THE START COMMITTING TO CROSS-COUNTRY

TWO OF VERMONT’S GREATEST ASSETS? ITS CROSS-COUNTRY SKI AREAS AND CLUBS.

On any given winter day if you head to the Rikert Outdoor Center in Ripton, you are likely to see one of cross-country skiing’s most die-hard fans out on the trails. “Die-hard” is a good word for Bill McKibben, who at age 37 as an ‘average’ skier took a year to train alongside Olympic cross-country stars and wrote about the experience in his book, Long Distance: A Year of Living Strenuously It’s a book that Into the Wild author Jon Krakauer has called “a wonderful paen to winter.”

McKibben may be better known as the environmental activist who helped build the global 350.org movement to limit the carbon dioxide that contributes to global climate change to 350 parts per million. That’s the amount past which climate change, scientists estimated, might not be reversible. Well, the world hit 400 ppm in 2017 and as of Jan. 1, 2023 was at 419 ppm.

In an interview with our sister publication, VT Ski + Ride, McKibben acknowledged that one of the reasons he’s out skiing Rikert nearly every day there’s enough snow is that “Overall, we’re going to see shorter and warmer winters. That’s why I never take a snowstorm for granted. If it snows, I’m out there.”

As we write in this issue’s feature “The State of Cross Country,” snow was in short supply in the early part of this winter, forcing ski areas to become creative. Ski areas such as Rikert, which installed an $850,000 snowmaking system in 2013, were still open and hosting events. In early January, it looked as if the Bogburn Classic, an historic race that Bob Haydock has traditionally hosted on a homemade course in Pomfret, would have to be cancelled. Rikert stepped in and offered to host it. “We did so with a sigh of relief knowing the history and meaning of that race,” said Rikert Outdoor Center’s new director, Robert Drake. “We’ve been getting calls from around New England to host events.”

To watch skiers race the Bogburn on a 2K loop on man-made snow — young children, some dressed in tutus, teenage athletes in Lycra, and recreational skiers in it not necessarily to win it — drove home the role this sport plays in the lives of so many New Englanders.

While alpine skiers may have grumbled about the conditions — ice and hardpack at downhill ski areas — these skiers were simply grateful to have any track to glide on.

Rikert, which operates under the auspices of Middlebury College, installed the snowmaking with support of benevolent alumni. In southern Vermont, Prospect Mountain — the training ground for Williams College — is also looking at a significant snowmaking project. Crafstbury Outdoor Center, a nonprofit, also has enough snowmaking to host events.

But for smaller cross-country ski areas, the fight against the weather has been an existential battle. Snowmaking costs money and cross-country areas often charge less than a quarter what alpine areas do for a lift ticket.

If we want these areas to survive, if we want to continue to see Vermont’s already-strong ski clubs turn out Olympic and World Cup talent such as the Caldwells or the Ogdens, we need to support them. While it may be easy to slip onto the trails without paying, it’s even easier to sign up for a season pass –especially as a season pass at one Ski Vermont-affiliated cross-country ski area provides a free day at each of nearly two dozen others.

Break out those XC skis. Buy a ticket or a season pass to your local crosscountry ski area (you’ll find a chart of most of them in this issue). It’s good for you. It’s good for the climate. It’s good for Vermont.

- Lisa Lynn

New Hut At Grout Pond

Located about 10 miles east of Arlington off the Kelly Stand, Grout Pond has been a best-kept secret for many paddlers and anglers. The 80-acre pond is in the Green Mountain National Forest in an area that prohibits motorized vehicles, mountain bikes and horses on the roughly 10 miles of trails surrounding the pond. It’s also just off the Catamount Trail. The pond itself has 12 campsites that can be reserved via Rereation.gov. And now it will also have a backcountry hut. The Vermont Huts Association opened its newest hut, the Grout Pond Hut, for reservations in early January. The hut is set up for year-round use with a propane stove to heat it and a propane-fueled stovetop for cooking. It comes complete with pots, pans and utensils (but no running water) and has bunks and mattress pads for up to 10 guests and a small solar system (which may not power much in the winter). There’s an outhouse that’s shared with other campers. Rates start at $75 per night (regardless of group size) for summer weeknights and go up to $155 for weekend nights in the winter. It’s about a mile hike in from the parking area, but there’s little elevation gain so bring that kayak or canoe. Grout Pond marks the 12th hut site in Vermont Huts Association growing network of backcountry refuges and can be booked at vermonthuts.org.

REACTIVE LIGHTING for optimized burn times.

HYBRID CONCEPT for choosing your power source.

AIRFIT headband for minimal compression on the head.

FULL-TILT lamp bodies for various wearing options.

50:50 BURN-TIME-TO-BRIGHTNESS for reliable performance. THESE ARE THE PETZL DIFFERENCES WORTH JUSTIFYING.