Vermont Sports 2024-1 Jan./Feb Issue

Dr. Nofziger always listens carefully and gives considered advice that helps me (almost) keep up with the younger generation.

–Ben Benedict, 72

getting better.

Matthew Nofziger, MD, SVMC Orthopedics

a member of Dartmouth Health.

Ben Benedict at the base of Tuckerman’s Ravine, Mt. Washinton, May 2023. Ben has been a patient of Dr. Matthew Nofziger for over ten years.

While we’ve been partners for years, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and Dartmouth Health are coming even closer together to provide better care. As a member hospital, we bring you improved access, upgraded technology and expanded specialty care including cancer treatments, orthopedics and heart and vascular care.

So now, the great care you’ve always received from SVMC will be even better. All right here, close to home.

While we’ve been partners for years, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and Dartmouth Health are coming even closer together to provide better care. As a member hospital, we bring you improved access, upgraded technology and expanded specialty care including cancer treatments, orthopedics and heart and vascular care.

Learn more at svhealthcare.org

So now, the great care you’ve always received from SVMC will be even better. All right here, close to home.

This is what exceptional looks like. Aging gracefully doesn’t mean living with pain or limiting activity. Along with his colleagues at SVMC Orthopedics, Dr. Matt Nofzinger delivers on our mission of providing exceptional care—including non-surgical options and same-day joint replacement—to help patients escape the limits of pain and injury and get back to living the life they love. No exceptions.

Learn more at svhealthcare.org

svhealthcare.org/ortho

VERMONT SPORTS

NEW ENGLAND’S OUTDOOR MAGAZINE

ON THE COVER:

Zeb Powell, an Athlete of the Year, sliding into Killington during the 2023 Red Bull Slide-In Tour. Photo

PUBLISHER

Angelo Lynn - publisher@vtsports.com

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Lisa Lynn - editor@vtsports.com

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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.

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

David Goodman, Brian Mohr, Phyl Newbeck, Leath Tonino, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

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VERMONT SPORTS IS A PROUD MEMBER OF

5 The Start Persevering

What can we learn from our Athletes of the Year?

7 Up Front

Just For Fun

At these 15 events—including some that are brand new— it’s more about the fun than the finish.

11 Nutrition

4 Weight Loss Lessons for Athletes

Here’s what athletes should know about diets, Ozempic and losing weight.

14 Conversation

The Keeper of Our Forests

A conversation with Danielle Fitzko, a year into her role as Vermont’s Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation.

16 Feature

10 Athletes of the Year

Meet the 10 people who did extraordinary things in the past year, from winning medals to feats of ultra endurance.

25 Gear

Climate Changers

The kit you need for winter’s cold and spring’s backcountry.

27 Reader Athlete

The Arctic Runner

Judy Boyd’s North Pole marathon was a way to mix a bit of business and pleasure.

30 Calendar

Race & Event Guide

34 Endgame

Survival Lessons

Winter camping? Ditch the tent.

ADVERTISERS!

The deadline for the Mar./April issue of Vermont Sports is Feb 16. Contact lisa.lynn@vtsports.com today to reserve your space.

by Brian Nevins/Red Bull

An Athlete of the Year and Ibex ambassador, Miron Golfman celebrates his finish of the Vermont Super 8, one of five ultra endurance trail races he rode in 2024. Photo courtesy Ibex

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THE START

PERSEVERING

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM OUR ATHLETES OF THE YEAR?

If there is one thing that sets many of our Athletes of the Year apart it’s this: their ability to push through pain and adversity. Jessie Diggins, famous for her ability to come out of what she calls “the pain cave” victorious, is perhaps the best example.

This season after going through recovery for an eating disorder, she was back at the World Cup. During the grueling seven-day series of World Cup races that make up the Tour de Ski she crashed, lost a pole, gouged her face and sprained the muscles around her ribs. Still, she won the 2024 event—her second Tour de Ski crown.

Miron Golfman set out to do the hardest ultra endurance bike trail races on the continent this year, starting with the Iditarod, then moving on to the socalled Triple Crown of ultra endurance trail bike events: the Tour Divide, the Colorado Trail and the Arizona Trail. And for fun he threw in the Vermont Super 8, which is a 655-mile self-supported tour of Vermont’s trails and backroads. Over these events, he experienced a pulmonary edema, a broken finger and heat exhaustion – not to mention numerous mechanical failures. Yet he kept going.

Will Robinson’s 1,300-mile thru-hike of the Northeast’s 115 4,000-foot (and higher) summits came with plenty of pain, stomach problems and weariness. He could have stuck out his thumb for a ride between trail heads, but driven by his own self-imposed goal (no one had yet to do the 115 as an all-in-one-session thru-hike), he persevered.

Perhaps it’s Vermont’s long winter that teach us this perseverance, that trains us at some level to deal with pain and discomfort. Whatever it is, our athletes seem to excel at it

In this issue there are also examples of perseverance of another kind.

Misha Golfman (father to Miron and

the founder of Kroka Expeditions) recently moved to the Mad River Valley. As executive director of the Mad River Path, he has helped bring back a time-honored event involving running, cycling, paddling and both uphill and downhill skiing: the Mad River Triathlon.

Meanwhile, Britta Clark (a former member of the U.S. Mountain Running Team) and her family are relaunching an event — The Pig Race — that her father, Tony Clark, started in 1971, but which had fallen by the wayside. Held on the Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center’s backcountry trails in Goshen, it’s a celebration of the type of classic all-terrain skiing that was popular in the era before groomed trails and waxless skis.

These events are far from suffer fests: they are an opportunity to compete purely for the fun of it and to celebrate the season. Following a period when so many of Vermont’s outdoor sports events became casualties of Covid, it’s good to see that it’s not just our athletes who are persevering, but our race organizers as well.

Last, the coming year marks 100 years since Vermont State Parks were first formed. In that time, the state has created more than 55 state parks. We sat down with Danielle Fitzko, the Commissioner of Vermont Forests, Parks and Recreation, to talk about Vermont’s changing landscape. The good news? She and her team are already planning for the next 100 years and how to address such challenges as the impacts of climate change and the loss of forest lands that are in private hands.

The good news: Our parks, our forests and landscape, our athletes and events – all are persevering.

—Lisa Lynn, Editor

Jessie Diggins, after giving it her all. Photo courtesy U.S. Ski and Snowboard,

JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT

AT THESE 15 EVENTS, IT’S LESS ABOUT WINNING THAN JUST BEING PART OF THE FUN.

BY LISA LYNN

There is a rating system in sailboat racing that allows for boats of different types, along with skippers of different levels of experience or ability, to race against each other in one class. It’s called the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet, or PHRF. But as many sailors will tell you, that acronym often gets wryly referred to as “Pretty Happy to Race and Finish.”

For the majority of us who compete in events around Vermont, “pretty happy to race and finish” is a good descriptor. We’re in it to have a fitness goal, to test ourselves against other weekend warriors and, of course, for the after-party and stories.

What’s special about many of Vermont’s winter events is that they can range from seemingly whacky challenges to just plain fun. Plus, we have so many stellar athletes that if you are, say, a child-rearing, 9-to-5 working,

middle-aged desk jockey, you may well find yourself on the same course as an Olympian or World Cup contender. You may not come close to a medalist on the course but then, there is the after-party, right? It’s this mix of “elite” (and maybe it’s time to reexamine using that word in sports?) and amateur athletes, and the epic post-race party that makes the following events—some rooted in a long-history and others brand new—must-do’s, even if you just spectate.

SMUGGS ICE BASH, JAN. 26-28

The last weekend in January, climbers from around New England congregate on the snow-covered section of Route 108 that’s closed to traffic during the winter months. There, on the steep walls that spill down from Mt. Mansfield on one side and Spruce Peak on the other, are some of the best ice climbing

routes in the region. The kick-off party and dry tool competition takes place at Petra Cliffs climbing gym in Burlington but much of the rest of the weekend is focused on demonstrations and demos, clinics and talks by such pioneering ice

climbers as Aaron Mulkey, who has made more than 100 first ascents. But if you’re new to ice climbing or never climbed before, this is a chance to try the sport, thanks to demos and intro clinics too. Smuggsicebash.com

Costumes are encouraged at the Penguin Plunge (top left) and vintage outfits highly recommended at the Southern Vermont Primitive Biathlon (top right) and the revival of Blueberry Hill's Pig Race (below) Courtesy photos.

THE KANDAHAR SKI RACE, MAD RIVER GLEN, (FEB. 3)

This season Mad River Glen celebrates 75 years and if there is an alpine event that sums up this iconic ski area, it would be the Kandahar, a race that involves skiing "the whole mountain." Kandahar races became popular in the Alps in the 1920s. Mad River Glen’s first Kandahar was held in 1957. By the 1980s it had faded but it was revived a few years ago as part of the ski area’s Triple Crown events (which also include a family race and the Rockefeller Challenge – a speed challenge). The course changes from year to year but involves skiing gates as well as freeskiing some of the mountain’s challenging terrain. If you’re not up for racing (and competing against Mad River Glen’s locals can be intimidating), grab a Sip of Sunshine at the Base Box and cheer the finishers. Madriverglen.com

PENGUIN PLUNGE, BURLINGTON (FEB. 10)

Fitness guru Wim Hof has made cold plunges a thing and many athletes know the benefits. The Penguin Plunge, however, has been going on for 29 years. A fundraiser for the Special Olympics, it’s a mass dip into Lake Champlain – often done with friends and in costume. Participants must raise $250. There are prizes, but those are for fundraising, not for how long you stay in the water or how far you go in. Specialolympicsvermont.org

SOUTHERN VERMONT PRIMITIVE BIATHLON, MANCHESTER (FEB. 10-11)

You won’t see much Lycra at the Southern Vermont Primitive Biathlon or even skinny skis and ultra-fit athletes. Instead, “18th century dress is encouraged, but not required.” The event is open to all “ muzzleloading firearm enthusiasts, regardless of their skill level or athletic ability.” Contestants use snowshoes (and yes, you will see plenty of the antique bear trap variety) as they make their way around a 1.5mile course at Skinner Farm and four target stations. Targets are steel plates set 35 to 50 yards away and you get 5 minutes off your running time for each target hit. If you miss this, the Caledonia Forest and Stream Club hosts a similar event in St. Johnsbury on Feb. 24. svtpb.org

“THE BEST DAMN POOL PARTY” LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG WINTER SWIM FESTIVAL (FEB. 22-25)

If you haven’t signed up to compete, go this year to spectate and start training

for next year. By “training” we mean, get used to swimming (yes, it’s more than dipping) in ice cold water in February—but you don’t actually have to be a competitive swimmer. The Lake Memphremagog Winter Swim started off when Kingdom Games organizer Phil White convinced the town of Newport, Vt. to cut a 25-meter pool into the ice on Lake Memphremagog. Then he convinced a few hardy souls to jump in and compete. Ten years later, the annual swim has drawn 155 (entries are capped) with swimmers coming from

around the country and even Europe, to race for top prizes such as… drum roll please... a pound of beef jerky to the winner of the longest event, the 200-meter freestyle. Competitors include Charlotte Brynn who won gold in her age group last year at the International Ice Swimming Championships in France, but for many this may be the only swim race they enter each year. It is, as White proclaims “the best damn pool party in the Americas.” It kicks off with a 25-meter breaststroke that must be done wearing some sort of hat and

ends with the awards pajama party. The hats are part of the competition too and swimmers spend as much time creating elaborate and often themed headgear (think peacock feathers, lobsters, dragons) as they do training. “Strippers” help the swimmers get out of their garb and warm up after while “hookers” walk along the pool to fish anyone out who may look a little too chilled. Kingdomgames.co

A DOWNHILL TO CROSS-COUNTRY LEGEND, STOWE DERBY (FEB. 25)

This legendary race has traditionally started from near the top of the alpine trails at Stowe Mountain Resort and, on good snow years, run 13 downhill-uphill-and-cross-country miles to finish in the town of Stowe. It draws everyone from NCAA skate-ski all-stars to former Olympians of a certain age to tutu-wearing children who compete on a shorter course. For those chest-thumping uberathletes, there’s the Derby Meister –a challenge to race the freestyle division on skate skis. Once the first race is completed, they take a bus from town back up the mountain to the start, and then run the same course in the classic division. If that’s not enough there’s also a fat bike course. But for many who might never race in another skinny-ski event, the fun is simply entering the classic ski division (wool knickers, cow suits and other costumes are not uncommon) and trying to stay upright on the first few hairpin turns of the course as it snakes down the Mt. Mansfield Toll Rd. The post-race party often includes video replays of the most spectacular crashes. mmsc.org

JACK JUMP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, MOUNT SNOW (MARCH 3)

Here’s a World Championship you don’t have to qualify for. Simply find an old single ski, figure out how to attach a seat to it and you can compete. Jack Jumps were thought to be originally used by sugarers and loggers to get down the mountain in the spring. Today, Mount Snow is the only known place to hold a competition for them in the East. The race is a time-honored tradition. Beards, flannel and wool knickers encouraged. Mountsnow.com

A ROLLING WINTERBIKE, KINGDOM TRAILS (MARCH 9)

Here’s where you’ll find the who’s who of the New England mountain bike scene ripping up snow-packed routes at Kingdom Trails. Though it’s not technically a race, expect a group of local

In its second year, Home Sick (top) brings back the OG snowboard gang to Stratton as well as current stars. The Stowe Derby, above, celebrates 79 years of going downhill on skinny skis. Photo top by Dave Schmidt.

pros to lead off the morning ride at a fast pace on their fat bikes. Stop at the aid station, have lunch, enjoy a burrito (catered by Stowe’s Ranch Camp) and crack open Lawson’s Finest at the postride bonfire. The fiercest competitions are at the Huffy toss (how far you can throw a dime-store bike), bike limbo and foot down (last one to dab wins). mbtvt.com

24 HOURS OF STRATTON (MARCH

16-17)

One day a year, Stratton keeps the lifts turning for 24 hours, turns on the lights, and throws an all-night party. The goal: do as many laps of the mountain as you can while raising money for the Stratton Foundation which supports the well-being of children in southern Vermont. There’s food, fireworks and games to keep the party rolling all night long. Stratton.com

THE PIG RACE, BLUEBERRY HILL OUTDOOR CENTER (MARCH

16)

The long-time innkeeper at Blueberry Hill and man who helped create the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, Tony Clark was one of cross-country skiing’s most ardent race organizers. Clark’s races included a marathon that went from a start in Lincoln across trails of various types to finish in Brandon. One of his favorite events was the Pig Race, which he launched in 1971, the year he bought Blueberry Hill Inn, and was so named as the after party was at an outdoor pig roast. Clark passed away in March 2022 but this year, his former wife and innkeeper Shari Brown and his family are reviving it. A classic race across trails that will have various states of grooming, the Pig Race honors Clark with competitors encouraged to wear vintage clothing, use vintage gear and be prepared to “race” around trails and obstacles in various state of grooming. After completing the 7.5 K or 15 K course, there’s an outdoor party with wood-fired pizza (topped with roast pork), and of course, the Inn’s famous cookies, and plenty of beer to rehydrate with. Blueberryhilltrails.com

HOME SICK REUNION, STRATTON (MARCH 22-24)

Last spring, a who’s who in the history of snowboarding descended on Stratton for a new event, Home Sick. Like a revival tour, it was a chance to relive the glory early days when Stratton was launching snowboarding into the world. In other words, it was to snowboarding what a Woodstock revival would be to classic rock. Olympic all-star Shaun

White was there. Recent sensation (and an Athlete of the Year) Zeb Powell had his own rail event. Pros, legends and beginners all mingled on the slopes, at a photo exhibit from the East Street Archives. HomeSick is back this year with a poker tournament, vintage board room, photo galleries and, of course, the Zebulon Rail Jam and the Powers (as in Olympian and Stratton local Ross Powers) Retro Pipe. Stratton.com

NORDIC CROSS, RICHMOND (MARCH 30)

Cochran’s Ski Area may be best known for its alpine racing heritage but each spring the Nordic Cross brings out skills no one even knew they had. An uphilldownhill-obstacle course with gates, the Nordic Cross is done on skinny skis, usually in costume and with plenty of spills. Cochranskiarea.com

BEAR MOUNTAIN MOGUL CHALLENGE, KILLINGTON (APRIL 6)

Spring bumps. Slushy snow. T-shirt weather and one of the most epic apresski parking lot scenes. Killington’s Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge has been going on in various forms since

1981. It’s the place to channel the hay day of skiing in the 1980s. While the competition is only open to amateurs, you might spy Olympian Hannah Soar cheering from a chairlift or helping her family man a portable wood-fired pizza oven in the parking lots. Daffys, falls, and lots of tie-dye mark this party on and off the snow. Killington.com

THE MAD RIVER TRIATHLON IS BACK! WAITSFIELD (APRIL 14).

It’s back! For many years, the Mad River Triathlon (a misnomer as there are actually four sports) was a race teams started planning for in January. Thanks to the Mad River Path (whose executive director is Misha Golfman, founder of Kroka Expeditions and father to Athlete of the Year Miron Golfman) the race is back this year for the first time in over a decade. So start planning: Who will be the runner to lead off the first five miles along the Mad River path? What kayaker/canoer (or whatever floats, as the race organizer says) will then take over at Lareau Farm for a 6-mile downriver paddle on the Mad River? Who is a strong cyclist who can then tackle the 10 mile route up to the base of Mt. Ellen? And what skier will be able to do well on both the skin up Mt. Ellen and the ski down to the finish? Of course, some folks may want to do the whole shebang themselves, or do it as a two or three-person team but the spirit of this event has always been more rites of spring than race. Madriverpath.org

RASPUTITSA DIRT TURNS 10, JAY PEAK (APRIL 20).

It’s been ten years since two friends, Heidi Myers and Anthony Moccia decided that it would be fun to put on a bike ride in the worst season of all, on the muddiest and snowiest roads of all, in the Northeast Kingdom. Rasputitsa (Russian for mud season) was not only an enormous success, but it sparked a series of grassroots gravel events and began drawing top pros from all cycling disciplines. Yet it kept its home-grown flavor with the occasional appearance of a mysterious yeti on the course, shots of maple syrup and a rock theme for every event. This year, it’s 10th, Rasputitsa moves to a new home base at Jay Peak. Ride the 53 miles or race them, it’s all the same at the after party which this year promises some waterpark fun, a film festival perhaps some pond skimming, good beer and the Pearl Jam tribute band Five Against None. rasputitsadirt.com

Rasputitsa (top) has become a rite of spring for cyclists around the country. The Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival (left) has become a destination for winter swimmers worldwide. Courtesy photos.

If you are interested in learning to ice climb, the Smuggs Ice Bash is the place to start. Photo by Travis Peckham

4 WEIGHT-LOSS LESSONS FOR ATHLETES

IF YOU WANT TO BOTH LOSE WEIGHT AND STAY FIT, THE QUICK FIX PROMISES (DIETS! DRUGS!) ARE NOT THE BEST SOLUTION. HERE’S WHY.

BY JAMIE SHEAHAN M.S., R.D.

There’s something about the New Year that inspires a sense of optimism that we can make this year better than the last. For roughly half the U.S. population, a better year equates to dropping pounds. Despite a cultural shift towards body positivity and away from fat-phobia, weight loss continues to rank as one of the top New Year’s resolutions among Americans.

This may be veiled under a resolution of exercising more or eating healthier, but the end goal is typically the same; shed those holiday pounds that somehow managed to creep on over the past couple of months (damn you, cookie swap!).

If ads for various diets and supplements are to be believed, for the right price quick and easy weight loss is all but guaranteed. However, for better or worse, weight loss, especially rapid

weight loss, isn’t as straightforward or beneficial as we are often led to believe.

It’s time to start the New Year off by examining what “healthier” really means.

The most common approach to quickly shedding weight is a new diet. Be it keto, paleo, Atkins, South Beach, or the like, weight loss from any diet comes down to one thing; reducing calorie intake. There are other aspects at play, but ultimately for any diet to result in weight loss a caloric deficit must be achieved.

That explains why no single diet has usurped all others as the most effective means of losing weight. In fact, none are really that effective in the long run. Studies show that the majority of individuals who lose a significant amount of weight on a diet will regain the weight they lost within a year. While

that may make weight loss seem like a hopeless endeavor, it actually provides valuable lessons that can mean shortand long-term success.

Lesson 1: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

It’s tempting to buy into a diet that promises rapid results, but there’s no question that instant gratification comes with a price. Research shows that not only do those who lose a significant amount of weight quickly end up regaining the weight they lost, but many end up gaining back even more than they lost.

Keep in mind that it’s normal to see a significant drop in weight during the first week of beginning a new diet. That initial loss of five or even ten pounds that has many of us doing a victory dance over our bathroom scale isn’t exactly a sign of future results. As we

begin consuming fewer calories than we are burning off as part of a new diet, our body first taps into our storage form of carbohydrate; glycogen for energy.

Every gram of glycogen also stores three grams of water, which means that as our glycogen stores get used up, we quickly shed water weight. However, after we’ve depleted our glycogen and lost the corresponding water weight, the rate of weight loss should stabilize.

Depending on one’s starting weight, a loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week is considered safe and healthy. Regardless of whether this loss is achieved from a low-carb, low-fat, or just plain old lowcalorie diet, studies show that one of the biggest predictors of long-term weight maintenance is achieving that loss slowly. This is best accomplished by making small, gradual, and sustainable changes instead of going all-in on a restrictive diet that you’ll burn out on

after a few weeks or months.

Consider, for instance, instead of cutting all carbohydrates out of your diet, just downsizing the portions of the carbohydrates you normally have in your meals. Or perhaps having one glass of wine at the end of the day instead of two.

Lesson 2: Weight Loss Is Not the Same as Fat Loss

When most people set a resolution to lose weight, chances are what they really mean is they would like to lose body fat. We have a tendency to think of gains or losses in body weight as changes in body fat, but that’s not always the case. Especially for athletes, muscle can and should factor into what we consider “success” on the scale. While drastically cutting calories can result in rapid weight loss, much of that weight is likely coming from muscle loss. A study comparing the weight loss of individuals following a very low-calorie diet (500 calories per day) vs. a low-calorie diet (1250 calorie per day) found that despite losing similar amounts of weight, the very low-calorie dieters lost more than six times as much muscle mass after nine weeks. Hardly the outcome that any athlete aspiring to lose weight should be hoping for.

To preserve muscle mass a key consideration is just how much one is reducing calories on a daily basis. A daily deficit of approximately 500 calories seems to be the sweet spot, allowing for the aforementioned steady weight loss, while still preserving muscle.

Another consideration is where the calories you consume are coming from. Protein is involved in numerous vital functions in our body, including providing the structure of skeletal muscle. Athletes typically have greater protein needs given the constant wear and tear training exerts on muscles.

These needs increase when training in a caloric deficit. Studies show that 1.8 g/kg of protein is needed per day to maintain muscle mass while also losing body fat. Keep in mind these requirements can go up as high as 2.4 g/kg/day for athletes engaging in intense strength training regimens.

Which segues nicely into the other piece of the muscle maintenance puzzle; strength training. Eating nothing but protein won’t go very far in preserving muscle mass without the added stimulus of resistance training. Carving out time at least three days per week to engage in resistance training has been shown to help prevent muscle loss when adhering to a low-calorie diet.

Lesson 3: Dig Deeper

At first glance, losing weight can seem to come down to simple math; expend more calories than you consume. This is true to an extent, but if it’s that simple then why is it so damn hard? Boiling weight loss down to calories in vs. calories out ignores the psychological and emotional aspect of our diet. What we eat, how much we eat, and when we eat isn’t just determined by physical hunger. These things are often intrinsically linked to our emotional health.

Who hasn’t found solace in a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream when feeling depressed or swung by the drive-through on the way home from a stressful day at work? It’s perfectly normal to use food to make us feel better or even celebrate on occasion, but too often food can become more of an emotional crutch that can sabotage one’s weight and overall health.

When weight loss strategies do not deal with our relationship with food it’s all too easy to revert back to old habits. Thus, in order to not only lose weight, but also keep it off ,it’s critical to reflect upon your relationship with food and develop strategies to cope with negative emotions and stress that do not involve self-soothing with food.

Lesson 4: There’s No Such Thing as an “Easy Fix”

When it comes to losing weight, the means to do so were always understood to be more or less limited to two

things; diet and exercise. However, that is no longer the case as seemingly every one from Elon Musk to Oprah have attributed their slimmed down physiques to the weight loss medication semaglutide.

Sold under the brand name Wegovy or Ozempic, these injectable medications mimic the effects of a hormone in the body that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite and have proven to be extremely effective, allowing users to lose an average of 15% of their body weight. Although Ozempic was created to treat type 2 diabetes, it is frequently prescribed off-label for weight loss.

Wegovy is the same drug only administered at a higher dosage and is approved for individuals with obesity and weight-related health conditions. Both have blown up on social media as a “diet drug” being used by individuals who are neither diabetic nor obese as a way to shed pounds without having to follow a regimented diet or spend hours at the gym. As is so often the case though, what is portrayed on social media isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

First and foremost, it’s important to establish that these medications are a huge step in destigmatizing obesity by treating it as a disease as opposed to a choice. However, despite what TikTok influencers would lead you to believe, they are far from a quick fix or easy way to slim down.

Ozempic and Wegovy come with a host of rather unpleasant side effects

including nausea, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting, and possibly an increased risk of thyroid cancer. That may sound like standard fine print of potential side effects that come with many medications, but in this case those side effects are very common and can make it difficult for individuals to consume adequate food to meet their nutritional needs.

The biggest concern when it comes to losing weight using Wegovy or Ozempic is ultimately that neither cure the underlying causes of weight gain or obesity. Thus, just as diets are only effective in keeping weight off as long as we stick to them, semaglutide is only effective when it is taken regularly.

Research has shown that once individuals stop using either medication, approximately two-thirds of the weight lost is regained within a year. Of that weight regained, almost all was body fat resulting in a higher body fat percentage due to a good portion of their initial weight loss coming from muscle mass. Thus, unless you’re willing to commit to a lifetime of weekly injections that will run you about $900 a month out-of-pocket, any weight loss benefits are only temporary.

New Year’s resolutions can be great, but maybe — just maybe — consider making it about improving your health and fitness rather than dieting or losing weight.

Jamie Sheahan, M.S., R.D., is the director of nutrition at South Burlington’s The Edge.

Ozempic is one of the more popular new weight loss drugs but its long-term effectiveness has not yet been proven. Photo

THE KEEPER OF STATE FORESTS

Name: Danielle Fitzko Age: 53

Lives in: Stowe

Work: Commission of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation

Sports: Hiking, camping, mountain biking

In January 2023, Danielle (Danny) Fitzko was named the interim Commissioner of the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, for Vermont, replacing former commissioner, Michael Snyder. She had worked in the department for 20 years and in April, Gov. Scott made her position permanent. With a year under her belt and Vermont State Parks celebrating their 100th anniversary, we sat down with Fitzko, a licensed forester who also has also attended the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education for senior executives in state and local government. —L. Lynn

How did you fall in love with the outdoors and Vermont?

I didn’t grow up in an outdoor family. Growing up in central New Jersey, recreation was basically going to the mall. But when I went to Penn State and met my husband Mark he took me hiking, backpacking and mountain biking and to Vermont. He was the spark in getting me outdoors.

Do you remember your first camping experience in Vermont?

Yes, it was probably about 30 years ago but we went to North Beach in Burlington because we wanted to be able to bike to all the area attractions like Shelburne Farms and Magic Hat Brewery.

Where do you like to go now?

Now, I like to go to more remote places, like Brighton Beach State Park when I can. But I live in Stowe so I am close to Little River State Park and to Elmore State Park.

You have a pretty big department, 130 staff, right?

Yes, but we also have 450 seasonal workers who help out in our state park system. It’s not easy finding them but we are lucky in that people just love our state parks and many of them come from out of state.

You studied environmental resource management at Penn. State, right?

Yes, and that led to one of my first jobs as a horticulture agent at the University of Maryland. There I worked on everything from turf grass to house plants to vegetables, and trees —assessing and diagnosing what’s going on. And that’s where my passion for trees really kicked in. At the same time, I got really passionate about land use and smart growth. I found urban forestry, which is really my technical background. I really enjoyed seeing how green and trees in developed areas could really maximize their benefits for social, economic and environmental outcomes. I moved to Vermont to take the urban forestry

program manager position at the department and gradually moved up into management positions.

Why are urban forests and parks so important?

If we can bring nature into our cities there are environmental benefits such as stormwater management or quality cooling. There are also the economic impacts. Studies show that if you have trees downtown people will spend more, so that’s an economic driver. And socially, people feel safer and it’s more attractive to go there. So it has like all these real benefits. Plus it’s a gateway for people to get connected to nature. An urban park may be someone’s first connection to the natural world. Hopefully, they keep going out from there and get a real appreciation for nature.

How many acres of forest in Vermont?

We have 6 million acres in Vermont and 4.5 million of those are forested. But the majority of those are on private

lands. In fact, 80% of our forests are owned and managed privately. But I’d say all forests can come under our purview because we have a private lands program that works with landowners. Two million acres are under UVA (use value appraisal, often known as “current use.”)

I have read that outdoor recreation has surpassed traditional forestry in terms of an economic driver in Vermont.

Can you share any numbers?

Outdoor recreation here is booming. The recent numbers show that 4.2% of Vermont’s GDP is attributed to outdoor recreation – that makes us the third highest state in the nation when it comes to outdoor recreation’s contribution to our economy. We have a great, but small, team here at the Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation devoted to outdoor recreation but we have fantastic partners. Since 2017 we have also had the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC) which has been able to funnel millions

A year ago Danny Fitzko was named Commmissioner of the Dept. Forests, Parks and Recreation. She's now working on strategic plans that will help guide the future of our forests and parks and the roles of outdoor recreation on public lands. Photo courtesy D. Fitko

of dollars into community recreation projects. We announced in October 2023 that we have $6 million more in grants for this coming year and have received 147 grant applications.

How do forest products numbers compare with outdoor recreation?

The forest products economy is about $1.3 billion in this state and employs about 13,000—and if you apply the multiplier effect, it’s probably about $2 million. Our industries use all of the wood they harvest for products but with climate change and workforce shortage it is facing challenges. We have an initiative right now called the Forest Futures Strategic Roadmap that will help us plan for the future. We don’t really have solid numbers yet for outdoor recreation, but we are starting a five-year outdoor recreation plan that’s called Move Vermont Forward that will result in a strategic plan. Right now, we are doing a lot of listening and surveys to gather the data we need. A lot of times, forestry and recreation can work closely together.

It’s great to see the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail finished – and now repaired and recently reopened. Does the state have plans for other new trails?

We are always looking to work with our partners to enhance Vermont’s trail network. We have a huge project going on right now at Camel’s Hump to make those trails more resilient. Between the storms we have faced recently and an incredible increase in usage, many of our older trails have seen a lot of wear and tear and need maintenance and that

can cost millions. We want to maintain what we have and build where it might be appropriate. But a huge emphasis now is on how we make our public lands more accessible.

How are you making trails more accessible?

We have a really great wheelchairaccessible trail now in Smuggler’s Notch with a boardwalk and we have a big grant to do some similar work at Stowe’s Bingham Falls. There is also the question of making public facilities, such as bathrooms accessible. Now, any time that we build or rebuild, we make accessibility a priority. But finding the funding is not always easy.

How do you fund most of the department’s projects?

We do collect fees from people who visit or stay in our state parks, but we try to keep those fees reasonable because we want people to use them. But you can’t always count on that revenue. In 2022, for instance we had 1.2 million visitors to state parks. However, with all the rains we had this past summer, we are looking at about 900,000 for 2023. So, we are going to have to be a little innovative.

But weren't you able to make some major investments in fire towers and state park cabins recently?

We were fortunate to have federal ARPA funds. During the pandemic we could show that there was an increase in outdoor recreation which helped in getting funding. The Economic Development Authority (EDA) is helping to fund the repairs we’ve been making

to the state’s eight fire towers and to Bingham Falls. But those fire towers are also part of preserving Vermont’s history, so we also consider that work as historic preservation. We’ve had about $500,000 in EDA funds to invest there.

How did flooding impact the state forests and parks?

We were fortunate in that a lot of the newer roads and parking lots we have put in we built for resilience. Many stood up to the floods this past July. But the ones that were still in the pipeline got hit hard. So, we need to put all the best management practices in place such as putting in and maintaining culverts and waterbars. We estimate there’s a huge investment needed there – probably about $40 million.

Speaking of parking lots, there’s been a lot of controversy over Vail Resorts limiting free weekend parking to access Smugglers' Notch on the Stowe side. What’s happening there? That parking lot is not owned by the state and currently on days when there is paid parking (Friday-Sunday) the free Notch parking there by Barnes Camp is limited to an hour and half. That may change in the coming year. But there are free parking lots down Route 108 and buses that run frequently.

What happened with the Smuggler’s Notch Resort proposal to connect to Stowe with a lift atop Spruce Peak? The resorts have a lease to operate on public land so their application to put a gondola on Spruce Peak had to first go to our district stewardship team.

That’s a team of professionals across the Agency of Natural Resources. They look at everything from water quality to ecology, wildlife, habitat, recreation and forestry. They looked at the proposal through several different lenses: what’s the impact of a gondola going to be from environmental standpoint?

How does it meet our long-range management plan? We have long range management plans that goes through a public input process. We agree with the public on a plan for how land is going to be managed and then that’s signed off by leadership. I never made a final decision on the gondola proposal because when Smugglers’ Notch Resort read the district stewardship team’s recommendation, they pulled their proposal.

I read that one of the district stewardship team’s concerns was that a lift there would encourage more illegal glading and rogue trail cutting. That’s happening around the state now. What is being done to address this?

It’s a real crime to cut trees on state land and we recently fined someone $75,000 for cutting trees for backcountry ski glades in Hazen’s Notch. In other places we have put up signage and are monitoring illegal glading.

What are the biggest threats to Vermont’s forests now?

It’s overall loss of forestland. We’re starting to go back to the level of forest coverage we had in the 1900s. Back then, Vermont was deforested. We reached a peak probably in late 2018 where we were at 78% forest cover. Now I think we are at about 74%. Our current use program helps in encouraging private landowners to keep their lands in working forests or farming. We now have to reach out to the new landowners in Vermont and help them understand the value of keeping lands forested. And I think there’s an opportunity to explore ways to look at how we can support private landowners to keep their lands open for public recreation.

If you could ask for one thing from the legislature this session, what would it be?

This year, 2024, marks the 100th anniversary of the Vermont State Park system and we are going to be celebrating it all year long. They are a crown jewel in our state and only get about $600,000 a year in funding. We also recently did a parks monetization study that looks at the next 100 years. I would ask them to think about how we can both invest in and celebrate Vermont’s state parks.

Camping at Maidstone State Park, one of the less-crowded of Vermont's 55 state parks. In 2024, Vermont State Parks celebrate their 100th year. Photo by Nathanael Asaro

10 ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

THEY DID EPIC HIKES, WON MEDALS AND CHANGED THEIR SPORTS. IF YOU WANT TO BE INSPIRED, READ THE STORIES BEHIND THESE ATHLETES.

What does it take to be named an Athlete of the Year? Each January, Vermont Sports recognizes outstanding performances from the previous year. And while yes, results matter, we also look at incredible feats of endurance, such as Will Robinson’s epic thru-hike of the Northeast 4,000-footers. We also consider athletes who have made a significant and lasting impact on the sport, athletes such as Zeb Powell who is working to increase diversity in snowboarding, or Elle Purrier-St. Pierre who became a role model for athletes who pursue their sports through pregnancy.

We intentionally leave the selection up to the last minute to include some of the incredible early season performances that often happen in snowsports’ World Cup events. The athletes below (listed in alphabetical order) are folks the Green Mountain state should be proud of. Here are their stories.

BILLY BENDER: ROWING FOR PARIS

When Billy Bender was growing up in Norwich, Vt., his neighbor Blair Brooks introduced him to rowing. Brooks, a former captain of the undefeated 1975 Harvard rowing team was coaching at Dartmouth. After graduating from Hanover High, Bender went to Dartmouth as well.

In 2021, Bender was part of the crew of the heavyweight eight that won the U23 World Rowing Championships. This past year, he had to decide whether he would go for the U23 World Championship team again or try out for the National Team. It was one or the other.

Bender, now 22, decided to forego his opportunity of making the U23 team again and take a chance on the National

Senior Team. He had been invited to the national team’s selection camp to try out for the eight-person boat. He didn’t make the cut. At the camp, though, he met another rower, Evan

Olson, 26, of Seattle, who also had been cut. The two teamed up and decided to enter a time trial to see if they could qualify for the World Championship as a pair. Only the top boat in the

time trials would go. They won.

So Bender, a 6’5”, engineering major, found himself in Belgrade, Serbia in September, competing against the best in the world.

“The pair is a really tough event at the World Championships because many of the smaller countries such as Serbia or Belarus have enough strong rowers to put together a really good pair but they may not have a strong eight,” says Bender. “So most countries will put their top guys in the pair.”

The Worlds would be a chance for Bender and Olson to qualify the U.S. pair boat for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. To do so, they had to place in the top 11. There were boats from 26 nations competing.

Bender and Olson advanced out of the first heat of five by finishing

Norwich's Billy Bender, at left, rowing for his Dartmouth team. Photo courtesy Billy Bender

ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

second behind Romania. In the quarter finals, they also took second – completing the course with a 7:02:93, just off Spain’s 7:02:91 but well ahead of New Zealand’s 7:08:78.

To make it to the finals, they would have to finish in the top 3 of 6 in the semis, something they did handily, ensuring that the U.S. would have a spot in the A Finals and an Olympic berth. In the Final As, they placed fifth – the best a U.S. men’s pair had placed since 2000. “It felt pretty good,” said Bender. Ironically, the men’s eight that he had tried out for, did not qualify for Paris. However, Vermonter Brooke Mooney, who grew up in Peru, Vermont and made the 2020 Olympics helped the women’s eight secure a spot.

While the pair boat has a spot, the U.S. Team will still hold camps and

trials to decide who will be in that boat. The men’s eight also still has a chance to qualify at a regatta in Switzerland in May.

For the month of January, Bender will be in Colorado at a high-altitude training camp, before heading to Florida for an on-water training and speed order, to determine the strongest candidates. “The challenge will be deciding if we want to go for the eight— which still has a chance to qualify for the Olympics—or to compete in the pair,” says Bender, who is the youngest on the team. He may also earn a spot on the four, which has also qualified for Paris.

“Most of the time you don’t get this opportunity until you get out of college and have been training for some time,” says Bender, who will take winter and spring terms off. He’ll graduate in 2025. “And after that, I can still try for 2028.”

JESSIE DIGGINS: DIGGING EVEN DEEPER

Minnesota may claim Jessie Diggins as a native daughter, but Vermont— more precisely her condo at Stratton— is her home for spring, summer and fall when she’s not off training or competing on snow. This past fall, Diggins posted photos of her and her husband Wade, “in her happy place,” as she called it, the Green Mountains’ fall foliage in the background.

It was not an easy year for the threetime Olympic medalist. In the 2022/23 season she racked up nine World Cup podiums and finished second overall in the World Cup standings (for both overall and distance events). But on September 17, 2023, she posted a confession to Instagram: “This summer,

after 12 years of being in a great place of health, I’ve been struggling with my eating disorder,” she wrote.

She then added, “We often put athletes on a pedestal, which in turn takes away some of the messy human parts that make us real. The last thing I want to do is project to young athletes that to be successful, they need to be perfect and have no struggles…because that’s not real life. It’s OK to ask for help.”

Diggins did ask for help, and her ski team and The Emily Program, a national program focused on the treatment of eating disorders, came to her side as she went through recovery. But even Diggins didn’t know if that would be enough. She admitted that in July she wasn’t 100% sure if she wanted to race the 2023/24 season and was taking things a day at a time.

Stratton freeskier Mac Forehand traveled the world this year shooting for films and competing. In 2024, his focus is on World Cup competitions. Photo courtesy Red Bull Content Pool

ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

But if Diggins is known for one thing it’s this: digging deep. Once she began pushing off from the starts on the World Cup, it seemed there was no stopping her. In November and December 2023, she stood on the podium in 5 out of the 11 World Cup events she started, winning two and finishing fourth in another two.

Then came the 2024 New Year and the grueling back-to-back stages of the Tour de Ski, the Tour de France of cross-country racing with seven days of sprints (traditionally her forte), pursuits, mass starts, distance events and a grueling climb.

Diggins finished in the top 10 in every individual event of the Tour, building a lead that she maintained throughout the week, even after a crash where she lost a ski pole. She got a new pole but finished the race with a bleeding gash in her face and sprained the muscles around her ribs.

The final event, the grueling climb in Val di Fiemme, Italy, saw her finish in eighth, behind teammate Sophia Laukli who won the race. But Diggins already had amassed enough of a lead throughout the Tour to put 31.6 seconds on twotime winner Heidi Weng of Norway.

In 2021, Diggins became the first American (and first non-European) to win the Tour de Ski. This was her second Tour de Ski win. With 308 points so far this season, it has also put Diggins in the lead for the World Cup, a lead she has a chance of building in front of a home crowd when, for the first time, the World Cup races are held in her other home state, Minnesota, on Feb. 17-18.

MIRON GOLFMAN: A YEAR OF ULTRA TRAIL RIDES

When this magazine interviewed Miron Golfman in February of 2023 he was setting out to ride the Iditarod Trail Invitational, a self-supported, 1,000mile race across Alaska on a fatbike. He had raced a shorter version of that same event the year before. He had also ridden the 1,600-mile Baja Divide Trail in 2022, setting the fastest-knowntime (FKT) of 10 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes. With ultra trail cycling events such as the White Mountain 100, Kenai 250 and Alaska Divide races already in his rear-view mirror, Golfman was a strong contender. So strong that he won the 2024 Iditarod, finishing in 16 days,

21 hours and 39 minutes and raising money along the way for ALS, a disease which his uncle has been fighting.

Golfman grew up in southern Vermont where his parents founded the experiential learning school Kroka Expeditions, famous for its multi-day tours of the state by ski, bike and boat.

In September, Golfman returned to Vermont to ride the Super 8, a figureeight multi-day tour of the state by trails and backroads. Sponsored by Ibex and riding to raise funds for the flood-impacted Vermont Bicycle Shop of Barre, Golfman covered the 655mile route in four days, two hours and 15 minutes, nearly a day ahead of the next finisher, Cameron Russell.

In the first 120 miles, Golfman broke his derailleur and a spoke and cracked his rim, forcing him to walk the bike through the night. He also cracked a second rim and dealt with four flats. Still, he finished first.

Mechanical breakdowns were not the only challenges Golfman faced in

Jessie Diggins wasn't sure if she'd race this season. But race she did, winning the Tour de Ski for the second time.

Miron Golfman on the Super 8 in Vermont. "This race was one I had always wanted to do," he said. Photo by Nelson Brown/Ibex

his 2023 races. In June, Golfman set off from Alberta, Canada, to do the Tour Divide — a 2,700-mile race along the spine of the Rockies that finishes in New Mexico. But near Pinedale, Wyo., he began experiencing chest pain and headed to a clinic. He was diagnosed with a pulmonary edema, which took him out of the event.

Golfman spent the next few weeks in Colorado acclimating to the altitude, recovering from a broken finger and preparing for the Colorado Trail Race – an unsupported, 540-mile trail ride from Durango to Denver with 70,000 feet of elevation gain. Despite having trouble keeping food down and being forced to ride on an all-liquids diet, he caught the leader, Jason Kiefer, within 40 miles of the finish. “We stopped at the top of a climb and he high-fived me and we locked hands and then he said, ‘Go for it,’ -- that moment was pretty

surreal, Golfman recalls. Golfman did and won that race, finishing in 4 days, 16 hours and 51 minutes.

But Golfman wasn’t done with ultra trail races: in October he entered the Arizona Trail Race, an 800-mile race that involves carrying your bike 21 miles across the Grand Canyon, as bikes are not allowed on that route.

“That day of hiking my bike was the hardest day of my year,” he said.

The race started with 100-degree temperatures and by Day 2 Golfman was having trouble keeping food down and facing heat exhaustion. He opted to rest during the day and bike during the night. But despite ongoing digestion issues and a crash on the bike he kept going, finishing fourth in 10 days, 7 hours and 5 minutes.

In the last few hours of the race, Golfman filmed himself straddling the bike and in tears: “It’s not lost on me

ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

that it’s my last few hours of my last race for the year. Holy shit. It’s been such an intense year, such an intense race and I’m so lucky to get to do this. Ok, let’s go finish.” Then he headed back to his home base in Anchorage, Alaska to start training for the 2024 Iditarod and Scotland’s Highland Trail 550.

MAC FOREHAND: SKIING FOR NEW GOALS

Gold at the X Games in big air. Gold in big air at the Copper Mountain World Cup. Silver in slopestyle at the World Cup in Stubai, Austria. Skiing a rail upside down. Those are just some of the headlines that Mac Forehand has made in the past year. It’s been four years since Forehand, a Stratton resident and Stratton Mountain School student at the time, made history

by winning the overall World Cup globe in Freestyle skiing at age 17.

Since then, Forehand, now 21, has competed in the Olympics, become a pro athlete with sponsors such as Faction Skis and Red Bull and appeared in a number of ski films. Red Bull even set up a made-for-film challenge that Forehand designed: a rail, suspended over a jump, that he would ride inverted. The rail was built at Sunday River. Forehand came into the jump switch, launched and “rode” the rail above him before landing switch— the first inverted rail ride.

Despite getting flown to Japan and elsewhere to film Abstract and time spent in the backcountry, this year Forehand is concentrating on the World Cup. ““I’m going to go into the World Cup with a different mindset next year. I want to be top five at almost all the World Cups. That’s my main goal,” he said in a Red Bull interview.

With three 2023/24 World Cup events down at press time -- a silver and a gold already in his pocket (in his third World Cup event, held in China, Forehand placed 40th), it looks like he’s well on his way.

BEN OGDEN: CARRYING ON A NORDIC LEGACY

Before the 2023/24 season got underway, Ben Ogden hosted a YouTube session with his Stifel U.S. Ski Team cross-country racers answering questions about their training and racing. “The best classic technique tip I ever got was to focus on swinging my arms like a pendulum.”

That tip seems to have worked. In early December 2023, Ogden finished fourth in a sprint classic World Cup race in Sweden, just behind his U.S. teammate James Schoonmaker.

A few weeks later, on Dec. 30, in Toblach, Italy, Ogden skied to third place in the sprint freestyle finals in the World Cup stage of the Tour de Ski, his first World Cup podium.

The 2022/23 season was a buildup to this, with Ogden scoring a number of top-10 World Cup finishes, to finish 8th overall in the World Cup rankings – the top American male in a field dominated by Scandinavians.

Considering that ski racing is something Ogden does when he’s not pursuing a graduate degree in mechanical engineering at the

Born and bred Vermonter, Ben Ogden competing at the FIS World Nordic Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia, February 26, 2023. Photo byJohn Lazenby

ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

University of Vermont, that’s a considerable feat. As a collegiate racer at UVM, he was a two-time NCAA champion and during the 2022-23 season was the fastest Under-23 skier on the World Cup circuit.

Ski racing is in the Ogden family. Ben’s father, John Ogden, was a legendary ski racer and coach who passed away in June 2023 at age 56 from cancer. Ben’s sister, Katherine, was on the U.S. Ski Team as well. His other sister, Charlotte, raced for Middlebury College. Ben, who turns 24 in February, has already extended the family legacy. Not bad for a kid from Landgrove, Vt., population 154.

ERIC LIPUMA: RUNNING MOUNTAINS FOR BREAKFAST

Boulder has long been considered, among other things, the ultra-running capital of the U.S. It’s where Eric LiPuma, a graphic designer, won the USATF National Road Championships in 2018. Yet a year later, LiPuma chose to relocate to Richmond, Vermont to be closer to his family who live in New Jersey. For the past few years, the Green Mountain trails have been his training ground. “Vermont definitely has the hardest terrain in the United States, if not hardest in the world, for trail running,” he said in an interview with this magazine that ran in August.

LiPuma’s training runs often take him up and down the four trails that lead to the summit of Camel’s Hump (a 25-mile route dubbed the FourHumped Camel) in one outing. Those runs and races such as the Trapp Trail Marathon helped prepare him to earn a spot on the World Mountain Running Team this past year. He wasn’t the only Vermonter. Of the 42 runners who qualified to compete at various distances and events at the World Championships were four Vermonters: Dan Curts, 27, of Norwich and Kasie Enman, 43, of Huntington qualified to compete in the Up/Down. Curts, who won the USATF Mountain Running Championships at Mt. Sunapee, N.H. and Alexandra Lawson, 24, of Craftsbury Common also qualified for the Vertical Mountain Running event.

LiPuma, 30, became part of the U.S. team that earned silver at the 2023 World Mountain Running Championships 85K Long Trail race in Austria in June 2023. The race featured a highly technical, 54-mile route over the spines and valleys of the Alps between Stubai and Innsbruck. The route featured 20,000 vertical feet

Eric LiPuma took what he learned running up and down Camel's Hump and used it to help the U.S. Mountain Running Team win silver in the 85K World Championships in the Alps. Photo courtesy Eric LiPuma

of climbing, some with grades as steep as 40%. Working with U.S. teammate Drew Holman, LiPuma moved up from 40th place early in the race to finish seventh. With Holman in sixth and another American, Zach Miller in third, the team thought they had won. However, France’s team edged them out for the gold with finishes of 1, 2 and 17.

For LiPuma, who also coaches other athletes, it was a repeat performance of the 2022 World Championships 80K in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where the U.S. Team won. But, as he said “to compete in the Alps, against the best trail runners in the World? That was something.”

LiPuma was back in the Alps at the end of the summer to race the CCC, a 100-mile race around Mont Blanc where he finished 17th out of a field of 1,650.

ELLE PURRIER-ST. PIERRE: BREAKING RUNNING’S STEREOTYPES

Elle Purrier St. Pierre, the dairy farmer from Montgomery who broke Mary Decker Slaney’s 37-year American record for running the indoor mile in 2020, only ran two major running races in 2023. On September 8, 2023 she ran a 4:23:30 at the New Balance Fifth Avenue mile on the street in New York City.

It was slower than Purrier St. Pierre’s record breaking 4:16.2 for the event, which she ran in 2019 – a race that put her in the national spotlight. Yet as the cameras zoomed in, the Olympian who finished seventh place was beaming. Her husband Jamie St. Pierre, a neighboring dairy farmer she’d grown up with, came to give her a hug and handed her their son Ivan. Ivan was born on March 8, 2023. Six months after giving birth, this was Purrier-St. Pierre’s first race. When she saw Ivan, she started crying. “I was definitely running for him,” she said.

Purrier-St. Pierre, now 28, has defied stereotypes of runners ever since she began running as a New Balance pro after graduating from University of New Hampshire. When New Balance learned she was pregnant instead of sidelining her, they placed her front and center of their “Run Your Way” campaign. A huge billboard of a pregnant PurrierSt. Pierre, leaping and running towered over Times Square. “It’s a really special campaign,” she said after the race. “It’s not just for moms but it’s for any type of runner who doesn’t feel like they fit the mold. Anybody can be a runner.”

In December 2023, Purrier-St. Pierre and her family traveled to Hawaii for the Merrie Mile where she placed 12th overall and sixth in the women’s

elite field with a time of 4:02:36, not too far off winner Nikki Hilz’s 3:58:07

And what’s ahead for the woman whose training ground is her back roads and the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail? “I have my goal: Paris 2024,” Purrier-St. Pierre told the TV cameras in New York, referring to this summer’s Olympic Games. The trials will be held in Oregon the last week in June. Stay tuned.

ZEB POWELL: BROADENING SNOWBOARDING’S APPEAL

Vermont has been snowboard star Zeb Powell’s on-again, off-again home ever since he went to Stratton Mountain School. Last spring, Powell was back at his old stomping grounds at Stratton. He and Olympian Shaun White headlined the first Home Sick snowboard festival.

Powell is now 23 and one of the more recognized snowboarders in the world. While he rose to fame in 2020 after his X Games-winning knucklehuck, Powell’s status in the snowboard world (and sports in general) is not tied to his wins. In fact, since 2020 he’s not spent much time chasing podiums.

But what he has done? With the help of sponsors such as Burton Snowboards and Red Bull, Powell has brought more diversity to the sport. Powell’s somewhat goofy, laid-back, fun-loving approach to the sport has made it accessible to many. He co-hosted with Selema Masekela Burton’s invite-only annual Culture Shifters event in Aspen. The event, which focuses on highlighting diversity,

When Zeb Powell and the Red Bull Slide-In Tour showed up at Killington last spring, you new some crazy moves would go down. Photo by Brian Nevins/Red Bull

Elle Purrier-St. Pierre in the New Balance "Run Your Way" campaign

ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

has brought some of the biggest names in music and entertainment to the sport, including rapper A$AP Ferg. Last spring, Powell was back in Vermont for two big events. On March

6, he was at Stratton for Home Sick, overseeing the Zebulon (his full name is, yes, Zebulon) Rail Jam which took place on a custom-built rail of his design.

Later that month, for the fifth year,

shoots and fun. In past years, the riders have also hit up Stratton, Saskadena 6 and even a home-grown rope tow in Rochester. Powell has also used the Slide-In Tour stops at Mountain Creek, N.J., as a way to bring inner city youth involved with Hoods to Woods into snowboarding with clinics and demos.

“We were asking ourselves, how can we implement my new mission, which is getting more Black people into snowboarding. So, we thought Hoods to Woods would be a great organization to incorporate into the Slide-In tour,” Powell said in a Red Bull interview.

WILL ROBINSON:

THE ULTIMATE PEAK BAGGING HIKE

There are peak baggers and then there is Will Robinson. Last spring, the day that Robinson’s work as a pre-school teacher at Middlebury’s Head Start program got out, Robinson started what would be a summer of an epic thru hike.

Robinson had already hiked to the top of all the 58 peaks in Colorado that rise over 14,000 feet. He has also summited all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000-footers. And in the winter of 2020/2021, he hiked all 115 of the Northeast’s summits over 4,000-feet. But why not do that twice? And add on some mileage while you are at it.

“I knew about the Direttissima –which involves summiting and linking all the 4,000 footers in a 240mile thru-hike--but I thought, why not make it bigger?” Robinson said.

Robinson’s mother, Janet Foster, dropped him off on June 17 at the Slide Mountain trailhead. After summiting the two Catskill 4,000-foot peaks, Robinson (who goes by the trail name, Flash) set off to summit all 115 of the 4,000-foot and higher mountains in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. What made this goal different is that he planned to do ‘so by walking between each summit.

That meant walking about 100 paved miles to the Adirondacks to complete New York’s 49 4,000-footers. From there, he walked across the Crown Point Bridge to the Long Trail to summit Vermont’s five peaks over 4,000 feet (Killington, Mt. Abraham, Mt. Ellen, Camel’s Hump and Mt. Mansfield.).

Powell and the Red Bull Slide-In Tour brought stars such as Maggie Leon and Jesse Augustino to the slopes of Killington for a few days of spring riding with locals, photo

From there, he crossed to New Hampshire’s Presidential Range and then on to finish with Maine’s 14 4,000-footers, culminating on the summit of Mt. Katahdin. Robinson, who grew up in the Mad River Valley, never summited a 4,000-footer until he tackled Camel’s Hump after college. As Robinson told the From the Backcountry podcast, he trained for this summer’s hike by carrying

Middlebury teacher Will Robinson on the last day of his 115-summit, 1,300-mile thru-hike of the Northeast's 4,000 footers and on his way to finishing on Mt. Katahdin. Photo courtesy Will Robinson.

ATHLETES OF THE YEAR

a backpack filled with 50 lbs. of salt up and down Chipman Hill in downtown Middlebury near where he works.

In the Hyperlite pack he ultimately used, Robinson carried a Big Agnes Tigerwall UL 2 tent, a Thermarest 20-degree sleeping bag, an Exped pad sleeping mat, and a Sawyer filtration system. Most nights he spent camped out or at a shelter, sometimes with friends when he could. He went through four pairs of Hoka Speedgoat 5s, worn down by his miles on pavement. His mother and friends helped him with resupplies.

All told he estimates he walked more than 1,300 miles in 59 days, 262,000 feet of elevation. He averaged 20 to 30 miles a day. And this, during one of the

rainiest summers on record. The hardest part? “The loneliness and probably the rain. I’d be walking along in the pouring rain on a Vermont road and someone would pull over and ask if I needed a lift. I would say ‘yes I do, but no, I can’t.’”

As for what’s next? The 115 Grand Slam, as Robinson calls it: doing the 115 summits at speed (driving between them), doing it in one season (instead of spreading it out through spring and summer), doing it as a grid (once a month for a year). “I like having goals,” he explains. But one thing he won’t do? “I’ll never do another thru-hike of the 115.”

HANNAH SOAR: BUMPING IT UP

Killington has long been a second home and training ground for Olympic mogul skier Hannah Soar. She cut her teeth skiing moguls with her parents and a squadron of local bump skiers on Bear Mountain’s famous moguls, often sporting tie-dyed shirt with her blond pony tail flying behind her. Soar went to Killington Mountain School and at 17 she was on the U.S. Ski Team. Now 24 and an Olympian, she is one of the top 10 female mogul skiers in the world. While in 2021/22 she failed to earn a single World Cup podium in

finish, by February 2023 she had earned a bronze in the dual moguls World Cup in Deer Valley and for the rest of the season scored no finish below an 8th.

Coming into the 2023/24 season Soar earned a bronze on December 12 at the Bakuriani World Cup in Georgia and is currently ranked sixth on the World Cup with three other Americans just ahead of her.

After Georgia, Soar headed “home” –being Killington. “Perfect holiday reset in @killingtonmtn with the OG bump gang after the first few World Cups of the season — now back to work,” she posted to her Instagram account.

Hannah Soar came back to Killington this past Christmas with a World Cup podium finish in her pocket. Here, competing in a World Cup in Deer Valley Utah in 2021. Photo courtesy U.S. Ski and Snowboard.

GEAR

CLIMATE CONTROL

THE WEATHER CAN BE WILD IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. THESE ITEMS WILL HELP YOU ADAPT TO THE EXTREMES.

JACK WOLFSKIN ALPESPITZE DOWN HOODY

My closet is filled with puffy jackets but when it comes time to choosing which one I use for which sports, I often feel like Goldilocks. Some are too thin –great for summer and fall or layering but not really what I need for winter. Others are too thick – warm enough for winter walks but probably not going to fit underneath a wind-proof shell. Jack Wolfskin’s Alpspitze Down Hoody is jussssst right. It uses a white goose down that meets the Responsible Down Standard. The down has been treated to repel water and has a fill power of 800 cu. in. The external fabric is TEXAshield Pro, which is fairly windproof and waterproof. You still need a shell for big days but this will get you through moderate weather. It’s a good-looking jacket that fits well. Plus, the hood is warm and fits easily over a helmet. A women’s small weighs

in at 270 grams and the whole jacket can fit into a pouch that is conveniently attached inside a pocket, solving the age-old problem of losing the packing pouch. The jacket comes in men’s and womens versions and a variety of colors. The jacket retails for $369, but you may find it on sale for $258.

FIELDSHEER MOBILE WARMING STORM HEATED MITTENS

There are days in January and February when it feels like no gloves or mitts or handwarmers can keep your hands and fingers warm enough. Fieldsheer’s Storm Heated Mittens deliver at a remarkably affordable price. The outers are 100% waterproof with warm fleece liners on the inside. The secret sauce, so to speak? Two split-pack 7.4-volt Lithium-ion batteries slip into pockets in the cuff and can keep the mittens toasty warm for 8 hours, thanks to four heat settings. The batteries do take

some time to charge, generally 3 or 4 hours but we found it may take longer so be sure to plug them in. The best part is that these retail for $159, which is about what you might spend for a solid pair of unheated mitts.

ORTOVOX RAVINE SHELL JACKETS AND PANTS

While we spend much of the winter trying to stay warm, once the snowpack is set for backcountry skiing, the temperatures often start to warm. Enter the Ravine shell. Ortovox is all about backcountry skiing and riding and its Ravine Shell and Pants are designed specifically for those uses. For starters, they are super light and can pack into even the most minimalist backpack. The polyamide outer protects against wind and light rain or snow. Soft merino inserts keep your chin, waist and cuffs from chafing and a merino mesh pocket on the front is designed

to hold a cell phone. The kit is also versatile with underarm zip vents and two-way zippers that make it easy to adjust for changing temperatures as you transition from up to down. The Ravine kit is not inexpensive, $620 for the jacket and $520 for the pants, but it is bombproof.

LEKI THERMOPLUS SHARK GLOVES

For cross-country skiing, a heated mitt is overkill but often the lighter weight gloves can leave your fingers cold when the wind chill sets in. Leki’s Premium Thermoplus Shark gloves are designed for cold weather. The goatskin palm offers a great grip that will stand up to use and the stretchy Softspan outer molds to your hands. With Primaloft Cross-Core insulation these are toasty warm and the Gore-Tex outer keeps them windproof. They retail for $119.95 and come in men’s and women’s sizes.

Ortovox Ravine Shell Jackets and Pants

Fieldsheer Warming Storm Heated Mittens

Leki Thermoplus Shark Gloves

THE ARCTIC RUNNER

Name: Judy Boyd Age: 52

Lives in: South Burlington

Primary Sports: Mountain biking and running

Occupation: Colonel in Army Reserves, attorney and researcher

After four years of trying to get there, Judy Boyd was able to run the North Pole half marathon last summer. She finished first among women, but winning wasn’t the point of the endeavor. Only 11 people competed in the three options (full marathon, half marathon and 10-miler) but the countries represented included Canada, China, Kazakhstan, Philippines, and Russia. The North Pole competition might be the only running race that requires its participants to wear life jackets. —By

Phyl Newbeck

What made you decide to do the North Pole Marathon?

I did the Antarctica Half Marathon in 2010 and really enjoyed that. Then I hiked to Everest Base Camp in 2017 and I thought this would be a really challenging next adventure. I like doing destination races because you get to combine travel and a physical challenge. I planned to go to the North Pole Marathon in 2018 but the race was delayed for five years. In the meantime, I had shifted my career focus to get involved in Artcic foreign policy, so my interest became professional as well as personal.

Why did the race get delayed?

For 17 years, the race was put on in April by a Russian company that built temporary camps at the geographic North Pole in locations where they thought the ice was thick enough. The organizers would parachute in and airdrop equipment to create a camp which was used by scientists and adventure tourists who wanted to ski or run.

The temperature is generally -20 to -40 Fahrenheit so it’s pretty extreme. In 2018, the race was cancelled because of politics and restrictions placed on the

pilots, who were Ukrainians. I made it as far as Svalbard, Sweden that year but we weren’t able to get on a plane from there. The next year it was cancelled because of Covid, and then the following year by politics again.

The organizers were able to run it in 2023 because they changed the date to August, and instead of flying, we took a French icebreaking boat to get there. It was a 16-day trip. What I didn’t expect was that when you’re on an ice breaker, it pretty much feels like bad turbulence on a plane except it lasts for ten days.

Did you stay at the North Pole?

The geographic North Pole isn’t land; it’s just ice in the ocean so we stayed on the ship. The race director worked with the staff of the boat to set up a perimeter on the course with people to guard us against polar bears. At first, they were going to pull us all off the course after five hours because the guards had to stand there in the cold, but they waited until everyone had finished, which was less than six hours. The polar bear risk is quite real, so we had to get back to the ship.

Did you see any polar bears?

I didn’t see any at the North Pole, but I did in Svalbard. After we got back from the North Pole, we had three days there for hiking and kayaking. We were on the northern part of the Svalbard islands which has few people. I saw five polar bears on the ice and two in the water while we were in a Zodiac. The guide was freaking out because the motor on the boat had died but it turned out okay. I also got to see some walruses.

What did you wear running?

It was similar to trail running here in Vermont in December or March when we get temperatures in the 20’s. I wore Gore-Tex trail running shoes, an insulation layer, and Gore-Tex windproof outer layers on the bottom and top. We also had to wear selfinflating life vests.

What was the course like?

The half marathon was 41 laps around a course that looks like the surface of the moon; it’s cratered with frozen snow and ice and very uneven. Because it was August, the snow was slushy, so

conditions were very challenging. The snow was compressing and melting and in some places the water was up to your shins.

What other marathons have you done?

I’m not a huge runner but in addition to the Antarctic Half Marathon, I did the shadow Boston Marathon when I was stationed with the military in Afghanistan in 2016. The Boston Athletic Association gives a complementary entry to people who do that, so I ran the Boston Marathon in 2017. I also did the Marine Corps Marathon in 1995 and I’ve done a bunch of half marathons.

Did your military career help you train?

We run a lot in the military — running is part of training. When I was deployed in Bosnia, we made a running route through the minefields with someone driving behind us with weapons. I’ve run on every continent, and I’ve raced on quite a few of them. I consider myself a casual runner who needs to challenge myself. Sometimes, paying the money

Boyd crossing the finish line at the North Pole. Life jackets were mandatory and the polar bear risk was real. Photo courtesy North Pole Marathon.

to do a race is what I need to give me motivation. But I also like to do the great local races here in Vermont like the Shelburne Covered Bridges Half Marathon.

You seem to have several different jobs at once. Can you tell us what they are.

I’m a civilian attorney with the U.S. Coast Guard at their headquarters in Washington, DC. I also serve as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and am currently assigned to the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla. In addition, just over a year ago I became a Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute, which is a non-profit, non-partisan, international think tank.

What is the work you do in the Arctic?

I’m really interested in focusing on Arctic foreign policy. That includes information sharing on things like maritime policy and search and rescue missions, working with other countries and indigenous groups.

The Arctic nations are the countries that touch the Arctic waters: The U.S., Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Russia. They each send representatives to the Arctic Council which develops policy and collaborates on anything outside the purview of the military. There are also permanent observers representing indigenous groups. I’m also part of the Justice in the Arctic Working Group. Indigenous groups want to be heard and to have a role in decision making but they are often situated far from the seat of power. It’s a challenge to be heard when decisions are made hundreds of miles away.

How are things changing in the Arctic?

There is a lot of discussion about the fact that the Arctic has become more accessible for adventure tourism, shipping, and mineral extraction. With the ice melting, it’s easier to do deep sea mining and have a longer fishing season for species like snow crab and other cold-water fish. How we decide to use that space is important. The decisions we make in the next five years will shape the next 50 years and I want to set up a good system for the next generation.

Were you there more as a tourist or researcher?

The boat I took to the North Pole was actually a tourist boat. Only a few of us were runners. The boat had 206 people

and 210 staff members and was only in its second season of sailing. They provide space for 10 scientists on every trip. We stopped for experiments, and we rendezvoused with the RV Polarstern, a German research icebreaking ship, and listened to lots of presentations. What’s amazing is that in years past you’d be cut off without a satellite phone, but now they use Starlink and have high speed internet. I could see the videos of the cameras under the ice. We weren’t

part of the research but to be close to what was going on was interesting.

What other sports do you enjoy?

I’ve been scuba diving with sharks in Fiji, and two years ago I did my first downhill mountain bike race. I used to race mountain bikes in the 1990’s in a military series in Europe and across the U.S. I’ve also done the CircumBurke but I got lost and ended up doing some extra mileage.

Where do you normally ride?

For downhill, I love the trails at Killington, and I’ve also been doing more at Bolton which has more intermediate terrain. When I’m not riding downhill, I do trails that don’t require protective gear. Chittenden County has so many great places to ride and outside the county, I love places like Blueberry Lake and the Mad River Valley area. I enjoy doing women’s rides and all-are-welcome rides and I love encouraging new riders. It’s great to see parents passing on their knowledge to their kids. I spent one season as a coach for Little Bellas. I was also on the board of VMBA, and I love what they’re doing to make mountain biking more accessible. The gear is expensive, as is transportation to the trails.

Speaking of accessibility, didn’t you use your North Pole run to raise money for Vermont Adaptive Sports?

Yes. I’m a veteran and I know that if I had issues or were disabled, they would help me get outside and be active. I’ve also done things with their Veterans Ventures program run by Misha Pemble-Belkin. It’s a fantastic program because it helps local mountain resorts make passes available for things like mountain biking, skiing, and horseback riding. It’s done discreetly since not everyone – veteran or otherwise – has a visible disability.

What kind of travel plans are in your future?

I’ve been doing quite a bit of travel since the North Pole trip. Two weeks ago, I was in Iceland, thankfully before the volcano erupted. I was also in Anchorage for a conference and there are a number of upcoming conferences in Europe. I really hope to return to the Arctic.

Do you have any advice for people who might be afraid to get out of their comfort zone?

When I signed up for the North Pole Marathon it was because I wanted an adventure. Climbing to Everest Base Camp was hard and I wanted to try something else that was difficult. When I saw how cold it was going to be I seconded-guessed myself but that’s where the connection to rasing money for Vermont Adaptive Sports came in. Sometimes, you don’t know what you’re capable of, but you have to try. It’s harder learning something new as you get older. I think people should find something new and challenging or something they don’t know. That kind of thing helps us grow.

Boyd raced mountain bikes in the 1990s in a military series in Eruope and has picked it back up. She did her first downhill mountain bike race two years ago. Photo courtesy Judy Boyd

RACE & EVENT GUIDE VERMONT SPORTS

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

COM. ALL AREA CODES ARE 802. ALL LOCATIONS ARE IN VERMONT, UNLESS NOTED. FEATURED EVENTS, IN YELLOW, PAY A NOMINAL FEE.

RUNNING/SNOWSHOEING

JANUARY

14 | Susan G. Komen Snowshoe Event, Grafton Trails A 3K short or a 5K long course. The event is non-competitive with no timing, encouraging participants to focus on the joy of snowshoeing and supporting a worthy cause to raise money for those with breast cancer. .komen.org/news/susan-gkomen-snowshoe-event-at-grafton-trailson-jan-14/

20 | Freezy Cheeks 5K, Burlington

A 3-race series in which races are held on Saturdays on different courses in the Burlington area. All races are chip-timed and have an open-start format; runners can start anytime from 11:00 AM to Noon. First race hosted by Zero Gravity. Racevermont.org

FEBRUARY

3 | Millstone Madness Snowshoe Race, Websterville, A 5K snowshoe race on the Millstone Trails Network, Websterville. Snowshoes are required. Runners and Walkers welcome. cvrunners.com

10-11 | Snowdevil Ultra Snowshoe Race, Pittsfield

An epic 6.5-mile looped course on the property of Spartan Race founder Joe De Sena, Riverside Farm. Expect narrow trails, and technical terrain with incredible views of the Green Mountains by the famous Shreks Cabin. Participants will be tested multiple times on a 1,000-ft, 3-mile climb that ends through a dense, dark spruce forest aptly called the Labyrinth. peakraces.com

17 | Freezy Cheeks 5K, Burlington

The second in the 3-race series held on Saturdays on different courses in the Burlington area. All races are chip-timed and have an open-start format; runners can start anytime from 11:00 AM to Noon. Hosted by Foam Brewers. Racevermont.org

MARCH

16 | Freezy Cheeks 5K, Burlington

The last in the 3-race series held on Saturdays on different courses in the Burlington area. All races are chip-timed and have an open-start format; runners can start anytime from 11:00 AM to Noon. Hosted by Switchback. Racevermont.org

CYCLING

JANUARY

20 | Uberwintern, Stowe

A day of fatbiking, feasting and winter revelry. Join the group and follow the course on the Cady Hill trail network, enjoy lunch and post-ride refreshments. mtbvt.com

28 | Rikert Fat Bike/Adaptive Bike Roundup, Ripton Guided group fatrides for all abilities based out of Rikert Nordic Center. One set of rides in the morning, one in the afternoon, followed by bonfires and fun. addisoncountybikeclub.org

FEBRUARY

2-4 | Fat Tire Adventure, East Burke

A weekend of guided rides and snowshoeing at Kingdom Trails complete with a poker ride where at each stop you draw or trade a card. dynamiccyclingadventure.com

11 | Rutland Cold Rolled, Rutland

Come to Pine Hill for a vendor village, rides for all ages and abilities, and groomed trails for your fatbiking pleasure. Group rides begin at 10am at the Giorgetti Athletic Complex at 2 Oak Street Extension (the Pine Hill Trailhead) where we’ll also convene for lunch at 12:00 pm. The remote aid station (aka party central) will be located at the overlook and will feature a bonfire and midride refreshers. Mbtvt.com

MARCH

9 | Winterbike, East Burke

In its 12th year, the event continues to be the largest fatbike festival in the Northeast. Hosted at Mike's Tiki Bar and on the Kingdom Trails network, boasting over 26 miles of cold rolled singletrack. mtbvt.com

APRIL

20 | 10th Rasputitsa Dirt, Jay Peak

Celebrating 10 years of gravel racing through the Northeast Kingdom, Rasputitsa moves to Jay Peak this year but all the fun continues for the gravel ride and race over 53 miles. rasputitsadirt.com

SKIING & RIDING

JANUARY

1 | Recovery of the Bears, Stratton

An uphill, family-friendly snowshoe race to mid-mountain and back down to the main base area. There is a swag bag for the first 200 sign-ups. If you need snowshoes an additional fee is required. Registration will close 12/31 at midnight. Participants will meet by the Ski School building at 7am for a 7:30am race start time! stratton.com

6 | Mad River Glen’s 75th Anniversary, Waitsfield Party like it’s 1949 at a huge bash to celebrate three-quarters of a century of memories at Mad River Glen. This will be an event that should not be missed with dinner, dancing, live music, fireworks and more. madriverglen.com

6 | Bogburn Classic, Ripton New England skiers return this year to Rikert Nordic Center for the classic crosscountry ski race first held in 1986 and that the Haydocks still run. Rikertnordic.com

6 | ADK Tour de Ski, Harrietstown, Take part in this new cross-country ski race series in the spectacular Adirondack Mountains! The second stop on the Tour de Ski is at Dewey Mountain. paulsmithsvic. org/adk-tour-de-ski

6 | NE Rando Skimo Race, Berkshire East

Mass start time is 9:30 (no advance announcement, so prepare yourself at start location ahead of time), w/ 1:30 schwag, food, and beer (non-alcoholic!). nerandorace. blogspot.com

14 | ADK Tour de Ski, Tupper Lake , NY The third stop on this new cross-country ski race series is at the James Frenette Sr. Recreational Trails. paulsmithsvic.org/adktour-de-ski/

14 | Family Tournament, Mad River Glen, Waitsfield

Racers complete a family-friendly GS course where a racer’s best time from two runs (attempts) is counted. The time is then added together with other family members (by blood relationship) and prizes are awarded. The Family Tournament is the first leg of the MRG Racing Triple Crown. madriverglen.com

21 | Lake Placid Super Tour, Eastern Cup, Lake Placid, NY. The second stop on the Eastern Cup tour is at Mt van Hoevenberg. Saturday is a classic sprint, Sunday is the freestyle with interval starts for 7.5, Open, 5K and U16. Nensa.net

FEBRUARY

2-3 | Rodrigues Eastern Cup, Craftsbury

The Eastern Cup and Harvard Carnival come to Craftsbury. Saturday – Freestyle Individual Start: 7.5k. Sunday – Freestyle Pursuit: 10km Open, 5km U16. nensa.net

3 | The Hard Mile Uphill Race, Saskadena Six

Turn the Easy Mile at Saskadena Six into the Hard Mile with this uphill race! A fundraiser for the local Woodstock Ski Runners includes men's, women's, and Joe's Extra Mile (2 laps) division in memory of late ski patroller, Joe Duane. After finishing will be at the top of Easy Mile, participants can leisurely swap out their skins and free ski/ride to the bottom. saskadenasix.com

3 | NE Rando Skimo Race, Bromley

Mass start time is 10:30 (no advance announcement, so prepare yourself at start location ahead of time), w/ 1:30 schwag, food, and beer (non-alcoholic!). nerandorace. blogspot.com

10| ADK Tour de Ski, Lake Placid, NY!

The third stop on the ADK Tour de Ski is at Scott's Cobble Nordic Center in Lake Placid. paulsmithsvic.org/adk-tour-de-ski/

17-18 | Harris Hill Ski Jump, Brattleboro

The world’s top male and female ski jumpers compete on a 90-meter jump, and soar more than 300 feet at speeds of nearly 60 mph. The event has a festive atmosphere for the whole family with food, music, and a beer tent. harrishillskijump.com

25| ADK Tour de Ski, Lake Placid, NY

The fourth stop on a new crosscountry ski race series is at the Adirondack Mountain Club's Cascade Welcome Center. paulsmithsvic.org/adk-tour-de-ski/

24-25 Kare Anderson Telemark Festival, Bromley

Come join expert tele skiers at Bromley Mountain with clinics all weekend for all skill levels whether you’re a beginner or advanced. Cap off the weekend with a race to test your skills. Bromley.com

25 | Extreme Challenge, Smugglers’ Notch

The Smugglers’ Notch Ski and Snowboard Club hosts this chance for junior and adult freeskiers and riders to show their big mountain skiing. Spectators will be treated to a birds’ eye view from Madonna I lift. Smuggs.com

25 | 79th Stowe Derby, Stowe

Ski from near the top of Mt. Mansfield’s Toll Road trail all the way to town or wherever the 20K course runs. Also, a 6K short course and 16K fat bike division. mmsc.org

MARCH

1 | Vertical Challenge, Burke

A series of free casual ski and snowboard races held at ski resorts throughout the Northeast. The VC includes a festival element, featuring activities for all ages and prizes. Skiburke.com

1-2 | Slash & Berm Banked Slalom, Killington

Snowboarders gather at The Stash terrain park to take advantage of the natural terrain and all the creative elements the mountain has to offer for a great cause: proceeds from the event will be donated to the Friends of Rutland Skatepark. Killington.com

2 | Vertical Challenge, Smugglers’ Notch

A series of free casual races held at ski resorts throughout the Northeast. The VC includes a festival element, featuring activities for all ages and prizes. Smuggs.com

2 | Carinthia Classic, Mount Snow

The Carinthia Classic is back and powered by Rockstar. Watch top freestyle athletes throw down on the Junkyard terrain park and compete for a piece of the $20K prize purse, plus enjoy a live DJ, giveaways, and more. Mountsnow.com

3 | High Fives Fat Ski-A-Thon Sugarbush Resort, Warren

Each participant will challenge themselves to hot laps from first to the last chair. Awards are given out for a variety of categories. There will be a vendor village, live DJ and party! Benefits the High Fives Foundation. sugarbush.com

3| Jack Jump World Championships, Mount Snow

Watch as racers careen down the slopes on homemade jack jumps, single skis with seats mounted to them. It’s a Vermont tradition. Mountsnow.com

3 | Vertical Challenge, Bolton Valley

A series of FREE casual ski and snowboard races held at ski resorts throughout the Northeast. The VC includes a festival element, featuring snowy activities for all ages and prizes. Boltonvalley.com

5 | John Kearns Memorial Town Meeting Day, Mad River Glen

Vermont high school, middle school and elementary school students ski for FREE!. madriverglen.com

8-10 | Red Bull Slide-In Tour, Killington

X Games gold medalist Zeb Powell returns to Killington with another stacked roster of Red Bull athletes. Dont miss your chance to meet and ride with the pros! Killington.com

9 | Vermont Splitboard Festival, Middlebury Snowbowl

Join SplitboardVT and the Catamount Trail Association at the Middlebury Snow Bowl for free demos, plus clinics, games, tours, food and good times! catamounttrail.org/ cta-events/splitfest/

9-10 | Vermont Open Banked Slalom, Stratton

Riders will give it their all in a downhill slalom course featuring berms, bumps, jumps and rollers twisting down Big Ben. Riders will be individually timed, and the fastest at the end of the weekend will go home with trophy prizes. Registration will be capped at 300 riders: 150 riders in 17 years old & under, and 150 riders 18 years old & over. stratton.com

10 | The Bobcat Loppet, ADK Tour de Ski, Paul Smith’s VIC, NY

The last stop on the ADK Tour de Ski is the Bobcat Loppet at Paul Smith’s VIC. paulsmithsvic.org/adk-tour-de-ski/

16 | The Pig Race, Ripton

Get ready for the revival of the 'Pig Race'—a classic Nordic ski event at Blueberry Hill trails with a legacy dating back to the 1970s, founded by Tony Clark. The 2.5, 7.5 and 15km self-timed 'races' guarantee jumps, spills, singletrack challenges, agility obstacles, and maybe a touch of early spring mud. Rain or shine, snow or no, the race will go on! Postrace, indulge in wood-fired pizza topped with savory pork (or veggie options), sip on good Vermont beer, and anticipate prizes for standout vintage ski outfits, epic falls, and more! blueberryhilltrails.com

16 | Rockefeller Challenge, Mad River Glen

The last event of the MRG Triple Crown, and an annual test of fearlessness and speed, the Rockefeller is a downhill-to-uphill ski race. Starting on the Practice Slope, competitors try to carry their speed down a designated race lane and up the Rockefeller trail. Like the sport of ski jumping where the skier who goes the farthest wins. madriverglen.com

16 | 12th Annual 24 Hours of Stratton, Stratton

A one-of-a-kind opportunity to ride Stratton at night under lighted trails into sunrise. See how much vertical you can rack up. Compete in the Vertical Uphill Challenge, the team costume contest, or on-hill scavenger hunt. There’s also a ski and snowboard flat

boots race, an outdoor glow dance party and nighttime team trivia. New in 2024 is the #Shred4Nate alpine slalom race for mental health and suicide prevention. stratton.com

16 | Vertical Challenge, Pico

A series of FREE casual ski and snowboard races held at ski resorts throughout the Northeast. The VC includes a festival element, featuring snowy activities for all ages and prizes. Killington.com

16-17 | Blauvelt Banks, Bolton Valley

Pro rider Jake Blauvelt designs a banked and bermed course that’s the blank palette for an expression session like no other. Benefits the Waterbury Skatepark. Boltonvalley.com

APRIL

17 | Vertical Challenge, Bromley

A series of FREE casual ski and snowboard races held at ski resorts throughout the Northeast. The VC includes a festival element, featuring snowy activities for all ages and prizes. Bromley.com

22-24 | Homesick, Stratton

Celebrate the history, tradition and progression of snowboarding, the sport that got its start at Stratton. Three days of events with legends, pros, and up-and-comers. Watch the events, peruse the WITNESS Photo Gallery, get nostalgic in the Vintage Board Room, learn what it means to stand sideways from the beginning with The Dawning Exhibit, ride demo snowboards, get your East Street Archives book signed by the biggest names in the game, and après with live music and legends of the sport. stratton.com

MULTI SPORT & OTHER JANUARY

18-24 | 50th Stowe Winter Carnival, Stowe

The town of Stowe shines with over 20 major activities for both young and old, from zany sports events, the Ice Carving Competitions, ski movies, and the infamous snowgolf and snowvolleyball tournaments. gostowe.com

26-28 | Smuggs Ice Bash, Smuggler’s Notch Vermont's annual ice climbing festival features talks, demos, clinics and more. Put on by Petra Cliffs with on-site demos and vendors at Smuggler's Notch's ice falls. smuggsicebash. com

26-28 | Frostbite Face Off Pond Hockey, Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee

ALL skill levels are welcome. Yeti (A/B Division) and Sasquatch Divisions (C/C+) Division and D Division teams) will be placed based on overall team experience. skill level, similar to the Open divisions lakemoreyresort. com

FEBRUARY

10 | Penguin Plunge, Burlington

A highly anticipated winter event that raises funds and awareness for Special Olympics Vermont. Community members of all ages form teams, raise money, and plunge into icy Lake Champlain in the dead of winter! helloburlingtonvt.com/event/2024penguin-plunge/3394/

10 - 11 | Southern Vermont Primitive Biathlon, Manchester

A fun and challenging wilderness competition of target shooting and snowshoeing. The event is open to all muzzleloading firearm enthusiasts, regardless of skill level or athletic ability. Spectators are welcomed. Other black powder shooting events are held throughout the weekend svtpb.org/

10 - 25 | 1st Annual New England Ice Fishing Championship,

A new benefit tournament for homeless shelters aroud New England, This is a Big Fish Tournament, designed so fisherman can pay attention to the live leaderboard promoting catch and release. There is a Species specific category to crown a 2024 champion for each fish and a $1000 cash prize. neicefishingchampionship.com/

9-11 | Winter Death Race, Pittsfield

Pit yourself against nature’s harshest conditions and discover the true depth of your strength and determination. Can you withstand the cold? Can you face the odds? The Death Race is Spartan founder Joe De Sena's signature event. Expect the worst. peakraces.com

22-26 | Lake Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival, Newport

Join swimmers of all abilities from around the world who travel to Newport to plunge into a pool cut into the ice and compete for fun and prizes. kingdomgames.co

APRIL

6 | Bear Mountain Challenge, Killington

The annual mogul competition and springtime party heats up once again as amateur bumpers take to the slopes of Outer Limits to battle for a place in the finals. The top 32 men and 16 women will compete in a head-to-head competition. Killington.com

14 | Mad River Triathlon, Waitsfield

After nearly a decade, the Mad River Triathlon is back. The race starts with a 5 mile run, followed by a 6 mile canoe or kayak paddle in the Mad River. Racers will then hop on bikes for a 10 mile gravel ride to the base of Sugarbush - Mt. Ellen, where they will hop on AT/tele/splitboard setups for a 2 mile skin and ski to the finish madriverpath.org/madrivertriathlon

CROSS COUNTRY

centers of vermont

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.

boltonvalley.com • 802-434-6876

4302 Bolton Valley Access Rd • Bolton, VT

Trapp’s XC Center is the first in the U.S., celebrating 56 years!

Experience one of the premier Nordic centers in the East, featuring 160 km, with 65 km of tracked and skating terrain. Plus, a full retail shop, rentals & lessons. Don't miss a ski to the Bierhall, Kaffeehaus or Slayton Pasture Cabin for a warm lunch and a roaring fire in the hearth.

trappfamily.com • 802-253-8511

700 Trapp Hill Rd • Stowe, VT 05672

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

edsonhill.com • 802-253-7371

1500 Edson Hill Rd • Stowe, VT

SOUTHERN

Rikert's 55 km of trails wind through old forests, farm fields and past Robert Frost's summer cabin. The Center offers 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.

rikertoutdoor.com

• 802-443-2744

106 College Cross Road • Ripton VT

With an extensive network of winter trails throughout Mt. Peg and Mt. Tom, the Nordic Center offers 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.

woodstockinn.com • 802-457-6674

14 The Green • Woodstock, VT

The BHOC trail system offers 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-profit 501(c)3 company dedicated to recreational access.

blueberryhilltrails.com • 802-247-6735

1245 Goshen Ripton Rd • Goshen, VT

Trapp

Edson Hill,

Snowmaking

Blueberry Hill, Goshen Bolton Valley, Bolton

ENDGAME

Imagine that you’re on the Greenland ice sheet, a hundred miles of barren snow screaming away to every compass point, only your snug yellow tent protecting you from the dangerous, otherworldly exposure. Or heck, let’s just imagine you’ve tired of cushy evenings on the couch with the boobtube and pitched that yellow tent in your subzero backyard—in Bennington, Bethel, South Burlington, wherever. Soup in the vestibule-kitchen is bubbling, almost done. You reach for the cookpot and… the stove tips, blue flames kissing the tent’s dangling nylon door. Whoosh!

Disastrous conflagrations of this sort actually happen (especially to explorer-types). But the fact that the accidental flick of a Bic can torch your domicile, leaving you with the killer stars for company and your prayers for a house—this isn’t the sole reason to camp in the frigid season without a tent.

Those killer stars, for example: they’re really quite stunning, and a roof tends to ruin their twinkle. Weight is another issue: the gear required for a January journey can be oppressive, and ditching 11 pounds of wadded fabric means a springier step (or glide), plus bonus room in the pack for bacon, butter, and whiskey. Also, as gaiters and balaclavas thaw, a tent with a floor transforms into a nasty swimming pool.

In many scenarios, a bombproof refuge is integral, so please don’t interpret the following list as encouragement to be dumb and icecube yourself. That said, having spent 15 consecutive winters toying with tentlessness, I assure you that certain outings do allow for experimentation. As always, start small: the backyard first, then maybe Greenland.

Extend Your Day: In Vermont, the solstice sun vanishes by four in the afternoon and doesn’t properly rise until eight in the morning. Sixteen hours is a ridiculous amount of time to be in a tent, shivering and playing travel Scrabble.

Okay, but presumably you’re in the backcountry to snowshoe, crank splitboard laps, make snowmen/ women, study coyote ecology, do something or other, right? I suggest taking an extra lap and collecting an extra coyote turd—that is, pursue your passion late and begin again early. A key to camping without a tent is minimizing the “camping.” Keep active.

LESSONS FOR WINTER SURVIVAL

IF YOU WANT TO SEE HOW WELL YOU CAN SURVIVE IN THE WINTER WILD, DITCH THE TENT AND TRY THESE STRATEGIES.

BY LEATH TONINO

Keep the blood pumping. Your toes will appreciate 45 minutes chiseled from the monolithic cold of night.

Burrow Like A Mouse

Do you know the word subnivean? It’s an adjective—“situated or occurring under the snow”—that typically references the zone inhabited by mice, voles, and shrews. Often when I’m borderline hypothermic, Nordic touring at dusk or bushwhacking a local hill to catch the sunrise, I picture those little furballs relaxing beneath my boots, comfy in their cubbies and corridors: compacted silver crystals for a ceiling, parched brown grasses for a carpet.

Everybody’s familiar with the igloo, but conditions have to be perfect for such a structure to stabilize. Better to burrow, to create a negative space with an avalanche shovel (preferable to pawing with mittens). Snow caves can be dug into a bank or slope. Quinzhees involve heaping snow and then excavating. (If you heap around a stash of backpacks, then pull them out later—voila, you’re halfway to a hollow.) Claustrophobic worm-tunnels are self-explanatory. Due to the insulating properties of snow, a single tea candle becomes a wood stove. And these shelters aren’t flammable!

Hide From The Wind : I once read a book about “the last of the mountain men,” a 20th-century hermit who resided in the Idaho wilderness. There are lots of lessons to be found in this dude’s experience, but the one that remains with me goes like this: A wet wind will dispatch you licketysplit.

Wind. You must consider it when choosing your campsite, even if the day was pin-drop calm. (When it roars at

midnight, you’ll be sorry). Scrutinize the drifts to determine prevailing direction of flow. Tuck behind a craggy outcrop or a screen of shrubby willows. If you’re in a meadow, construct a wall: with blocks of crusty snow, with plastic sleds, anything. Get low and stay low.

Feather Your Nest: Padding, padding, padding. A thick foam pad should always—repeat always separate you from the heat-sucking earth (air pads are iffy: pop!). Additionally, the tarp you used as a minimalist leanto can double as a groundcloth, holding at bay the sneaky snow that wants to infiltrate your nooks and crannies.

But all that’s pretty obvious. What wasn’t obvious to me, a decade ago, was conifer boughs: You’re an idiot not to form a mattress… nature provides! So bellowed an enthusiastic Vermont pal, a devotee of old-school woodscraft. He taught me to snap off twenty or thirty hemlock branches (the forest has plenty to spare) and lay them down as one would shingles—overlapping, in the same direction. The botanist’s mnemonic device can aid your selection process: Firs are flat and friendly, spruce are spiky (and abusive). Six inches of greenery as a base is deluxe.

Build A Big Fire: On a recent twoweek ski trip I prepared each breakfast and dinner on a bonfire, which saved a ton of fuel (annoying, expensive, heavy MSR canisters) and supplied cheery, cozy entertainment during the aforementioned monolithic cold of night. Poles and scavenged sticks served as drying racks for soggy socks and damp thermal undies. And speaking of beds: sprawling beside the blaze,

cowboy-style, may seem appealing, but half of you will freeze, and every hour you’ll have to wake and toss on another couple logs. However, if you rig a tarp like a lean-to (envision a 45-degree angle), with the opening facing the fire (duh), you can trap enough of the outgoing energy to snooze. Similarly, it’s smart to build the fire against a backstop, a boulder or ledge that reflects warmth your way.

Give Your Bag A Bottle: Anybody who has watched an Everest documentary is aware that while physical fitness, technical skill, and heroic grit are handy, a mug of black tea is superior. Hydration equals warmth, of course, as does sugar (apply it generously), as does water that’s been brought to 212 degrees fahrenheit and poured into the mug of oneself.

A classic trick is to boil extra water, fill a Nalgene bottle, and kick it toward the foot of the bag. But check the lid. If the bottle leaks, you will enter the Fifth Circle of Hell. (A buddy employs a dog in lieu of a Nalgene—the terrier curls around her clammy tootsies, farting and snoring. Be warned: canine leakage, also Hell.)

Snuggle In A Blanket Of Cold:

Warm is the holy grail, no doubt. Beauty ensues, the brainspace assigned to grim survival is liberated to wander and enjoy—a chickadee’s song, a leafless maple’s skeletal architecture, a distant peak’s peachy alpenglow. But come here, let me whisper a secret in your pale, waxy, frostnipped ear: You can’t be toasty-warm when winter camping! With a tent, without a tent, in either case… you’re screwed!

Thus, we arrive at the ultimate piece of equipment—your mind. Manage expectations, i.e. recognize that if comfort was the goal you’d be on the couch with the boobtube or poaching a hotel hot tub or vacationing in Hawaii. The goal is not comfort. The goal is season, place, an unadulterated encounter with elemental truth. It’s those killer stars—getting close enough to feel their prick, but not any closer. Tomorrow is for microwave pizza and sweatpants. Tonight is for the ancient animal ache of knowing you’re alive.

Leath Tonino is a contributing editor to Vermont Sports. This piece also appeared on AdventureJournal.com

Tuck into a snowdrift for added warmth.

ANNOUNCING THE

ADKTOURDESKI

A new, exciting XC race series: 6 venues, multiple distances. Race hard and spend a weekend in the spectacular Adirondacks.

Race all six or pick and choose. (Discount when you register for all six.)

Dec. 2 : Mt Van Hoevenberg

Jan. 6: Saranac Lake, Dewey Mountain

Jan. 14: Tupper Lake, Frenette Trails

Feb. 10 : Lake Placid, Scotts Cobble

Feb. 25 : Lake Placid, Cascade

Mar. 10: Paul Smiths, VIC

Signup:www.paulsmithsvic.org/adk-tour-de-ski

Photo by Nancie Battaglia