Fondue is Back

ANOTHER CHANCE TO SEE THE

By the time you read this, Mikaela Shiffrin is likely to have entered the history books as not only the greatest ski racer of all time (GOAT), but one of the winningest athletes in history. On January 10th, the Burke Mountain Academy grad matched Lindsay Vonn’s record of 82 World Cup wins. She also earned enough points to win the slalom World Cup for the season. Even before she broke Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 World Cup wins, Shiffrin’s win rate (82 wins out of 233 events), puts her ahead of sports greats Novak Djokovic, Ingemar Stenmark, Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federe, Tiger Woods, Lindsey Voon and Jack Nicklaus, as calculated by NBC Sports. There may be another chance to see Shiffrin in Vermont. Ski racing’s governing body, the FIS has announced the Stifel HERoic World Cup will return to Killington next November 25-26, 2023 for slalom and GS races. The following weekend (Dec. 2-3), the women’s alpine tech team (slalom and GS) will travel to a new venue at Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

Graphic Arts

Stop by the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum in Stowe to catch the new exhibit of work by West Rupert native Scott Lenhardt. He’s best known for doing over 55 graphics for Burton Snowboards. Lenhardt did his first Burton graphic in 1995 while in college and over 25 years later he’s still at it. He has also designed for Phish, Nike, Adidas and others.

One of the classic Alpine dishes imported to ski towns, fondue has weathered Covid social distancing, the gluten-free movement and concerned cardiologists. Now, warm pots of gooey melted cheese are popping back up in ski town restaurants around the Green Mountains. One of the most innovative locales? The newly renovated Hermitage Inn near Mount Snow is offering fondue in heated gondola cars. The gondolas have been refurbished with wood floors, leather banquettes and chandeliers and the fondue is served with house-made venison meatballs, smoked sausage and the classic cornichons. Other places to find authentic fondues? Stowe has an entire restaurant, Fondue by Heinz, devoted to the dish (with meat, seafood and chocolate fondue options). At Chez Henri, the classic bistro just off the slopes at Sugarbush, Frenchman Henri Borel (now 96 and still presiding over meals) serves what he calls “A Vermont fondue;” mixing Vermont cheddar with the classic Swiss cheese, with a pinch of garlic. All served with chunks of crusty French bread, of course.

Southern Vermont’s New Hut

There’s a new remote backcountry hut in Southern Vermont that you can pretty much only get to by skis or snowshoes in the winter. The Vermont Huts Association opened the Grout Pond Hut for reservations in early January. The site is just off the Catamount Trail in an area of the Green Mountain National Forest about 10 miles east of Arlington that’s closed to motorized traffic. The hut is set up for year-round use with a propane stove for heat and a propane-fueled stovetop for cooking. It comes complete with pots, pans and utensils (but no running water) and has bunks and mattress pads for up to 10 guests and a small solar system (which may not power much in the winter). There’s an outhouse that’s shared with other campers. Rates start at $75 per night (regardless of group size) for summer weeknights and go up to $155 for weekend nights in the winter. It’s about a mile ski or snowshoe in from the parking area, but there’s little elevation gain. More at vermonthuts.org.