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Why is Everyone so Angry at Vail?
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CONTENTS
FEATURES CHALET (RE) STYLE, p. 32
Chalets are in demand these days and in Vermont, there’s no shortage. See how one couple revamped a Stratton classic.
THE BEST OF VERMONT: BLACK DIAMOND SURVEY WINNERS, p. 38
We asked our readers to name the best ski areas overall, the toughest trails, the best après-ski spots, and more. Here are the results.
100 YEARS OF FLYING, p. 54
A century ago, Fred Harris built a huge ski jump in Brattleboro. The jump has a fascinating history—and it’s still going strong.
FIRST TRACKS NEWS | WHY IS EVERYONE SO ANGRY AT VAIL RESORTS?
COLUMNS p. 12
Traffic. Crowds. Long lift lines. Those are some of the allegations. Are they fair and what will Vail Resorts do next?
ART | THE ART OF THE GRAPHIC , p. 25
There are some amazing stories behind the graphics on some skis and boards. This new exhibit tells some of them.
SKI SCHOOL | THE LESSON THAT CHANGED A LIFE, p. 29
Here’s a story that will make anyone who has ever taught skiing cry.
FROM THE TOP | BECOMING ‘THE BEST’,
What does it mean to be ‘the best?’ in skiing?
COACH | BEAR MOUNTAIN TO BEIJING,
p. 11
p. 50
Here’s how Olympic mogul skier Hannah Soar got so good. And how you can too at these clinics.
CALENDAR | GREEN MOUNTAIN EVENTS ,
p. 60
CHAIRLIFT Q/A | ONE FAMILY, 23 SKI AREAS ,
p. 64
This family set out to ski all of Vermont’s cross-country areas. With their three-year-old.
COVER: Marc Angelillo showing why Sugarbush ranked so high in our survey. Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur. THIS PAGE: Surfing at Smuggler’s Notch, voted tops for families in our survey. vtskiandride.com Winter 2022 7
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EDITORIAL Publisher Angelo Lynn angelo@vtskiandride.com Editor/Co-Publisher Lisa Lynn editor@vtskiandride.com Creative Director David Pollard
Contributors: Brooks Curran, Dan Egan, David Goodman, Ali Kaukas, Bud Keene, Brian Mohr, Lindsay Selin, Doug Stewart, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
ADVERTISING SALES & DISTRIBUTION For general advertising and media kits: ads@vtskiandride.com | 802-388-4944
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WHAT IS “THE BEST?”
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There is a saying that the best skier on the mountain is the one who is having the most fun. We believe that. We also believe the corollary; the best ski area is where skiers and riders have the most fun, and that can vary depending on who you are and what you look for. In this issue, we publish the results from this magazine’s first Black Diamond Reader Resort Survey. The results teach you one thing: there is literally a mountain for everyone in Vermont, no matter if you are looking for steeps and bumps and awesome parties or great grooming and children’s programs. Fun is, ultimately, the product that you should be buying when you purchase a pass or a lift ticket. Olympic mogul skier Hannah Soar, for instance, got to where she is today not because she was a super competitive child, she says, but because she had as much fun playing in the snowbanks in the parking lot as she did zipper-lining the moguls on Killington’s Outer Limits. For first-time skier Andrew Gadah, skiing wasn’t much fun until an instructor took him aside and something clicked. Read how that one lesson changed his life on p. 29. What is not fun is waiting in lift lines, or traffic, or seeing your favorite ski town or mountain become homogenized and overcrowded. Sadly, that has happened too often this season. Can it change? We hope so. Read “Why is Everyone so Angry at Vail Resorts,” to find out more. What is fun is pond skimming, soft bumps and corn snow, tailgate parties and concerts. This is the season for all of that. So wherever you go ski, have fun—and that will make you the best skier on the best mountain. —Lisa Lynn, Editor
CONTRIBUTORS “Use the book cover,” Kevin O’Connor said when we asked him for a contributors’ photo. O’Connor is the author of the fascinating new book Harris Hill Ski Jump: the First 100 Years, which we excerpt in this issue. O’Connor lives in Brattleboro.
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FIRSTTRACKS WHY IS EVERYONE SO ANGRY ATVAIL RESORTS?
At Vail Resorts’ Okemo, new lifts —a six-pack and a quad—helped move people more efficiently around the mountain. However, to drive from the Jackson Gore base area 2.8 miles to downtown Ludlow can take over an hour on busy days.
Photo by Max Grudzinski/Vail Resorts
“Cars backed up for miles. Long lift lines. Cutbacks in operations.” The biggest corporation in skiing has become a national punching bag for skiers. Is it deserved? And what’s next for Vail Resorts?
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?
Look at it one way and it’s a classic American business success story: Young Wharton Business school grad gets tapped to run a mid-sized ski company. Rather than focus on skiing as a way to sell condos, he sees the money in the lift ticket itself. More precisely the season pass, that three-figure annual fee that’s on auto-pay on hundreds of thousands of credit cards. An idea percolates: What if you could get everyone to buy season passes in, say May or June? You wouldn’t have to worry as much about
bad weather. You’d get all the money up front, whether it snowed or not. And if those season passes were good at resorts all over the country (or world), there would bound to be snow somewhere, right? That Wharton grad, Rob Katz, takes an idea that was launched with the Max Pass and runs big with it, incentivizing early season pass sales by offering early discounts. As CEO of Vail Resorts, he jacks up the day ticket prices too, so it’s much more attractive to buy, say, a vtskiandride.com Winter 2022 13
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Kirsten Lynch, the former chief marketing officer, took the helm of Vail Resorts’ last fall after Rob Katz stepped down.
stock price rises from $170 in early 2017, around the time of the announcement of the Stowe purchase, to over $300 in September 2021, and then even higher. To do the right thing, you and your wife Elana Amsterdam have started a foundation to give back to local causes in mountain towns,
Photo courtsey Vail Resorts
$783 season pass versus paying as much as $200 a day at a walk-up window. How do you find more people willing to buy season passes in April? Well, you buy more ski resorts. Not just any ski resorts, but local hills near big population centers where people are passionate about their home mountains and ski every weekend. The more ski resorts you own, the more season passes you can sell—which you do by dropping the price so it’s less than the neighboring home mountains’ season passes. Of course, with all those resorts you suddenly don’t need 37 marketing or accounting departments or web developers. And you can save money by negotiating one contract, say for coffee with Starbucks, versus having 37 different coffee suppliers. Now that you have all these names on auto-renew, plus their emails and every other bit of data that the new Epic app collects, you have a pretty good lock on your customer. In Kirsten Lynch, your chief marketing officer, you have a powerhouse—the former chief marketing officer of PepsiCo’s Quaker division and VP at Kraft Foods. She does an awesome job. A beyond awesome job. In fact, she helps Vail Resorts sell 2.1 million Epic Passes in 2021/22, a 76% year-over-year increase in season pass units sold for the North American season. If you are Rob Katz, this is all looking pretty good. Vail Resorts
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causes centered around education, health, racial justice and substance abuse. Over five years, you donate $180 million to the foundation. You champion and promote women in your workplace, you instill DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) training at all levels, you vow in 2017 that Vail Resorts will reach net zero for its carbon emissions by 2030. And then, with all cylinders firing and the stock soaring, you step down and hand the reigns over to the marketing genius, Kirsten Lynch, who helped the company succeed—despite the Covid pandemic. But before you do, you donate 100 percent of your stock appreciation rights (SARS) to charitable causes via your foundation, earmarking $4.9 million for mental health care and racial justice. Vermont’s most recent share —$250,000 – gets channeled through the Vermont Community Foundation. Look at it one way and you could say Rob Katz was a business whiz who singlehandedly both disrupted and saved skiing, while he gave back to the communities where he did business. So why, all of a sudden, does everyone hate Vail Resorts?
THE MCVAILING OF VERMONT
It’s easy to hate the big corporation. I wanted to at first for the simple reason that they took my coffee away. That cup of locally roasted, organic, Fair Trade, Vermont Coffee Company dark roast that I went in for every Sunday morning in Stowe was replaced by Starbucks.
It wasn’t just the flavor of the coffee that bothered me, it was also knowing that the coffee contract, which had helped support a local business headquartered in my home town, had gone out of state to another corporate giant. It was one of the first signs of the McVailing of Stowe, a resort that had been very much its own luxury brand for the 85 years. Or at least since American Insurance Group founder Cornelius V. Starr invested in Stowe in 1946 and molded it into the AIG corporate playground. (AIG still owns Spruce Peak, Stowe’s mountainside village.) Vail Resort’s ads in local media (and, full disclosure, this magazine) disappeared too, a blow for the small-town newspapers. “We lost $30,000 in annual advertising – that’s a good part of a reporter’s position,” notes Randy Capitani, the editor of the The Deerfield Valley News after Vail Resorts acquired Mount Snow as part of Peak Resorts in 2020. In 2018, the new marketing person for the Northeast told me that Vail didn’t believe in advertising – or supporting local media. She also rhapsodized about the company’s great leadership programs and how much they invested in women.That was true. In addition to Lynch,Vail has consistently promoted women to top positions at their mountains. Pat Campbell served as president of the company’s Mountain division from 2015 until she stepped down in April 2021. But in a few years, that marketing person at Stowe was gone. Vail
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share an Ikon Pass. But Alterra and its Ikon Pass (so far) seem to have ducked the social media hardballs directed at all things labeled “Epic.” For many local business owners, the arrival of both big ski companies was a good thing. Real estate prices around ski towns skyrocketed and Airbnbs filled up. It was no coincidence that the top three growth towns for real estate in 2020 were Stowe, Ludlow (home to Okemo) and Dover (home to Mount Snow) – all towns with resorts owned by Vail. For the first time in decades, Vermont saw its population expand – something the state government had been wringing its hands over for years. Stowe’s population grew by 21 percent and in 2020, Stowe also saw a 38 percent jump in real estate owned by people from out of state. Meanwhile, traffic was getting worse and lines were longer. But that was just Covid, right? Soon all those skiers unleashed from their office desks would go back home to their workplaces and their kids’ weekend hockey games and us locals would get our mountains back, right? Wrong. In spring of 2021, Vail Resorts lowered its season pass prices by 20 percent. And it sold 900,000 more Epic passes. That’s more than the entire population of the state of Vermont (643,077.) At the same time, Vermont’s state quarantine guidelines were relaxed, Canadians were allowed back across the border and the Vail
Photo by Don Landerwhale/Adobe
Resorts had eliminated her position in Vermont. As they did with most of the marketing and communications and events staff and HR personnel at resorts around the country, consolidating them into smaller teams based at corporate headquarters in Broomfield, Colo. The mountain saw subtle changes as well. Rolling, off-kilter sections of trails such as Stowe’s Tower 13 pitch on Liftline, trails that characterize Eastern skiing, were reconfigured in places to be straight-line bowling alleys. But at the same time, I had to admit, the grooming was still, mostly, good. The parking lots were expanded and better managed. And when Covid hit, the reservation system and Vail Resorts’ strict protocols handled it well, limiting the number of people on the mountain. Like Starbucks, Vail Resorts was efficiently turning out a consistently solid, if somewhat watered-down, mass-market product. It skied and tasted more or less the same no matter if you were in Heavenly Valley in Lake Tahoe or Okemo in Vermont. By contrast, Alterra Mountain Company, the other resort behemoth, let each of its properties continue on pretty much as they had: few staff changes, little consolidation, and branding remained up to the individual mountains. Sugarbush was still Sugarbush, albeit minus former owner Win Smith and the charismatic chief recreational officer John Egan. Stratton remained uniquely Stratton, with Bill Nupp still in charge. The main difference was now Sugarbush and Stratton
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Traffic at Stowe Mountain Resort has been aggravated by the growth of the Spruce Peak development, which had added more residences and reduced parking lots.
Resort’ reservation system, which had limited crowds during 20/21 pandemic season, went away. The resulting surge wasn’t entirely unpredictable.
THE LOCAL REVOLT
We don’t ski on weekends anymore—that’s what most locals in ski towns where Vail Resorts operates will tell you—or on powder mornings. On a recent Friday morning after a snowstorm, Wayz informed me that at 7 a.m. it would take me 1 hour and 14 minutes to drive 11
miles from my house to the base of Stowe Mountain Resort. No accident was involved. Just traffic. I got out my climbing skins. It is not just a Stowe problem or a Vail problem. That same day, cars were bumper to bumper on the Sugarbush access road and lined up and down Route 17 near Mad River Glen. MRG’s conditions report described the parking situation as “chaotic.” One Ludlow local referred to Route 103, which runs through the center of town, as “our new highway.” Traffic and lift lines are not confined to Vermont. Photos of hours-long lift lines at resorts out West have been circulating widely. Recently, reporters for The Vail Daily drove down Vail’s Frontage Road taking a video of cars parked alongside it – something that only happens when the regular lots fill up. The video was a minute long. They counted 450 cars. Over the past year, the Instagram account Epic Lift Lines became an unfiltered grievance dump, swelling to 40,000 followers. Vail bashing has become a form of click bait on social media, each story reinforcing the next. At a recent dinner, when the conversation shifted away from Vail Resorts to another topic, a friend’s 8-year-old son asked, “Can we go back to talking about how bad Vail is?” To a certain extent, having one big corporate overlord to blame for all the woes associated with labor shortages, Covid and the surge
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“This season has been insane,” says Eliza Greene (top right) who, with her partner Justin Hyjek, owns Homestyle Hostel, a 15-table restaurant in downtown Ludlow, and the hotel Main & Mountain, just across Main Street. “At Homestyle, we have a waiting list now on Resy that has more than 500 on it. At Main & Mountain, the only thing dictating our capacity is how quickly we can clean a room after it empties out.” On top of that, when customers make a reservation, Greene notifies them that it could take 45 minutes to an hour to get there because of traffic. “For our first seating at 5 p.m .at Homestyle, we tell people it’s usually an hour to get from Okemo’s Jackson Gore base area to the restaurant and they are still usually at least a half-hour late,” she says. Jackson Gore is exactly 2.8 miles away, a 5-minute drive with no traffic. The surge is new this season, Greene says, and while too many customers might seem like a good thing, it’s not: the restaurant can’t add any more nights because they can’t hire more staff. “We’ve had to raise our wages and I’ve had an ad out for a host for two months and only had one person apply – a high school student,” says Greene. On top of that, many of her current staff of 16 drive 40 or 45 minutes to get to their job in Ludlow. “All of the housing nearby has been bought up by second home-owners so our staff comes from Rutland and Manchester and I worry that that’s not sustainable,” she says. Nor is it sustainable for Greene, who is expecting her first child in mid-March. “Right now, Justin and I are dishwashers and bookkeepers and servers, we do everything,” she says. So what’s the answer? “I’m torn because I think skiing should be accessible for everyone, and I like that the Epic Pass prices are helping make it so,” she says. “But Vail Resorts has to figure out a better system or limit who can go to what resort, when. We just can’t keep this up,” she says with a sigh.
Photo courtesy Homestyle Hostel
Too Much of a Good Thing?
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Courtesy Mount Snow
On powder days and weekends, even Mount Snow’s paid parking lots have filled up.
in skiing, has united skiers. Some are taking their concerns to local governments. In Park City, residents spent nearly an hour and a half in early February airing their grievances before the mayor and city hall, as The Park City Record reported in an article headlined, “Vail Resorts Blindsided.” The complaints ranged from waiting 45 minutes to buy a $9 hot dog to rants about traffic, concerns the company underpays its workforce and allegations that Vail Resorts was destroying the Park City brand. This, just weeks after Vail Resorts offered an end-of-season bonus of $2 an hour to all employees who stayed. It also came on the heels of Vail Resorts finally negotiating an undisclosed deal with the Park City ski patrollers, who had threatened to strike if their base wages were not raised to $17 an hour. To some, this may seem like First World problems. To others, it’s consumer advocacy. In Washington state, a Change.org petition started by a Steven’s Pass skier named Jeremy Rubingh and labeled “Hold Vail Resorts Accountable” now has nearly 45,000 signatures. “From the Pacific Northwest to Colorado to New Hampshire and Vermont, Vail Resorts is failing their customers and their employees,” Rubingh has said. Vail purchased Steven’s Pass in 2018. The petition alleges: “Lift lines are out of control to the point where the majority of a day of ‘skiing’ is spent standing in line at one of the few lifts open. This is, of course, if you are even able to park and not told you cannot access the ski area due to limited parking. In addition, the failure to open ample lifts or even half of the available terrain is due solely to mismanaging an understaffed ski area.” It struck a chord. More than 25 complaints have been filed with the Washington Secretary of State’s office, under the state’s Consumer Protection Act. But the fine print in the Epic Pass is likely to legally absolve Vail Resorts for not running lifts, opening terrain or limiting hours there. In New Hampshire, a group of long-time Attitash and Wildcat skiers brought their complaints to the local paper. “I’ve been skiing Wildcat
since 1966. We want to see Attitash and Wildcat successful. But it’s come to a point where something needs to be said,” Tony Simone, 76, a retired local educator told The Laconia Daily Sun. “These two mountains are mainstays to the valley — it’s why people come here.” Simone and others complained that terrain had not been opened, there were frequent shutdowns of Attitash’s summit triple chair and that Wildcat’s Express Summit Quad was not open some days during the busy vacation week. To make matters worse, on January 8, 2022 a swinging chair on a lift at Wildcat struck a tower and broke off, sending a 22-year-old to the hospital. Nearby, Vail-owned Crotched Mountain was also a target after it cut down on its days of operation and limited skiing hours. In January, Vail Resorts replaced the general managers at both Attitash in New Hampshire and Steven’s Pass in Washington.
MANAGING THE VARIABLES
There are things that are in a ski area’s power to control and things that are not. Weather, and to a lesser extent, labor shortages, fall into the latter category. In New England, a warm fall, little early snow, followed by rain at Christmas and then a bitterly cold January (with Burlington recording 16 sub-zero days), made things more difficult for snowmakers – and for everyone. As of January 2, 2022, Vail Resorts reported season-todate total skier visits were down 1.7% nationwide compared to the same period in 2021 and down 18.3% compared to the fiscal year 2020 season-to-date period. Even before Covid-19, Vermont was facing a labor shortage with a 2.5% unemployment rate in February 2020. Two years later, that rate is pretty much the same. This past season, a number of resorts, both Vail-owned and independents, had to cut back on operations and hours due to staffing shortages. Some have been the result of Covid, others due to the reduction in seasonal foreign workers, the “J1” visa holders, who
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have typically helped staff many resorts. Killington, which is owned by POWDR Corp., saw its head count go from 1,358 in 2020 to 1,052 for the 2022 season—a 20 percent reduction over the two years prior. It raised wages and offers up to $150 in weekly vouchers for childcare. Nearly everywhere in Vermont, the workforce shortage has been compounded by a housing crisis and exacerbated by the skyrocketing rise in real estate prices and conversion of housing stock to shortterm rentals. It is a perfect storm that seems to be gaining hurricane force. (See “Too Much of a Good Thing?”, page 18) But there are things ski resorts can control. Maine’s Saddleback Mountain, for instance, recently launched a campaign to raise $4.5 million to build 100 units of affordable housing for seasonal workers. Sugarbush, and other ski areas around Vermont, have raised their minimum wage to $15 and converted properties such as the Sugarbush Inn to employee housing. Both Mad River Glen and Magic Mountain have cut off day ticket sales when a reasonable limit is reached. While Vail Resorts promised to do so as well during peak times, no one has noticed this going into effect in Vermont and no one at the company would confirm if they did. For a company that can track its customers’ every move and ski days, particularly one with $1.5 billion (yes, billion) in cash on hand, the expectation is that these problems can be foreseen, if not solved. “You can’t offer unlimited access to something that has a limited supply. It’s as if you had a restaurant with 40 seats and then told an unlimited number of people they can come in and have a meal.You’re going to run out of space, materials and what a staff can deliver,” says Jonny Adler, a Stowe local and a partner in The Skinny Pancake restaurant business. “It used to be that after a storm or on a big weekend Mt. Sunapee
skiers would ski Mt. Sunapee and Stowe skiers would ski Stowe. Now, they all come to Stowe,” says Adler, who owns both Epic and Ikon passes. Alterra owns only four ski areas in the Northeast—Stratton and Sugarbush in Vermont, Quebec’s Mt. Tremblant and Ontario’s Blue Mountain. The Ikon Base Pass offers unlimited skiing at those four, but only fove days of skiing at Killington/Pico, Sugarloaf, Me., and Ski Windham, N.Y. Vail Resorts owns eight in the Northeast, and recently added four more resorts in Pennsylvania. Stowe is the only resort that has some limits put on it for standard Epic passholders. If “capacity” for a restaurant is seats, service and food, for a ski area it’s parking, lifts and snow conditions. Vail Resorts tried to address the parking problem in Stowe, first by adding lots near the Midway lodge and then proposing a new lot off the Mountain Road. That lot, set to go into a scenic meadow. It was not approved by Stowe’s Development Review Board. Vail Resorts is appealing The company took another approach at Mount Snow by charging for parking in the premiere lots ($30 on weekends, $15 on weekdays). But even with that, lots have been full. One area that Vail Resorts has put money into is lifts. This season Okemo added a new Quantum Six and moved a quad to replace a triple. Next year, Vail Resorts plans to add two lifts at Mount Snow. Stowe’s Mt. Mansfield triple will be replaced with a high speed six, increasing uphill capacity by 100 percent. Attitash will also see its East and West double chairs replaced with a fixed grip quad. For a company of Vail’s size, these are good, but relatively minor investments. Killington has spent more on capital improvements in the last five years than the $41 million Vail Resorts paid to buy Stowe in 2017.
Photo by Max Grudzinski/Vail Resorts
The new Quantum Six at Okemo is one of four new lifts Vail Resorts is adding at its three Vermont ski areas.
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But the bigger questions are: Is more uphill capacity what is needed? Can Vermont’s narrow, windy trails handle it? Can the parking handle it? Can the ski towns handle it?
SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Let’s return to that classic business success story. Company creates a product. Company prices that product below all its competitors. Company wins market share. But all of a sudden (surprise!) demand for company’s product at these lower prices exceeds its capacity. Vail Resorts may have found the Holy Grail of ski area marketing: how to force skiers to come on weekdays. The overcrowding also accomplished another marketing miracle: skiers are now grumbling that pass prices are too cheap. “Some days I wish Stowe would go back to charging $1800 for a season pass,” said Michael Welch, who works in the outdoor industry and has lived in Stowe for the past 15 years. He has a job that won’t let him ski weekdays and two sons in school. But is raising prices enough? And will that exclude populations who may be just getting into the sport? “Vail Resorts could make the argument that it’s getting more people into skiing and making it more accessible to all, but that’s not a story they tell very well,” says Capitani. Perhaps that’s hard to do when the price for a half-day group lesson starts at $130 (if you already have an Epic Pass), rental packages are $55, and a walk-up ticket goes for over $150.
Skiers have options. Day tickets at the Middlebury Snow Bowl, where there are rarely lines, go for $60 on weekends. Northeast Slopes charges $15 and Brattleboro Ski Hill, just $5. All are non-profits. “I’ve skied Stowe for over 20 years,” says a Waterbury local, who asked to go by the name of Monty. “There is no other Mt. Mansfield. But I’m tired of the traffic, tired of the anxiety of trying to find a parking space, tired of seeing so many people who have no idea how to ski sliding down expert runs,” he says. Next year, he’s considering other options. “It might be Bolton Valley, it might be Sugarbush, or it might just be backcountry.” “I don’t think losing a few customers is going to make a difference,” says Adler. “Vail’s a big corporation. If you ask Kirsten Lynch if she cares more about skiers or her shareholders, she’s going to say ‘shareholders,’—she should, it’s America and that’s her job,” he notes. But shareholders are skiers too. In early November 2021, before the season had started, Vail Resorts stock price (MTN) reached a high of $376 a share. By late January 2022 it had dropped more than 100 points to a 52-week low of $272. Capitani, the newspaper editor, has lived in the Deerfield Valley for more than 30 years. “We survived American Skiing Company’s demise when it owned Mount Snow. We survived the Hermitage Club when it fell apart due to fraud. Vail Resorts is, at least, a relatively solid company,” he says. “We’ll survive this too.” n
Photo by Daniel Schechner
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Ryan Cochran-Siegle
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Art
THE ART OF THE GRAPHIC
Photo by David Schmidt
After you see this new exhibit at Stowe’s Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum, you won’t look at skis or snowboards the same way ever again.
Burton’s ‘The Farm’ series used graphics created by Mikey Walsh, the former bass player for Weezer.
E
ver sat on a chairlift and looked at the skis or board next to you and wondered who did that graphic? There’s a good chance it was designed in Vermont and a better chance there is a cool story behind it. Shelburne’s Jason Levinthal has made limited-edition graphics part of his J Skis brand. Tim Clayton of Stowe has designed skis for Line, J Skis, Atomic, and many other brands. Jeff Rooney and Josh Brown of Burlington’s Capacitor Design Network have worked for Nordica and Tecnica, as well as Nike, Quiksilver and bands such as Dave Mathews and Phish. This season, an exhibit curated by David Schmidt at the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum on Main Street in Stowe looks at how they
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Japanese artist Tetsuya Abe drew the image of the dragon shown on these J Skis models (left) using just one long brush stroke. Chris Benchetler, the pro skier, artist and filmmaker, adapted his Grateful Dead-inspired painting Never Ever Land, (right) for Atomic.
Atomic Ski pro skier, once they discovered he was a fellow Dead Head,” writes Schmidt. “From there, they had to get approval from the Grateful Dead who understood the connection between music and the outdoors and their audience.” The image, “Never Ever Land,” draws on familiar Dead themes – skeletons, roses, skulls—and weaves in Old Man Winter, mountains and Benchetler’s van. The project grew into a 110-page book by Benchetler and Clayton and inspired Benchetler’s awardwinning movie Fire on the Mountain where night shots of skiers wearing LED suits made to look like skeletons race down mountainsides illuminated by colored spotlights. The pro collaborations with Burton rider Danny Davis show very different processes. The 2018 Deep Thinker graphic was created from
Photos by David Schmidt
and other artists and designers —as well as pro skiers and riders—have collaborated to create some of the most memorable graphics seen on snow. The artwork on display ranges from the Grateful Dead-inspired graphics of pro skier Chris Benchetler to the bold, hand-painted artwork of the late Weezer band member and artist, Mikey Walsh. Among the most interesting displays are the ones that feature collaborations between designers and pro skiers. Chris Benchetler is known as an X Games gold medalist, pro big mountain freeskier, artist and husband of pro rider Kimmy Fasani. He’s also an incredible artist who has worked with Tim Clayton on 14 Atomic pro models.The 2020 Bent Chetler 120 Grateful Dead Limited Edition ski is perhaps one of their finest collaborations and is the one on display in this exhibit. The ski was born out of a mural, “Never Ever Land,” that Benchetler and muralist Skye Walker originally designed to cover Benchetler’s van and to seal a larger deal with the Grateful Dead. “This is one of the more complex collaborations ever done and the exhibit’s only example of a licensed deal. With the original inspiration coming from Teton Gravity Research, they approached Benchetler, an
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sketches by pro skateboarder Mark Gonzalez, whom Transworld Snowboarding once called “The Most Influential Skater of All Time.” Many of the graphics are the work of acclaimed artists. Tetsuya Abe is the secondgeneration of Japanese artists known for their dragon paintings. His father pioneered the method of painting dragons using a single brush stroke. A video shows the remarkable technique that Abe used to paint the graphic for J Skis, using a large brush and various amounts of hand pressure to create the body of the dragon. Mikey Walsh was the bass player for the band Weezer before a mental breakdown and drug addiction caused him to leave the band. But Walsh was also an accomplished artist who had exhibited and whose mother was a classically trained artist as well. Walsh was living in Burlington, Vt. when Burton creative director Dennis Healy paid him a visit. Walsh showed him a number paintings. As Healy described it, “some were borderline frightening, but all were beautiful.”
Walsh would often forego brushes and literally paint with his hands and fingers. Walsh once wrote, “I have to get paint everywhere. I feel really good with paint in my hair and all over my hand, a cigarette hanging out of my mouth. I have to feel insane. For me, that’s the point of doing it.” For Burton, he created a series of graphics for the 2008-09 snowboard line, The Farm. Healey, in his exhibit notes, writes of going to see a Weezer show at the Champlain Valley Expo with Walsh, who was called up to join the band on stage to perform a song “Hash Pipe.” That was in 2010. A year later Walsh died of a heart attack associated with a drug overdose. While the examples from The Farm series hint at the darkness in Walsh’s life, other graphics focus on beauty. Coalition Snow, an emerging ski brand made by women for women, showcases a graphic made by artist and creative director Lauren Bello. The images of poppies in midsummer, Bello writes, “are meant to evoke a feeling of deep dreaming and languid revelry. Yes, quite the opposite of a bright winter’s day, but a lovely, warm and comforting memory nonetheless.” While there were many more examples the exhibit could have shown (notably missing was mega artist Jeff Koons’ limited edition Burton design, The Philosopher,) the exhibit is an interesting window into the thought processes that go into creating a graphic. Visit the museum and you won’t look at skis or a snowboard the same way again. n
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KEEP THE SHRED ALIVE Ski The East was created for you: the passionate and dedicated Eastern Skier. Out here, we’re a breed apart. The tight trees, variable conditions, and brutal weather have helped to produce some of the toughest and most talented skiers in the world.
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We share a common identity and a common way of looking at the mountains. East Coast skiers think positively: a 4 inch storm is a powder day, -10F is mild for January, and ice is simply referred to as “frozen granular.”
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Ski School
HOW A SKI LESSON CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Photo courtesy Andrew Gadah
Andy Gadah was 15, overweight, and had never skied.Then this happened. Gadah spent two seasons
BY LISA LYNN
in Kelowna, British Columbia, skiing six days a week.
“I
need your help. This is an absolute long shot, but I’m on a mission to be reconnected to a ski instructor who worked on the hill [Killington] back in 2006,” Andrew Gadah posted to the Killington Locals Facebook group in January. The story Gadah, now 30, went on to tell would make any skier smile. If you have ever taught skiing, it will make you cry. Gadah was, at the time, a 15-year-old from Newcastle on Tyne—a city in northern England known for its coal, its beer, and its soccer team. “I’d never skied. We didn’t have much extra money. Me mum was a single mum who worked two jobs,” Gadah said in an interview. His father had not been in his life since he was 13. “We had a rocky relationship. I was part of the LGBTQ community, and he didn’t accept that, I guess,” Gadah says with a shrug. His local high school, Hookergate Comprehensive, had planned to send 30 kids—nominated by their teachers— to the U.S. for a visit. It would be a week to ski in Killington and then a trip to NewYork. Gadah was nominated. “I’d never traveled and had always wanted to go to the U.S.,” he says. His grandmother wanted him to go as well. She had just sold her house and footed the bill. “I was a fat kid back then and didn’t fit in,” Gadah remembers. “I was
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about 5’6” and 240 lbs. and had dyed my hair bright red. I didn’t do any sports and was pretty much bullied in high school. To even take this trip was out of my comfort zone.” When the class arrived at Killington, they were outfitted in ski gear and set loose in a group lesson. “I was a shy kid who could not ski to save my life. I had never had my feet inside a ski boot before. If you were ever an overweight or bigger teen you know that the struggle was real,” Gadah wrote in his Facebook post. His first two days he flailed. “I watched the other kids being able to make it down and I just couldn’t do it,” he remembers. “I was frustrated and just wanted to give up. My friends—and even some of my family— didn’t think I could succeed.” The next day, he was taken out of the group. A woman in her 40s pulled him aside. “I don’t remember much about her. She wasn’t fat or thin, young or old, but I just remember that she was kind, like a mother.” ‘You’re going to ski with me,” she told him. “I was pretty sure I was just going to slide on my ass the whole way down for the rest of the time,” Gadah says laughing. It wasn’t until Gadah got off on the lift with her that he realized he was her only student. “She literally held my hand from the top to the bottom and told me I could do it: she said ‘we’re going to get you to ski’” he recalls. “No one in my life had ever told me I could do a sport,” he says, tearing up. “At that point, I was pretty fed up. But she would stand right next to me and say ‘3 o’clock, 9’o’clock’ to get me to shift my weight on my pizza wedges. To this day, I can still hear her saying that.”
Andrew Gadah (shown here in 2006) was “an overweight 15-year-old who didn’t fit in,” he says when he took his first ski lesson. If you taught him to ski, he wants to thank you.
Suddenly, something clicked. “At the end of the third day, I got to the bottom and realized that I wasn’t holding onto her anymore. I looked up the hill and she was screaming with joy with her poles in the air. It was just extraordinary, such an amazing feeling.” “Later I found her at lunch in the cafeteria and just burst out crying, I was so thankful. She just looked at me and said, ‘I knew you could do it.You just need to believe in yourself.’” That day changed Andrew Gadah’s life. “When I got back home, I just had this new appreciation for nature. I’d go out in the forest, and I started running.” Within a year he had dropped 70 pounds. He went on to North Umbria University and joined the ski club and started taking ski trips to the Alps. “When I graduated, I got a visa to go to Canada and worked for two winters in Kelowna, British Columbia. I skied six days a week for six months of the year. “I kept hearing her voice in my head – and still do now when I ski—talking to me about how to move: ‘Feel the mountain. You’re part of that mountain and just feel that energy.” The influence went beyond skiing. “Because of that experience, I knew I wanted to do work in outdoor education,” says Gadah. A few years ago, he took a job teaching seasonally at a summer camp in Maine. Recently, that became a full-time job so he is moving there. “I owe this ski instructor so much gratitude and use this story to motivate my teen students to show anything is possible. All these years, I’ve been thinking I need to find that instructor and thank her and tell her how much she helped me and what an impact that day had on me,” says Gadah. Which led him to post on the Killington Locals page. To date, he’s had more than 500 shares and hundreds of comments. “This is the exact reason why we instructors instruct. Whether it’s skiing or biking (me), we hope to make a positive impact on someone. This is why sports and recreation are SO important in our society,” wrote Jimena Florit. “It should be a lesson for all that the smallest things that seem insignificant…can literally change someone’s life,” said Eric Perry. But so far, no luck in finding the instructor.n
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Photo by Suzanne Bauer
Dream Home
Caption goes here Caption goes here Caption goes here Caption goes here
CHALET
When Austrians and Swiss brought their ski heritage to Vermont, chalets boomed.
Caption goes here Caption goes here
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N
ed.
Once clad in stucco with a long balcony across the front, this 1960s chalet high on
Photo by Suzanne Bauer
Stratton’s flanks was completely reimagined, inside and out.
(re)STYLE
Now, they are a reemerging trend. See how this Stratton classic was refreshed. vtskiandride.com Winter 2022 33
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C
halets have always been part of the ski landscape. In southern Vermont in the 1960s, they were almost as ubiquitous as A-frames. Now, chalet style is back, and in a big way. According to the 2022 Trend Report put out by VRBO, there was nearly an 85% increase in demand for rental chalets, year over year. “Nestled in the woods, along lakefronts, and in prime ski destinations, these idyllic lodging options are now top options for families’ outdoor getaways,” the vacation rental by owner site noted in the report. No one told Gabrielle and Naz Zilkha that chalets were “in” when they began thinking about what their dream ski home would be. Gabrielle had grown up skiing at Stratton where her parents still have a home near the bottom of the mountain, a place they built in 1972. “I was the skier and my husband Naz, who grew up in Brazil, was more of a tennis player,” she said. Stratton, with its renowned tennis program, offered both. “Now we all ski and play tennis,” she says. For years they had been driving three hours to the ski area on weekends from their home in Chappaqua, N.Y., usually staying with Gabrielle’s parents. But with their third child in high school, they began to look for a weekend home they could call their own. “We’d been looking for about 5 years but we weren’t in a rush,” said Gabrielle. “But we also hadn’t planned on totally gutting something and a lot of the homes we saw really needed that,” says Naz.
The living room (above) had high ceilings and a marvelous stone hearth. The builder, Wadsworth Design Build, added reclaimed Douglas fir to the ceiling, redid the cabinet doors and shelves with reclaimed wood, as well, and added a massive mantel.
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New photos by Suzanne Bauer; old photos courtesy Wadsworth
“Then we saw some of Wadsworth Design Build’s ads and thought, ‘Maybe we should build.’ The distressed woods he uses in his homes and barns was just something we were attracted to immediately,” says Naz. They met Rob Wadsworth, whose company is based on Route 30. He then introduced the couple to his wife Betsy, a broker with Four Seasons/Sotheby’s. “With Betsy’s help, we found something right away,” Gabrielle says. “Rob saw this house, said it had great bones and we could do a lot with it.” “It” was a five-bedroom chalet located high up on Stratton Mountain. It had views, it was close enough to ski onto the mountain. It was the right size. But it had been built in the 1960s, the Zilkhas believe, and had only had one or two owners. “It was a very nice house but it needed updating,” Gabrielle says. Chalets have been part of the Vermont landscape from the beginning days when Austrian ski instructors such as Stratton legends Emo Heinrich and his protégé, Hubert Schriebl, arrived. From the Trapp Family Lodge to clusters of chalets at the base of Stratton and Magic Mountains, the Alpine styling is still very much present today. “I love the chalet-style architecture. It so perfect for the mountains and it represents a time and the people who came here and brought skiing with them,” says Rob Wadsworth, himself an avid skier. “Chalets have such a simple shape and it’s a style you are seeing again today in a lot of modern architecture,” he says. The chalet the Zilkhas saw was typical of those built at the time. It had a long balcony on the second floor, a warren of small rooms on the ground floor, and a big stone fireplace. But, as Gabrielle notes, “It was really dark, the windows were small, and it wasn’t really configured for modern living,” she says What they liked about it was each of the five bedrooms had an ensuite bath, with three of them on the lower level. “That really gave us three suites downstairs,” says Naz. The master bedroom and a second, small bedroom were on the second floor, along with the kitchen and living room. Working with Wadsworth, they reimagined it. “With a renovation, you always wonder: Are we going to completely change the look of the architecture or are we going to embrace the existing styling?” says Wadsworth. They all agreed: they would embrace the chalet style but make some modifications. First, the end-to-end balcony came off and was replaced by a smaller one that only spans the living room, allowing for more light to reach the ground-floor rooms. The two-car garage, which had been awkwardly situated on two levels, was reconfigured and its roof line rethought to better pair it with the chalet’s look. In place of the exterior’s stucco, Wadsworth clad the house with wood siding. While the house had served as a ski house, there was no mud room to speak of. The Zilkhas knew they wanted a big one so took one of the empty spaces on the ground floor and created one. Wadsworth’s team made a built-in banquette and storage bins with a sliding barn-style door leading out. “I think the thing I hated the most was that ground floor,” says Gabrielle. “The floors were black, the walls were black, there was even black floral wallpaper on some of the ceilings,” she says. To fix that, in the main rec room, a long brick fireplace was painted white and the floors redone with a warm wood in some areas, concrete in
The original chalet, built in the late 1960s, had a balcony running from side to side. The ground floor, where three bedroom suites are still located, was dark and the home’s sides were covered in stucco. To get the current look, the balcony was shortened, new windows added across most of the house, and the facade trimmed in wood. Reclaimed wood was also used to add character to a wall in one of the guest bedrooms on the first floor, below. At bottom, the original master bedroom. The owners did most of the interior design, collaborating with Wadsworth.
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The original rec room, top right, featured black slate floors. Those were replaced with warm wood (top left) and the staircase redone. Painting the fireplace brick white lightened up the room. The cow hide chairs (above right) the Zilkhas found while visiting a flea market in Brazil, where Naz grew up. Throughout the house, Wadsworth Design Build used its signature reclaimed wood. The home has at least six custom sliding doors, including one into the mud room, above left. Distressed wood is also used for the bathroom vanities and built-in closets and drawers (below).
New photos by Suzanne Bauer; old photos courtesy Wadsworth
others. The stairs up to the second floor were rebuilt. The second floor had been broken up with several small spaces. “Because the house was post and beam, we were pretty much able to gut and open up the upstairs,” says Wadsworth. They eliminated a small room to create the great room with an open kitchen with a huge island across from the living room and fireplace. In the kitchen, the island was made long enough to seat five on one side and features six glass-faced candy bins tucked in on one end. “I love candy,” Gabrielle says with a grin. “Naz got his wine refrigerator and I got the candy bins.” The counters were done in stainless steel, the island topped with quartz and the built-in refrigerator and cabinets painted a peppercorn gray. “We really loved the high ceilings and this just opened everything up,” Naz says. Wadsworth lined the living room ceilings and those in the master bedroom with reclaimed Douglas fir, adding warmth. Exposed beams were added in some of the bedrooms, too. “Rob’s ideas were just really on point,” says Gabrielle. “The craftsmanship was amazing and the people who worked with the woods they used had a real reverence for them,” she says. “We’ve done renovations before but this was the smoothest ever.” The only problem was that creating the great room meant they no longer had five bedrooms. “We ended up doing an addition to the back of the house so we could have a big bunk room for our son on
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Photos ©2016 Durston Saylor
New photos by Suzanne Bauer; old photos courtesy Wadsworth
the second floor and that also made space for a ping-pong table room below,” says Naz. That bunk room, with a king and a queen and two twin bunks, is now their children’s favorite room in the house. “Even when my daughter comes home she and her friends all want to pile in there together,” says Gabrielle. The chalet carries on a tradition that Gabrielle’s parents started; a Stratton gathering place that parents, children and friends can share. n
The old kitchen, bottom left, had classic dark wood cabinets. The Zilkhas moved the kitchen around so that the island (top) and adjacent dining table (above) face out to the great room and added a big window. The quartz-topped kitchen island has six glass-faced candy bins and built-in cubbies for wine. There is also a wine refrigerator.
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OUR 2022 READER SURVEY ASKED WHAT YOU THOUGHT WERE THE THE BEST SKI AREAS, THE TOUGHEST TRAILS,
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Morning clouds lift over Killington Mountain, at 4,241 feet Vermont’s second highest peak and home to the Peak Lodge.
THE BEST APRES SKI PLACES AND MORE. HERE’S WHAT YOU TOLD US.
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f you ask any skier/rider what’s the best ski area in Vermont, chances are they are going to vote for their local favorite. And then the same resort comes up again and again as best for, says toughest trail, best grooming, best brewery, etc. Or, you get some head-scratching responses that make you wonder how many friends a particular resort’s marketing director might have forwarded the survey to. That wasn’t the case here. Our survey respondents didn’t just glom onto a favorite resort. Witness the fact that the Best Ski Area, Best Ski Aeas for Families and Best Ski Towns went to very, very different places. In short, we were impressed by the responses. They show a depth of knowledge that seems to cover the whole state and highlights the fact that our readers travel. In some instances, they taught us some surprising things. What didn’t surprise is that a whopping 75 percent of the respondents said they ski more than 20 days a year. In the past our sister publication, Vermont Sports has done a Black Diamond Survey. This year, VT Ski + Ride does the winter portion and Vermont Sports will do a summer version. Congratulations to the winners and the top five in each category.
“Create joy,” is a mission Killington gives its employees.
BEST SKI AREA IN VERMONT
The question was quite simple: What’s the best overall ski area in Vermont? Killington Mountain Resort came away the clear winner, with Sugarbush not far behind and Jay Peak, Stowe and Mad River Glen within a few votes of each other. Killington has worked hard over the last decade to evolve from the wild-and-crazy weekend destination where the Tri-State came to bash bumps by day and pound PBRs all night, into something, well, still hard-charging, but in a healthier way. The Beast of the East is still the fun-loving mullet of a mountain where the King of Spring reigns. But it’s also a good place to get a few quiet morning powder runs. “It’s like they’re trying continually to make me feel like I’m on a great ski vacation even though I live in Vermont and ski there all the time,” notes local Stephen Dulli. The mountain has always been the biggest in the East, the first to open and the last to close. It is known for legendary bump runs like Outer Limits (where the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge has been held for more than 40 years) and Superstar, which has played host to the Women’s World Cup since 2016.
But there are also quiet glades, expert terrain like the cliffy Devil’s Fiddle, long cruisers like Great Northern, seven terrain parks… the list goes on. With nearly 1,500 skiable acres and 155 trails running for 73 miles, there has always been something for everyone. That wasn’t enough. Under president Mike Solimano the list of improvements in recent years is staggering and covers all fronts: terrain, snowmaking, lifts, hotel upgrades, a new lodge, new events. In 2018/19 alone the resort added the new Snowdon Six Express bubble lift, move the old Snowdon across to South Ridge, excavated four huge tunnels to help skiers cross busy trails, upgraded the K-1 Express gondola cabins, put in new RFID ticketing and added the Woodward Peace Park. “The investments we’re making will re-shape the guest experience for years to come,” said Solimano at the time. “Uphill capacity will increase to 48,000 riders per hour and the downhill enhancements will create more diverse terrain for all levels of skiers and riders.” The resort invested $16 million in those upgrades. And then Killington announced the new K1 Lodge – a $30 million dollar building (delayed during Covid) that is expected to open next year. And then there was the $2 million upgrade of the Killington Grand Hotel and Preston’s restaurant and bar. When we asked locals what they felt have been Killington’s biggest improvements, they listed all of these things. Then also praised the new app, the mountain bike park with 35 miles of lift-served trails and the Beast 365 pass that allows year-round access to skiing, biking, golf and other activities. “It’s one of two mountain resorts in Vermont that does not die in stick and mud seasons. It might slow down but there is no off season now at Killington,” said Michael Christopher Owens. But what struck us the most were the intangibles. “I loved the way Killington took care of staff with food banks during Covid last year! When an employer takes care of staff it trickles down to the customers,” said Anne Calhoun. Brooke Mars noted: “I was staff for about 5 years and the big thing during training was ‘create joy.’ It wasn’t until I moved that I realized all the little things they do to really improve the guest and staff experience; like when Mike Solimano has helped push my car out of the K1 parking lot when it got stuck, and the random handouts of burritos or some other snack or beverage, and not just during the weekends. All the little things add up.” Perhaps the only things that got thumbs down was the new Fast Tracks program (pay $49 per day and you can use a special lift line) and priority reserved parking: elitism doesn’t go over well in a place that has catered to the masses. Killington also earned top votes—or was a runner up— in the categories of Snowmaking and Grooming, Events, and On-Mountain Dining. Sugarbush, which placed second overall, was the winner in Best On-Mountain Dining and was named among the top five in many categories, including Best For Kids, Best Après-Ski Bar, and Best Grooming. Jay Peak earned top honors for Best Sidecountry. Completing the top five ski areas in Vermont are Stowe and Mad River Glen. 1. Killington, 2. Sugarbush, 3. Jay Peak, 4. Stowe, 5. Mad River Glen
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BEST SKI AREAS TO AVOID CROWDS
Let’s face it, unless you can sneak out weekdays, skiing at many Vermont areas has gotten crowded. Witness the hour-long traffic jams to get to the mountain (Stowe), paid parking (Mount Snow) and powder-day lift lines that feel interminable (everywhere). The good news, you know where to go to escape the crowds and Burke Mountain Resort came up on top in this category. Though it is just as close to White River Junction (where I-89 and I-91 meet) as Stowe is, most folks coming from New York or Boston head west, instead of north. Burke has a year-round population of 1,651 (according to the 2020 census), and other than the 116-suite hotel Burke Mountain Hotel, there are few lodging properties in the area that have more than 50 rooms. As a result, lift lines are practically non-existent and you can still find powder stashes long after a storm. Runner up in this category is, not surprisingly, Magic Mountain in Londonderry. This local favorite in southern Vermont has been limiting the number of tickets sold and when the parking lot fills up, that’s it. With old-school lifts and terrain, Magic is a quiet throwback to the days before multi-resort passes crowded the slopes. The other sleeper mountain that folks seem to forget about is Pico. While it’s under the management of its big sister, Killington, Pico doesn’t see nearly the traffic that its counterpart gets. For anyone who lives on the western side of the Green Mountains, it’s an easy stop off Route 4 and a favorite with locals. Pico’s lift layout also works well to disperse crowds and if you want to skin up for your turns, the lifts don’t spin on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (except during holiday weeks,) so the mountain is all yours (with an Uphill Pass, of course.) Two other independent resorts rounded out the top five in this category. Middlebury College Snow Bowl, also nestled on the western side of the Greens, is someplace you can usually ski right onto the lift. From the top of Worth Mountain, you have a choice of steep runs like the Allen or wooded glades as well as some winding intermediate trails. Bolton Valley Resort also earned points in this category. Still very much a “locals” mountain, its high base elevation, big snowpack and abundant backcountry draw even Stowe skiers who want to escape the holiday and weekend crowds. The biggest crowds at Burke Mountain come for the races. Otherwise, this slope can be all yours.
1. Burke Mountain Resort. 2. Magic Mountain. 3. Pico. 4. Middlebury Snow Bowl. 5. Bolton Valley Resort.
Photo top by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur’ right couresy Smuggler’s Notch; left courtesy Killington
BEST SKI AREA FOR KIDS & FAMILIES
While so many areas try to be all things to all people, Smuggler’s Notch Resort has focused its efforts and branding around one very important group: families with kids. That resonates with our readers —as well as with those of SKI Magazine who rated Smugg’s the best ski resort in the East, ahead of Holiday Valley, N.Y. and Killington. Locally owned and managed by Bill Stritzler (a former AT&T exec who was asked to run the ski area in 1987), Smuggs operates on the guiding principle that if the kids aren’t having a good time, no one is. And that means keeping them entertained on and off the slopes. Children ages 3 to 15 can sign up for an all-day camp where they use a Flaik GPS to track their runs.There’s night boarding in the terrain park and Smuggs has one of the best freeski programs. On Feb. 26, top freeskiers compete at the Extreme Challenge for a chance to qualify for the Freeride World Tour. After skiing, young ones can head to the bouncy house, inflatable slide or play Laser Tag. There’s also tubing, ice skating, an indoor pool and outdoor bonfires. “Kids get bored easily and there’s almost always something new to do there – it feels like a destination resort,” said Sarah Smythe, one of our respondents. Activities can range from Pirate Bingo to snowshoe adventure dinners at the candle-lit Top of the Notch cabin, where there’s venison chili or roasted salmon with walnut pesto. As another respondent noted, “I went thinking it would be fun for the kids, but I think my husband had a better time than they did.”
Okemo was the runner up here, and not surprising, considering the mountain has plenty of kid-friendly, groomed blue terrain and lots of ski-in/ski-out lodging at the base. And with ice skating and snow tubing right on the slopes, there’s plenty to do when the skiSmuggler’s ing stops. For many kids, the Notch aims highlight is the Timber Ripto keep kids per Coaster, where you can happy. ride a sled that’s fixed to a track for over 3,100 feet of rollers, berms and banked turns. Bromley came in third in this category, thanks to its $89 lift tickets (all-day, every day), south-facing slopes and kid-friendly groomers. Close behind were Sugarbush and Bolton Valley Resort. 1. Smuggler’s Notch, 2. Okemo, 3. Bromley, 4. Sugarbush, 5. Bolton Valley . vtskiandride.com Winter 2022 41
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Jay Peak’s sidecountry outscored the rest in our survey.
In the first two weeks of November 2021, Killington had not seen a single day of temperatures below 32 degrees and the slopes were mostly bare. That didn’t stop the International Ski Federation (FIS) from giving the resort the green light to host the Women’s World Cup. That’s because the FIS knew what locals have known for some time: as soon as temperatures drop below 28 degrees, Killington can lay down a foot of snow over 60 acres every 24 hours. With 2,000 snow guns, 44,000 feet of new pipe installed in 2018, more than 10,000 gallons of water and grooming machines that can handle the toughest and steepest terrain, Killington’s snowmaking and grooming arsenal is impressive. Couple that with a team led by longtime operations director Jeff Temple and supported by one of the most charismatic groomers in the business, social media star Brian Hughes, and the resort easily owns this category. That said, there are plenty of other resorts that have matched the quality, if not the quantity of Killington’s snow surfaces. Okemo is known for its velvety corduroy and this season added snowmaking on Green Link and upgraded its systems around the mountain. With the ability to make snow on 98% of its trails, Okemo claims it has the greatest snowmaking coverage in the state. Those two were the clear leaders, with Sugarbush, Stratton and Stowe all closely bunched in votes. But if you’re looking for sweet corduroy and ample coverage even in the lean years, is hard to go wrong at any of these resorts.
BEST BACKCOUNTRY/SIDE COUNTRY
Vermont is blessed with some of the best backcountry glades and tree skiing in the East. For true backcountry, Brandon Gap, the first sanctioned glades on National Forest land, was everyone’s top choice. That’s thanks to the easy access from the towns of Brandon or Rochester (off Route 73), the well-mapped and marked routes, and multiple options for descents.There’s even a hut nearby – Chittenden Brook Cabin – where you can spend the night. Bolton’s extensive backcountry (which can easily spit you out on the Stowe/ Waterbury side of the Greens) was a close second and southern Vermont’s managed area, Dutch Hill was third. When it came to “sidecountry” – meaning terrain you can access from a lift. Jay Peak took top honors with Bolton Valley close behind. Both ski areas are blessed with prodigious amounts of snow and vast areas just past the boundary lines where it is easy to get lost. Bolton offers guides and backcountry training, for those who want to explore, and two backcountry huts where you can spend the night. Close behind, Smuggler’s Notch and Stowe tied for third, just ahead of Mad River Glen. 1. Jay Peak 2. Bolton Valley Resort 3. Smuggler’s Notch, 3. Stowe, 4. Mad River Glen
Photo by Andrew Lanoue/Jay Peak
BEST SNOWMAKING AND GROOMING
1. Killington, 2. Okemo, 3. Sugarbush, 4. Stratton, 5. Stowe
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BEST ON-MOUNTAIN DINING
Vermont has so many great options for on-mountain dining – with fare that goes well beyond chicken fingers and burgers— that it was hard to name a clear-cut winner in this category. The single restaurant with the highest number of votes was Killington’s Peak Lodge. The sprawling, cafeteria-style restaurant serves just about everything from the classic Robie Farms burger to homemade mac and cheese from its chef-served pasta bar. Its bar offers beer, wine and specialty cocktails like a fully-loaded Bloody Mary. Other Killington favorites include the more intimate and elegant Ledgewood Yurt with sit-down service and the Jerk Shack. Stowe’s Cliff House, an elegant smaller restaurant at the top of the gondola also earned plenty of votes and rave reviews. With stunning views, table service and farm-fresh fare, it is a long-time favorite. Stowe’s other summit restaurant, the Octagon (famous for its breakfast sandwiches made with fresh arugula and grilled onions) also earned votes. But the most votes for one resort went to Sugarbush. Rumbles, the stunning post-and-beam table-service restaurant at the base of Lincoln Peak, serves dishes such as local pork chops with parsnip puree and ahi tuna tartare. People also raved about candlelit ski-to dinners at Allyn’s Lodge, and the gourmet grilled cheese (consider one made with Vermont Creamery goat cheese, Cold Hollow Cider and fig compote and sauteed onions) served at Walt’s at the Glen House at Mt. Ellen. Other on-mountain favorites at Sugarbush included the legendary Parisian-style bistro Chez Henri, where Henri Borel, now 94, has served fondue and escargots, steak frites and roast duck to skiers and celebrity diners since 1964. For drinks and pub fare, folks also named the Wunderbar and Castlerock Pub. Other top contenders included Smuggler’s Notch’s Hearth & Candle which also caters candle-lit dinners at the Top of the Notch cabin on the mountain. 1. Sugarbush, 2. Killington, 3. Stowe, 4. Stratton, 5. Smuggler’s Notch.
Photo courtesy Sugarbush Resort; Mad River Glen by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Rumbles Kitchen, Castlerock Pub, Chez Henri... Sugarbush has no shortage of great restaurants.
Mad River Glen’s Paradise lives up to its name on a powder day.
TOUGHEST TRAIL
If you wonder why Mad River Glen turns out so many great freeskiers, look no further than Paradise. The ultimate test of East Coast skiing, it’s a trail where the bumps can get big, the trees are tight and the openings between them narrower than what you might find in a typical backcountry “glade.” For years, Paradise was a local’s secret – duck off the top of the Single chair, and traverse out through trees. Though it’s been on the trail map since 2004 it remains in its natural state with plenty of ledge to drop, icy falls, and a 38-degree pitch in places. But after a snowfall, this run earns its name. The trees hold the snow and the pitch is just right for plowing through knee-deep powder and finding soft landings. Runner up is Stowe’s Front Four classic, Goat. Upper Goat is narrow to start with. Add in a side angle, tight krummholz on either side of the trail, rocky ledges to a skier’s right and ice flows that form just where you want to turn, and it becomes a one-at-a-time descent.You just have to keep turning in the fall line and there’s no place to bail. While Killington’s Devil’s Fiddle also earned votes and fits into the category of more technically challenging terrain, Outer Limits got the next number of votes. Big, broad and oh-so-bumpy, Outer Limits drops 1,002 feet in vertical over 1,892 feet giving it a 29-degree grade. It’s not the steepest, or the gnarliest of trails but if you can ski Outer Limits top to bottom, we salute you. Rumble at Sugarbush – another long, fun bumper— and the more technical steeps of Madonna Mountain’s Upper Liftline at Smuggler’s Notch also ranked high in this list. 1. Paradise, Mad River Glen, 2. Goat, Stowe 3. Outer Limits, Killington, 4. Rumble, Sugarbush 5. Madonna Lift Line, Smuggler’s Notch
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run. An annual rite of spring it’s an event that brings back the best of the ‘70s and ‘80s. But what skiers and riders voted as their second favorite event was pond skimming, with many giving a shout-out to Sugarbush’s annual costumed craziness where former owner Win Smith is often an avid participant. This year’s Sugarbush Pond Skim, held just above the plaza at Lincoln Peak, is on April 9. Magic Mountain’s Triple Crown of events Killington’s Women’s World (a clocked, no-gates speed run called Tuck It, Cup was named “Best Event.” followed by the free-for-all downhill Road to Mikaela Shiffrin might agree. Ruin and Master of the Mountain —a freeride contest that funnels into a GS course) were also popular. So was Mad River Glen’s classic Triple BEST SKI AREA EVENTS Crown which features the freeski Unconventional Terrain Competition, Three events were clear winners in this category. It’s hard to argue the Vertical Challenge (see how many laps you can do on the Chute-Lift with the party that Killington puts on for the Women’s World Cup each Line trails in one day –60,000 vertical feet is the record) and the Mogul November. Even with a limited crowd this year, there were bands, a Challenge. For this year’s event dates, see our Calendar, page 60. vendor village and, of course, spectacular racing with Mikaela Shiffrin making history with her record-tying 46th slalom win. 1. Women’s World Cup, Killington 2. Pond Skimming, Sugarbush. 3. Killington also earned votes for the Bear Mountain Mogul Chal- Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge, Killington. 4. Triple Crown, Magic lenge on Outer Limits, an event that pits the best amateur (and yes, it’s Mountain 5. Triple Crown, Mad River Glen amateur-only) skiers against each other on the legendary steep bump
BEST CROSS-COUNTRY SKI AREA
Unless you are a member of the Hollenbach family (see page 64), chances are you don’t take advantage of using a season pass from one of the 23 cross-country ski areas that are members of Ski Vermont to ski at another. But you should, because each part of Vermont has something to offer those on skinny skis. For our survey, we asked readers to name their favorite areas, by region. Overall, the Trapp Family Lodge Outdoor Center got the most votes of any ski area in the state. It’s not hard to understand why.Trapp’s 40 miles of beautifully groomed trails wind in and out of forests, across high open meadows with views of the Worcester range and south to Sugarbush and past the classic chalet-style lodge hotel. Ski 6 km uphill to Slayton Pasture Cabin for a cup of hot soup by the fire, or cruise the perimeter of the ski area, stopping in at the vonTrapp Bierhall for a cold Helles (brewed on site) and a schnitzel. At Trapp’s, you’ll see both top-level skate skiers flying by and families trying out the rental equipment for the first time. In the north, Trapp’s edged out Craftsbury Outdoor Center and Bolton Valley Resort’s Nordic center, which earned second and third. In central Vermont, the competition was tight between Ripton’s Rikert Nordic Center, Ole’s/Blueberry Lake in Warren and the Woodstock Inn Nordic Center. The top ranked ski area, Rikert, which is part of Middlebury College’s classic Breadloaf Campus, has one of the best snowmaking systems of any Nordic ski area, a network that includes open meadows, narrow woods trails and adventurous routes that lead to the cabin where Robert Frost stayed while teaching at Middlebury College. Southern Vermont’s favorites Wild Wings in Peru, Prospect in Woodford and Stratton Mountain’s Nordic trails have been practice sites for Olympians such as Andy Newell (Prospect) and Sophie Caldwell (Wild
The trails of the Trapp Family Lodge Outdoor Center lead to a cabin for soup or to the Bierhall for something stronger.
Wings) and Jessie Diggins (Stratton). Prospect Mountain, which is situated at a base elevation of 2,250 is actually the highest cross-country center in Vermont and gets snow when many other areas don’t. Wild Wings has fun trails with 25K groomed for classic, 10K for skating and a yoga studio on site. Stratton has just 10K of groomed trails but located just off the alpine slopes, it’s a convenient place to get in a cardio workout after a morning of downhill. NORTH: 1. Trapp Family Lodge Outdoor Center, 2. Craftsbury Outdoor Center, 3. Bolton Valley Nordic Center. CENTRAL: 1. Rikert Nordic Center, 2. Ole’s/Blueberry Lake, 3. Woodstock Inn SOUTH: 1. Wild Wings, Peru. 2. Prospect Mountain, Woodford, 3. Stratton
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Photo this page Alex Dell’Omo; Oppostie:, courtesy Trapp Family Lodge, USSA
BEST SKI TOWN
When we asked “What’s the best ski town?” one respondent pretty much summed up the results with this answer: “Stowe, if it wasn’t a frickin’ city all of a sudden. So Option 2 isn’t a town, it’s the Mad River Valley.” That’s pretty much how the votes went. Stowe, with its postcard-perfect village (made prettier since the power lines were recently buried), wealth of boutique shops and restaurants, breweries and distilleries (The Alchemist, von Trapp, Idletyme, Stowe Cider all within a couple of miles from each other) and dozens of hotels and inns is clearly a resort town. Witness the three spas, a handful of salons and even a place devoted to faux mink eyelash extensions. And then there is the Spruce Peak base village, with ski-out suites, skating rink, raclette and whisky pavilion and Performing Arts Center. That might make it a great resort destination but what makes it a great ski town is the fact that many moved here to ski – be it at Stowe Mountain Resort or on the trails of the Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe Nordic Center or the trails of Edson Hill—and for most, that’s the reason for living there. Walk into any shop and the conversation starter is: “So how’s the mountain, today.” The Tuesday ski bum races draw locals of all ages and abilities to compete as teams (often sponsored by area businesses or individuals) and prizes are not just for the winners: local businesses hand out random awards, such as a spa daypass to Stoweflake, for whoever takes, say, 63rd place. On weekdays, locals Stowe has been a quintessential ski town for more than 85 years. And that hasn’t changed. move from town to mountain several times a day. A sign even on the Stowe Seafood Market, 8 miles from the base of the mountain, reminds “No ski boots.” can still buy cheeses, meats and eggs from local farms in the Valley Stowe’s ski history runs deep. The Stowe Derby (a race on skin- such as von Trapp and with eateries such as American Flatbread, the ny skis from the top of the Toll House trail on Mt. Mansfield all the acclaimed Mad Taco and Canteen Creamery and Lawson’s Finest Liqway to town) celebrates its 77th anniversary this year. The Vermont uids in town, Waitsfield’s food scene is both good and inexpensive Ski and Snowboard Museum sits at the village’s main intersection. These two areas were at the top of the list, but Killington, LudThe towns of the Mad River Valley, Waitsfield and Warren, are a low and Manchester all earned votes as places where ski bums and little earthier, more hippy than hipster. Community spirit runs deep business moguls alike mingle with one common ground: skiing and here, and the ski areas – Sugarbush and Mad River Glen – are heavily riding. involved with local causes, ranging from supporting school programs to Vermont Adaptive, which just opened a new facility at Sugarbush’s 1. Stowe, 2. Waitsfield/Warren, 3. Killington, 4. Ludlow, 5. ManMt. Ellen. chester The vibe here is artisan –whether its crafts and arts or food. You
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BEST INNS OR SKI LODGES
It’s not surprising the “Best Ski Town” is also home to the “Best Ski Lodges,” with Stowe’s Trapp Family Lodge and Spruce Peak leading the list. The Trapp Family Lodge was a runaway winner. It’s hard to argue with a hotel that sits high on a hillside with a network of 40 miles of cross-country trails spilling out behind it. Take one of those trails and you can ski to the charming log cabin in Slayton Pasture, warm up by the stone fireplace, drink a cup of soup and ski down. Or head across one of the broad meadows down to the von Trapp Bierhall for one of their house brews and an Austrian-inspired schnitzel and spaetzle. Rooms at the lodge often feature wood beams, fluffy duvets and views out across the valley to the Worcester range. Spruce Peak, the complex across from Stowe Mountain Resort, took second place. From one of the cozy couches in the hotel’s vaulted lobby you can look up at the slopes or out at the skating rink. A heated pool and luxurious spa face Mt. Mansfield. Near the skating rink, there are fire pits. At the Whistle Pig pavilion, wheels of raclette cheese are
roasted on an open fire. New this season, the hotel revamped two of its restaurants, now called the Tipsy Trout and Alpine Hall. The Woodstock Inn and Resort, which owns Suicide Six ski area, placed third. The former property of Laurence Rockefeller, the classic inn recently underwent a stunning renovation, making it one of the more elegant properties in the state. Just steps away is a network of beautifully groomed cross-country trails. Lodging packages include lift tickets to Suicide Six or sessions at the resort’s spa. You can’t get any closer to the slopes than the Killington Grand Hotel.With a pool that looks up at the mountain and the recently renovated Preston’s Bar just inside, this is a gathering spot for locals as well as visitors and the most sought-after reservation in the town. The Clay Brook hotel and residences at Lincoln Peak – just steps from the slopes at Sugarbush’s Lincoln Peak were fifth. 1. Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe. 2. Spruce Peak, Stowe, 3. Woodstock Inn and Resort, 4. Killington Grand Hotel, 5. Clay Brook Hotel at Lincoln Peak, Sugarbush
BEST PIZZA
Phoot top courtesy Trapp Family Lodge; bottom Brian Morh/EmberPhoto for American Flatbread
With its own Nordic network, bierhall and huge views, Trapp Family Lodge is a clear winner.
The original American Flatbread at Lareau Farm in Waitsfield with its wood-fired oven.
If three things go together, it’s skiing, beer and pizza. Our survey respondents ranked American Flatbread as their favorite in the last category. Made with a light thin crust and topped with farmfresh ingredients, local meats and cheeses, this is technically a flatbread, not a pizza. The original location at Lareau Farm in Waitsfield actually grows many of the toppings used on their flatbreads. Stowe’s Piecasso was a strong runner-up. With a walk-up window where you can get two slices and a soda for less than $7 it’s probably one of the best meal deals in Stowe – and maybe in any ski town. The pizzas range from traditional margarita to ones topped with buffalo chicken, or breaded eggplant and pesto. Between Woodstock and Killington, Ramunto’s in the historic Bridgewater Mill earned third with Killington’s Domenic’s close behind. Both make their own dough and sauces and serve traditional Italian pies. The only ski-area pizza, the Fireside Flatbread at Bolton Valley Resort is a locals’ favorite. Located just across the hall from the James Beard Tavern at the resort’s baselodge, it’s a place you can get slices hot right out of the wood-fired oven just steps from the slopes. 1. American Flatbread, Waitsfield/Middlebury/Burlington. 2. Piecasso, Stowe 3. Ramunto’s, Bridgewater, 4. Domenic’s, Killington. 5. Fireside Flatbread, Bolton Valley Resort.
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Lawson’s Finest Liquids taproom in Waitsfield.
BEST VERMONT BREWERIES
Vermont’s skiers and riders love their local brews. And with good reason: Vermont has some of the top-rated beers in the world. Take Lawson’s Finest Liquids, which was first in our survey. You may know the story by now: Sean Lawson started homebrewing when he was a student at University of Vermont. A naturalist, he met his wife Karen while guiding a full-moon snowshoe hike at Mad River Glen. Today, the two have
BEST APRES BARS & LIVE MUSIC VENUES
Photos courtesy The Matterhorn and Lawsson’s Finest Liquids
When it comes to après-ski, Vermont’s bars are legendary. They are the places where you might find an Olympian, a rock star, a Fortune 500 CEO, the local plow driver and a lifty all lifting a glass together. You could say that about any one of the top five finalists in this category. The Matterhorn has seen the likes of Doug Flutie and Mick Jagger stop by, but the mugs over the bar are reserved for long-time patrons – mostly ski instructors— who come here to unwind after a day on the slopes. Owners Charlie and Louise Shaeffer cater to an eclectic crowd with a sushi bar and martinis in a glassed-off wing by the Little River, an arcade section for kids, and, of course, the obligatory pool table and band stand. The sushi and woodfired pizzas are surprisingly good and the bands always draw crowds to the dance floor. Killington’s vast Wobbly Barn is also a legend. The building retains its barn-like feel and it seems like there’s something going on at each of the multiple levels, with different crowds gravitating toward differ-
one of the most successful breweries in New England. Lawson’s Finest Liquids has a tasting room inWaitsfield and delivers its flagship brew, Sip of Sunshine, as well as many seasonal and specialty brews, around New England. The Alchemist of Stowe, brewers of the famous Heady Topper, and the eclectic (and now hard-to-find) Hill Farmstead of Greensboro finished second and third in the rankings. Hill Farmstead, which closedearlier this winter, planned to reopen mid-February. They, along with Lawson’s Finest Liquids, have produced many of the beers that are perennially rated among the best in the world by Beer Advocate and other media. Long Trail, founded in 1989 and one of Vermont’s oldest craft breweries, finished fourth and has a long tie to skiing, thanks to its tasting room in Bridgewater Corners, between Killington and Suicide Six and its specialty beers such as Sick Day. The von Trapp Bierhall may be the only brewpub that has ski trails right out its front door. Located just off the Trapp Family Lodge trails, the enormous brewery and adjacent Austrian-inspired Bierhall restaurant are a destination unto themselves. But if you can’t make it there, don’t worry, von Trapp’s brews – like those from Lawson’s, The Alchemist, and Long Trail are now widely distributed. 1. Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Waitsfield. 2. The Alchemist, Stowe, 3. Hill Farmstead, 4. Long Trail, 5. Von Trapp Brewing
ent drinking and dancing areas. There’s a different band almost every day of the week for après-ski, with a second band playing from 6:30 to 9:30 on weekends. The Wobbly Barn also won for Best Live Music Venue, followed by its Killington sister, the Pickle Barrel and Magic Mountain’s Black Line Tavern. Sugarbush’s Castlerock Pub, right at the base of Lincoln Peak, is the resort’s de facto meeting place. It’s packed on a Saturday afternoon and come spring, the scene spills out onto the sunny plaza with wood-fired pizza, bands and skiers sunning themselves in Adirondack chairs. Next door at the co-op-owned Mad River Glen, General Stark’s Pub has been a scene since Mad River’s early days. Here, some of the best freeskiers in the East congregate. Everyone seems to know each other (and each other’s kids). Lawson’s Finest usually flows freely (a nod to the brewery in town whose founder is a MRG skier.) Last, Grizzly’s, at the base of Stratton Mountain Resort is a legend. “Vermont is known for its barns, which is why local barn like woods were woven into Grizzly’s design for a rustic vibe, perfect for aprèsski,” was how Architectural Digest has described the renovated building at the site of Stratton’s original base lodge. We know it as the place where generations have come in for a beer after skiing and ended up dancing on tables to live bands late into the night or competing in the annual Superbowl pool. For Stratton regulars and weekenders alike, it’s the regular meeting place. Best Après-Ski Bar: 1. The Matterhorn, Stowe, 2. The Wobbly Barn, Killington. 3. Castlerock Pub, Sugarbush. 4. General Stark’s Pub, Mad River Glen, 5. Grizzly’s, Stratton. Best Live Music Venue: 1. Wobbly Barn, 2. The Pickle Barrel, 3. Black Line Tavern, Magic Mountain. 4. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center. 5. Zen Barn, Waterbury Center.
A sign of status at The Matterhorn? You have your own beer mug.
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Hannah Soar took the mogul skiing skills she learned at Killington and perfected them at training camps in Utah before heading to Beijing.
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COMPETITION By Lisa Lynn
FROM BEAR MOUNTAIN TO BEIJING Hannah Soar wears tie-dye, listens to The Grateful Dead and is one of the best mogul skiers in the world. What else would you expect from a girl who grew up on Killington’s Outer Limits?
Photo courtesy USSA
L
ong before Hannah Soar and Olivia Giaccio found themselves competing in moguls for the U.S. at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, they were best friends who spent their weekends skiing at Killington.“I pretty much grew up on Bear Mountain,” says Soar, now 22. Her grandfather had bought property in Killington in the 1960s. Her dad TJ grew up skiing there and then bought his own condo. Her parents put her on skis when she was 18 months old. By three she was skiing all over the mountain. At age eight she entered the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge, the East’s premiere amateur bump competition held on Kilington’s Outer Limits. She finished fourth. Against adults. Each weekend, Soar would climb in the car with her parents and drive from their home in Somers, Ct., to Killington. “My parents weren’t the ones who would say ‘you need to ski.’ I was an only child, and it was just what we did. My dad was a Div. 1 swimmer, and my mom is an awesome amateur triathlete, but they weren’t pressuring me to ski,” she says. “I did spend a lot of time lapping Outer Limits, but there were also some days where I’d show up, I’d do a run, take my boots off and sit in a snowbank and throw snowballs at this little scoundrel Ian,” she adds. “He’s now my boyfriend.” Bear Mountain quickly became Soar’s playground—albeit one with few walls. “My dad would say, ‘I’m going to ski until 4 pm. Here’s a sandwich. Fend for yourself.You know a lot of people here.’ My dad trusted the community there.” Soar would tag along, following her parents, or other groups. “There were all these different groups who would ski Outer Limits and it would be really fun to sit on the chair and watch them come down,” she remembers. “I’d call my parents’ group the Stoner Group – even though I’ve never smoked weed a day in my life – but they were just really into The Grateful Dead (literally the only band I knew growing up) and tie-dye, like I am now.” Soar joined the Killington Ski Club and there she met another girl from Connecticut, a year younger, who was as passionate about
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skiing as she was. Her name, Olivia Giaccio. “I think we both really owe our skiing to this guy Bob Fisher,” she says of her ski club coach. “He was in charge of the 8- and 9-year-olds. He didn’t so much ‘teach’ us, as corral us. He wasn’t so much instructing us – like saying this is where your ski should go – as just shepherding us around the mountain and instilling this passion for skiing and friendship,” Soar says. “He’d bring us in for hot cocoa breaks and waffles and then we’d all go back out and get lost. And then we’re like, ‘Oh my God, we need to find Bob!’ and the whole thing was this discombobulated experience that was awesome. He let us make him the butt of our jokes, which was just so much fun. I still see Bob to this day at the mountain. I’m like, ‘Bob got all your kids? And he’ll usually say ‘No, no I don’t.’ Some things never change. I love that.” Giaccio, a year younger, was part of that group. Her parents, both snowboarders, also commuted to Killington from Redding, Ct., on weekends before they moved to Chittenden. .
5 Questions for Hannah Soar
. What helped you become such a good mogul skier? I was a really big follower and just skied behind my parents or whomever I could. I still am. If you see me at Killington today, I’m probably skiing right behind someone matching their every turn. Being fast is important but unlike alpine skiing, speed is just one part of the competition. I love skiing behind someone who is really slow and just being really in control of every turn. What do you look for when you watch other mogul skiers? The thing about Killington is there are so many people who want to mogul ski and just be better at it and they have crazy interpretations on how to make a turn. And that’s awesome to me. The crazier, the better! I also like to follow the people who might not be the “best” turners on the mountain. I’ll follow just about any schmuck who skis on the mountain and just hope they don’t mind. What’s the best tip for skiing moguls you’ve been told? I would definitely say it’s really important to know where the downhill ski is. I think that gets taken for granted. On a technical note, if you can always be on your outside ski, you’ll always be fine. Too often we try to turn uphill. Also, try to flex your ankles and just keep your momentum moving down the hill. You are on a chair and you see someone below you skiing bumps. What do you yell at them? I usually just want to holler, ‘That’s awesome!’ Just getting in the bumps is scary—I feel that. And on a day when the bumps are big and it’s icy, anyone out there deserves a holler.
Hannah Soar pounds slush bumps at Killington in the spring, pony tail flying. Her Olympic teammate, Olivia Giaccio (far right), also got her start at Killington.
By the time they were teenagers, both girls had outgrown the ski club and enrolled at Killington Mountain School where they were coached by Matt Gnoza. “We come at skiing really differently,” says Soar. “I’m more like the tie-dye freebump mentality and Liv’s more like the aerialist. She’s all about precision.”The two often trained side by side. “They had brought in this airbag one day and we were doing back fulls and I remember turning to Liv and saying, ‘I want us to do back fulls in the Olympics someday together,’” Soar recalls. Giaccio ended up moving out West and Gnoza was tapped to coach the U.S. Ski Team. “When I was 14, a freshman, we were at a training camp at Whistler in the summer and it was raining so Matt [Gnoza] lent me his Patagonia jacket one day.” Soar remembers. “Matt had just been
Photo courtesy Hannah Soar
You’re something of a Dead Head. What soundtrack plays in your mind when you ski or compete? When I was 11, I had one chance to compete at an A event against older kids on Outer Limits to see if I was ready to move up from competing as a B. We were driving to the mountain and The Grateful Dead’s “I Need a Miracle” came on. My dad turned to me and said, “You really do need a miracle.” Well, it was really icy that day so the older girls couldn’t do their backflips. I didn’t know how to do a backflip at the time so that evened the playing field and I won. Was I better than they were? No. I just had a good day on my home terrain. But that was my miracle. And then, when my mom found out I made the Olympics, that song was on too. So, I guess it’s “I Need a Miracle.”
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called up to be a coach at the U.S. Ski Team. When it was time to give the jacket back, he said ‘Give it back to me when you make the U.S. Team,” Soar says. “He really believed in me and he just seemed matter of fact about it.” (Note to Matt Gnoza, Hannah Soar still has your jacket.) In 2016, still a junior in high school, Soar made the U.S. Ski Team. A year later, Giaccio did too. Both were soon competing on the World Cup circuit and earning podium finishes. The 2019/20 season looked to be promising for both women. Giaccio had become the first woman to throw a cork 1080 in a FIS Moguls World Cup competition and had been training at the highest degree of difficulty for women. But there were challenges for both. For Soar, anxiety was something she had to overcome. “I don’t love competition, but I’ve learned to embrace it. It’s very stressful having to perform like that for one moment, each time,” says Soar. “Back in my Bear Mountain days, I didn’t even know what pressure was. I just put on a paper bib and had a good time.” For a while, Soar says she was able to get away with having natural talent. “I had to learn how to deal with my anxiety and also how to get myself to perform at my highest level,” she says. She worked on mindfulness and meditation. “It’s taken me a lot of time to learn and not throw up before competition. But now I can sort of put everything out of my head and focus.” That mindfulness has put her in a good place. Soar was at the top of the run at the World Cup in Thaiwoo, China in December 2019
Photo courtesy USSA
MASTER THE MOGULS While every mountain has moguls, Killington celebrates them and if you want to become a better mogul skier, spring there is the time to do it. Killington, after all, has produced such legends as Olympic gold medalist Donna Weinbrecht and current Olympians Hannah Soar and Olivia Giaccio. Mogul Weekends, aimed at adults (over 18) who are intermediates or above, take place Feb. 5-6 and March 19-20 and include video analysis and coaching ($329). For women, five-time World Cup winner Donna Weinbrecht and some of Killington’s top female instructors host two weekend-long Women’s Moguls Camps this season, Jan. 29-30 and Feb. 26-27 for intermediate skiers and above, ages 18 and up. Cost is $429 and includes coaching, lunch and video analysis. Feeling like you’re ready to show the world what you got? The Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge takes place on Killington’s Outer Limits on April 2. The event pits amateurs (yes, amateurs only) against each other in a dual moguls format. It’s worth it to go just to watch – costumes and antics are encouraged — and the party in the parking lot is legendary. So much so that Killington once issued “party tips,” to spectators and at one point shut down the event because it got too rowdy.
when she learned Giaccio, who was at the event as well, had fallen and torn her ACL and meniscus. “I was really upset for her, but I just had to put everything out of my head,” Soar said. Soar skied her run, earning her first World Cup podium, a bronze. Channeling her Killington/Bear Mountain days helps Soar deal with the stress, remembering the way she skis Outer Limits in the spring, tie-dyed t-shirt, ponytail flying, Grateful Dead playing in her head. “A few weeks ago, at Deer Valley I was standing in the gate and there was a big crowd, and I could only think, yes, I’m nervous but when all is said and done, that moment when you are in the start gate and someone is saying to you, “Three, two, one…” I’m going to miss that feeling when I hang up my bib,” she says. That day, she would hear the announcer, far below, echoing in the loudspeakers: “It’s time to SOAAAAR!” Soar smiles, “I heard that and said, ‘Damn right, it’s time to soar and I could see all these tie-dyed shirts at the bottom, and they were all yelling. And before I pushed off, I thought ‘this, this makes it all worth it.” n
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RETRO VT
100 YEARS OF FLYING In 1922, Fred Harris, a pioneering extreme skier built a huge ski jump in Brattleboro. In February, Harris Hill celebrates 100 years of high-flying competition. By Kevin O’Connor
More than 2,500 spectators showed up for the first Harris Hill competition in 1922. The hill has been rebuilt and the skis and equipment vastly improved. The annual event still draws huge crowds and competitors from around the world.
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I
credit
n the dizzyingly heady days of the early 1900s as the Wright brothers were pioneering the first airplanes, a 23-year-old from Brattleboro strapped wooden slats to his feet and catapulted off a snow-covered ramp. “Broke all my skis to pieces,” Frederick Harris penned in his diary in the winter of 1910. Two more timbers brought two more tries. “Fell twice,” he wrote. But again, persistence. “Tried jump several times, and at last made it,” Harris proclaimed. “Hurrah, twice. Oh!Ye! Gods!” If only Harris could have foreseen what it would snowball into. In 1922, when the Vermonter went on to build what’s now the Harris Hill Ski Jump in his hometown of Brattleboro, he needed only a few planks for a launchpad and two more to lash to his boots to leap off a peak 30 stories high at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. “The jump provided heroics for all to see,” winter sports historian E. John B. Allen wrote. “It really did seem that a man could fly.” That jump – albeit rebuilt —still stands today: the only Olympic-sized ski jump in New England and one of a mere six of its height in the nation. It will celebrate its 100th year on Feb. 18-20 drawing a crowd of world-class athletes and several thousand spectators. That’s just the latest wrinkle in the long history of Harris Hill rising above seemingly insurmountable odds. The oldest known skis —discovered in the snowdrifts of Russia—date back some 10,000 years. But “skiing” and “ski jumping” were not household words when Harris, a sportsman turned stockbroker, introduced the sport to the northeastern U.S. “When, as a young man, Harris first began skiing in the winter of 1903-04, only a few Americans had ever strapped on skis for sport or simply to travel,” Allen writes (albeit failing to acknowledge early native Americans who may have used skis for hunting or to traverse). A pioneering “extreme skier,” Harris was one of the founders of the Dartmouth Outing Club.The first such organization of its kind, its mission was “to stimulate interest in out-of-door winter sports,” he wrote in the college newspaper. In 1913, Harris —along with DOC members Carl Shumway and Joseph Cheney — became the first men credited with hiking and skiing Mt.Washington. Harris also
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The sport has evolved but the Harris Hill jump remains one of six of its size in the U.S. This year, previous winner Chris Lamb (bottom photo) will return to compete.
claimed the first ski descent of Whiteface, in the Adirondacks. Harris lived for adventure. He often canoed the Connecticut River to commute between Dartmouth College and his home in Brattleboro, 70 miles south. In 1912, Harris won the U.S. mixed doubles tennis championship and in 1920 he piloted his 87-year-old grandmother in a plane. That’s why locals weren’t surprised when Harris, who shaped boards and shellacked them to make his own skis— created the Brattleboro Outing Club in 1922, the same year he created his namesake jump. Harris had eyed an evergreen-covered hill on Cedar Street in December of 1921. In a month, workers cut trees, blasted rocks, smoothed the slope and constructed 350 steps up to a wood trestle jump— at a cost of $2,200. Harris then enlisted his sister, Evelyn, to help him test the hill. Though Evelyn Harris and, later, the sisters Dorothy and Maxine Graves, were skiing off the jump before World War II, it wasn’t until 2014 that women were allowed to ski jump at the Olympics. The first event on Harris’ ‘hill’ was held Feb. 4, 1922. It was billed as that year’s state championship and drew a crowd of 2,500. Charles Edward Crane, writing in his book Winter in Vermont, explained the new sport: “A speck of something black is seen gathering motion at the top of the trestle. It soon appears to be the Lilliputian figure of a man. It comes forward with express-train speed and assumes life size as he shoots from the take-off and stands in midair for a split second, and then resumes contact with the planet by landing on the slanting base of the hill.” Crane was an Associated Press correspondent who had witnessed his share of history on both sides of the Atlantic. But he recalled the ski jump’s beginning with a particular fondness. “I think I shall never see more interesting ski events than in those days when jumping was so new, and the crowd at
WATCHING THE HARRIS HILL JUMP Brattleboro’s Harris Hill Ski Jump celebrates its centennial Feb. 18-20. The weekend kicks off with fireworks, food, and beverages on Friday night. More than 40 of the world’s top ski jumpers compete on Saturday for the Pepsi Challenge and U.S. Cup, with the Fred Harris Memorial Tournament on Sunday. The competitions begin at 10 a.m. both days. The annual event is held on the rebuilt jump, a 90-meter Normal Hill (as jumps of that size are designated by Olympic standards) and the competitions are sanctioned by the United States Ski Association (USSA). Jumpers start with 20 style points given. Judges look not just at the distance but at takeoff, flight and landing and deduct points for faults. High and low scores from the judges are eliminated to get the final score for each jump. Dress warmly and watch a part of ski history come back to life. harrishillskijump.com. —L.L.
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VERMONT’S SKI JUMPS – PAST AND PRESENT While it’s not hard to head to a terrain park where anyone can send it, finding a bona fide ski jump where you can learn the techniques to hold a crouch down the in run, soar off into the air, and land, one leg first, telemarkstyle, isn’t as easy. In the 1920s, even before there were ski lifts, ski jumps began popping up around Vermont. In 1921, Stowe had a 25-meter ski jump on Marshall Hill (now a popular sledding hill) that drew a crowd of 2,000 to watch competitions during the town’s Winter
Carnival. In 1924, two years after Fred Harris created Harris Hill, a 40-meter jump went up on Chipman Hill, on the outskirts of Middlebury. It was later replaced by a 50-meter jump at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl, which hosted the NCAAs for ski jumping in 1961 and 1973. The Lyndonville Outing Club had a 45-meter jump that operated from 1947 to 1972. The hotbed in Vermont, however, was down south. In 1925, Vermont Academy put in the first of several small jumps on its Saxton’s River campus and the school became a training ground for ski jumpers. Not to be outdone, in 1936, the Putney School where John Caldwell taught erected a small 36-meter jump. In Dummerston, Maple Valley built a 45-meter jump in 1968. Harris Hill’s large ski jump was for trained athletes, but founder Fred Harris helped erect a smaller, 25-meter one in Brattleboro’s Latchis Park that operated from 1952 to 1979. By the 1970s, with the rising costs of insurance and waning interest in ski jumping, most of Vermont’s jumping hills had been decommissioned and destroyed. However, in Brattleboro’s Living Memorial Park, new ski jumps were built
Brattleboro more picturesque in a hit-or-miss manner of dress than it is now in ski-tog smartness,” he wrote. “I remember vividly the figure of Beatty Balestier, the troublesome brotherin-law of Rudyard Kipling, who always drove into the ski meet in an old-fashioned pung [a low-slung horse-drawn sleigh] filled with straw and buffalo robes—and apparently quite a bit of liquid warmth for the inner man.” For its part, The Brattleboro Reformer summed up spectators’ reactions in 1922: “They surely got their money’s worth of spectacular ski jumping.” Harris, who enlisted his college geology professor to judge the meet, leapt 107 feet. “Harris came in for a good share of the applause,” the Reformer reported. “The onlookers, especially the Brattleboro residents, knew that but for him the ski jump project never would have come about.” The press reported one injury: a 17-year-old from New Hampshire who strained a muscle. But rather than deter people, “the voyeuristic pleasure of watching danger and play
Tara Geraghty-Moats (above) of West Fairlee, Vt., got her start jumping at Storrs Hill in Lebanon N.H. An advocate for allowing women to compete in Nordic combined (the only winter Olympic event still closed to women) she won the first World Cup in Nordic combined for women.
in 2000 at the town’s recreation area, and there a new generation of ski jumpers is now earning to fly. Kids enrolled in the Harris Hill Junior Jumping Program practice twice weekly on the 10-meter and 18-meter jumps that were erected there in the early 2000s. At Storrs Hill, just across the Vermont border from White River Junction, the Lebanon Outing Club offers coached practices for experienced skiers on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from Jan. 11-Feb. 24. A season-long program costs $160 and the program has produced such athletes as Tara Geraghty-Moats, the 2020 World Cup champion in Nordic combined. Several other New Hampshire ski jumping programs are run by Ford Sayre, Mt. Washington and Nansen Ski Clubs. In Lake Placid, the state-sponsored New York Ski Education Foundation teaches children as young as 7 on its smaller jumps (K20 and K48) and in 2020 finished North America’s first refrigerated track for its 90-meter and 120-meter jumps. There, the members of the U.S. ski jumping and Nordic combined national teams train year-round. For more information visit the New England Ski Jumping Nordic Combined website at nesjnc.com. —L.L.
at the same time helped bring the crowds in,” Allen notes. The hill would host its first national championship in 1924, deemed by then-governor Redfield Proctor Jr. as “the most thrilling entertainment I ever saw…not only a splendid advertisement for Vermont as a winter sports region but a tremendous incentive to the development of ski sport throughout the East.” Harris Hill would go on to host multiple National Championships and produce champions such as local hero, Brattleboro’s Merrill “Mezzy” Barber and Norwegian-born ski jumping legend,Torger Tokle, who won the event three times. Tokle was the first to win the Winged Ski Trophy, a trophy Harris had commissioned jeweler Cartier to create. Both Tokle and Barber served in the burgeoning 10th Mountain Division where Tokle lost his life fighting in the battle of Riva Ridge in Italy. World War II brought a hiatus to the competition. Lack of snow had also caused the event to be canceled several times before the war. But competition at the Harris Hill Ski jump came back in 1946 with famed travel writer Lowell Thomas
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broadcasting the NBC nightly radio news live from the event’s annual dinner in Brattleboro’s Brook’s House. While the Harris Hill annual competition has attracted ski jumpers from around the world (with Norway’s Arthur Tokle, Ukraine’s Vladimir Glyvka and Slovenia’s Blaz Pavlic all winning three times or more), it also created some hometown heroes. Putney’s John Caldwell, author of the seminal book on cross-country skiing, started out as a Nordic Combined athlete and represented the U.S. at the Olympic Games in 1952. Brattleboro native Dana Zelenakas began jumping at age 7 and went to the 1972 Olympics in Japan. Another Brattleboro skier, Jim Galanes, would represent the U.S. at three Olympics in Nordic Combined, from 1976 to 1984. In 1972, a red-headed freshman from Middlebury College named Hugh Barber won the event in front of a crowd of 4,000. Barber (Mezzy Barber’s nephew), grew up in Brattleboro. He would go on to win again the next two years, also retiring the Winged Ski trophy. By the early 1980s, time and weather caught up with the hill. Winters were less predictable and in 1985 Harris Hill added 2,000 feet of snowmaking pipe so it could host the 1992 National Championships, a qualifier for the Olympics. Liability insurance kicked in and helmets, which hadn’t existed in the early days of the event, became prevalent. In 2003, the local Rotary Club put up $20,000 for a new spectator stand. But it would not get much use right away: in 2005, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association deemed Harris Hill’s starting tower unsafe. Events were canceled as the organizing committee struggled to come up with the $1 million it would cost to rebuild it.
In 1924, Harris Hill hosted its first national ski jumping championship, an event then-governor Redfield Proctor Jr. called “the most thrilling entertainment I ever saw.”
When the Associated Press wrote that Harris Hill was in jeopardy, donations began pouring in with one wealthy donor writing a check for $130,000 and by 2009, after a three-year hiatus, the hill was rebuilt and the annual competitions were back on. The new 90-meter jump with its steel take-off ramp was higher and faster than its predecessor and the record books had to be retired. Chris Lamb, a New Hampshire native who graduated from nearby Marlboro College, took home top honors in 2010 and 2013. Lamb set a record with a 102-meter jump in 2010, a record Slovenian Blaz Pavlic would break in 2017 by landing at 104 meters. In 2020, the last running of the event before Covid, Lamb faced off with another two-time winner, Pavlic. In the end Pavlic outjumped Lamb by 5.5 meters, to earn the Winged Ski Trophy. Lamb retired from ski jumping and moved out west. But he will be back for the 2022 event. “I grew up jumping at Harris Hill (first jumps at age 11) and have always loved the atmosphere in Brattleboro. I was at Marlboro College from 2014-2018 and it was such a special thing to be able to drive down the hill and step back into the ski jumping world for a weekend each year,” he says. “Though the Winged Trophy has been retired, and I live quite far away, I’m still drawn back to Harris Hill because of the community and the wonderful memories I have there,” he says. This year, more memories will be made. Excerpted from “Harris Hill Ski Jump:The First 100Years,” by Kevin O’Connor. Available at harrishillskijump.com.
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FEB. 13, 2022 STOWE, VT
Home of
Red Bench Speaker Series “Topics Relevant to Todayʼs Skiers & Riders”
ʻ21/ʼ22 Season Presented Virtually September - April Learn More & Register: www.vtssm.org/redbench
From the top of Mount Mansfield to the Village of Stowe!
Celebrating the 77th year of Vermont’s most EPIC winter race! Be part of Stowe’s LARGEST nordic ski and fat bike event It's time again for the 77th Annual Stowe Derby! This year’s event will take place on Sun, Feb 13th, 2022! We are deep into prepping and planning and so excited to continue the tradition of this fun and beloved community event. As has been fondly remembered from the past, we are working hard to make this event more than just a race and are looking to promote our local Stowe businesses! From restaurants to retailers and everything in between, we want to showcase your business the week leading up and weekend of the event! This year Silo Distillery has signed on as a sponsor to promote the official Stowe DERBY DRINK cocktail (NA option too!) dreamed up by Jason at BigFish! Co-branded coasters will accompany the drink that has a link to more info about this EPIC event. And keep that coaster- it also doubles up as a raffle entry! An event like this has opportunities for the whole village and we are hoping all of you will join us in the excitement of the event from gift card and merchandise donations for awards and prizes to sponsorships of fun things like cowbells and speed segments! While t-shirts could not be turned around in time for this year’s event, we are very excited to offer buffs complete with the opportunity to co-brand with sponsorship participation. HERE'S WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU: PLEASE RESPOND BY JAN 21st! Please email Patrice@marketing@mmsca..org or SCAN the QR code below by Jan 21st to let us know how you’d like to be involved this year and what kind of special you will be offering that we can PROMOTE for YOU!
SIGN UP TO BE A SUPPORTER OF THE 77TH ANNUAL STOWE DERBY!
802.297.1600 | WADSWORTHBUILD.COM
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THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CALENDAR FEBRUARY 5 | Winter Wild Skimo Race, Pat’s Peak, N.H. The Winter Wild Skimo is 5 miles, start at 7:00 am. you will do two laps of the following course. Course is counter-clockwise up Puff (Green) to Twister (Black) and down Breeze - Zepher - Blast. teamampactive.org 11 | We Rise for Women Camp, Stratton The Mountain Sports School is partnering with Rossignol to supercharge your skiing and riding skills in a supportive, fun environment with other like-minded women. Led by top instructors. stratton.com 12-13 | Annual Junior Extreme Comp, Jay Peak Open to all junior competitors wanting a taste of a freeski and ride competition on Saturday, and an IFSA-sanctioned event on Sunday. jaypeak.com 13 | Frozen Onion, Montpelier A fun race with free fat bike demos for newcomers. Race starts/ends at North Branch Nature Center and uses the groomed trails of North Branch River Park. Multiple distance options available, and a kids’ race, too! onionriver.com 13 | 77th Stowe Derby, Stowe Ski from near the top of Mt. Mansfield’s Toll Road trail all the way to town or wherever the 20 km course runs. Also a 6K short course and 16K fat bike division. mmsc.org 14-17 | Nor Am Series, Burke Burke Mountain Academy hosts the prestigious Nor-Am series including Super G, Slalom and Giant Slalom. skiburke.com 18-19 | Middlebury Winter Carnival, Middlebury Snow Bowl The northeast’s best Div. 1 NCAA racers compete as teams in alpine and Nordic events at the Snow Bowl and Rikert Nordic Center. middleburysnowbowl.com 19 | Torchlight Parade for Skiers, Suicide 6 Sign up to ski down The Face and create the magical parade of lights, or bring the family and enjoy the view. Begins shortly after sunset followed by outdoor family festivities around the fire with a cash bar (until 9pm). suicide6.com 19-20 | 100th Anniversary Harris Hilll Ski Jump, Brattleboro More than 40 of 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 20 | Road To Ruin Race, Magic Mountain A throwback to the classic 80’s ski movie Hot Dog with a flat-out mass-start freeski/ ride race top-to-bottom on Black Line. Nothing fancy, just first across the finish line wins. There are no style points. $1500 in prize money. magicmtn.com 24 | ‘Winter Starts Now’ Movie, Burke Get stoked, be inspired, celebrate the 72nd film from Warren Miller Entertainment during one of our three movie premiers through the season. skiburke.com
25-27 Extreme Challenge, Smuggler’s Notch The Smugglers’ Notch Ski and Snowboard Club hosts this exciting event - an opportunity for junior and adult freeskiers and riders to show their big mountain skiing on the most difficult terrain the East has to offer. smuggs.com 26 | Mini Shred Madness, Pico Grom skiers and riders, 13 years and under get a feel for park riding and experience the rules and navigation. Mini Shred Madness is all about having fun in a competition setting. Plus, free giveaways being handed out at the event to competitors. Killington.com 26 | Mardi Gras, Mount Snow Mount Snow transforms into Bourbon St. with live music on Main Street and bead giveaways in lift lines, lodges, parties, and other locations all day long. mountsnow.com 26 | Split the Peak, Jay Peak For $30 you get a rental splitboard of your choice, a guided tour, and a gear raffle with items from Outdoor Gear Exchange, REI, Alpine Shop VT, and more. jaypeak.com 26-27 | Kare Anderson Telemark Festival, Bromley Enjoy 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
MARCH 4-6 | Slash & Berm, Killington A three-day banked slalom event at The Stash park with a Shop Team Invite-Only banked slalom event on Friday. New this year will be the Just for Fun Run. This will be geared for participants who’d like to run the course in a non-competitive manner and can enter to win prizes. The event benefits The Chill Foundation. killington.com 5 | 34th Annual Chez Henri Cup, Sugarbush A timed race and raffle named for the legendary Sugarbush restauranteur, Henri Borel. Benefits Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice. sugarbush.com 5 | WinterBike, East Burke A fatbike festival with demos, vendors, bonfires and guided rides of the 23 miles of groomed trails at Kingdom Trails. mbtvt.com 6 | High Fives Fat Skiathon, Sugarbush Ski laps and raise money for the High Fives Foundation. sugarbush.com 6 | Shred4Nate Race, Stratton The Stratton Foundation hosts the 4th annual #Shred4Nate memorial alpine race at the Stratton Mountain Resort, dedicated to mental health programs for children, schools, families and communities across southern Vermont. stratton.com 8 | Red Bull Slide-In Tour, Stratton Keep an eye out for Red Bull athletes and 2020 X Games Knuckle Huck Gold Medalist, Zeb Powell. Join the pros as they rip laps in the park and then hang out at Grizzly’s for an après-ski party hosted by Red Bull. stratton.com 12 | Blauvelt Banks, Bolton Valley Pro riding legend Jake Blauvelt creates a banked slalom course for this wild snowboard event, which makes for great spectating. boltonvalley.com
DEMO DAYS
Want to try new skis or a board on snow? This winter Sugarbush Resort hosts events Feb. 5: Never Summer; Feb. 12: Black Crows. Feb. 19: Rossignol. Details at sugarbush. com. Feb. 26: Jay Peak hosts a splitboard demo day.
12 | Winter Pedal Fest, Jay Peak A day of a non-mountain timed downhill fat bike race for adults and kids; Group rides on Nordic terrain and a gear raffle. jaypeak.com 12 | Vertical Challenge, Smuggler’s Notch Skiers and snowboarders are divided by gender and age to compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals in each category. There’s a festival element, featuring snowy activities for all ages, plus prizes given away throughout a fun day at the mountain. smuggs.com
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12-13 | Vermont Open Banked Slalom, Stratton Riders give it their all in a downhill slalom course featuring berms, bumps, jumps and rollers twisting down East Byrnes Side. Riders will be individually timed, and the fastest times at the end of the weekend will go home with trophy prizes. stratton.com 13 | Endurance Society Skimo Race, Pico, Mendon Race a single 2,000 ft. climb to the summit or three different climbs (6,000 ft.) The LeMans mass start is at 8 am for AT, telemark and splitboard. endurancesociety.com 12 | Winter Wild Skimo Race, Magic Mountain Course distance is ~3 miles & 1,450 vertical feet. Up Hocus Pocus to Wand to Trick to Upper Magic Carpet to Summit, then down. Mass start is at 7:00 am. magicmtn.com 12 | Master of the Mountain, Magic Mountain The final extreme comp to crown the East’s best overall skier/rider! A one-run race, a top-to-bottom of Black Line timed event with up to 9 seconds reduced on your overall time by how well you do in the freeride comp before swinging right into the Giant Slalom gates. $1500 purse on the line for the top 3 finishers. magicmtn.com 17 | St. Patrick’s Day Gold Hunt, Bromley The ultimate St. Patrick’s Day hunt and search for gold at the end of the rainbow. bromley.com 19-20 | George Tormey Challenge Race, Smuggler’s Notch Named for George Tormey, beloved skier and coach, the George Tormey Challenge is the last competition of the year for 11- to 14-year-olds and an opportunity to bring home a medal in this fun team event. smuggs.com 19 | Vermont Brewers Festival , Killington For the first time in 27 years, this festival comes to Killington. Enjoy exclusive beers created collaboratively by our Vermont brewers. Embrace the elements with this all outdoor, winter-themed festival at the base area of the Bear Mountain Lodge at Killington. Sit by the fire pits with the brewers who host this event while enjoying the option of 3, 6, or 9 oz. samples of beer. killington.com 19 | 24 Hours of Stratton , Stratton This is your only chance to ski Stratton at night under lighted trails and starry skies into sunrise. Wear your 24H bib to participate in on and off the slope activities to earn points for your ‘team’ or just for fun. There’s also an Uphill Challenge, on-hill team scavenger hunt, snowman-building contest, night tubing and more. Your bib provides two-day access to all open trails on Saturday through Sunday. Fundraising is for The Stratton Foundation’s efforts to help children in need. stratton.com 20 | K1 Tear-Down Party, Killington The infamous K-1 Base Lodge sees its final party as Killington makes way for a new base lodge. The end all, be all of celebrations. killington.com 24 | The North Face Movies Ascend & Approach, Sugarbush The North Face presents a double feature screening of their films, Ascend (featuring University of Vermont grad and amputee Vasu Sojitra’s summit and ski descent of Denali) and Approach, showing Sojitra, Emile Zynobia and other skiers and riders working to expand horizons. sugarbush.com 25 | Spring Brew & Ski Weekend, Smuggler’s Notch Try some of Vermont’s excellent brews plus regional favorites and craft ciders. Enjoy samples from 14th Star, Citizen Cider, Fiddlehead, Long Trail, Halyard, Otter Creek, Shacksbury, Shed, Switchback, UFO Beer Co., and Zero Gravity. smuggs.com 26 | Superheroes Pond Skim, Burke This year’s theme is Superheroes, so grab your capes and fly on over! skiburke.com
26 | MarchdiGras, Stratton Stratton Mountain’s annual outdoors Village block party. Enjoy live music, specialty food, drink and animations in the Village. stratton.com 26 | Reggae Fest, Pond Skim & Duct Tape Derby, Mount Snow Reggae music in the Main Base Area throughout the weekend, plus Sink or Skim pond skim and Mount Snow’s infamous Duct Tape Derby. mountsnow.com
APRIL 2 | Nor’Beaster Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge, Killington Amateur bumpers take to the slopes of Outer Limits to battle for a place in the finals. The top 32 men and 16 women compete in a head-to-head competition for the Mogul Challenge Cup. Open to skiers only and limited to the first 150. killington.com 2 | Winter Brewers’ Festival, Mount Snow Enjoy beers and ciders from a variety of breweries and live music, all in the Main Base Area. mountsnow.com 2 | Annual Pond Skim, Smuggler’s Notch Elvis, a gorilla, guys in bikinis - you’ll see it all in the Zone Terrain Park during Pond Skimming! Registration for this free event starts at 10:00 am at the Smugglers’ Notch tent in Parking Lot 1 for the first 100 people only. The first skimmer launches toward the pond at 12:00 noon. Prizes awarded for best costume. smuggs.com 2-3 | Sugar Slalom, Stowe Originating in 1939, this is one of the oldest and most recognized alpine races in America. and draws over 1,000 racers and spectators. A celebration of spring and the tapping of maple trees, it’s a festival atmosphere with music, barbecue on the hill, fantastic ski racing and festive costumes. The race also features maple syrup on snow, plus Cold Hollow cider donuts, and fresh pickles at the finish. mmsca.org 2 | Annual Pond Skim, Stratton Participants try to skim across the water’s surface and make it out the other side just as dry as the entered. Registration will be held the day of and is limited to the first 150 participants. An event that is just as fun to watch as it is to enter. stratton.com 3 | Friendly Freeski Challenge, Smuggler’s Notch This IFSA (International Freeskiers & Snowboarders Association) friendly event is for athletes who are new to freeride and interested in trying it out. No ranking points may be earned by participants though there will be a podium ceremony. smuggscom 9 | Win Fest & Pond Skimming, Sugarbush Celebrate former owner Win Smiith’s 20 years at the helm of Sugarbush. Plus, take the plunge across a 120 foot pond at tLincoln Peak. Whether you get wet or spectate from the crowd, be sure to participate in this annual rite of spring. sugarbush.com 16 | Nor’Beaster Dazed & Defrosted , Killington Celebrate spring with soft bumps, cold brews, on-snow demos, and of course, great live music. Your finest spring attire is greatly encouraged. Killington.com
MAY 1 | May Day Slalom , Killington Compete with your friends for bragging rights on Superstar, where the Women’s World Cup was held last November, or simply find your own limits. Don’t miss your last chance of the season to race down Superstar. This competition is FREE to enter with a valid Killington season pass or lift ticket.. Killington.com
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DRINK VT
The Green Mountain State is home to some of the best breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries in the world. Call ahead for a reservation or to order take-out brews and drinks. For more information, links and maps to each location check out www. vtskiandride.com.
VERMONT BEER, WINE, CIDER + SPIRITS
133 North Main St, St. Albans, VT 802-528-5988 | 14thstarbrewing.com 14th Star Brewing Co. is veteran-owned Vermont craft brewery on a mission to brew world-class beer while enriching the communities we serve. Using the freshest local ingredients, we impart military precision and creativity into every batch of 14th Star beer. Reserve ahead and find your favorite 14th Star brews in our Brewery Taproom. Our beer is also available on tap and in cans statewide and Brewed With A Mission™ to give back to various charitable and veteran organizations.
316 Pine Street, Burlington, VT 802-497-1987 | citizencider.com Come visit our Cider Pub, where we bring together locally crafted cider and food and drinks to go. We work with local growers and makers to bring good food and cider to the people. A community of folks who believe that cider loves food. Try some cider or try a bite and celebrate local community at it’s best. Cider for the people, made by the people.
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116 Gin Lane, Montpelier, VT 802-472-8000 | www.barrhill.com Open daily, 2-8 p.m;
We’re now offering cocktails to go and a free bar snack with every order at our distillery overlooking the Winooski River in downtown Montpelier. We use raw northern honey to capture the countless botanicals foraged by honeybees in our award-winning Barr Hill Gin, barrel-aged Tom Cat Gin, and Barr Hill Vodka.
3597 VT-74, Shoreham, VT 802-897-2777 | champlainorchards.com Visit us at our Shoreham Farm Market or find us at your favorite craft retailer to try our award winning, orchard-made ciders. All our ciders are made onsite with our ecologically grown apples and our orchard is solar powered.
FIND MAPS AND MORE AT
vtskiandride.com/drink-vermont
Rt 100 Waterbury Center, VT 802-244-8771 | coldhollow.com Open seven days a week. Taste real, modern day hard ciders…made from our own real sweet cider made in a real Vermont barn. Taste the difference. We’re Vermont to the core.
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ade real ’re
Drop-In Brewing is Middlebury’s small, independent, locally-owned brewery, and is home to The American Brewers Guild Brewing School. Our tap room is open Tues. - Sat. noon to 5 p.m. serving beer to go. You can find our beer on draft in restaurants and bars across Vermont, and our cans in retailers that carry craft beers. For more information, check out www.dropinbrewing. com, or call us at (802) 989-7414.
1859 Mountain Rd, Stowe, VT 802-253-4765 | idletymebrewing.com
155 Carroll Rd, Waitsfield, VT 802-496-HOPS | lawsonsfinest.com
Our beer line-up represents a traditional take on classic European brewing with a healthy dose of the Vermont hop culture. Whether your preference is a brown or pale ale, Helles Lager or our famous Idletyme Double IPA, we have a beer you’ll love! And it’s brewed right here at our pub and restaurant.
Visit our family-owned award-winning brewery, timber frame taproom, and retail store located in the picturesque Mad River Valley. We produce an array of hop forward ales, specialty maple beers, and unique brews of the highest quality and freshness, and offer light fare. Open daily.
Did you miss the
LAST CALL? Find out more: 802-760-8550. 8814 Route 30, Rawsonville, VT Junction VT Rt 30N and VT Rt 100N 802-297-9333 | craftdraughts.com An intimate shop with over 300 craft beers plus ciders, meads and two rotating Vermont taps for growler fills. A muststop for craft beer lovers traveling through southern Vermont.
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6308 Shelburne Rd, (Rte. 7)Shelburne, VT 802-985-8222 | shelburnevineyard.com Open Thurs.-Mon. 12-7, by reservation. Taste and enjoy our award-winning wines as we welcome you and share our adventure growing grapes and making wine in VT’s northern climate. Located in charming Shelburne, just south of Burlington.
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1333 Luce Hill Rd., Stowe, VT 802-253-0900 | vontrappbrewing.com Von Trapp Brewing is dedicated to brewing the highest quality Austrianinspired lagers with a Vermont twist. Experience “a little of Austria, a lot of Vermont,” in every glass. Come visit our bierhall and restaurant at the brewery!
17 Town Farm Lane, Stowe 802-253-2065 | stowecider.com Fresh-pressed hard cider crafted in Vermont. Ciders range from super dry and preservativefree to others containing local fruits, hops, and unique barrel-aged offerings. Visit our tasting room at 17 Town Farm Lane across from the Rusty Nail, in Stowe.
1321 Exchange St, Middlebury, VT 802385-3656 | woodchuck.com As America’s original hard cider, we have always done things our own way, forging a tradition of quality and craftsmanship with every cider batch we craft. At Woodchuck, our cider makers meticulously oversee the details of every cider before any bottle or keg leaves our cidery. It’s this attention and passion for cider that ensures we always deliver a premium hard cider that is true to our roots. Enjoy the brand that started the American cider revolution.
VERMONT BEER, WINE, CIDER + SPIRITS
T
610 Route 7, Middlebury, VT 802-989-7414 | dropinbrewing.com
2/9/22 10:45 PM
The Chairlift Q+A
ONE FAMILY, 23 NORDIC AREAS It’s one thing to try to ski all 23 of the public cross-country ski areas inVermont. It’s another to do so as a family.
T
here’s a benefit to having a pass at one of Vermont’s 23 crosscountry ski areas that most people don’t ever take advantage of: With a season pass at one area, you can ski for free once at every other one. This winter, Helen and Jake Hollenbach decided to take advantage of that to ski every Nordic area on the list—and to bring along their son Johannes, age 3. Jake, a Vermonter, works at Skirack in Burlington as a cross-country and bike specialist. He is also an accomplished all-around athlete who has won the Stowe Derby, the Lake Placid Ski Marathon, the Vermont 50 mountain bike race and the Burlington Criterium roadbike race. Helen, who grew up cross-country ski racing in the Adirondacks, is an orthopaedic physician’s assistant.
Any really unique experiences? Jake: “We still have to explore southern Vermont but it was cool to go to the Memphremagog Trails and see how those are integrated with the town of Newport. At Strafford Nordic Center you can get a chocolate milk from Strafford Creamery, just next door. And Rikert has this amazing food truck that serves gourmet hot chocolate.”
So whose idea was this? Jake: “I think it was actually Helen’s to go to all the areas. We realized we ski the same areas all the time —mainly Sleepy Hollow in Hinesburg because it’s near home—but there are all these cool areas we’d never skied. I do a lot of work with Fischer, race for them and am part of their ambassador program. So visiting all these areas and then posting about them on our Instagram gives Fischer some exposure as well.”
What makes Vermont’s XC areas special?? Helen: “Nordic skiing you really experience a sense of place. There’s a peace to it and a spiritual aspect. In Vermont, there’s a commitment to public use of land and accessibility is really good here: you can go almost anywhere on skis. That’s a big reason people live here.”
And your favorite trail? Jake: “It’s the Robert Frost Trail at Rikert, period. It’s winds around the network and far away from the crowds. There’s a cabin you can ski to and really cool forests. Trails like the Frost are pretty special.”
And you’re committed to do this as a family? Helen: “Yes with the pandemic—and a young child—we really couldn’t travel far so this was a way to explore close to home. Johannes is just old enough to ski with us and with the exception of a ski date or two, he’s going to all the ski areas. We take turns skiing with him.”
And what are your favorite places so far? Helen: “We love Sleepy Hollow. But we just had a great ski date at Trapps, and that’s hard to beat.” Jake: “I think Craftsbury is the best ski area in the state—alpine or cross-country. Go up there and stay sometime. The food is amazing, the trails are beautiful, it’s just great. Also, I’d never skied the trails at Jay Peak and they have incredible views. We went early season and I realized that the trail signs there are like 10 feet off the ground because that’s how much snow they get.” Were there any big surprises? Jake: “I’d never skied in Woodstock and I was blown away by how nice that area is and how well-rounded the Woodstock Inn Nordic trails are. They are really accessible and there’s something there for everyone.”
Jake, Johannnes and Helen at the start of what they are calling the “Tour de Hollenbach.”
Phoots courtesy Jake and Helen Hollenbach
What’s his favorite place? Helen: “Johannes loves grooming machines. At Sleepy Hollow, owner Eli Enman is building an electric groomer so Johannes is fascinated.”
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802.552.4007
#sugarbushvt
be here It’s said that people come here because they want to be here. Maybe it’s the incredible snow or the legendary terrain or the pure majesty of our Mad River Valley setting. All good reasons to call Sugarbush home, but in the end, it’s the camaraderie of our people that makes everyone feel so welcome here. Come to Sugarbush. You belong here. For the best deals on discounted tickets, season passes, lodging and more, visit sugarbush.com.
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