CROSS COUNTRY CENTERS OF VERMONT

Northern

The Nordic Center is the gateway to Bolton Valley’s legendary backcountry terrain. It offers guided tours, lessons and rental equipment to get you out to enjoy some of the best Nordic skiing and snowshoeing in New England. Bolton has a 100 km Nordic trail system with 15 kilometers of groomed trails.

Trapp’s XC Center is celebrating 51 years! Come experience one of the premier Nordic centers in the East, featuring 160 km, with 55 km of tracked and skating terrain. Plus a full retail shop and rentals, and professional instruction. Don't miss Slayton Pasture Cabin for a warm lunch and a roaring re in the hearth.

Rikert's 55 km of trails wind through old forests, farm elds and past Robert Frost's summer cabin. e Center o ers a full service rental shop and ski school, plus fat biking! Jump on early season skiing with 5 km of snowmaking. Open 7 days a week and home to the Middlebury College Panthers.

Southern

Our Nordic Center has been enriched with professional grooming equipment, great additions to our rental eet, private instruction and a retail o ering with some essential gear and Edson Hill logo-wear available. A er a day on the hill skiing, snowshoeing or fatbiking, enjoy elegant dining or a cozy meal in the Tavern.

With an extensive network of winter trails throughout Mt. Peg and Mt. Tom, the Nordic Center o ers more than 45 km of groomed trails for skate and classic crosscountry skiing. Snowshoers & fat bike riders may utilize the groomed ski trail areas in addition to a series of ungroomed trails for a more invigorating hike.

e BHOC trail system o ers over 45km of well-marked and maintained ungroomed trails within the Moosalamoo Recreation Area for year-round outdoor adventures. No trail fees, BHOC operates on a donation basis and is a non-pro t 501(c)3 company dedicated to recreational access.

ARC’TERYX RUSH JACKET

If you like the warmth and light weight of a puffy jacket but hate that branches and trees can easily rip it on a tour through the winter woods, Arc’teryx’s Rush Insulated Jacket ($800) may be your answer. It’s warm, remarkably light and packs down to something smaller than a football yet it has a bomb-proof feel that few other insulated jackets (at least ones that don’t have shells) can claim. The Rush’s synthetic nylon outer is made with GORE-TEX and Arc’teryx’s own Hardon fabric. It is as tough as ripstop, windproof and water-resistant enough to stand up to light sleet or snow. The insulation is Arc’teryx’s proprietary Coreloft which doesn’t bunch up and holds its shape and warmth, even when damp or after throwing it in the wash. The storm hood is roomy enough to pull over a helmet and the embedded RECCO reflector offers peace of mind. This jacket comes in two colors (black and Labrynth, as shown above) and in men’s and women’s models.

Gearing Up For The Backcountry

WHETHER SKIING OR HIKING, THESE ITEMS WILL MAKE YOUR WINTER BACKCOUNTRY ADVENTURES BETTER.

BURTON GORE-TEX 3-IN-1 MITTENS

It’s easy to throw down $100 or more on a good pair of mittens or gloves. Burton’s 3-in-1 mittens or gloves ($79.95) offer a lot, and for a lot less. The outer GORE-TEX membrane is waterproof and windproof yet light and flexible. That goes over an inner removable fleece lining that fits snuggly and doesn’t bunch up as you take your hands in and out. That’s not all, the gloves and/or mitts come with quality liners, perfect to wear when skinning up. There are also zip pockets on the back of the mitts where you can insert a handwarmer, if need be, and elastic wrist straps. They come in a variety of color options from a gray flannel to camo to a soft pink and men’s and women’s models.

Osgo Couturier Neoteric 100

As a ski company, Osgo is a bit of a conundrum. It was started by mountaineer Tom Seidensticker, a man who likes going uphill (he’s summited several Himalaya peaks over

24,000 ft.) but wanted skis he could be confident in on descents. The company is based in Chamonix, but the skis are made by Meditec in Tunisia, at the same plant that makes Zag, Nedeker snowboards and a variety of kiteboards and wakeboards. The brand focuses on building light (and often superrockery) skis, using carbon fiber to keep them stiff. For Eastern backcountry and sidecountry skiers, the 2023 Osgo Couturier Neoteric 100 ($799.95) features more of a tip rise than actual rocker, which gives more control when coming off the sidecountry and hitting the trail. The 178 weighs in at 1,325 kg and has tip-waist-tail measurements of 135, 104, 120. Our friends at Backcountry Magazine gave this ski an Editor’s Choice Award and we can see why. It’s not an all-mountain resort ski, but for the Eastern skier who wants a lightweight backcountry ski for climbing, control on windpack and slab at the top, and fun and float in the trees, it’s a good choice.

There are dozens of apps that will help you track your way through the backcountry, but OnX has become one of our favorites. The app company was founded by avid hunter Eric Siegfried who wanted to know not only where he was in the wild but also whose land he was on. The app tracks boundaries for public lands and the company has lobbied for access. The app has an amazing amount of detail about existing trails – complete with up-to-date info on some trail closures. You can toggle between “hike” mode and “snow” mode to show ski or hiking trails. You can also switch between topo, satellite and hybrid modes and there’s a 3D map option. The onX Backcountry App ($29.99/year) with premium membership can be used with offline maps too. As with any crowd-sourced mapping system, be careful not to follow just any trail or track that’s listed on the app and know whose land you are on.