlington Marathon and the Bud Light Triathlon were drawing huge crowds. Trail systems like Kingdom Trails (established formally in 1994) were blossoming. Backcountry skiing (and secret glading), epitomized by the iconic shot Brian Mohr took in 2000 that graces our cover, was taking off.

I remember coming to Vermont in 1997 for what was one of the early incarnations of what evolved into NEMBAFest. Pedro’s Mountain Bike Festival was held in a field in Randolph and it felt a little like the Woodstock of mountain biking. I was the editor of Bicycling Magazine at the time, based out of Pennsylvania. After a weekend of riding the Randolph trails, camping out, waking up to is-this-for-real views and sharing beers with people I still call friends today I vowed I would move here.

It didn't happen right away but I found every excuse I could to visit, driving five or six hours to compete in the Bud Light Triathlon at Mount Snow or the Lake Dunmore triathlon series or the Stowe Derby in the winter. For five years, I shared a ski house in Stowe.

Every time I crossed the border, I would look for Vermont Sports. I pored over the race calendar and the results pages (this was before results were posted online) and read every Reader Athlete profile. Vermont Sports made me want to compete, to explore the state and, ultimately, to move here. I finally did, first from 2001-2003 to work in advertising and then back again in 2006 to edit EatingWell.

I never intended to edit this magazine but when my husband, Angelo Lynn, bought it in 2013 from Sky Barsch and then asked me to join the family business in 2015 it was like picking up again with a long-lost friend.

We have tried our best to respect and evolve the wonderful publication that Kate Carter started in 1990 (see her story on the following page). In the past seven years, writers such as Leath Tonino, Bill McKibben, Sue Halpern, Kirk Kardashian

Shawn Braley, Vermont Sports' designer since 2005.

and David Goodman have helped tell the stories of the people, places, businesses and gear that have made Vermont what it is. Established photographers Brian Mohr, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur and John Lazenby have been joined by new talent such as Nathanael Asaro and Brooks Curran. Their stories and images are archived at Vtsports.com and we repost the best of them in our enewsletters.

There have been several constants. Art director Shawn Braley has done a yeoman’s job of designing and putting together every issue since 2005 and advertisers such as Outdoor Gear Exchange, Onion River Outdoors, West Hill shop and many others have helped us grow the magazine and extend its distribution to seven states.

Thanks to all of them—and most of all, to you, our readers— this print magazine (now digital, too) has not only survived 30 years but had its best year ever in 2019.

This special issue celebrates Vermont Sports’ 30 years by focusing on the people who changed our landscape and the innovations they brought to sports.

Did we miss people? I am sure we did—and we’d like to hear who you think should be added. This is just the start of an annual honor roll we hope to add to in years to come. —Lisa Lynn, Editor, lisa.lynn@vtsports.com