Vermont Sports 2021 March/April Issue

IAN FORGAY’S FINAL RUN | INTO THE WILD WITH ROB MULLEN | SPRING EVENTS

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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.

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5 The Start

10 Feature

We lost two great outdoorsmen.

But here's what we learned

With new models, greater efficiency and the hope for even better rebates, e-bikes are the bike to order this season.

A Lesson in Living

7 News

The New Fishing Regulatins

A new season, and new rules.

8 Health Are Athletes More Prone to Eating Disorders?

New research has some startling findings.

The New E-Bikes

14 Feature

5 Classic Ski Tours

David Goodman, author of Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast, shares his 5 favorite spring tours.

18 Feature

Skiin' Ian's Final Run

Ian Forgays charged hard as a skier until an avalanche on Mt. Washington took him out .

22 Feature

Fat Bikes, Island Hops and Overnights

For a close-to-home adventure, four friends packed up their fat bikes, headed out the Causeway and steered for this hidden island campsite.

27 Featured Athlete The Explorer

Artist Rob Mullen has explored the Arctic by canoe and painted some of his close calls with the wildlife he's encountered.

30 Calendar

Race & Event Guide

34 Endgame

Moved by the Weather

VERMONT SPORTS IS A PROUD MEMBER OF

ADVERTISERS! The deadline for the May issue of Vermont Sports is April 18. Contact ads@vtsports.com today to reserve your space.

MARCH/APRIL 2021 | VTSPORTS.COM 3

A VIRTUAL EVENT TO BENEFIT

THE VERMONT FOODBANK

REGISTER FOR THE 20TH ANNUAL POINT TO POINT STARTING IN APRIL!

Vermont is experiencing a food insecurity crisis like never before.

The good news is that you can help!

The Point to Point, powered by VSECU, is a cycling and running event to raise funds and awareness for the Vermont Foodbank’s mission to end hunger in Vermont. Our goal this year is to raise $200,000. Visit thepointtopoint.org to learn how you can join us on August 7 and help fight hunger.

HELP FIGHT HUNGER

www.thepointtopoint.org

THE START

A LESSON IN LIVING

Skier, diver and pilot Bill Henchey lived large. Here, on a trip to Norway, a few years back. Photo by C. Yerrick

T

his winter, Vermont lost two key members of our outdoor. community. They may not have been the ones who took home medals and they operated mostly behind the scenes. But they were well known by many.

Ian Forgays, 54, who died in an avalanche on Mt. Washington on February 1, was one. He’s been on our cover and in dozens of photos taken

by Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson of EmberPhoto. He wasn’t a name you would know, or really a face. Most of the shots of “Skiin’ Ian,” showed just one thing: the man was a damn good skier who could navigate any terrain.

The story in this issue of his final run is as much a tribute to the way Forgays lived his life as it is to the way he died. “You could call him a ski bum, but only in the best possible way” said Eric Friedman, the long-time marketing director at Mad River Glen (now at the Mad River Valley Chamber) where Forgays spent much of the winter manning the summit station of the Single Chair. “Ian was smart and could have done anything but he chose to structure his life so he could ski all winter,” said Friedman of the 54-yearold who majored in psychology at the University of Vermont where his father had helped found the department.

Bill Henchey, 67, also structured his life around his passion for sports. For years, Henchey worked at the Trapp Family Lodge Outdoor Center as a race organizer, a groomer and a ski instructor.

“He was someone who constantly looked out for the athletes,” remembers his co-worker at Trapp’s and neighbor, Charlie Yerrick. “He ran every event like

clockwork and made sure the conditions were as perfect as they could be.” Sam Von Trapp remembers Henchey’s lighter side. “He was fantastic at imitations. He could put on an Austrian accent and get on the radio and no one would know it was him.”

Henchey, like Forgays, lived life large.

He was a glider pilot for more than 25 years and an accomplished scuba diver, a sport he did both recreationally and professionally. “I remember one time he even had to go diving in the whey tank at Ben & Jerry’s,” Yerrick says with a chuckle.

Henchey, who lived in Morrisville, moved from Trapps to work at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. With the snow coming late, he was out for his first ski of the season in late January when he succumbed to a heart attack while on the trail. Craftsbury Outdoor Center dedicated a cross country race in late February to Henchey as a memorial.

Vermont Sports is not in the habit of doing tributes or obituaries so why mention these two? Perhaps because the lessons here are not in how they died but in how they lived.

Vermont is a place where more often than not the notion of “success” is not measured by how much money a person makes, what car they drive – or even how many trophies they have racked up. Instead, it is often by how many ski days you put in, how many times you laugh while careening on a mad downhill or soaring on an updraft. Looking at Forgays and Henchey, perhaps success should be measured not by the number of years you live, or how well you worked but by how many days you played.

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[ MANSFIELD ORTHOPAEDICS ]

Experience when you need it most.

Sports Medicine at Copley Hospital.

We’re just like you! Winter sports and activities have us on the slopes, trails, hills and even on the ice – keeping us active and enjoying the beauty of Vermont’s Green Mountains.

Don’t let injuries, like hand or wrist, or chronic knee, hip, shoulder, or ankle pain keep you from enjoying the winter sports you love. The experts at Mansfield Orthopaedics can help with state-ofthe-art treatments designed specifically for you.

Using leading-edge technologies and procedures, we work with you and your physician to provide comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation geared just for you.

After all, we’re here for you!

Members of our orthopedic team at Mansfield Orthopaedics:

Stuart Sutherland, PA-C; Alexis Gagne, PA-C; Kristen Glick, PA-C; Mae Hickory, PA-C; Janessa Vandette, PA-C; Nella Wennberg, PA-C; Sharon Mansfield, RN, MS, FNP-C, RNFA and Margaret Rowell, RN. Not pictured, Stacey Duff, RN. Clinic sites: 555 Washington Highway, Morrisville, VT 6 North Main Street, Waterbury, VT

To make an appointment with a Mansfield Orthopaedic Specialist at Copley Hospital, call 802.888.8405

www.copleyvt.org

Orthopedics | Cardiology | Diagnostic Imaging | Emergency Services | General Surgery | Gynecology & Obstetrics | Neurology | Oncology | Rehabilitation | Tele-Health Services

NEWS

A NEW FISHING SEASON, AND NEW SIMPLER, REGULATIONS

F

ishing, one of the pandemic-friendly sports, is on the rise in Vermont with the number of licenses sold increasing by nearly 30 percent in spring of 2020. Now, with the fishing season for trout and land-locked salmon opening on April 10, the state expects another surge and is working to make it easier for anglers to follow the rules.

For over a year, the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife has been working to find ways to simplify its fishing regulations so that you wouldn’t need a Ph.D. and an ability to read tiny type to know if you are breaking the law. “We want to make fishing rules easier to understand while continuing to protect Vermont’s abundant fisheries resources,” said Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter. “Our fisheries biologists and wardens have proposed changes to our primary fishing regulation that will simplify and standardize the rules, rather than having them be slightly different, depending on what lake or stream section you are on.”

One step toward this has been to launch the online interactive tool and app that lets you click on a body of water on a map of the state to find out the regulations that apply to that pond, stream or lake. The department has also hoped to revise the Fishing Guide & Regulations book to condense what are currently 11 different fishing regulation tables into just three.

Another significant proposed change, the

Fishing guide Ben Wilcox releasing a rainbow trout, Photo by B. Harrewyn.

Department states, is that “anglers will be able to fish most Vermont waters at any time of the year with artificial lures and flies, if they practice catch and release, with the exception of a few seasonally closed

waters or areas with special regulations.”

The department also wants to make it simpler to understand limits. Under the new regulations, daily aggregate bag limits on trout will change. In the past, Brook Trout had their own category, while Rainbow and Brown Trout were grouped together. The daily bag limit for Brook Trout was 12 fish, while the daily bag limit for Rainbow and Brown Trout was 6 fish from streams and rivers and 6 fish from lakes and ponds. Now, all three species have been combined into one grouping. The daily aggregate bag limit for all three species of trout is now 8 fish from streams and rivers and 6 fish from lakes and ponds. However, the daily aggregate bag limit for trout caught in Lake Champlain is 3 fish and they must be a minimum of 12 inches in length.

The proposed new rules were presented to the Fish & Wildlife Board in January and two hearings will be held in March, via Zoom, to get public feedback. To see the proposed new regulations and provide feedback, visit https://vtfishandwildlife.com/fishing-regulationsimplification.

And if you are looking to find new places to fish, check out Peter Shea’s new book, Vermont Trout Hikes: A Guide to its Backwoods Ponds with detailed maps pond depths and descriptions. Even if you are not carrying a fly-rod, the hikes are worth it to explore some of Vermont’s less-known waters.

MARCH/APRIL 2021 | VTSPORTS.COM 7

HEALTH

I

t was only after Jessie Diggins won an Olympic gold medal at PyeongChang in 2018 — America’s first Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing— that she went public with the fact that she had an eating disorder.

In her book Brave Enough, she described in detail her downward spiral into bulimia during her senior year in high school, then her recovery, thanks to the WithAll Foundation (formerly the Emily Program).

Diggins, a talented endurance athlete, as well as a highly competitive Type A personality, realized she was “preloaded with red flags” to develop an eating disorder, she said As a promising teen coming up through the ranks, Diggins remembers thinking, “If I feel like changing my body will help me win, I guess I have to do that.”

Diggins is one of many athletes who have struggled with body image issues and eating disorders. But she is one of few who have spoken out about them. They are secretive disorders that people wish to hide, said 2010 Olympic figure skater Rachael Flatt, a PhD candidate in clinical psychology with a focus on eating disorders at the University of North Carolina.

“Until people are really out of the depths of it, that’s the time that they’ll be willing to talk about it in most cases,” explained Flatt.

While there are programs to help people struggling with body dysmorphia disorder, disordered eating, and eating disorders, there has not been much emphasis until recently on what triggers these conditions.

Diggins described it as, “trying to go upstream of eating disorders to figure out where people are falling in.”

So what can set the stage for body dysmorphia disorder and eating disorders to develop? And then what can trigger them?

HOW GENETICS COME INTO PLAY Eating disorders have long been thought of as a mental health condition augmented by social inputs and cues.

But recent studies have shown that they are based in genetics. In 2018, the journal Nature Genetics published a study with the acronym ANGI—Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative, run by Dr. Cynthia Bulik, a distinguished professor of eating disorders, founding director of the

8 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

ARE ATHLETES GENETICALLY PRONE TO EATING DISORDERS?

NEW STUDIES ARE SHOWING THAT SOME OF THE SAME GENETIC TRAITS THAT INCREASE RISK FOR ANOREXIA MIGHT ALSO ATTRACT PEOPLE TO SPORTS. BY PEGGY SHINN Jessie Diggins, shown here training in New Zealand in 2009, overcame an eating disorder that plagued her in high school to become an Olympic gold medalist. Photo by Matt Whitcomb

University of North Carolina Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders, and Flatt’s PhD advisor.

ANGI studied more than 13,000 subjects from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Sweden who had experienced anorexia nervosa.

It took blood samples from those subjects as well as from people related to them. After analyzing the results, the researchers identified eight regions of the genome associated with anorexia.

Coincidentally—and strikingly— they found that some of the same genetic traits that increase risk for anorexia might also attract people to sports.

“One of the things that we see in anorexia is these patients who, even when they’re really underweight, continue to be very hyperactive,” explained Bulik. “It’s always been psychologized in the past, ‘Oh, they’re just trying to lose more weight, and

they’re trying to burn more calories.’

But now we see that there’s actually a genetic connection between high physical activity and anorexia nervosa.”

Similarly, the traits that make someone a great athlete—perfectionism, determination, focus, achievement orientation, pain tolerance, competitiveness, and the ability to deny reward—are also traits that are risk factors for anorexia, pointed out Bulik.

“When focused in a healthy direction, those traits can be amazing assets to an athlete—to anyone really,” she added.

“But when focused inward on weight loss or reduction of body fat, they can become deadly.” Those predisposed toward eating disorders also respond to caloric restriction differently than others. While many people become anxious, irritable, or “hangry” when hungry—what Bulik calls a negative energy balance—those predisposed to anorexia nervosa feel calm.

In a negative energy balance state, individuals predisposed to anorexia “get that sense of actually feeling better,” she said. “That’s what can trigger and maintain an eating disorder.”

Bulik and her team have recently launched EDGI—Eating Disorders Genetic Initiative—the largest genetic study of eating disorders ever undertaken. This study aims to identify the hundreds of genes that influence a person’s risk of developing anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder, and ultimately to improve treatment and eliminate deaths.

While genetics is a major reason that people develop eating disorders, there are more factors. “Anorexia is an inheritable psychiatric illness,” pointed out Flatt. “But it’s truly a combination of both genes and environmental pressures. … My advisor’s saying is, ‘Genes load the gun and environment pulls the trigger.”

COMPARE AND DESPAIR Since the beginning of recorded history, “ideal” body types have been depicted through art, literature, media, and most recently, social media. From curvaceous fertility goddess figurines to fleshy Rubenesque nudes to corseted waif-like Gibson Girls to full-figured Marilyn Monroe body types, women of all races have had no shortage of comparative models. We are forever dieting, or worse, reshaping our bodies to fit the ideal.

Nor are men immune. Depictions of the Greek gods, Da Vinci’s David, and the body-building craze started by Charles Atlas, to name just a few, all set the bar high in terms of musculature.

Striving for the body ideal is perhaps even worse for men, as it’s not a subject that they readily discuss.

Sports adds another layer to the body image ideal. Young athletes often compare themselves to those at the top of their sports, then try to change their bodies to conform.

Jessie Diggins remembers her first trip overseas to the Nordic Junior World Championships when she was a high school junior. She saw older girls whom she looked up to skipping dessert and “meticulously cutting every piece of fat off their meat.”

“I started looking around going ‘wait a minute, should I be doing that?’” remembered Diggins. “’Why am I the only one drinking hot chocolate? Why am I the only one having dessert? I must be doing something wrong.’”

Diggins came home with a new relationship to food—“good athlete food” and “bad food.” And she had a new ideal of what her body should look like, even though she was already one of America’s young phenoms in crosscountry skiing.

“You see certain athletes on the podium and assume that you have to force your genetics to look like what they were born to look like in order to succeed,” she said.

Research shows that athletes who compare their bodies to others tend to be at higher risk of poor body image and developing disordered eating and full-fledged eating disorders.

“Social comparisons are a huge piece of this,” said Flatt. “Comparisons on body shape and weight tends to increase the risk of developing an eating disorder.”

PRESSURE TO PERFORM Diggins began struggling with an eating disorder during her senior year in high school—brought on not just by comparisons to the world’s top cross-country skiers but also by internal pressure to perform and meet others’ expectations. She

“If you are coaching an athlete who will do eight intervals instead of five, that's someone you want to watch out for. Make sure you are checking in with them as humans. Those are red-flag signals that could potentially lead to an eating disorder.”

—Jessie Diggins. was so good that winning was no longer enough. Or so she thought.

“I was expected to not only win but win by a minute and then beat most of the guys,” she said. “You start to internalize that. ‘Oh my gosh, even winning isn’t enough, now I’m supposed to beat the boys too.’”

As life became even more pressurized, with AP classes, extracurricular activities, and her body simply going through another growth spurt, Diggins began purging as a way to control her body. She was trying to shed food that her body badly needed to build and repair itself after hard workouts.

“I wanted to be really, really good at skiing, and I believed that to do that, I needed to have a super-lean body,” she wrote in Brave Enough.

Expectations of what an athlete should look like are particularly prevalent in sports that are judged on aesthetics, like figure skating and gymnastics.

Not only do the athletes have their own expectations, but officials and judges can have certain expectations about looks. And those expectations can factor into final scores.

“It’s hard not to say, ‘Well, my success is going to be determined by how thin I am, or how toned my body is,’” said Flatt, a national figure skating champion at age 17.

With results conflated with how athletes look as they perform in aesthetic sports, a missed move or faulty technique can be blamed on weight or size.

“Instead of focusing on what our bodies can do,” Flatt added, “we then scrutinize how our bodies look.”

THE RAMIFICATION OF COMMENTS Before she was a World Junior medalist

in cross-country skiing, Hannah Halvorsen was an active youngster growing up in California. She developed a powerful upper body and, after hours of training, consumed more food than her less-athletic friends. But it wasn’t her friends who made comments about her appearance. It was her friends’ parents.

Halvorsen would eat before she went to her friends’ houses, just to avoid hearing comments about how much food she consumed. And if she was wearing a tank-top or swimsuit, some of her friends’ parents would say, “I don’t want to get in a fight with you.”

“I got that all the time,” she remembered. From middle school through college, she always wore a sweater to cover her arms. “I would go to dances and never take off my sweater,” she said. “I’d be so hot.”

The sheer number of comments about her powerful build eventually drove Halvorsen to disordered eating in high school—a condition she battled until a strength coach pointed out that she was such a good crosscountry skier because of her power, and if she lost too much muscle mass, she would lose what makes her good at the sport. Even then, it was a long road back to normal eating habits.

Bulik has labeled these comments— well-intentioned or not—as “Velcro comments,” and they are often made by people whom an athlete respects or wishes to please—teammates, siblings, coaches, judges, officials. Even unflattering comments by unknown social media trolls can send athletes on a downward spiral, depending on what’s going on in the athlete’s life at the time.

“They’re comments that just stick to you, and they never go away,” Bulik said. “Like I’ve never forgotten that I was called Lead Bottom (as a young figure skater) by my coach.”

In sports where a lean physique is deemed important, coaches often will feel like it’s their job to get athletes to cut weight on the presumption that it will optimize performance.

“But it ends up backfiring,” said Bulik.

HOW TO IMPROVE? Given that athletes may be at especially high genetic risk for traits that contribute to eating disorders, what can we do to reduce the triggers that bring on these conditions?

Perhaps the best people to keep an eye on athletes are their coaches.

Flatt and Bulik developed a course for figure skating coaches that focuses on creating body-positive environments at the rink. The course educates coaches and support staff about the signs and symptoms of poor body image, disordered eating, eating disorders,

and how to convey supportive messages to struggling athletes. The course teaches communication strategies that steer clear of direct comments.

“Really, a coach should not be making any comment about an athlete’s weight,” stated Flatt. “The priority is focusing on technique and what the technical success is of an element and not attributing the lack of a triple jump to weight.”

With a focus on eating disorder prevention across the board, not just for athletes, the WithAll Foundation has developed “The What to Say Pledge.”

This initiative equips people with simple tools to help kids develop healthy relationships with food and their bodies.

“We’re starting by asking all adults to stop talking about weight and stop engaging in harmful food labeling for the kids in their life,” reads the pledge.

The organization offers “what to say” worksheets, with suggestions, for example, that focus on a person’s great energy, not their weight, and reminds adults to steer clear of their own diet and weight concerns in front of children.

Diggins also encourages people to focus on character and the values that they bring to their community instead of body image.

Recently, she asked a group of junior cross-country skiers to write down values that they like about themselves— “I’m a hard worker, I’m honest, I’m a good listener, a loyal friend”—and values they want to bring to their team—“I want to show up on time, I want to cheer on my teammates,” etc.

‘When you look at the list, nowhere does anyone write, ‘I want to be skinny,’” Diggins pointed out. “Also, nobody writes, ‘I want to win races.’”

“Really refocusing how we rate ourselves can be one thing that we can do to refocus attention from our bodies,” she added.

For coaches, Diggins encourages them to see their athletes as humans, not simply results machines. Like all humans, athletes have emotions and feelings, in addition to passion and talent.

“If you’re coaching an athlete who will do eight intervals if you tell them to do five, that’s someone you want to watch out for,” she cautioned. “Make sure that you’re checking in with them as humans, see how they’re doing. Those are red-flag warning signs that could potentially lead to an eating disorder.”

“It would be a better place,” Diggins said, “if we saw each other as humans first.”

Rutland-based journalist Peggy Shinn writes for TeamUSA, where this first appeared.

MARCH/APRIL 2021 | VTSPORTS.COM 9

Powerful enough to shuttle you uphill (with some pedal-assist) , nimble enough to get you down in the style you want, the new e-mountainbikes like this Trek Rail 9.9 are changing the way peope ride. Couurtesy of Trek

10 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

THE NEW

E-BIKES WITH LIGHTER BIKES, MORE EFFICIENT MOTORS, AND REBATES THAT COULD GET EVEN BIGGER IF THE E-BIKE ACT PASSES, E-BIKES ARE HERE TO STAY. THE TIME TO SHOP IS NOW.

F

or the past 25 years, Merle Schloff of Salisbury, Vt., has been organizing what he calls the Tour de Merle: an informal gathering of friends for an all-day one-way mountainbike tour on a combination of forest roads, single track and snowmobile trails through Central Vermont.

“The first year we did it I was on Raleigh hard tail — no shocks or anything,” Schloff remembers. “When I finally got a mountainbike with full suspension, that was a revelation,” he says. Four years ago, Schloff rode an electric-assist mountain bike on the Tour de Merle. “That was an even bigger revelation,” he says. “Suddenly, there were no more hills. Those parts of the route I used to struggle over, were still hard, but so much more doable.”

This past year, Schloff rode the Tour de Merle with about 20 friends, ranging from his son Jesse, 36, a strong rider, and daughter Pearl, 41, to former bike racers to friends in their 70s. No one got dropped. Schloff, now 70, and five others in the group, were on e-bikes.

“The e-bike is the great equalizer. It’s letting me ride longer and farther and to keep riding more than I ever imagined,” he says. He now owns two Haibikes—a mountain bike and a touring bike and he and his wife Kathryn spend weekends touring backroad loops they’ve scouted out on their Delorme Gazeteer. “Now I’m doing 40 miles on roads and trails where I used to only do 20 or 30 miles,” Schloff says.

Whether it’s a mountain bike souped up enough so you don’t have to dab on the hills, a gravel bike that can carry you a few miles farther, or a touring or

commuter bike that replaces the car for short trips, the electric-assist bike or e-bike is here to stay.

THE INCENTIVES

In 2020, half a million e-bikes were imported to the U.S. — nearly double the amount in 2019. At present, Green Mountain Power and some other utilities are offering rebates on e-bikes of $200.

And the E-Bike Act proposed this winter

by Democratic Reps. Jimmy Panetta of California and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon could offer a tax rebate up to 30 percent of a bike’s price with a cap of $1500.

“Perhaps the biggest challenge this year is simply getting the bikes – the demand is way up and the supply has been limited by shipping and other challenges brought about by the Coronavirus,” says Matt Nicholas, the owner of Bootlegger Bicycles in Jeffersonville. Adding to that challenge is the fact that many European countries currently have incentives for e-bike purchases in place, further straining the supply.

At Green Mountain Bikes in Rochester, where Schloff bought his bikes, Doon Hinderyckx has been working with and selling e-bikes in various forms for over 20 years. “I used to sell a lot of e-bike conversion kits, but now, the new bikes are so good you really don’t have an excuse not to buy one. They have really come a long way,” he says.

Hinderyckx sold Schloff his Haibikes and also rents e-bikes. “A lot of our customers are doing inn to inn tours but more and more are mountain bikers

who want a little help up the hills,” he says. Green Mountain now has a fleet of nearly 50 e-bikes for sale or rent.

Other shops are also seeing a growing demand. “I admit it, for or five years ago we had only two e-bikes in our shop and I thought it was just a fad,” says Dan Rhodes of Bradley’s Ski and Bike Shop in Manchester. Now, Bradleys and many other shops are finding it’s hard to keep e-bikes in inventory. “The thing about cycling is that it’s a social sport. Most people go out and ride with friends.

Being dropped or having someone have to wait for you doesn’t feel very good. E-bikes solve that problem,” says Rhodes.

WHICH BIKE?

For many people the biggest question is which e-bike? With prices ranging from just under $2000 to well over $12,000 there are as many e-bikes now as there are bike models so it’s not an easy choice.

“You really need to think about why you are buying an e-bike and where you will use it most and it’s a good idea to try one before you buy,” says Jayne Trailer of Hanover Adventure Tours in Norwich, Vt. “We find a lot of people really want to use them to explore the backroads and tour.”

The Upper Valley bike shop evolved from being a hostel and touring company, to an e-bike rental operation and is now one of the largest e-bike dealers in New England. “We were originally doing brewery and cheesemaker tours by bus but when Covid hit, we switched to selfguided e-bike tours," she says. The shop loads up the bike computers with maps and you can go out for self-guided tour,

with the bike rental, for about $80.

The company focuses on cruisers and touring bikes but has everything in its 50-bike rental fleet from fat bikes to bikepacking and cargo bikes like the Magnum Payload to road bikes like the Yamaha Civante that can hit 28 mph.

A few things to consider when considering the type of bike you want.

The first is where you will ride it. As of now, many mountain bike networks, including Kingdom Trails, most of the Stowe Trails Partnership trails and many other Vermont Mountain Bike Association chapter trails don’t allow e-bikes. On Vermont State Forest land, they are technically classified as “motorized vehicles” so only allowed where say, dirt bikes and ATVs are.

Both Vermont and the Green Mountain National Forest are currently considering how to allow e-bike usage on trails. Some ski areas, such as Stratton and Killington do allow e-bikes but only on certain trails and under certain conditions.

Another thing to keep in mind is that e-bikes are generally quite a bit heavier than a regular bike and can weigh as much as 50 lbs. “If you are someone who likes to throw the bike on a car rack and go explore, you are going to need a rack that will support it and be easy to load and unload,” says Rhodes of Bradley’s.

And if you are going to fly somewhere, remember that you can’t fly with the battery. “Fortunately, the batteries are becoming more standard and in Europe now you can often find a dealer that will rent you one,” says David Townsend of the West Hill Shop in Putney.

MARCH/APRIL 2021 VTSPORTS.COM 11

The same questions arise with storage. E-bikes can stand rain and cold but you don’t want to leave them out in either and cold weather will drain the battery (fortunately most are easily removable so you can bring them indoors.). And you should also consider how much battery power you will need and what distance you plan to ride. The battery life depends on how much you pedal, how steep the terrain is and how far you go. “For most road bikes, it’s about 40 miles. But if you are doing a double Gap ride you might want to stop for lunch and charge your bike along the way,” says Hinderyckx.

For mountain bikes, where the torque is higher, the battery life will be lower.

The good news, it’s still a bike and if the battery dies, you simply pedal,” says Hinderyckx.

THE TECHNOLOGY

“Technology has really changed in the past few years” says Darren Ohl a former mechanic for a number of pro cycling teams and the owner of the Vermont Bicycle Shop in Barre, Vt . “It used to be hard to get parts for a lot of the motors but now with companies such as Shimano, Bosch, Yamaha all making motors, the parts have become standardized and easier to get.”

E-bikes generally come in three categories, depending on the power of the motor. Class 1 and Class 3 bikes both have up to 750w motors, the difference being a Class 1 will power you up to 20 mph while pedaling and a Class 3 can assist up to 28 mph. But to reach those speeds you still need to peddle. A Class 2 bike has a throttle and can go up to 20 mph without continuously pedaling, more like a moped. The other major difference in bikes is where the motor is placed: on the rear hub or mid-bike on the crankset. A mid-mounted motor generally offers a smoother and more efficient ride and feels more like you are on a regular bike.

“We’re seeing motors across the board become more efficient and deliver a lot more output,” says West Hill’s Townsend. “On some of the new models from Giant and Cannondale, the watthours has gone up by 100. Townsend also likes the new Bosch Performance CX motors which have an algorithm that more proportionately matches the power output from the motor to the pedal power input from the cyclist, resulting in less of a power surge. “You can put your bike in ‘sport’ mode and still get a great training workout in. We are seeing a lot of elite athletes really appreciate this,” says Townsend.

And bikes are getting lighter. “The new Specialized “superlight” SL models really cut down the weight and feel more like you are riding a regular bike,” says

12 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

You might never guess that the Orbea Gain carbon (above) or the Cannondale Topstone Neo Carbon Lefty (below) are actually electric bikes, thanks to the sleek designs and hidden battery compartment. courtesy of Orbea and David Townsend/West Hill Shop.

Barrack Evans, the owner of Battenkill Bicycles. The Turbo Levo SL sacrifices some of the power of the straight Levo, delivering 240 watts, or double the pedal effort vs. the Levo which, with 565 watts puts in 4 times the effort. And it carries a smaller, lighter less powerful battery – 320 Wh (watt hours) vs.

700 Wh. But it also has the option of a battery extender which can fit in the bottle cage. “This really gives you a lot of options,” says Evans. The sister of the Levo, the all-around Vado, also has an SL version which shaves "about 15 or 17 pounds," says Kip Roberts of Onion River Outdoors. "That's the bike I want," he says.

Of all the shop owners we asked, Evans, Kip Roberts of Onion River Outdoors and Val Cyr of Earl's all said the same thing: If they were going to buy one e-bike it would be a go-anywhere mountain bike for any terrain.

SHOPPING AND CHOOSING

Perhaps the biggest challenge this season is going to be finding and demoing a bike you like. After speaking with shops around Vermont, we narrowed our selection down to this sampler 6-pack of bikes. But don’t take our word for it.

Visit our Bike Shop Directory (see page 32) and head to your local shop to see what is going to be right for you. Prices vary greatly depending on components and the bikes selected here reflect the high end of the scale.

ROAD & GRAVEL RIDES You’re a serious rider who loves to put long loops in through Vermont’s paved and gravel roads but you want to go a little farther and faster. More and more, e-bikes built for road and gravel riding are getting lighter and nimbler, mimicking the ride feel of the sportier, no-powered forbearers.

Cannondale Topstone Neo Carbon Lefty 3 If you want the ultimate e-assisted gravel bike that’s ready for rough Vermont roads (and you can afford it at about $9000), this bike may be it. The single front suspension fork (the Lefty Oliver) has 30mm of travel, matching the rear travel and, according to David Townsend of the West Hill Shop which stocks the Lefty, “the triangular shape of the single strut actually provides greater stiffness than the conventional twostrut round forks.” This bike has Bosch’s latest Performance CX motor and can speed up to 28 mph but more closely mimics the power output from the rider than previous Bosch models. Even with the carbon frame, this bike weighs in at 39.5 lbs. But with a motor like that, who cares?

Orbea Carbon Gain The beauty of this bike is, well, its beauty: You could take this bike out for a ride with friends and they may never realize you are on an e-bike. Orbea has created a stunning steed that elegantly integrates the 248Wh battery (with an option to piggyback a second 208Wh battery), charger, cables and even lights internally in the frame. The battery control is an elegant small button on the top tube and there is a phone-controlled ebikemotion app, as well. The carbon version weighs in at just 25 lbs., making it one of the lightest e-bikes on the market, and the motor, located in the rear hub, delivers what Orbea calls “Enough Power” and can hit 20 mph. “The bike doesn’t

The Specialized Tubo Levo SL Comp

The Trek Rail 9.9

deliver the power that some other bikes in this category do,” says Darren Ohl of The Vermont Bicycle Shop in Barre. “But the ebikemotion motor is lighter and riding this bike feels more like riding a regular bike. It’s the bike my partner got so we could ride together” says Ohl. Matt Nicholas of Bootlegger Bikes also loves the Orbea. “If you want one, you need to order now for maybe the fall,” he says.

(the same one that Specialized uses in its Creo SL road bike), the Levo SL weighs in at 36.5 lbs. You can add an extender battery to the bottle cage, too. Without it, and using its power save mode the Levo SL will run for about 3 hours. Like the Orbea Gain, this is an e-bike that doesn’t look or feel like an e-bike and could easily become your everyday steed – provided you have $8,000 to shell out.

The Yamaha Cross Connect

TRAIL & MOUNTAIN BIKES If you love the downhills and crosscountry and will say yes to a shuttle ride, these e-mtbs are your answer.

Trek Rail 9.9 “If you want that extra oomph to get you up the gnarly parts of the trail, the Trek Rail has it,” says Val Cyr of Earl’s Bikes in South Burlington. The latest and raddest edition of the Rail, the carbon Rail 9.9, uses the new Bosch Performance CX 250 Wh motor and has an intelligent eMTB mode that adjusts the power to meet the terrain. The long travel RockShox front (160 mm) and frame (150mm) suspension make this a great option for anyone who is is downhiller or enduro rider at heart but isn’t so into the grunting uphill climbs. “This bike is perfect for the new trails at Bolton Valley,” says Cyr, an accomplished cyclocross racer. The Rail comes in a variety of specs, starting with the aluminum Rail 5 at about $5,500 but at the most tricked out, the carbon 9.9 X01 AXS will set you back a whopping $12,000.

Specialized Turbo Levo SL Comp Carbon First there weas the Specialized Turbo Levo. Now, Specialized has lightened that up shaving pounds to deliver a fullsuspension electric assist 29-er, the SL, that's 10 lbs lighter than its brethren and rides more like the traditional Stumpjumper. Thanks to the lighter frame and the proprietary 320 Wh motor

CRUISERS & CARGO BIKES Call it a cruiser or a street bike, but one of the most popular categories of e-bikes on the market is the bike that people are using to get around town. Cut down on your carbon emissions with these rides.

Yamaha Cross Connect With standard racks, fenders, front suspension, sidestand and front and rear integrated LED lights, the 18-speed Cross Connect is what might replace your car for short trips and errands—or become your bikepacking best friend.

And that’s for just under $3000. Yamaha has been making e-bikes for over 20 years and its proprietary motors and batteries, if not the sleekest, are reliable

and relatively light. The center mount 250w motor powers you up to 20 mph with a 500 Wh battery.

The new Yuba Kombi e5 comes with a variety of accessories for carrying kids or groceries.

Courtesy of Yuba

Yuba Kombi E5 If you see a woman riding through Montpelier with a kid, a computer and groceries all packed on her bike, it might well be Jen Roberts of Onion River Outdoors taking her daughter to school on her Yuba Boda Boda. Yuba makes a variety of cargo bikes and the latest, the 9-speed Kombi E5 compact cargo bike, weighs in at just over 50 lbs and is designed to carry up to 440 lbs in passengers and cargo. It can be fitted with monkey bars, sideboards and a cushioned back seat, and has accessories such as a front basket and back baskets as well. Says Kip Roberts (Jen’s partner at the shop and in life) "At under $3000 the new Kombi is going to be a little less expensive but may sacrifice some power in the Shimano STEPS E5000 mid-drive motor." Still, with a 418 Wh battery, it can get you to school in time.

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IT’S WARM. THE SNOW IS CORN. AVALANCHE DANGER IS LOW. HERE’S WHERE TO MAKE THE BEST OF BACKCOUNTRY SPRING SKIING FROM THE MAN WHO LITERALLY WROTE THE BOOK ON IT.

BY DAVID GOODMAN 14 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

Carving up the bald face of Baldface, one of the newest backcountry zones maintained by New Hampshire's Granite Backcountry Alliance. Photo by Jamie Walter

A

h springtime.

Sugarhouses billowing with steam from boiling maple syrup. Birds chirping in their nests. Hungry bears destroying your compost box.

Rivers and brooks rushing with water.

And for skiers, late snowstorms and sweet corn snow.

Spring skiing is the grand finale of the ski season. Touring through a bright white landscape beneath an indigo sky on a sunny April day is the reward for the long dark days of winter. Variable midwinter conditions give way to corn snow—the big, wet carpet of ball

bearings on which to carve hero turns.

Avalanche danger steadily diminishes, enabling relatively safe travel on the steep backcountry routes on the highest mountains of the Northeast.

To find the best spring skiing, follow the sun and snow. Tours at higher

elevations that are north facing last the longest. Then tune into the corn cycle. A slope that is frozen in the early morning can soften perfectly for skiing a few hours later depending on its aspect and when the sun hits it. Work with the sun, move as it moves, and harvest corn just

MARCH/APRIL 2021 | VTSPORTS.COM 15

skinning and skiing in this national forest. Look for signs of moose and deer and take in views of the rounded summits of Breadloaf Wilderness to the north, a favorite haunt of poet Robert Frost. Detailed route descriptions and maps can be found at rastavt.org.

as it softens. The window for perfect corn may only last for a few hours on a given run. Time it right and you can ski a soft magic carpet as epic as a great powder run.

Below are some of my favorite early spring tours in the Northeast. For more detailed route descriptions and many other tours, see the 30th anniversary edition of Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in New England and New York (AMC Books, 2020, www.bestbackcountryskiing.com).

BALDFACE MOUNTAIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE

STEEPLE TRAIL, STOWE, VERMONT Mention “Stowe” and “steeple,” and most people assume you are referring to the stately Stowe Community Church that has stood watch over the town since 1863. But for skiers, the Steeple they have long sought is a sinewy, powdery trail high in the Ranch Valley that faces due north. This is one of Vermont’s earliest backcountry ski trails, and now a beautifully restored gem. The Steeple Trail was cut by volunteers in 1937 at the same time as the Perry Merrill Trail, which is still in use today as an alpine ski trail within Stowe Mountain Resort.

The Steeple, along with the Bruce Trail, started directly from the Ranch Camp, a rustic cabin used as a base for adventuring by Mount Mansfield’s earliest ski bums.

The Steeple can be skied in sections: the Upper Steeple is the steepest section that requires a stiff climb to reach the top. The Lower Steeple is a popular intermediate run that is more easily accessed. The Steeple lies within an extensive network of backcountry ski trails that includes the Skytop Trail, Dewey and Burt Trails, and Bruce Trail, all of which are worth skiing and can be accessed via the cross-country ski centers of Trapp Family Lodge and Stowe Mountain Resort (the latter offers the most direct access). Trail passes must be purchased at the cross-country center where you begin.

BRANDON GAP, GOSHEN, VERMONT Brandon Gap has quickly established itself as one of Vermont’s most popular backcountry ski destinations. It consists of four north-facing glade zones at two trailheads spread out over three miles of the Long Trail. Braided ski lines stripe the north facing mountainside allowing for multiple laps through beautiful glades. This is one of the best examples of community-supported skiing in the Northeast. Located off VT 73 in the Green Mountain National Forest, this is a story of “if you build it, they will come.”

In 2016, hundreds of volunteers organized by the Rochester/Randolph Area Sports Trails Alliance (RASTA), in partnership with the Green Mountain National Forest, created the first official

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Emily Johnson exploring the first sanctioned glades cut on National Forest in Brandon Gap. Photo by Brian Mohr, EmberPhoto

backcountry ski glades on National Forest in the country. The rest is history: skiers now flock to Brandon Gap (which means that parking fills early on weekends).

For steeps and thrills, I like the 1,300 vertical foot descents through steep old-

growth birch glades in Bear Brook Bowl.

For more gentle outings, I enjoy the 500-foot descents on mellower terrain in Sunrise Bowl. No Name Backcountry and Goshen Mountain round out the ski offerings at Brandon Gap. Notice what’s all around you while

CHATHAM,

South and North Baldface have long lured a small cadre of White Mountain skiers to its high alpine setting. Thanks to the volunteers of Granite Backcountry Alliance, which received permission from the White Mountain National Forest to cut glades on the east side of South Baldface in 2018, Baldface is quickly becoming a classic tour.

Baldface owes both its treeless summit and its name to a fire that swept the top of the mountain in 1903. Those white slopes are a beacon that lure skiers upward. From the parking lot on NH 113 in North Chatham, New Hampshire, the Baldface Circle Trail departs across the road about 60 yards north of the parking lot. Ski on a flat, winding trail for 0.9 miles before turning sharply left onto the Slippery Brook Trail. This hiking trail, which is blazed yellow and also sports blue plastic GBA markers, is the ascent route. Climb steadily for 2.6 miles until you reach an intersection with the Baldface Knob Trail, where you turn right.

For those who prefer to ski lowerangle glades, blue GBA markers on your right indicate the entrance to glades shortly after the Baldface Knob trail junction. If you want to continue up to the treeless alpine zone, follow the trail as it twists and climbs steeply for about a half-mile (many people boot up this section) until finally emerging from the trees onto Baldface Knob.

A breathtaking White Mountain vista erupts all around you on Baldface Knob (3,029 feet). Wildcat Mountain and the Carter–Moriah Ridge frame the skyline.

Beneath you, the Wild River Wilderness forms an uninterrupted dark green carpet. The white summit of Mount Washington resembles a searchlight illuminating the surrounding peaks.

From Baldface Knob, the South Baldface summit (3,576 feet) is just a half-mile away. On a clear day, the scenery on the climb and descent of South Baldface makes this a worthwhile side trip. The skiing on the summit is on moderate angle slopes, but this alpine zone is exposed to the full force of the weather. If conditions are not favorable, it is best to limit your skiing to below treeline, where there is plenty to explore.

The best ski action lies below Baldface Knob. The glades directly below the knob, including Corner Store and Emerald Pool, plunge downhill steeply through the trees. After some running

to check the daily avalanche forecast at mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org.

MOUNT MARCY, LAKE PLACID, NEW YORK

A powder run down the Gulf of Slides.

Photo by David Goodman

traverses, you enter the long, continuous Cold River Glades. You can weave turns of all styles here, threading around the trees. The final 1.5 miles provide fast and fun eastern trail skiing on the Baldface Circle Trail, which leads back to the parking lot.

GULF OF SLIDES, MOUNT WASHINGTON REGION, PINKHAM NOTCH, NH Gulf of Slides is a wild, beautiful, and lightly traveled wilderness ravine with great steep skiing. A bonus is that you access it via Gulf of Slides Ski Trail, a historic trail cut by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s that links the ravine with Pinkham Notch, the busy backcountry headquarters of

the Appalachian Mountain Club. The serpentine ski trail is a fine tour on its own, and a worthy consolation prize in bad weather or if avalanche hazard is too high in the gullies of the Gulf.

Gulf of Slides is a wide ravine between ridges that run off Boott Spur (5,502 feet) and Slide Peak (4,806 feet).

It holds some of the latest snow in the Whites outside of Tuckerman Ravine, with skiing usually continuing into May. A first reaction on seeing the slides and the snowfield is one of amazement: the wide, open bowl skiing and steep alpine runs more closely resemble the Colorado backcountry. Climbing high up the slides, skiers are treated to panoramic views up and down the valley. There is a

wild, untamed quality about the place. It is rewarding just to come here and take in the breathtaking landscape. Skiing the gullies adds to the thrill.

Main Gully is the broad, fan-shaped gully that climbs 1,000 feet in a direct line to the ridge. Skiing 40-degree gully offers up excellent big mountain skiing and spectacular views over the Presidential Range. To looker’s left is Sandbox, a lower angle snowfield, and several other gullies lie to the right. This big menu of skiable terrain is the reward for your adventure into this less traveled playground.

Gulf of Slides is an active avalanche zone. As with all steep ravines around Mount Washington, bring avalanche beacon, shovel and probes and be sure

The ski tour to the summit of Mount Marcy, New York’s highest peak, is a classic Eastern backcountry ski adventure. The frosted summit cone holds snow long into the spring.

The reward for the 7-mile ascent is the sweeping summit views and the turn-packed descent. You follow the serpentine Von Hoevenberg Trail as it snakes, jogs, drops, and rolls down the mountain. The trail has a personality and a sense of humor, continually surprising you around each bend. Some of the finest skiing and riding is in April, when warm weather and corn snow make both the climb and descent memorable.

Mount Marcy has had a singular pull on mountaineers and skiers for the past two centuries. The first recorded ascent of the mountain was on August 5, 1837, by a party led by Ebenezer Emmons, a chemistry professor at Williams College who headed a section of the Geological Survey of New York. Emmons named the peak in honor of Governor William Learned Marcy. The mountain also bears the Seneca name Tahawus, which supposedly means “cloud splitter,” although some sources indicate that Native Americans did not use this name.

The descent is a rich multicourse offering of treats. The summit cone brims with secret shots and hidden ravines where you can search for powder or corn on your way down.

You can retrace your climbing tracks (recommended if visibility is waning) and swing down through a beautiful steep bowl. The north face (to skier’s left of the trail) offers a number of long lines, but you must take care to traverse back to the right at the bottom in order to rejoin the Van Hoevenberg Trail.

There is a rollicking drop-and-roll rhythm to skiing the Van Hoevenberg Trail, with frequent runouts that appear magically—and just when you need them.

The thrill of a Mount Marcy tour lies in its variety: it calls on the full range of ski skills, from skating the flats, to climbing uphill, to negotiating an exposed summit, to linking quick turns and skiing powder, corn, ice, crud, or whatever surprises the mountain has in store.

Vermont journalist David Goodman is author of Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in New England and New York (AMC Books, 2020).

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SKIIN’ IAN’S FINAL RUN IAN FORGAYS CHARGED HARD AS A SKIER, A MOUNTAIN BIKER AND IN EVERYTHING HE DID­....UNTIL AN AVALANCHE ON MOUNT WASHINGTON STOPPED HIM.

BY LISA LYNN | PHOTOS BY BRIAN MOHR/EMBERPHOTO

I

an Forgays was a backcountry skier: Skiin’ Ian as he was known and “Lincoln Lynx.” He wasn’t the type of guy you would see on chairlifts, unless it was the Single Chair at Mad River Glen where he worked as a liftie, manning the summit station.

You might catch glimpses of him between the trees, a yellow or red jacket charging straight down a drainage off the spine of the Greens, a plume of powder shooting up behind like white smoke. One such shot of Forgays graced the cover of this magazine in 2016.

That white smoke was an elixir.

It was what Forgays, 54, was after when he set out from his home in Lincoln, VT, for the White Mountains early Monday morning, the first day in February.

Forgays knew the White Mountains almost as well as he knew the Greens.

Born and raised in Vermont, he had hiked the Long Trail three times, skied the Catamount Trail and ridden the

18 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

Forgays, hiking up in the White Mountains in the spring. "Ian was a positive force. He was game for any adventure, always smiling and laughing," remembers his friend Brian Mohr.

Cross Vermont “XVT” bike packing route —300 miles of off-road riding covering the length of the state from Massachusetts to the Canadian border. He made that trip

and the Catamount Trail journey in the same year, 2015, completing the “triple crown” of Vermont trails. He aslo raced mountain bikes and cars, competing as

a pro on the auto rally circuit.

Forgays often adventured to the Whites, the Chic Chocs and other high alpine terrain around the Northeast with friends. He was a frequent ski “model” — if you can call the wild-haired guy with a goofy smile and a willingness to charge anything, a model — for Moretown photographers Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson. Their adventures and photos of Forgays made it into Powder and Backcountry, as well as VT Ski+Ride and Vermont Sports.

The backdrops were the deep untracked woods, the ridgelines and ravines, the abandoned ski areas and snowed-in riverbeds of northern New England.

Ammonoosuc Ravine was one such ravine Forgays loved to ski. On Sunday night, January 31, he texted friends telling them that on Monday he “might ski Monroe Brook depending on how the Ammo looks.”

Ian Forgays, descending Ammonoosuc Ravine in 2019, near the terrain trap where he was found buried by an avalanche. "We'd skied this route together maybe a dozen times," says photographer Brian Morh,a friend who often skied with him.

HEADING INTO AMMO

In the definitive guidebook, Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast, David Goodman describes Ammonoosuc Ravine, located on the western slope of Mt. Washington as such: “When it is fully covered, Ammo offers one of the longest skiable descents in the White Mountains— nearly 3,000 vertical feet of continuous skiing. The top of the ravine can be a mile-long snowfield that funnels into the Ammonoosuc River…. The Ammo slopes have a sustained 30-degree pitch, getting steeper at the bottom.”

On Monday, Feb. 1, the weather at Mt. Washington was fair and the avalanche danger was rated "low."

Temperatures ranged from 8 degrees to 15 degrees. Winds were unusually light with the highest gusts hitting 25 mph.

The week before, it had been a different story. For three days, winds had been gusting well over 100 mph, hitting a high of 157.

But conditions on Monday looked fine. According to the accident report filed by the Mt. Washington Avalanche Center, they included: “a mix of snow surfaces ranging from ice to rimed snow to firm wind slabs, all of which are commonplace in the windraked high alpine areas and steep ravines. Snow surfaces and layers beneath included a widespread, windhammered surface created by a wind event the week before. It was dubbed the ‘157 Layer’ after the 157-mph peak wind speed on January 24th which helped create it. Above that layer was another, softer wind slab layer that was described in the forecast as … smooth, hollow-sounding slabs (that) are easy to identify and are generally worth avoiding due to low skiing quality and post-holing on foot if not due to the elevated avalanche risk.”

The snowpack on Monday was not deep. Only 3.4 inches had fallen on the summit between January 23

A landscaper and parttime liftie at Mad River Glen,Ian Forgays was a frequent model in photos such as this cover of Vermont Sports. In 2016, this magazine named him an Athlete of the Year for biking the XVT, skiing the Catamount Trail in the same year and hiking the Long Trail — the triple crown of trails.

and January 29 and the Hermit Lake snowplot measured 8 inches. Monday was a calm day before another storm would set in on Tuesday, with heavy snow falling and winds gusting again back over 100 mph at the summit.

A FINE DAY TO SKI

Forgays got an early start that Monday.

He was well equipped, carrying an avalanche transponder, shovel, ice axe, probe, extra goggles and gloves, food, a first aid kit and a cell phone. By 9:00 am he had reached treeline on Mount

Monroe, and by 11 am he was near the summit of Mount Washington.

From a point above treeline, he texted a photo to Brian Mohr, who was camping in Costa Rica with limited cell phone service. “Miss you bud,” he wrote. Forgays sent a few other photos and texts to friends and then began his descent. At some point, he triggered a small avalanche.

As the Mt. Washington Avalanche Center incident report stated: It is likely that Forgays triggered one of these [wind] pockets and was

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carried into the bowl-like depression where the snow was stopped by an overhanging cliff that was angled upslope. The debris pile here was deep, but fairly narrow, fanning out from a 10-foot strip to about 25-feet wide by 40-feet long.

The report continues: “Finding a triggerable slab in mostly safe avalanche conditions is rare but not unheard of, especially due to our spatially variable, wind slab avalanche problem. Accurately assessing snow and terrain and avoiding trouble throughout a lifetime of playing in the mountains is a tremendous challenge for anyone, even for the most experienced, like Forgays. Most of the time, we survive to ski another day. Other times, simple bad luck catches up to us when our margin for error disappears.

On Monday, an avalanche caught Skiin’ Ian. The small slide into the terrain trap formed by the cliff was enough to bury Forgays. Tuesday’s blizzard sent more snow tumbling down the ravine.

THE SEARCH

Forgays was well-known in Vermont’s backcountry skiing community and when he didn’t respond to calls on Tuesday, friends began to worry. “Ian was the type of guy who was always home to stoke the fire,” remembers Caitrin Maloney who knew Ian from when they both worked at Mad River Glen. She and her partner Hardy Avery, the noted trailbuilder, were frequent companions on Forgays’ backcountry adventures. “He was also always a bit evasive about where he was skiing and had his ‘secret stashes,” she recalls.

His friend the photographer Brian Mohr remembers the same thing.

“You’d ask Ian where he’d been skiing and even though I’d been skiing with him in the same place the day before he’d always give some really vague answer like ‘oh, in the mountains,' or ‘on the slopes,’” Mohr remembers with a chuckle.

By Tuesday evening, Avery and Maloney had alerted New Hampshire police and Fish & Game that Forgays was missing.

Using cell phone telemetry from towers in Littleton and Jackson, search and rescue personnel were able to confirm on Tuesday that Forgays was somewhere in the vicinity of Mount Monroe. They began looking for his car in parking lots on both the east and west sides of Mt. Washington.

Snow and high winds had filled in on Tuesday, making search conditions difficult and covering any tracks.

The Ammonoosuc Ravine Trailhead was unplowed and, with weather

20 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

"'Throw down some Figure 11s' (meaning straightline it) was one of the Ianisms I remember," says Caitrin Maloney, a friend and former co-worker at Mad River Glen. Here, Ian straightlines it in the Greens.

moving in, was not checked until Wednesday morning. At 9:45 am, Forgays’ car was discovered. Teams from New Hampshire Fish & Wildlife, the U.S. Forest Service and Mountain Rescue Services moved into the area.

By analyzing photos and texts that Forgays had sent friends, the search was narrowed to three drainages that feed into the Ammonoosuc River. The accident report stated: Open water and thinly bridged stream crossings, combined with elevated avalanche danger, forced teams to travel through dense brush along stream banks. Deep snow created “spruce traps,” hindering rescuers’ travel, even wearing skis and

snowshoes.

Two skiers who were also trained in search and rescue came out of Monroe Brook drainage and confirmed that the snowpack was solid there and that there had been no sign of slides in that drainage. At the same time, cell phone records pinpointed Forgays’ whereabouts to an area directly above the main drainage. As the team moved up the drainage, they saw signs of fresh avalanche debris, most likely from a slide on Tuesday, the day after Forgays went missing.

As the report states: At 4:25 pm, a beacon signal was acquired by a searcher with a dog and Recco receiver

in the uppermost flat area beneath the largest continuous WNW-facing slope of the Ammonoosuc, at around 3950’ of elevation. Pinpoint search techniques with an avalanche transceiver located a beacon signal 3.8 meters (12’6”) beneath the debris, which had piled up against the face of an overhanging rock buttress.”

Frank Carus, the lead snow ranger for Mt. Washington led a party up the ravine. It had been his day off but he headed home when he heard the news and grabbed his Recco transponder and Lily, his chocolate lab who was trained in avalanche rescue. Eight people took turns over an hour and 35 minutes digging. Thirteen feet down, Frank Carus found Forgays, dead from asphyxiation.

Forgays was the first avalanche fatality on Mt. Washington in two years.

Since 1849, when records began to be kept, only 16 avalanche deaths have been documented on Mt. Washington.

LIVING LARGE

Ian was one of four children who Donald Forgays and his wife Janet Wakefield raised in Burlington.

Both his parents were psychologists and his father, Donald Forgays, was a wellrespected professor at the University of Vermont where he helped develop doctoral programs. A scholarship in his name still stands.

“He and his younger brother Donal were these little towheads who learned to ski in Tyrolean leather boots that my parents brought back from Austria,” Ian’s oldest sister, Janice

Forgays, remembers. She and her sister Gabrielle were the eldest. The Forgays boys started out skiing at cross-country centers around the state.

At 16, when he was a student at Champlain Valley Union High School, Ian got a season pass to Bolton Valley.

Later, it would be Smuggler’s Notch, then Sugarbush. “He really ‘heroed out’ at Sugarbush, and then discovered Mad River,” Janice remembers. “He knew how to ski bumps like the rest of us know how to walk and he skied so hard he’d often break skis and you’d see him on a mismatched pair.” Forgays left nearly 30 pairs of skis at his Lincoln home, as well as a bulletin board that had every single season pass he ever had.

All four Forgays children studied psychology at UVM. “Ian could have been an Olympic skier,” Janice said. “But he just wanted to play in the mountains every day.” He bought his house in Lincoln nearly 20 years ago and had a landscape business that was successful enough to let him ski most of the winter and fill in part-time on lift operations at Mad River.

In 1998, Forgays launched a TV show, Ian’s Action Hour, with Vermont public access television. “He wanted to show people what you could do outdoors and encourage them to get out there,” Janice said. “And he’d intersperse video and photos shots with hilarious commentary. It became a cult classic. Ian, if nothing else, was always entertaining.” Forgays showed up at his sister’s wedding at Shelburne Farms “dressed for the occasion: blue blazer and white shirt but wearing cargo shorts and hiking boots. He was part of the wedding party and he had braided his goatee,” she remembers with a laugh.

Wherever Forgays went, he usually had a posse. “He usually went with friends but if he skied alone, it was because it was hard to find people who could keep up with him and who had the time. He also knew the risks in what he did and didn’t want to expose others to them,” Janice said.

Adventure photographer Brian Mohr of EmberPhoto was one of Forgays’ frequent ski buddies. “Having spent considerable time in the mountains with Ian over the last 20 years (he loved to ski in front of the camera) we can almost envision how it all went down,” Mohr wrote in an email shortly after hearing the news. “He was such a genuine character, a loyal friend, a total goofball, and a hilarious ‘Unky Ian’ to our kids. He was just incredibly stoked to ski. He was truly dedicated to the ski bum lifestyle… and so much more.”

Eric Friedman worked with Ian first at a mail sorting business and then at Mad River Glen, where Friendman was the marketing director for many years.

“Ian was smart and driven and could

"Ian could go from being 50 to 5 so easily. He loved kids and our daughters called him 'Unky Ian," remembers Brian Morh. '

have been successful at anything he wanted to do. It’s a bit of a lesson for us all that he structured his life and his landscaping business so that he could ski all winter. He was the ultimate ‘ski bum,’ but in the most positive way.

Ry Young, Mad River Glen’s communications director, remembers Forgays well. “On nice days, he’d be sitting out in front of the summit shack soaking up the sun like an alligator.” But his best memory is of the first time he met Forgays. “We were mountain biking in Waterbury and kept hearing these whoops and yells. We got closer and this guy goes flying by, shirtless, wearing regular shorts and I am not sure if he even had shoes on. That was Ian.” Tara Geraghty-Moats, the recent World Cup winner for women’s Nordic Combined and a Mad River Glen skier since she was a kid, posted a moving tribute on Facebook: “Thanks Lincoln Lynx for instilling in everyone around you your love for nature, beer, skiing, racing, duct tape, mirror lenses, flat brims, hard work, Bob Marley, going fast, going way too fast, hucking it, sending it and living it. You were an amazing role model in all the worst and best ways. If there were more people like you in the world, it would be a better place...”

Forgays’ death sent shockwaves through the backcountry community and sympathy was abundant.

However, on social media, as is often the case, some who did not know him

and were not aware of the circumstances were quick to second guess his decisions.

But as the accident report stated: “Accidents like this serve as a stark reminder to us all of the role that luck can play in successful outcomes in our backcountry endeavors. Ian Forgays had many years of experience in this terrain and, according to texts sent on Sunday, planned “to move slowly and intentionally” knowing that some lines there are “rowdier than others.” By all accounts, he was a very accomplished skier with many of the steepest lines in the Whites under his belt.”

A SEASON OF AVALANCHES

Over the past 10 winters, an average of 27 people have died each year in avalanches in the U.S. This ski season, 33 people died in avalanches betweem Dec. 18, 2020 and Feb. 27. Nineteen of those were skiers or snowboarders in the backcountry, including one former ski patroller and avalanche forecaster in Crested Butte, Colo.

In the week following Ian’s death, 9 people died in four separate avalanches out West.

On Feb. 1, the same day Forgays went to Mt. Washington, three experienced skiers from Eagle, Colo. were swept to their deaths by an avalanche near Silverton. On Thursday, Feb. 4, in Vail, Colo., a skier ducked out of the ski area boundary into an area known as Marvin’s and an avalanche buried him.

Companions and other riders in the area found the skier but were unable to revive him. And this past Saturday, Feb. 6, four skiers were caught in one of the deadliest slides in Utah’s history, at Millcreek Canyon, prompting Park City Resort to close the backcountry gates.

While avalanche danger may have been far higher in those instances than it was when Ian Forgays set out to ski Ammonoosuc, it is something that is always present.

As the Mt. Washington incident report concluded: In this case, when Ian Forgays triggered a small wind slab, a partner may have saved his life…but given the terrible terrain trap below, maybe not. Forgays was found equipped with avalanche safety gear, including an avalanche transceiver, which helped rescuers and the family immensely.

It appears evident from the totality of the circumstances that Forgays was prepared and knowledgeable about the mountain and its ski conditions. But, it is important to remember that even the most experienced skiers with all the correct preparations and equipment risk more when skiing alone. Even small avalanches can be deadly, especially over a terrain trap. If there are lessons to be learned from this accident, they aren’t new. Skiing technical lines, in a thin snowpack above a notorious terrain trap, with no partners, even on a Low danger day, raises the stakes tremendously.

As David Goodman said later when he heard the news: “When we go into the backcountry, we’re motivated by the love of high and wild places. Part of what lures us to the mountains is the drama of these landscapes. But forces much bigger than us are at play when we venture out.” The Waterbury Centerbased author of Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast, paused and then added. “It’s very tragic, humbling and sobering to see those forces at work.

There but for the grace of God go I.” From the Forgays family: The Mount Washington Avalanche Center provides critical snow, weather, and avalanche information along with educational and safety programs. Unlike avalanche centers out west, this center is the lead agency for Search and Rescue. The staff and the many volunteers are dedicated to the beautiful and often harsh environment where they work so that we can continue to enjoy nature’s playground. By showing your support for this wonderful organization with your donation, you help to maintain the place Ian loved. https://fotr. betterworld.org/campaigns/skiin-ianforgays-memorial-fund

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FAT BIKES, ISLAND HOPS AND OVERNIGHTS THERE’S NO NEED TO WAIT FOR SUMMER TO HEAD OUT BIKE PACKING – OR ISLAND CAMPING. JUST PACK UP YOUR FAT BIKE. STORY AND PHOTOS BY GREG MAINO

After checking the weather and the ice, the group decided it was safe to make the foray out to Law Island, where water depths are just a foot deep.

F

or a long time, I struggled to wrap my head around fat biking and couldn’t understand why anyone was drawn to it. I consider myself an outdoor generalist; for me, winter was for alpine or Nordic skiing, backcountry skiing, snowshoeing and ice climbing.

It was a time to do all of the things you couldn’t at other times of the year.

If you’re not familiar with fat biking, it’s basically mountain biking on a heavy

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bike with really wide tires, but colder, and slower. Here in the Northeast, the best places to fat bike are frozen dirt roads, Nordic centers and snowmobile trails (if permitted)—and on a growing network of trails groomed specifically for fat biking.

In my short time as a fat biker I’ve found it’s a lot of work, and is most enjoyable in a relatively narrow range of conditions. It can’t be too warm, or too cold. The surface needs to be firm, but not too soft or too icy

(unless you have studded tires!). Things have to be just right.

Additionally, the extra wide tires found on fatbikes aren’t as magical as many non-fatbiking bikers might believe. Before I started, I had visions of floating across powdery fields, monstertrucking over rugged terrain, and cruising effortlessly through Vermont’s wintery woods suspended on massive, rubbery floatation devices. However,

the reality is that taking a fat bike out for some fresh air often requires some amount of walking, pushing, lifting, and dragging. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun, but outings often veer into Type 2 territory.

It should also be known that I’m currently in the middle of experiencing my first season of fat biking, and my perspective isn’t comprehensive. With that said, you might now be wondering

why someone like myself is even writing about fat biking. Well, I’m writing because fat bikepacking is amazing!

So, how did I get from there to here?

It started with a pandemic that shut down the world and cut us off from our family, friends, and neighbors.

I’m not someone who travels a lot, but I do get around. I started getting into bikepacking a couple of years ago, but this past summer I really caught the

bug due to our inability to travel any significant distance away from home.

Bikepacking, which is what you get when you combine backpacking and cycling, allowed me to load up my bike and go have an adventure right from home. It provided a new lens through which to view my backyard, and half the fun was trying to find new places to camp, and figuring out how to connect everything in an interesting way. During

a period when we were all feeling very confined, bikepacking provided a much needed, Covid-safe way to escape.

So how does fatbiking fit in? As fall approached, and it became apparent the pandemic was not going away, I started thinking about what my winter was going to look like. Typically, I’d be skiing a lot, but with all of the new protocols and uncertainty at the ski resorts I knew I didn’t want to mess around

“

“

Bikepacking, which is what you get when you combine backpacking and cycling, allowed me to load up my bike and go have an adventure right from home. It provided a new lens through which to view my backyard, and half the fun was trying to find new places to camp, and figuring out how to connect everything in an interesting way.

there. So, after a lot of deliberation, I decided to pull the trigger and purchase a fatbike. My reasoning was that I could use it to commute to work, trail riding opportunities were more convenient than skiing opportunities, and it would allow me to continue bikepacking through the winter. Also, ever since reading a story about fatbike camping in Groton State Forest in Vermont Sports I’ve wanted to give it a go myself.

MARCH/APRIL 2021 | VTSPORTS.COM 23

GEARING UP FOR FAT BIKEPACKING

O

ne of the keys to having fun fat bikepacking or winter camping is staying warm and dry. While riding, regulate your effort to minimize sweating.

Once you reach camp you can stay in your active layers while you get set up. This will give those layers time to dry out a bit. Once set up, change into dry clothes and put your active layers inside a drybag, then inside your sleeping bag. This will keep them from freezing, and keep them from making your sleeping bag wet.

At night when you go to bed, take your active layers out of the bag and stash them around your feet/legs/ behind your knees. This will help your feet stay a bit warmer, and your body heat will help dry the items out.

In the morning I change back into my active layers first thing. I’ll layer both puffies over the top of my active layers, and throw a pair of rain pants over my legs for some added protection/warmth. I also have a pair of puffy pants that I use as well (I hate being cold).

I crack open a pair of hand warmers before I’m even out of my sleeping bag in the morning. Packing up is hard when you’re cold and wearing thick gloves. The hand warmers make this process much easier and more comfortable.

There are some great specialized footwear options out there that make winter camping easier. However, if you don’t have special footwear there are a couple of things you can do to help keep your feet happy when winter camping.

Bread bags over your socks is one way to go. This creates a vapor barrier and will keep your boots dry from the inside. Less moisture in your boots means you have to worry less about them freezing overnight. Gaiters are also very useful. They will help reduce snow and ice buildup on the outside of your boots, and will keep snow from getting in through the top when hiking or pushing your bike through deep snow.

Overnight you can put your shoes/boots in a waterproof bag and then inside your tent or in your sleeping bag (if there is room). Ultimately, you want to keep your shoes from freezing, and you want to keep any moisture that has accumulated in or on your shoes contained.

It’s now the middle of February and I’ve learned a couple of things. My winter commuting route is sketchy no matter what bike I ride, and fatbiking is much more than a short-term holdover during a pandemic winter. It’s actually incredibly fun, and has helped me better use my time outside this season.

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Doubling up on sleeping pads and clothing adds weight, but it's worth it.

BIKE

SHELTER

This season I invested in a 2021 Rocky Mountain Blizzard 10—a great bike, great spec, and very affordable. Upgrades included 45NRTH Wrathlorde studded tires—studded tires are essential for the Northeast freeze/thaw cycle. I also used Wolf Tooth Singletrack Pogies—warm hand covers that allow you to work your brakes and shifters. I found a dropper post was super helpful in deep snow for getting going or putting a foot down. And because I had a dropper post, found the Old Man Mountain Fat Sherpa Rack let me carry camping gear while allowing the use of a dropper post.

I have a Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL1 (bikepack version) tent and find a 3-season tent is plenty for most people in a non-alpine environment. Four-season tents will better handle high winds, getting loaded with snow, and have less mesh so they trap a bit more heat.

However, 4-season tents have more condensation issues, whereas 3=season tents breathe better making it easier to keep things dry, and in Vermont you can typically pick a site that minimizes exposure to wind and snow loading.

PACKING & BAGS

SLEEPING SYSTEM

One of the great things about bikepacking is how much you can manage to carry on the bike frame.

I used a Revelate Designs Handlebar Harness with a large (20L) Sea To Summit Lightweight Dry Bag to carry my inflatable sleeping pad, sleeping bag, over bag, and tent body/fly/groundsheet. The Revelate Designs Egress Pocket attaches to the handlebar harness and carried the drone, extra camera lens, and extra batteries. I also had two homemade stem bags, one to carry the insulated water bottle, the other for snacks, wallet, and GoPro. My homemade frame bag carried another 1L insulated water bottle, bike repair kit, gear repair kit, poop kit, electronics kit, tent poles and stakes. I made another Dyneema drybag to fit on the top of the bike rack and that carried extra clothing, pillow, warm mittens and down booties. Underneath this bag sat my foam sleeping pad. Last, attached to the rear rack I used Revelate Nano Panniers to stow an outdoor kit, mini tripod, extra riding gloves, food, and a .75L thermos of hot chocolate. It also served as place to store and easily access my puffy jacket.

A warm sleeping system is also important as this is your safe zone, and last resort for warmth. I tend to prefer a setup that’s on the warm side. This makes it easier to dry out your “active” layers overnight without degrading your insulation to the point where you’re cold. The sleeping pad is the most important piece of the puzzle. An r-value of 4 is the minimum, but more is better. An insulated inflatable pad on top of a foam pad will typically get you into the r5 or r6 range. As for your sleeping bag... If you don’t have a true winter bag, layering warmer weather bags is a very effective option. Using two lighter bags can also make packing easier since you can split up the items.

Also, remember that sleeping bag temperature ratings tend to be minimum ratings. The comfortable range tends to be 10-15 degrees warmer. I used a Sierra Designs Nitro 800 0 Degree Sleeping Bag (long(), a Klymit Insulated Static V Luxe SL Sleeping Pad, the Nemo Switchback Foam Pad (the short version) for additional insulation and puncture protection. I also brought a Sea To Summit Aeros

I have two young kids at home, so free time is in short supply. During the winter I used to run when time was short, and ski when a larger window was available. However, I often had more time than I could use running, but not enough to go skiing. Now, thanks to a few conveniently located trail

systems, I have fat biking to fill what used to be an awkward stretch of time.

Winter was also a period when sleeping outside was put on hold, but now I have fat bikepacking.

This season, I enjoyed riding the trails near Burlington (Mud Pond, Chamberlain Hill, Burlington’s

Wildways, and the Catamount Outdoor Family Center). It’s a different experience from summer trail riding. It was quiet, beautiful, required a different kind of balance and precision, and was a freaking great workout. Starting in January I also did a number of fat bikenabled overnights. The last of which

Cutlines here courtesy of

Our campsite on Law Island and fully-loaded fat bikes. Since we were just out for an overnight, we kept the cooking simple.

Premium Inflatable Pillow (large) Sea To Summit Traveller 50 Degree Quilt (used as an overbag to boost warmth.)

BIKE CLOTHING Bringing enough warm, dry clothing is also essential. I had one kit for riding and then another set up for camp wear. For riding, I used my old North Face running and ski pants over Pearl Izumi bike shorts.

On top, I used a long sleeve lightweight wicking shirt (polyester), a Patagonia R1 Tech Face Jacket over a Patogonia Micropuff hoodie.

On my feet, Darn Tough mountaineering socks. I had two pairs of Black Diamond gloves of different weights.

For fat bikepacking I’ve been using Neo Insulated Overboots with a pair of trail running shoes. The thick foam of the running shoe provides great insulation from the cold ground, and the system is very flexible which helps maintain good blood flow to your feet.

The height of the boot is great for deep snow, and I’ve also found this system to handle moisture very well. The overboots use closed

was a linkup of Burlington’s Wildways, the Burlington Bike Path, and an island on Lake Champlain.

ISLAND CAMPING

Law Island, a small island on Lake Champlain north of Burlington and just off the Colchester Causeway, has

cell foam for insulation which doesn’t easily absorb moisture, and trail running shoes are also typically moisture resistant. Because of this I have been placing my running shoes inside the overboots and folding over the tops overnight and haven’t had any issues with frozen footwear or cold feet yet this season.

CAMP CLOTHING. I like to bring two puffies. One is for throwing on over my active layers when stopping or taking a break while riding. During these times it might get a little damp, so I always have a second that’s dry and only for wearing around camp. You can also wear these inside your sleeping bag providing an additional boost in warmth. I always bring extra wool socks, wool boxer briefs, Patagonia down pants with full side zips, Patagonia fleece pants, and Mountain Hardwear rain pants. I also have a wool t-shirt, Patagonia R1 hooded fleece and Mountain Hardwear Phantom Hoody (big down puffy jacket). An extra buff, extra fleece gloves, fleece hat and Sierra Designs down booties round out the kit.

been on my list for a while. A 9-acre island owned by the Lake Champlain Land Trust, it has primitive campsites and great views west for sunsets. Being only 8 miles away from downtown Burlington on the bike path, Law Island offered a great opportunity for a snacksized, adventurous backyard excursion.

OTHER ITEMS Everyone else had a stove, so I brought food and drinks that didn’t require heating. I also brought a Poop Kit ( homemade Dayneema zip bag with TP/wipes/bags/sanitizer, a repair kit, first aid kit, Firestarter and lights and handwarmers. For water bottles I had two insulated bottles as well as a Thermos. For electronics, I carried my phone, powerbak, headphones, cables, a DJI Mavic Mini drone and extra battery, a GoPro Hero7 with two extra batters ad my Olympus OMD-EM5 camera with a 12-40 lens and two extra batteries.

However, it is an island which means it’s surrounded by water. Fortunately, during winter, sometimes that water is frozen. The island is less a quarter mile from the causeway and the water leading out to it is shallow—only a foot deep in most places.

For months I watched the weather

and consulted experts on the ice conditions. After watching the weather for weeks, and double-checking to ensure there was adequate ice between the causeway and the Island, we put our plan into action. I was joined by three friends—Rob Stumler, Brennan Guerriere and John Ware. We packed

MARCH/APRIL 2021 | VTSPORTS.COM 25

From Burlington, we headed out the Colchester Causeway until we were even with Law Island. Even though it's a shallow crosssing, we'd been watching the ice and talking with people familiar with the area.

up our bikes, and late on a Saturday afternoon we met in Burligton’s Old North End and got after it.

To up the ante a bit we included trails at the Intervale Center, McKenzie Park, Ethan Allen Homestead, and Ethan Allen Park in addition to the Burlington Bikepath as part of our route. These trails are part of the Burlington Wildways Partnership, an effort to protect and connect Burlington’s natural areas.

We pedaled through backroads and side streets until reaching the Intervale Center, a 360-acre farm and trail system situated along the Winooski River. Here, we were able to leave the roads and take to the trails, enjoying snowy woods and riverside views before jumping back onto the roads briefly in Burlington’s New North End. There was a bit of

26 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

bike pushing along the way. But, as I mentioned previously, walking your bike is just part of the fat bike experience, especially when loaded down for winter camping.

After exiting the trails at Ethan Allen Park, it was a quick hop to the Burlington Bike Path. From there we enjoyed 5.5 miles of easy cruising on well-packed snow along the shores of Lake Champlain.

We followed the bike path over the bridge at the mouth of the Winooski River, and out onto the Colchester Causeway which divides Mallets Bay and Lake Champlain.

Once on the causeway we continued out until we were just across from Law Island. We then made our way down to the ice and crossed over, being careful to take as direct of a route as possible in order to minimize our time on the ice and

minimize any risk of falling through.

Caution is always required when venturing out onto frozen water. We had been tracking ice conditions around Law Island all winter long and had researched water depths in the area. Additionally, we scouted the area in-person prior to our trip.

Once safely across, we used the last bit of light to locate a place to camp and settled in. After preparing our beds and changing into dry clothing, the next priority was fire. Winter nights in Vermont can be long and cold, and having a fire provides light, warmth, and a place to gather and socialize. Being in the company of such good people, it was well past midnight before we realized we were cold and retreated to the warmth of our tents and sleeping bags. Despite

being just a few miles from the heart of Burlington we felt a world away.

The next morning, we woke up with the sun, filled our bellies with warm food, explored the island, then packed up. I had a family to get back to, and the others had things to do and places to ski.

Fortunately, a quick trip on the bike path was the only thing standing between us and home.

Spending time outside is good for you. It boosts your immune system, improves mental function, increases your metabolism, and just makes you happier.

In less than 24 hours we exploited all of these benefits while filling our adventure cups and deepening our connections with each other, and it was all made possible by slow, heavy bikes with really big tires.

FEATURED ATHLETE

ROB MULLEN Age: 64 Lives in: West Bolton Profession: Artist Primary Sport: Canoeing

R

ob Mullen, the artist behind Paint ‘N Paddle Studio, made the news last fall for his throughhike of the Long Trail to raise money for the Vermont Wildlife Coalition and the Green Mountain Club but that trip was pretty tame compared to some of his other adventures. Mullen has completed a number of wilderness canoe trips as part of the preparation for a planned Smithsonian boreal forest exhibition.

How did a canoeist end up hiking the Long Trail?

I’ve been doing wilderness exploration trips by canoe for the past fifteen years and I was preparing to do another trip this year for the planned exhibition.

Then Covid struck and I was stuck in Vermont. It’s not a bad place to be stuck but I still wanted to do something. I had hiked most of the Long Trail in patchwork but I decided to do the whole thing as a painting trip. The Vermont Wildlife Coalition was a nascent organization when I first connected with them while attempting to stop beaver trapping at Preston Pond and I’ve since become a member of their board. The Green Mountain Club does a great job maintaining the Long Trail so I decided to raise money for both organizations by having people fund me for each mile.

For five cents a mile people would get a digital image of a painting and for a dollar a mile, the painting itself.

A fronteirsman who has explored Alaska and the Canadian Arctic by canoe, Rob Mullen goes prepared.

return to my roots and do a combined canoe/painting trip. I had been doing plein air painting on the road and figured out how to strip down my gear to fit in the boat. I’ve done over 30 wilderness canoe trips from Labrador to Alaska.

You must have had some exciting trips.

We planned to circumnavigate the western Brooks Range by canoe which we did over the course of three trips.

Incidentally, the superintendent of the park there said he knew of no other fool who had tried that. In 2013, for the second of the three trips I had a crew of four and we went through all the usual hoops for getting funding for the bush plane and then one by one, the members of my crew developed scheduling conflicts. The money was ready but I had nobody to go with. My canoe sponsor was Pakboats out of Enfield, New

Hampshire and they loaned me a 14-foot collapsible canoe at no cost. Collapsible boats are good because they can be shipped and you can’t take hard-hulled boats on Alaska bush planes.

I took off by myself and it was very uneventful for the first three weeks until I ran out of food. We had scouted the route but had been unable to see that it was choked with dense expanses of green alder and the combination of that, weather delays, and a flash flood, had me ten days behind schedule. I sent two messages on my Spot Receiver.

The first was “I’m Okay” so my wife wouldn’t worry, but then I sent out a Help message which I hoped she would correctly interpret as indicating that I was fine but needed assistance. The bush pilot was one of the people receiving my Spot messages and he realized I had been moving very slowly so he air dropped some food for me. Around that time two black bear siblings started following me. They were about 200 pounds each and had probably just been kicked out by their mother. They must have been lonely because they hung out with me for a day and a half and I have pictures of them hugging each other. They got close enough to steal one of my canoe boots.

I still had my hiking boots so when I finished the trip, the kids in the village were laughing at the white man with the mismatched boots.

It became a stressful trip when I almost got swept up in a stream crossing below a glacier. I had a 20-mile portage but it was probably 150 miles of walking because I carried three loads, one at a time, in quarter-mile increments. It was like walking across the Brooks Range five times. When I was able to put my boat in the river, it was a canoeist’s dream. The water was limpid clear and there were big schools of char and salmon. I hadn’t seen a single grizzly bear although the park is known for them. That was good because I hadn’t been able to bring bear mace on the plane and when I arrived in Fairbanks, the stores were closed.

When did you start canoeing?

I’ve loved canoeing since an early age and it became an escape for me when I lived in New York City. I got my degree in biology from UVM but then I worked as a freelance advertising artist. Although I didn’t hate New York, I did need to get out of the city so every summer I would take a wilderness canoe trip in Canada.

They weren’t necessarily art trips but I always did some painting. When I came back to Vermont, I went straight into wildlife art and I quickly discovered that fine artists make an order of magnitude less than what I’d been earning, so my travelling consisted of six to eight-week road trips to shows around the country with my dogs and cats, feeling more like a teamster than an artist. I decided to Mullen often paints the landscapes and scenery he enconters on this canoe explorations.

MARCH/APRIL 2021 | VTSPORTS.COM 27

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The bush pilot was supposed to bring me some but he forgot. I did have a 45-gauge carbine which I stored on top of my pack.

The river was narrow and I was paddling right next to a cut bank when I heard the grizzly coming. Instinct and adrenaline took over and I knew exactly what it was. He hit the water and my brain went into three parts: The rational part said that this couldn’t be happening; the blithering idiot part just hoped it would all be over quickly; but the third part was a sense of calm which was incredible. Everything was super slow. I was aware that there was a big sight hood on the gun and I needed to make sure it didn’t get caught in a loop on the pack. The rational part of my brain thought I had time for two shots. I have a painting I made of that moment and in the painting there’s a spot next to the bear’s ear which is where I aimed. I wanted to go right past his ear so the shock wave would get his attention. It was almost comical to watch a 600-pound bear try to stop on a dime in shallow water. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. He stopped 20 feet from the boat. I had levered the next shot but he took off to his right. I put the rifle down and dug out my camera. He hit the bank with an explosion of water and my adrenaline level came down. I remember a sense of dread of ‘where is my paddle?’ but it was perfectly stowed, just as I’ve been trained, right against the bilge with the blade down. That must just have been muscle memory. I ended up seeing six grizzlies that day.

Were there memorable trips that didn’t involve bears?

There was another trip in 2009 that involved crossing Labrador. We were doing a route over several rivers that hadn’t been travelled in 30 years and we were probably the fourth to do

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it in a century. We started on Lake Attikamagen, retracing a route forged by amateur anthropologist and intrepid adventurer William Cabot between 1895 and 1910. Lake Attikamagen is like a Rorschach inkblot pattern and deucedly difficult to navigate. From there, we paddled a series of headwater lakes towards La Riviere De Pas which is a rapids-laced tributary of the George River. After the George, we were up to the east on the Labrador Barrenlands on unnamed rivers when we suddenly found ourselves in a boulder garden where the river just disappeared. It wasn’t deadly dangerous but we were 70 miles from the coast. Between the difficulty of the overland, pond-hopping portage and several days of bad storms, it took us nine days to reach the Kogaluk canyon. We were up on this windswept, cold, rainy tundra looking down at this lush, green area with islands but we had to travel down a bear road to reach it.

I had a satellite phone which I had been using to call my wife but it had a short so our conversations were so terse that she didn’t even say hello; she just gave me the weather forecast. She started getting worried because it was getting into October so she called the Canadian Coast Guard. The guy who answered the phone should probably be fired because he told her that if the hypothermia didn’t get us, the polar bears would. She was not very happy.

Tell us a little bit about the Wilderness River Expedition Art Fellowship.

I formed WREAF in 2005 after I contacted the Smithsonian with my plan of combining art, science and adventure for an exhibit. They added the idea of having an indigenous perspective and we’ve been working for 15 years on putting it together. WREAF is now part of the Center for Circumpolar Studies.

VERMONT

SPORTS LISTING YOUR EVENT IN THIS

CALENDAR IS FREE AND EASY. VISIT VTSPORTS.COM/SUBMIT-AN-EVENT OR E-MAIL EDITOR@VTSPORTS.

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RUNNING MARCH 14 | Pi Day 3.14 Miler, Burlington You’re welcome to fun run your own distance for a virtual race or join the race on the 3.14-mile course. runvermont.com 12-13| Snow Devil Ultra Snowshoe Race, Pittsfield Race anywhere from a 5K to a 100-mile marathon at this ultra event on the Green Mountain Trails. Note: may be postponed again, pending Covid regulation. peak races.com 13| 4th Annual Leprechaun Dash 5K/10K, Shelburne Race to the pot of gold! Each of our first place overall finishers (all 4 of them), plus one lucky post-race raffle winner will each receive free entries for the 2021 RaceVermont series. racevermont.com

RACE & EVENT GUIDE APRIL

MAY

10| 14th Annual Half Marathon Unplugged, Burlington A single day of racing with start waves of 200 entrants at 30-minute intervals commencing at 8:00AM. The start and finish will be at Waterfront Park and the course will be out-and-back along the Burlington Bike Path with a two-mile loop in Colchester midway through the race. runvermont.com

1 | Northeast Kingdom Marathon, Island Pond A free USATF certified self-supported half/ full marathon designed to support Island Pond – a small former railroad town nestled deep within the Northeast Kingdom. brightonrecreationvt.com

24 | l Paul Mailman 10-Miler and 5K, Montpelier A race primarily on dirt roads, this race ahs been the Road Runners Club of America 2019 Vermont 10-Mile State Championship and part of the Central Vermont Runners race series. Cvrunners.org April 24-June 12 | Virtual Run/Walk for Mental Health 5K: 50 States/50 Days, Burlington Walk or run a non-competitive event to raise awareness and understanding for mental illness. https://raceroster.com/ events/2021/34843/2021-five-fifty-fiftyrunwalk-for-mental-health April 25-May 9 | Dream Big 5K: Run, Walk, Roll, Essex A community 5K, 1K and fun run for folks of all ages and abilities. Runners, walkers, wheelchairs, power mobility and hand cycle athletes are welcome. This year the race will be virtual so participants can join in from anywhere! runsignup.com/Race/VT/Essex/DreamBig5kWalkRunRoll

1 | Sap Run, St. Johnsbury Join a 5k run and/or pancake breakfast at the Welcome Center. The Street Festival will be held on Saturday from 10a-3p on Railroad Street.All part of the World Maple Festival. Worldmaplefestival.org 1 | Pump it Up 5-Miler, Jericho Run a rolling out-and-back five-mile race on Old Pump Road. gmaa.run 6-15 | Peak Bloodroot, Pittsfied Race through the rugged foothills of the Green Mountains in the 500-miler on Wednesday, a 100-miler on Friday, followed by the 50-miler, 30-miler, 10-miler and kids’ hike on Saturday. peakraces.com 8 | Shelburne 5K/10K/Half-Marathon, Shelburne Brand new for 2021, this is going to be a beautiful half marathon course. Leaving Shelburne Field House, you’ll run south past the Shelburne Museum, Meach Cove, vineyards, and orchard, and through some gorgeous countryside before heading back north. Almost entirely on quiet back country roads. Racevermont.com

8 | 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 8 | 12th Spring into Health 5K, Townshend This year’s Mother’s Day weekend race is hosted by Grace Cottage Hospital on a relatively flat course. The event will be held either in-person or virtually. gracecottage. org 13 | 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 18 | Barre Town Spring Run 5K, Barre Central Vermont Runners host this race from the Barre Town Recreation facility. cvrunners.org 16 | Vermont Sun Half Marathon, 10K & 5K, Lake Dunmore Starts and finishes at Branbury State Park on Lake Dunmore, a spectacularly beautiful and pristine place to run. Our courses are mostly shaded. Amenities include digital photos, post race food and music, aid stations every 1.5 miles, custom awards to top 5 overall, top 3 in every 5 year age group, tech shirts, finishers medals and more.

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19 | 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/ maple-leaf-marathon 22 | 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 23 | Race Around the Lake, Barnard Walk or run a 5K or run a 10K around Silver Lake. The course is on wooded trails, back roads and scenic footpaths with views of the Silver Lake. barnarts.org 29 | Timberlane Dental Group Mini Marathon, Burlington Head to the Waterfront Park for RunVermont’s 19th annual marathon and relays for runners ages 4-14. The event includes a half-mile and one-mile fun run. The kick-off is a two-mile race. runvermont.org/mini-marathon

JUNE 6-13 | Virtual Covered Bridges Half Marathon, Woodstock Run 13.1 miles anywhere you please. The event will be held virtually this year due to COVID concerns. Registration for 2020 deferred runners opens February 28 and for new runners opens March 8. cbhm.com 12 | 43rd 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 19 | NH-VT Covered Bridges Half Marathon, Colebrook, N.H. Choose a half-marathon, a 16.2-mile race or a 5K, all on the same scenic course in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Nhvthalfmarathon.com 20 | Solstice Trail Race, Charlotte Formerly the Equinox Trail Race. Try out some new terrain in a fun, yet challenging trail run through fields, singletrack and old sugar wood roads. Gmaa.run 26-27 | Catamount Ultra, Stowe Run a 25K or 50K trail race on wide, hard-packed dirt trails that roll through highland pastures and hardwood forest at Trapp Family Lodge Outdoor Center. The 50K course is two laps on the 25K course. catamountultra.com

BIKING MARCH March 1- June 19 | Virtual Vermont Adaptive Challenge (formerly Charity Ride), Killington Join in the virtual ride (or choose any other challenge of your own) and help raise money for Vermont Adaptive.

Join the Vermont Adaptive Strava Club (or track your progress on your own) to win prizes.

Charityride.vermontadaptive.org

MAY 15 | Crank the Kanc Hillclimb, Conway, N.H. This annual hillclimb is up the Kancamangus Highway and through the White Mountains. The race is 21.3 miles long with about 2,340 feet of elevation gain. mwvbicyclingclub.org 22 | Richard Tom Foundation and Green Mountain Bicycle Club Gravel Ride, Richmond This free 35 or 50 mile gravel ride tackles terrain surrounding Cochran’s Ski Area. Donations are appreciated and will go to the RTF. thegmbc.com/events

JUNE 11-13 | Bike the Kingdom, Derby Four days of riding: The three-day Tour de Kingdom including The Moose, a 103 mile “timed event” on wide open roads in June and our one-day Fly to Pie, a 26.2 mile “timed event” on mostly dirt roads through “The Gut” of the Kingdom. kingdomgames.co 13 | The Ranger, Tunbridge Ride 38, 18 or two-to-five miles in this epic gravel riding celebration. The 38-mile gravel enduro race is a loop of dreamy hardpacked dirt roads sprinkled with minimally maintained Class IV riding. Registration is now open for those who were registered in 2020 and opens March 20th to the public. therangervt.com 19 | VT Monster, Ludlow This is a challenging course primarily on quiet gravel roads, with plenty of climbing, flowing descents and epic vistas Monster is best attacked with a cyclocross bike, though road, mountain or fat bikes are also capable of handling the courses: 77 and 50 miles of epic and very challenging off-road riding.

The 50-miler includes about 5,000 feet of climbing and the 77-miler features over 9,000 feet of climbing. Vtmonster.com

JULY

26 | 100/200, A Vermont Double Century, North Troy First ridden in 1984, the 100/200 spans Vermont, north to south, following scenic Route 100. The first 100 miles roll by fairly quickly, but save your reserves, as the big climbs kick in during the second half of the ride, culminating in the 12-mile Mt. Snow climb. 100-200.org

20-24 | Spartan Death Race, Pittsfield This adventure race bills itself as the most difficult race in the world. In 2018, racers faced 3,000 burpees, an overnight trek over Bloodroot Gap, a 30,000-foot rope pull and set a Guinness World Record for a 12-hour crawl under barbed wire. Peakraces.com

27 | Central Vermont Cycling Tour, Montpelier An original gravel grinder, this ride takes you either 15, 30 or 60 miles of scenic country roads. Look forward to great food, convenient rest stops, well-marked courses, maple creemees, and hula hoops. All to raise funds to build the Cross Vermont Trail. Crossvermont.org.

29 | 20th Annual Basin Harbor 5K & 10K A 5K and 10K at beautiful Basin Harbor – a spectacular seasonal resort on the shores of Lake Champlain.

Racevermont.com

OCTOBER 24 | Vermont City Marathon & Relay, Burlington Marathoners and relay runners can safely conquer 26.2 miles in a new, two-looped course that includes many of the highlights runners have loved about the course for over 30 years. runvermont.org

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27 | Coyote Hill Classic NECS XC Series Race, West Fairlee Coyote Hill Mountain Bike Camp hosts a cross country mountain bike race series on its trail system. coyotehillcamp.com

JULY 1-11 | The Prouty (Virtual), Hanover, N.H. Ride 20, 35, 50, 77 or 100 miles on roads in the Upper Valley, or wherever home may be. Tackle a 70K or 100K gravel ride. Golf 18 holes, walk 3k to 10k, or even row 5-15 miles. The Prouty may be virtual, but there are still many ways to participate. dhmc.convio.net/ 16-19 | Farm to Fork Champlain Islands Adventure, South Hero Ride a guided tour past stunning lake and mountain views, villages, quiet meandering roads, fresh and fantastic local foods—this is Vermont, the heart of the small farm movement. farmtoforkfitness.com 17 | Raid Lamoille, Craftsbury A challenging 25 or 55 mile route that includes a significant amount of packed-gravel riding and some major climbing segments. Some would call it a dirt road randonee, others a gravel grinder, we just call it a Raid.

This is not a race.

25 | 4th Annual Guilford Gravel Grinder (G3), Guilford 545 Velo hosts the fourth iteration of this 40-mile course featuring 4,800 feet of elevation gain, with 93 percent of the riding falling on dirt roads. Bring a bike with tires that are 28-35mm or wider in width. bikereg.com/guilfordgravel-grinder-the-g3

AUGUST 1 | Rooted Vermont, Richmond Join Ted and Laura King for a weekend long celebration of gravel roads, community and all things VT, with necessary Covid precautions in place. Race the long course (82 miles) and 8,000 feet of climbing or go your own pace and do the 48-mile short course. And an epic afterparty featuring local foods and brews follows. rootedvermont.com 7 | Tour de Slate, Middletown Springs Ride a regular or metric century, 36 or 25 miles -- or ride the D&H Rail Trail. This is a great way to explore the emerging trails and quiet roads of Slate Valley. There is also a virtual option for this event. tourdeslate.org 7 | Vermont Gran Fondo, Bristol Ride Vermont’s infamous four gaps in the Gran Fondo with 130 miles and 11,ooo feet of climbing or opt for an 85 or 40-miler. All will take you over heart-stopping hill climbs with breathtaking views. Vermontgranfondo.com 7 | The Point to Point, Powered by VSECU, Montpelier Get on your bike or pull on your running shoes and register for a century, half-century or 25-mile road ride, a 40-mile gravel grinder or a half-marathon run from the statehouse lawn to fight hunger in Vermont.

Thepointtopoint.org 15 | Coyote Hill End of Summer Race and BBQ, West Fairlee Coyote Hill Mountain Bike Camp hosts an end of summer race on its trail system followed by a celebratory BBQ. coyotehillcamp.com 21 | 48th Annual Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, Albany, NH This 7.6 mile race to the summit of the highest peak in the northeast is a fundraiser for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center. The race is known as the toughest hillclimb in the world with an average grade of 12%. www.mwarbh.org

29 | Vermont Overland Grand Prix, Ascutney The Overland is a 50-mile dirt road bicycle race featuring 6,000 feet of climbing, seven sectors of “Vermont pavé” (unmaintained ancient public roads), two well-fortified sag stops, a magnificently scenic route and an awesome party afterwards. It’s the ultimate overland adventure ride.

Open dirt roads, amazing scenery and an epic course.

Vermontoverland.com

OCTOBER 2 | Vermont Rare Gravel Ride, Peru Ride 40 miles on 88 percent gravel and Class IV roads with 4,000 feet of climbing, four pave sections, departing from Wild Wings Nordic Center. https://vermontrare.org/ vermont-rare-gravel-ride

SKIING & RIDING MARCH 2 | Kandahar Mountain Race, Mad River Glen The Kandahar is a race from the top of the mountain to the bottom, over variable terrain incorporating both freeski and alpine racing technique. This event is open to all. madriverglen.com 6 | Craftsbury Spring Classic, Craftsbury Common FIS race season continues at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center with the Spring Classic, a 5/10k individual start classic race on homologated race courses. With categories for U16s, open racers, and masters, there is a race for everyone. https://www.craftsbury.com/events/spring-classic 6/7 | 25th Annual Legendary Rangeley Lakes Loppet, Rangeley, Maine Race a 50K freestyle loppet on Saturday and a 25K in the Burt Kettle Classic, 25K freestyle, and 25K tour on Sunday on wide, rolling, straight sections of classic New England Nordic trail at the foot of Saddleback Mountain. https:// nensa.net/event/rangeley-loppet-2021/ 13 | Pico Skimo, Pico Mountain Join the Endurance Society for their annual skimo race on Pico Mountain. Choose between a single climb at 2,000 feet of vertical gain and three different climbs totaling 6,000 feet of vertical gain. Alpine touring, telemark and splitboard divisions recognized. Endurancesociety.org 13-31 | The Virtual Lake Placid Loppet, Mt. Van Hoevenberg Challenge yourself in a 25K or 50K race on the challenging Nordic ski trails at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, home to the 1980 Olympic games and a stunning Nordic ski facility in the heart of the Adirondacks. This year, participants will be able to complete the loppet when they see fit and submit their times online. Mtvanhoevenberg.com 13-14 | The Vermont Open, Stratton Celebrate all things snowboarding with this competition designed by snowboarders for snowboarders, featuring a two-day banked slalom on the slopes of Stratton Mountain Resort. stratton.com/things-to-do/events/ the-vermont-open 19 | Rope-a-thon, Richmond Support affordable skiing at Cochran’s Ski Area by skiing as many runs as you can on the rope tow, with the goal of skiing 2 million vertical feet as a team by the end of the day.

That’s 4,000 total runs. Enjoy food by Hatchet and beer by Frost beer works. cochranskiarea.com

21 | Craftsbury S’Ender, Craftsbury Common Finish out your season at the Craftsbury S’Ender (“season ender”) skate race. With 10/15k FIS races for the open field, 5ks for the U16s, and a 10k masters category, there is a race for anyone looking to close out the Vermont race season with a bang. https://www.craftsbury.com/events/ craftsbury-sender

MULTISPORT, WATERSPORT, OTHER FEBRUARY 6-March 27 | Penguin Plunge, Burlington Choose a date between February 6 and March 27 to complete their remote plunge. We’re asking all plungers to send us a video of their personal plunge event, to be included in the live stream of the Penguin Plunge celebration on March 27th! penguinplunge.org/burlington/

APRIL 10-13 | Virtual 13th Otter Creek Classic Fly Fishing Tournament, Middlebury Green Mountain Adventures hosts this annual catch and release, fly-fishing only event. This year is a paper-only event that serves as a fundraiser. Mmvt.com 25 | Blackwater Slalom, Webster, N.H. Race through suspended gates through Class II and higher rapids on the Blackwater River in N.H. This race is part of the New England Slalom Series. nessrace.com

MAY 9 | Fiddlehead Slalom, Montpelier For those comfortable with Class II+ rapids, this is a fun whitewater slalom race for canoes and kayaks on the Winooski. nessrace.com/fiddlehead-slalom

JUNE 20 | Winni Slalom, Northfield, N.H. Live music, whitewater clinics, beer, free morning yoga, food and camping right in town and two days of whitewater races. Don’t miss the Winni Slalom on Saturday, a race through suspended slalom gates and Class II rapids on the Winnipesaukee River. Nessrace.com 26 | Vermont Sun Triathlon, Lake Dunmore, Salisbury Try your hand at the USA Triathlon Vermont State Championships. Swim 600 yards, bike 28 miles, and run 6.2 miles. The classic, pristine course starts and finishes at Branbury State Park. Participants swim, bike and run around beautiful Lake Dunmore. Triathlon repeats July 18 and Aug. 15. vermontsuntriathlonseries.com

AUGUST 1 | New England Championships, Canoe, Kayak, & SUP Races, Brattleboro Enjoy a 12 mile flatwater race on the Connecticut River or a 5 mile recreational race. Neckra.org

DAM RELEASES APRIL West River Dam Release, Jamaica, Vt. April 30- May 2 | Sept. 24-26 Celebrate two seasonal dam releases at the Ball Mountain Dam at Jamaica State Park. Shuttle service is provided for those who run the Class II-Class IV stretches of the West River. Vtstateparks.com Fife Brook | North Adams, Mass.

The Deerfield’s Fife Book section ranges from 700 cfs to 2000 cfs, at which point it becomes class III-IV. Scheduled releases are: April 3-4, 14-18, 21-25, 28-30; May 8-9, 15-16, 19-23, 26-30; June 12-13, 17-20, 23-27, 30; July 1-4, 7-11,1418, 21-25, 31; Aug. 1, 5-8, 12-15, 19-22, 26-29; Sept. 1-5, 8-12, 15-19; Oct. 1-3, 6-10, 13-17. Releases start between 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m and are a minimum of 3 hours. https:// amcbostonpaddlers.org/documents/river-releases/

MAY Deerfield River | #5 Station Dam, Monroe, Mass.

A mile south of the Vermont-Mass border, is the #5 Station Dam. Friday releases are for 4 hours beginning at 11 a.m.

Saturday releases last 5 hours and begin at 10 a.m. Sunday releases are 4 hours beginning at 10 a.m. Flows alternate among 900, 1000, and 1100 cfs.. Releases are scheduled for May 29-30; June 13, 19-20, 25-27; July 2-4, 9-11, 17, 25; Aug. 1, 6-8, 14, 21-22, 27-28; Sept. 4-5, 11-12, 19; Oct. 2, 10. https://amcbostonpaddlers.org/documents/ river-releases/

SPORTS FILMS, EVENTS MARCH 2 | The Art of the Graphic, Stowe Zoom in for the Vermont Ski + Snowboard Museum’s Red Bench discussion with the people who design ski and snowboard graphics. vtssm.com

27 | Brattle Paddle Canoe, Kayak & SUP Race, Brattleboro Enjoy a nine or 3.5-mile flatwater race on the Connecticut and West Rivers to benefit the West River Trail. neckra.org

JULY 8-11 | Climb to the Clouds, Pinkham Notch, N.H. Witness North America’s oldest automobile hillclimb. This 3-day motorsports festival features an 80-car competition field with some of the world’s best drivers. https://mtwashington.com/events/climb-to-the-clouds 18 | Branbury Classic, Lake Dunmore, Salisbury Paddle 1.5 miles, bike 14 miles, and run 3.1 miles. Our classic, pristine course starts and finishes at Branbury State Park. Participants paddle, bike and run around beautiful Lake Dunmore. vermontsuntriathlonseries.com

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IKE SHOPS

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99 Bonnet St., Manchester Ctr, VT 802-362-2734 | battenkillbicycles. com Manchester, Vermont's bicycle shop since 1972, Battenkill Bicycles is a Trek and Specialized Bicycle dealer offering advice and sales to meet all your cycling needs. The service department offers tune-ups and repairs for all brands of bikes. Come to the shop to rent a bike or get information about local group rides or advice on where to ride your bike in the Northshire. Battenkill Bicycles is the number one e-bike seller in Southern Vermont and is an authorized Bosch e-bike systems service center.

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RR 8, 169 Grove St., Adams, MA 413-743-5900 | berkout@bcn.net We are a full-service bike shop at the base of the Mt. Greylock State Reservation. We also border a beautiful 12-mile paved rail trail. We carry Jamis, Rocky Mountain and G.T. We offer sales, repairs and hybrid bike rentals for the rail trail.

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BOOTLEGGER BIKES

60 Main Street Jeffersonnville, VT 802-644-8370 | bootleggerbikes.com A full-service shop near Smugglers' Notch. We offer new, used and custom bikes as well as custom-built wheel builds for mountain, road, gravel, fat bikes, bikepacking and touring. Rentals offered at our Cambridge Junction shop on ththe Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. Bikes are a passion here.

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EARL’S CYCLERY & FITNESS

2069 Williston Rd., South Burlington, VT 802-864-9197 | earlsbikes.com Earl’s Cyclery has been serving Vermont's cycling and fitness needs for more than 65 years. With over 12,000 square feet at the new location, Earl’s has the largest selection of bikes from Trek, Giant, Scott, Bianchi, Electra, Haro, and more. The service center at Earl’s has professionally trained technicians who are certified to work on all makes and models of bicycles, not just the ones we sell. Whether you need a flat tire fix or a suspension rebuild, the service staff is ready to help. Estimates are always free!

Stop by our new location at 2069 Williston Rd, South Burlington, or call us.

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Bradley’s Pro Shop Ski & Bike is the premier bike shop in Southern Vermont!

We are located in Manchester Center.

Always known as your go-to ski shop we are now your go-to bike shop. We have one of the best bike mechanics in Vermont on staff, Dan Rhodes. Many of you know of his reputation as a master bike mechanic.

Dan runs all aspects of our bicycle operations. We carry the full lineup of Cannondale and GT bikes—mountain bikes,

Putting smiles on people's faces for over 35 years. Bikes

by Jamis, Transition, Norco, KHS, Davinci, Raleigh, Marin and Diamondback. Hours: Mon - Wed and Fri 10-5, Sat and Thurs 102. Be well by being smart.

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45 Bridge St. Morrisville, VT 802-888-7642 | chucksbikes802. com

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EAST BURKE SPORTS

439 Route 114 East Burke VT 802-626-3215 eastburkesports.com We are the original home to Kingdom Trails. Located in the heart of town, we pride ourselves in expert knowledge while providing friendly customer service. A fullservice shop awaits you and your repair needs. We have 100 rental bikes with an enormous selection of clothing, parts, and accessories. Hours: 9 - 6 every day

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FROG HOLLOW

74 Main St., Middlebury, VT 802-388-6666 | froghollow bikes.com Take advantage of the most advanced and courteous service in our region, with quick turn-around time in our service shop downstairs. Upstairs in the sales room, we offer the best in new and used road, mountain, lifestyle, and children’s bikes and new gear. We carry brands that offer superior products that balance innovation and performance with reliability and value. Hours: Mon. - Sat. 9:30 - 5:30, Sun. 11 – 4.

THE GEAR HOUSE

16 Pleasant St., Randolph, VT 802-565-8139 gearhouse.com fenergy and excitement to the state's cycling scene. Located in the center of Vermont, we offer Rocky Mountain, Bianchi, Yamaha e-bikes, a rotating inventory of consigned bikes and gear, and a full service repair shop. Randolph has newly revived mtb trails that combine classic old-school singletrack with machine built zones. Start the 12/12a loop from the shop for 38 miles of well maintained road miles, or map out a day ride entirely on the gravel.

The shop is also home to RASTA's outdoor trail hub which features topographical and printed maps. Stop by the shop and plan your next adventure!

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GREEN MOUNTAIN BIKES

105 N. Main St. Rochester VT 800-767-7882 | greenmountainbikes. com

Located in the center of Vermont, in the heart of the Green Mountains, we are surrounded by terrain that calls to mountain and road bikers alike. Whether you ride twisting trails or back to back gaps, we service, sell, and rent all styles of bicycles, featuring Kona, Jamis, Juliana, Raleigh, Santa Cruz, Transition, and Hinderyckx bikes hand crafted by our own Rochester boy Zak Hinderyckx. So STOP READING and RIDE YOUR BIKE! Hours: 7 days a week, 10 – 6.

HANOVER

11 ADVENTURE TOURS 713 US 5 N., Norwich, VT | 802-359-2921 | hanoveradventuretours.com

More than a full-service bike store, we are a full-service adventure center. With an expertise in electric bicycles, we live and breathe outdoor exploration through our offering of e-bike rentals, sales, and tours including doorstep delivery and a full-service shop (all bikes welcome). Over 100 electric bicycle rentals, demos, and tours available for individuals and large groups, short and long-term. Open year round with seasonal options. Explore one of the largest selections of e-bikes with Yamaha, iZip, and Magnum.

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HITCHHIKER

331 North Winooski Ave., Burlington, VT 802-863-4475 | oldspokeshome.com

394 Mountain Road Ste. 6, Stowe, VT | 802-585-3344 hitchhikerbikes.com

Hitchhiker Bike Shop is Stowe's newest shop.

We carry bikes from Rocky Mountain, Cervelo, Otso Cycles, Chromag, Open Cycle, and Gazelle E-bikes. If you are looking for a tuneup we offer service for just about every type of bike and budget.

Service appointments are encouraged, but not necessary. You'll also find great clothing, parts, and accessories in our shop that is pedaling distance from the Cady Hill trails. See our website for more up to date information on the shop, services, and pricing or stop by and check us out next time you're in Stowe!

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HIGH PEAKS CYCLERY

2733 Main St., Lake Placid, NY 518-523-3764 | highpeaks cyclery.com Lake Placid’s source for bicycling and outdoor gear since 1983! Sales, service, rentals and tours. Bikes by Intense, B.M.C., Salsa, Surly, Giant and Scott. Your information headquarters for Lake Placid and the Adirondacks for gravel road, mountain biking and road riding adventures.

Free maps. ADK80 and Ironman race info and course conditions. New! Basecamp lodges. Hours: Mon – Fri 9 – 6, Sun 9 – 5.

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MALLETTS BAY BICYCLE & SKI

794 W. Lakeshore Dr. Colchester, VT 802-863-2453 | Malletts Bay mbbicyle.com es�� ����

Bicycle & Ski Service, rentals and sales. Located on the shores of beautiful Malletts Bay, our shop offers expert repairs, top quality rentals, a fine complement of accessories and new bicycles from KHS, SWIX, Free Agent and Manhattan.

Rent a bike and ride from the shop via the town rec path to the famed Colchester Causeway, the "Jewel of the Island Line Trail."

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MOUNTAINOPS

4081 Mountain Road, Stowe, VT 802-253-4531 mountainopsvt. com

We offer bike sales along with fast, friendly service. Dealers of Niner, Scott, Devinci and Jamis, we carry a large assortment of mountain and gravel bikes including a 60 bike Demo Fleet. Our techs have years of experience and our local trail knowledge is second to none. Our converted 1893 barnturned-bike-shop houses a huge selection of bike and lifestyle clothing along with parts and accessories. Looking for a more mellow ride? Rent one of our cruisers for a trip down the legendary Stowe Rec Path right from our parking lot!

Vermont’s best selection of professionally refurbished used bikes and new bikes for touring, bike packing, commuting, fat biking, and simply getting around town. Named one of the country’s best bike shops for it’s “plain-talk advice and no-nonsense service.” A nonprofit as of January 2015, Old Spokes Home uses 100% of its revenue to run programs creating access to bikes in the community.

And don’t miss their famous antique bicycle museum! Hours: Mon. – Sat. 10 - 6, Sun.

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OMER & BOB’S

20 Hanover St. Lebanon, NH 603-448-3522 | omerandbobs.com The Upper Valley's bike shop since 1964.

Offering mountain bikes, gravel and road bikes, hybrid bikes, e-bikes, and kids bikes from Specialized, Trek, and Electra.

Featuring a full service department, bike fitting, mountain and e-bike demos, and a kids trade-in, trade-up program. Hours: Mon.-Friday, 9am-5:30pm, Sat., 9am-5pm

ONION RIVER OUTDOORS

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20 Langdon St. Montpelier, VT 802-225-6736 | onionriver.com ORO is Central Vermont's premier bike, car rack, and outdoor gear shop. Friendly and knowledgeable sales and service. We carry Specialized, Niner, Rocky Mountain, Salsa, Surly, and Yuba, and a large variety of clothing and accessories, including Giro, Smith, Club Ride, Patagonia, and more.

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OUTDOOR GEAR EXCHANGE

37 Church St., Burlington, VT 802-860-0190 | gearx.com OGE offers riders a premier bike shop with a knowledgeable, friendly, and honest staff. We have commuters and gravel grinders from Marin and KHS, mountain bikes from Pivot, Transition, Rocky Mountain and Yeti and a wide consignment selection as well as a demo fleet so you can try it before you buy it.

Our service department is capable of everything from tuning your vintage road bike to servicing your new mountain bike and offers full Fox shock service. Come see us on Church Street! Hours: Mon. – Thurs.

10 – 8, Fri. – Sat. 10 – 9, Sun. 10 – 6.

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POWERPLAY SPORTS

35 Portland St. Morrisville, VT 802-888-6557 powerplaysports.com North Central Vermont's Trek and Giant Dealer nestled in the heart of bike country.

Selling new and used bikes for every budget and every type of rider from beginner to expert. We service all manner of bike and sell tons of accessories and apparel. Bike rentals for the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail just 200 yards down the road.

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RANCH CAMP

311 Mountain Road, Stowe, VT 802-253-2753 | ranchcampvt.com Ranch Camp is Stowe’s mountain bike base lodge and your hub for bikes, gear, and culture! Ranch Camp offers a full-service mountain bike shop, tap room, and fresh-casual eatery, featuring sales and demo bike from Specialized, Ibis, Yeti, Evil, Revel, and Fatback. Looking for top of the line mountain bikes and components? Got ‘em. How about local brews from new England’s finest purveyors of craft libations? You bet. And if you need a thoughtfully crafted grab-and-go meal for your ride, or a place to sit down and refuel afterwards, Ranch Camp has you covered. Best of all, Ranch Camp is situation trailside with its very own public access entrance into Stowe’s iconic Cady Hill trail network.

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SKIRACK

85 Main St. Burlington 802-6583313 skirack.com Locally owned since 1969, Skirack provides gear, clothing, expert fitting and accessories for all cyclists, with full service tuning and repairs...plus complete bike suspension service on most forks and rear shocks.

Designated one of America’s Best Bike Shops, Skirack is blocks from Lake Champlain. Open 8 a.m. Mon. - Sat. for bike service, car racks and rentals.

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STARK MOUNTAIN

9 RTE 17, unit b Waitsfield, VT 802-496-4800 Find us on Facebook

Located at the lowest spot in the Mad River Valley so you can coast in when you break your bike on a ride! 21 years of advise,directions and fixing anything that pedals. Thinking about a Yeti? Come ride one of ours,we have been selling Yeti since 2006! Hours: Tues-Fri 9-6*, Sat 9-4, and Sunday 10-2. *Close at 5 on Thursdays for the Shop Ride.

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TYGART

57 Pond St. STE 1, Ludlow, VT (802) 228-5440 Info@tygartmountainsports.com, Tygartmountainsports.com We are a full service bicycle sales and service center. We carry a wide selection of Scott and Kona bikes and a variety of accessories from Scott, Giro, Louis Garneau, Blackburn, Park Tools and others. We offer service and repairs on all makes and models including in-house suspension service, wheel building, and full bike build-outs.

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VILLAGE SPORT SHOP

511 Broad St. Lyndonville, VT 802-626-8448| villagesport shop.com

Established in 1978, we are a family-owned, passiondriven sporting goods store serving customers for four seasons of adventure.

Strongly focused on bike and ski, we have highly skilled knowledgeable technicians and sales staff to assist in all needs of purchase, rental and service. With two locations, one nestled trailside on the world-renowned Kingdom Trails, and the other in downtown Lyndonville, we’re here to make your adventures happen!

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WATERBURY SPORTS

46 South Main Street, Waterbury, VT

802-882-8595 | waterburysportsvt.com A full service bike shop selling Trek and Giant bikes in one of Vermont's most convenient locations. Nestled in downtown Waterbury a short distance from the Perry Hill MTB trails, WBS services all bikes and can handle any repair you might have. We also have a fleet of demo bikes and and an excellent selection of parts and accessories.

Open 7 days a week!

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WEST HILL SHOP

49 Brickyard Lane, Putney, 802-387-5718

westhillshop com West Hill Shop turns 50 this season, and welcomes Amy and Zach Caldwell as the third round of owners since the shop was founded in 1971. Some things are changing.

Most things are staying the same. And Covid makes the rules for this year, like last year. Visit us to see what's happening and check out our lines of all types of bikes from Cannondale, Giant, Mondraker and more.

We have e-bikes in stock.

MARCH/APRIL 2021 | VTSPORTS.COM 33

ENDGAME

MOVED BY THE WEATHER

OUR DAYS, OUR ACTIVITIES, OUR SPORTS ARE GOVERNED BY WEATHER. SO WHAT IS THE SOUNDTRACK FOR WEATHER? BY LEATH TONINO

Storm clouds moving in over the Green Mountains, as seen from the Long Trail.

Q

uintron, an experimental musician from New Orleans, has invented an instrument called the Weather Warlock. It’s an analog synthesizer that plays, and is played by, the rain, the wind, the sun, the slide of the thermometer’s mercury from one temperature to another. The synth’s base station, which lives in Quintron’s home studio in the Ninth Ward, is a box studded with knobs and switches. Fifty feet away, on the front porch, sensors mounted to a post detect changes in kinetic energy.

Says Quintron: “Analog electronics are breathing things, physical elements of the earth, very touchy and squishy and beautiful, and if you let them hold hands with nature, it’s pretty fucking awesome what they can do together.”

Indeed. For the past week, up here in Vermont, 1,500 miles away, I’ve been streaming the Warlock’s strange, dreamy, drifty, meditative music on my laptop, listening to it through headphones while gazing out the window, while closing my eyes. A drone without beginning or end, an E major chord that goes and goes, it reminds me of the ambient electronica I loved “spacing” to back in high school.

Resting on the couch—eyes open, then closed—the song spreads wide in the sky of my mind, morphing slow as a cloud, twitching with lightning, trembling

34 VTSPORTS.COM | MARCH/APRIL 2021

at dawn and dusk. It rises and falls.

It pulses. It pushes forward without thought or haste, 24 hours a day, all year round, as weather must.

Says Quintron: “I wanted to make music that feels like looking at a fire or staring at waves, something where it’s repetitive and the same but also always fluctuating and bubbling with unexpected differences.”

The Warlock succeeds in this task.

It creates textures, fabrics of mood, not symphonies. In a sense, the instrument inhabits a middle space—a middle ground, a middle sky—between nature and art. On the one hand, it gives voice to the more-than-vocal world: the latitude and dew point and moment-tomoment specifics of place that we don’t normally think of as music. On the other hand, the harmonies and tones the Warlock produces lack the structure and conscious intent of all that stuff we do tend to think of as music: the Mozart concertos, the Led Zeppelin riffs, the annoying commercial jingles.

Says Quintron: “What happens when we take away the human design, the artistic choice to play this or that?

What happens when an instrument’s not being played by anybody with any sort of emotion or desire, when it’s just kind of being plucked by blind random weather fairies?”

Eyes open, then closed, headphones on, I feel as though I’m hearing this question both asked and answered.

Despite resting perfectly still, some deep part of myself is in motion, moving like the weather and with the weather, moving as it has moved countless times before when those blind random fairies, those sprites called sunrays and hailstones, plucked at the sensors of my own animal body.

On the Long Trail at 16, boots soggy, blisters delaminating my heels, squalls slashing the summit.

On the Long Trail again at 24, crimson and purple and ochre maple leaves blowing at me, into me, past me.

On a chairlift, shivering, gray chill gnawing my bones.

On a kayak, bobbing, blissfully basking in the faintest breeze.

I dream. I drift. I dream-drift and drift-dream. Memories come and go— lazy afternoons swaying a hammock, evenings swimming across a calm pond, blizzards scouring alpine ridges, dry autumn air, a double rainbow, a dragon of fog, a sweaty t-shirt clinging to my back as virga gauzes the far horizon.

Says Quintron: “I can imagine giving these synths to various climates all around the world. I can imagine tide sensors. I can imagine snowstorms.”

Says Quintron: “The weather affects

your mood, your whole psyche, all the time.”

Says Quintron: “It’s this audio elixir.

No two days sound the same.”

The song swerves, a gust rushing up the street in New Orleans, through my mind in Vermont, and with that gust I open my eyes, click a link on the laptop, switch to a different channel. The Upstate Warlock, a twin project based in Acra, New York, plays a tune closer to home.

Now, suddenly, I’m hearing the rain that will soon arrive, the rain sweeping northeast from the Catskills, past the Adirondacks, across Lake Champlain— the traveling rain, ah, the wandering rain.

An hour passes. Or just five minutes?

Warlock, you’ve done it to me again!

I remove the headphones from my ears, shut the laptop, pull on jacket and sneakers, step out the mudroom door. Out into the wetness, the blustery damp. Out into springtime, an aimless springtime stroll. Out into whatever song is being sung and whatever song comes next.

And the one after that.

And the one after that.

Vermont writer Leath Tonino is the author of two essay collections, most recently The West Will Swallow You (Trinity University Press, 2019). A version of this essay originally appeared in Orion.

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