UpCountry Magazine, January/February 2019

Adventures in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019

Grab your skis and go!

Nordic ski areas not to miss 5 crazy backcountry ski slopes Lost Ski Areas of the Berkshires Junior jumpers take flight at Harris Hill

Plus: Take a trip along the Vermont Cheese Trail | 5 brunch spots worth the drive | Spend a weekend at the Wilburton Inn

“

You have to realize that getting up is only half the battle.

You’ve got to leave enough fuel in the tank to get back down the mountain.”

— Blair Mahar, Thunderbolt Ski Runners. Story, page 42.

A skier heads down the Thunderbolt Ski Trail on Mount Greylock, December 1959. Photo: William Tague.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

9 28 52 61

5 spots worthy of Sunday Brunch

5 must-visit cross-country ski areas

The bird carver

Where to have sweet or savory brunch

Miles of trails; a season of winter fun

One of the best teaches in Bennington

Wilburton Inn a home away from home — with added glam Manchester inn offers relaxation, inspiration and a murder mystery

7 Contributors 14

20

Leap of faith Training the next generation of Harris Hill jumpers

Ghost on the Thunderbolt Ski Trail

6 From the editor

Savor the flavor of Vermont cheese Take a trip along the Vermont Cheese Trail

Old Coot

40 Living the apres-ski life

When the skiing is done, the fun begins

57 Up Next 38

Months for recharging

Ski it if you dare These backcountry ski slopes are not for the faint of heart

42

Lost and found Finding the ‘lost ski areas’ that make the Berkshires a skiers’ paradise

47 UpCountryOnline.com | 5

FROM THE EDITOR

My parents had me on cross country skis by the time I hit kindergarten.

If you cross country ski, winter is never a sedentary, solitary season. Instead, it’s filled with adventure and vitality.

Thanks to my parents strapping those skis on my feet when I was a kid, I’ve had the privilege of cruising New England’s snow-covered trails through its most beautiful forests most of the winters of my life.

And so, when I strapped cross country skis on the feet of my kindergarten-aged daughter Reese for the first time last season, I prayed she’d enjoy this pursuit. You see, Reese is many things — a ballerina, an artist, a little chef and baker — and I warned myself against being disappointed should she not take to cross country skiing.

But she did take to it. (Thank God.) And we enjoyed a spectacular skiing season last year: We skied until April 22 at Prospect Mountain Ski Area in Woodford, Vt., and we’re in the middle of an even better ski season this winter.

And just yesterday I picked up a pair of ski boots for my 4-year-old daughter Hanna who’s been agitating her older sister and me to get her out on snow, too. Reese has a new pair of skis and Hanna will be on her sister’s hand-me-downs from last winter.

We’re headed this afternoon to Notchview in Windsor, Mass., where we’ll put Hanna on skis for the first time. My heart is so proud.

Kevin Moran, Executive Editor kmoran@berkshireeagle.com

Publisher Fredric D. Rutberg

frutberg@berkshireeagle.com

Vice President Jordan Brechenser

jbrechenser@berkshireeagle.com

Executive Editor Kevin Moran

kmoran@berkshireeagle.com

Editor Jennifer L. Huberdeau

jhuberdeau@berkshireeagle.com

Proofreader Tim Jamiolkowski

tjamiolkowski@berkshireeagle.com

Art Director Kimberly Kirchner

kkirchner@berkshireeagle.com

Chief Consumer Sales/ Events Officer Warren Dews Jr.

wdews@berkshireeagle.com

Regional Advertising Managers Berkshire County, Mass.: Kate Teutsch kteutsch@berkshireeagle.com

Bennington County, Vt.: Susan Plaisance

splaisance@manchesterjournal.com

Windham County, Vt.: Josh Unruh jdunruh@reformer.com

UpCountry Magazine is a publication of New England Newspapers Inc.

On the Cover: In Richmond, a copse of trees is laden with snow.

Photo: Stephanie Zollshan.

6 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

CONTRIBUTORS

Meggie Baker [“Manchester’s Wilburton Inn,” page 14] is the calendar clerk for The Berkshire Eagle.

Benjamin Cassidy [“Up Next,” page 57] is the arts and entertainment reporter for The Berkshire Eagle. A graduate of Columbia Journalism School and the University of Michigan, Benjamin now lives in Dalton, Mass.

Stephanie Gravalese [“5 spots worthy of Sunday brunch,” page 9] is a freelance writer and photographer, writing mostly about food and travel. Her work has been featured in various publications including the Berkshire Eagle, and Rural Intelligence. Follow her along her food adventures on Instagram at @ stephanitaeats. When not tracking down the best brunch spots, she can be found in Pittsfield, Mass.

Jennifer Huberdeau [“Finding the ‘lost ski areas’,” page 47] is editor of UpCountry magazine. She also pens the column, “The Cottager,” for Berkshires Week and The Shires of Vermont.

David LaChance [“The Bird Carver,” page 52] is the news editor of the Bennington Banner. He is a lifelong car enthusiast, and was formerly an editor, writer and photographer with Hemmings Motor News.

Makayla-Courtney McGeeney [“5 must-visit cross-country ski areas,” page 28] is a freelance arts and entertainment writer for the Manchester Journal and Bennington Banner. She resides in North Adams, Mass., where she currently works in the service industry, spends time marketing a local artist collective and building her photography portfolio.

Kevin O’Connor [“Leap of faith,” page 37] is a Vermont native and Brattleboro Reformer contributor.

Mike Walsh [“Ski it if you dare,” page 42] is a sports writer with The Berkshire Eagle, where he authors the bi-weekly Powder Report column.

He’s a bordering-on-30 snowboarder with a degree from Marist College and a natural curiosity for the finer things in life.

Natalie Wise [“Savor the flavor of Vermont cheese,” page 20] has a masters degree in poetry from Dartmouth and is the author of four books. When she isn’t writing, she is likely baking or spending time exploring this beautiful area with her husband and their chocolate lab.

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5 spots worthy of

Sunday brunch

Where to have a sweet or savory brunch and eat it, too

Editor’s note: Brunch, the casual midday meal typically eaten Sundays, offers the best foods of breakfast and lunch menus. But, did you know that brunch didn’t catch on in America until the late 1930s? In fact, it was in 1939 that our sister papers featured articles with headlines such as “New form of entertaining is the popular ‘brunch.’” To celebrate 80 years of dining on late morning/early afternoon meals of eggs Benedict and smoked salmon in the UpCountry, we asked Stephanie Gravalese, of Stephanita Eats (Stephanita.com), to suggest a few brunch spots worth visiting.

By Stephanie Gravalese

It’s a winter wonderland in the UpCountry!

While it’s the season for Netflix and low-key evenings, weekends offer the perfect reason to get out of bed: brunch! Not quite breakfast, not quite lunch, brunch as the meal is low pressure and doesn’t expect you up at the crack of dawn or limit you to sweet or savory choices: pancakes with maple syrup or corned beef hash? Coffee or bloody mary? You don’t have to choose!

Ready to rustle yourself out of bed for a leisurely late morning or early-afternoon meal? Check out my UpCountry picks of where to have your savory, sweet and eat it, too.

Brunch at Jake’s in Northampton, Mass.

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ABOVE: Sonny’s Blue Benn Diner in Bennington, Vt. RIGHT: Eggs Scandinavian, the signature dish at Up for Breakfast in Manchester Center, Vt.

In Southern Vermont ...

Sonny’s Blue Benn Diner 314 North St., Bennington, Vt. Open: Monday-Tuesday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday-Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

802-442-5140

The Blue Benn Diner, a Bennington staple located just outside the center of town, was recently named by Yankee Magazine as one of the 15 Best Diners in New England, and we can see why!

It’s a 1945 rail car converted into a diner, and each booth is made complete with mini jukeboxes while the other side of the car has a traditional-style diner counter, making it a space that’s great for groups and worth the wait.

It’s another breakfast-all-day-style spot, and the menu offers breakfasts classics such as omelets and pancakes, and the cornbread French toast, made from Blue Benn’s corn muffins ($6.25) to savory specials such as a tofu scramble and huevos rancheros. There’s something here for everyone.

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ABOVE: The Chelsea Royal Diner in West Brattleboro, Vt.

Chelsea Royal Diner 487 Marlboro Road, West Brattleboro, Vt. Open: Monday-Sunday, 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

413-398-5079, chelsearoyaldiner.com

While the Chelsea Royal Diner has been located on Route 9 for the past 30 years, this West Brattleboro spot has operated as a diner since 1939.

The all-day breakfast menu is a perfect complement to the lunch and dinner options, making it a perfect stop for brunch.

Sweeter brunch highlights include Belgian waffles, with the options to add toppings in the batter (I went cranberry and walnut). Top that with rich Vermont maple syrup and you’re golden.

The savory pick here is the diner’s specialty, the Cajun Skillet Breakfast: served right off the grill on a hot cast-iron skillet is grilled eggs, peppers, potatoes, sausage with two eggs over easy and choice of toast ($9.99). It’s all the savory breakfast flavors in one dish. Make sure to grab a booth in the vintage 1938 Worcester Diner car — it’s the best seat in the house.

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Up for Breakfast

4935 Main St., Manchester, Vt.

Open: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

802-362-4204

Located in downtown Manchester Center, Up for Breakfast is for early risers. Open only until 1:30 p.m. on the weekends, those who can get out of bed early will be welcomed by a menu focused on local ingredients and hearty brunch options.

Savory options include Eggs Scandinavian: smoked salmon and wilted spinach topped with poached eggs, and stone ground mustard hollandaise sauce served on sourdough toast ($12.95).

A sweet menu highlight is Morning Glory Pancakes, made with a cinnamon-based batter filled with coconut, raisins, pineapple, carrots, apple and nuts ($8.25). The Venison Blueberry sausage is a can’t miss, with other sausage options including Duck with Apple Brandy, Elk with Pear and Port Wine and Wild Boar with Cranberries.

In the Berkshires …

Pleasant & Main

1063 Main St., Housatonic, Mass.

Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; closed Mondays More information: 413-274-6303, pleasantandmain.com

Pleasant and Main is located in the village of Housatonic, and every corner is filled to the brim with French country decor. Everything has its place and is a feast for the eyes. From vintage bottles and stained-glass windows to the photographs and ephemera on the walls, take your time and explore the space.

Brunch options include breakfast classics as well as an extensive crepe menu with sweet and savory fillings. On my visit, I opted for the red cherry pancakes with maple syrup ($7.50), with a savory highlight the Croque Monsieur with grilled ham and swiss cheese (&10), or add a fried egg and make it a Croque Madame.

Make sure to check out the outdoor space around the back!

While it’s not currently outdoor dining season, it’ll be the perfect place for summer brunching.

In the Pioneer Valley: Jake’s

17 King St., Northampton, Mass.

Open: Monday-Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

413-584-9613, jakesnorthampton.com

Jake’s, a popular spot in downtown Northampton, serves breakfast all day, with lunch starting at 11 a.m.

Some brunch highlights include the El Paso Ranchero: on a base of refried black beans, jalapeno cornbread is topped with Monterey Jack cheese, two eggs, pico de gallo and sour cream ($9.75); the Country Benedict: buttermilk biscuits smothered in chorizo sausage gravy; and the Pork Belly Benedict the base of bread and topped with slices of fried pork belly, egg, two eggs topped with hollandaise sauce ($14) and holds a frequent spot on the specials menu.

Jake’s is known for its extensive hash menu and is also worth checking out.

Ready to explore the UpCountry’s brunch options? Now that it’s winter, make sure to call ahead to confirm hours. You never know what Mother Nature is going to bring! Some spots are cash-only, so check before you go and allow plenty of time, as many of these spots do not take reservations. Happy brunching!

BELOW: Pleasant & Main in Housatonic, Mass.

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Manchester’s Wilburton Inn a home away from home — with added glam

By Meggie Baker

Set atop a curving hill in the shadow of Mount Equinox in Vermont, Manchester’s Wilburton Inn offers its guests more than a place to lay their heads at night. This Gilded Age mansion-turned-inn is a home away from home — and a family operation.

What do the Wilburton Inn’s family of innkeepers hope guests take away from their stay?

“A sense of relaxation, joy, inspiration,” says Melissa Levis, one of four siblings running the Wilburton with their father, psychiatrist Albert Levis. “An energy from the mountains and views, a sense of love and welcome.”

The Wilburton Mansion, completed in 1902 by industrialist Albert M. Gilbert, a contemporary of Robert Todd Lincoln, consists of 11 bedrooms — stay in The Lincoln Bedroom, the Railroad Baron, The Runaway Debutante — and is one of several buildings providing lodging options on the Inn’s estate.

But if you thought that staying in this imposing mansion meant maneuvering uncomfortably around stuffy, untouchable antiques, think again. True to the mission, the stately home offers comfort and welcome before you even open the front door. A wide, open-air veranda overlooking

PHOTO: Jeff Fox

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The bridal suite.

Photo: Jeff Fox The living room.

Photo: Jim Gripe The Museum of the Creative Process.

Photo: Meggie Baker.

the nearby Green Mountain tempts guests to stop and take a moment before heading inside to check in.

When you do, there’s no need to rush to your rooms, or lock yourself away. Every inch of space in this impressive mansion invites guests to explore, and get to know the Levis family. Walls are lined with family portraits, photographs and landscapes. Stairwell landings invite visitors to take a break, or maybe set themselves up with a board game. Hallways offer tables

and bookcases, objets d’art and novelties to admire.

If the night ’s cold, sit awhile in front of a fire with a cup of tea, always hot, and get to know the other guests in the spacious living room, or just to enjoy the view offered by an expansive picture window. Explore the original dining room, where food is still served, or the gleaming Billiard Dining Room, whose decorations recall the days when the Wilburton was the place to go for the Saratoga crowd after a day at the races.

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In the morning, get up and enjoy breakfast with the other guests, served in the Garden Dining Room, and in fair weather on the terrace, with pride of place going to the bread from Earth Sky Time Farm just down the road.

The organic farm and venue space, run by Oliver Levis and his wife, Bonnie, features a beautiful window-lined building whose convertible stage allows for indoor-outdoor events at the farm, such as frequent summer music concerts — a space that is also available for

wedding receptions for those holding their weddings at the inn. Weddings are popular at the Wilburton Mansion: Ceremonies take place on the hill off the garden dining room and, currently, an additional event space is being constructed off the building. Also offered during the summer months are Farm Night Dinner Parties, free for guests staying at the Wilburton for two nights, catered by Earth Sky Time Farm with live music.

While guests can take advantage of local attractions

Dinner ... with a side of murder

ABOVE: The cast of the Wilburton Inn’s Murder Mystery Dinner Theater productions Glamour was in high attendance at the Wilburton Inn's recent original murder mystery dinner, “The Dangerous Divorcee,” a fictional mystery written

by Tajlei Levis using the Wilburton's real history as a retreat for the executives and celebrities of RKO Radio Pictures.

Top hats and headbands soared as guests arrived decked out in 1930s cocktail attire, overflowing with boas, beads and cigarette holders. The evening began with hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, and time for guests to mingle before packing themselves into the living room for the show.

Dorothy Margrove, “The Divorcee,” attempts to find a way to rid herself of her rich husband without ridding herself of her wealth. She ultimately decides to forgo the divorce for a better revenge — to make a movie more successful than her husband’s. So begins the flood of characters to Vermont: the husband, the starlet, the director, the leading man,

the lawyer and the writer, in a clash that ultimately ends in murder.

The mystery continues over dinner and dessert and reconvenes with champagne in the living room. After the murderer is revealed, the guests take center stage in a costume contest that pits feathers versus shoulder pads.

If you missed the fun, not to worry!

The Wilburton is bringing it back in April.

And if you go, don’t expect a typical stodgy night at the theater.

“What’s really nice about this is it’s very immersive, so the audience is part of the show,” says returning cast member Brian Drutman.

Where’d the idea for a murder mystery dinner come from?

“My mother’s sister was Wendy Wasserstein, and Wendy had ‘The Sisters Rosensweig’ on Broadway, and my mother was just as funny, she just didn’t channel it professionally. So, she wrote the first, it was called “The Brothers

Rosenblood.” It was a takeoff and it was really funny. … And then she got tired of it and was like, ‘You write it,’ ” says Tajlei.

For even more fun, visitors have the option to make a weekend of it: Arrive Friday for a cocktail party with the cast, and stay for an after-breakfast singalong with Drutman on Sunday. Tip: Brush up on your Cole Porter.

If you go...

What: Murder Mystery Dinner Theater Where: Wilburton Inn, 257 Wilburton Drive, Manchester, Vt. When: 6:30 p.m., April 6 Bed & Breakfast Lodging from $175/ night. Arrive Friday for a “meet the murderers” welcome party from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Tickets: $70 for just the dinner.

Tax, service, cash bar additional.

Reservations: 802-362-2500

FAR LEFT: A scene from “Thoroughly Modern Murder” in 2016.

LEFT: Guests are encouraged to dress for the evening. Photos courtesy of the Wilburton Inn.

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such as Hildene, and the nearby outlets in Manchester, the Wilburton Inn offers enough specialty programming to keep guests busy without ever leaving the estate. Events such as the popular Doggie Slumber Parties, Mother’s Day stays and, of course, the event-packed Murder Mystery weekends, featuring mysteries penned by innkeeper and playwright Tajlei Levis, keep the Wilburton bustling. In the summer, don’t skip the Summer Theatre package, which includes discounted tickets to the Dorset Theatre Festival, Weston Playhouse and Bennington’s Oldcastle Theatre.

Keep your eyes open for special Innkeeper’s Daughter Cabaret nights with Melissa.

When you come, don’t forget to schedule time to check out the sculpture trail and The Museum of the Creative Process, founded by Albert Levis and located on the estate.

What’s is like running a family inn?

“We love each other and respect our differences — we are four totally different creative people and our parents somehow raised us to appreciate and laugh with each other... Our lifestyle is one endless family reunion,” says Melissa.

Whether you have big plans, or are just looking for a weekend away, the Wilburton will keep you busy.

Wilburton Inn: 257 Wilburton Drive, Manchester, Vt. 802-362-2500

TOP: Stay in the suite known as “The Railroad Baron,” the master bedroom of Albert Gilbert, the tycoon who built the mansion and was good friends with Robert Todd Lincoln. Photo courtesy of the Wilburton Inn. RIGHT: Co-owner Melissa Levis with her dog, Jeston.

Photo: Stephanie Haynor.

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Savor the flavor of Vermont cheese Take a trip along the Vermont Cheese Trail

By Natalie Wise

Wisconsin might be known as the “dairy state,” but Vermont, which just so happens to be roughly shaped like a wedge of cheese, is also known for its exceptional dairy.

While Wisconsin and California top the list of cheese-producing states, with well over 2 billion pounds produced each year, Vermont’s 66 cheese producers craft 127 million pounds of cheese. Cheese from goats, sheep and cows, all roaming the rolling hills of Vermont. And there’s no shortage of variety: Gouda, mozzarella, soft goat cheeses, hard sheep’s milk cheeses, smoked cheeses and, of course, maple cheeses, nearly all of them farmstead-crafted.

Farmstead cheeses are the dairy backbone of Vermont; cheeses are made start to finish on a farm, with their own fresh milk and their own cheese caves. This is what makes Vermont cheese special: The farms have been in families for generations, the cows and sheep and goats have names and are given the utmost quality of life, the cheese is lovingly handcrafted, and it is all done with that characteristic Vermont charm. There’s a very familial aspect to the cheese-making community in Vermont.

The best way to experience all of this wonderful cheese-y charm? Tour through the state with the aid of the Vermont Cheese Council’s Vermont Cheese Trail Map. (Find the map online at: vtcheese.com/vermontcheese-trail-map.)

“If you use the map, you can visit creameries and see cheese being made from one end of Vermont all the way up to our northern border with Canada or from east to west,” says Tom Bivins, executive director of the Vermont Cheese Council. “I always suggest

combining the Vermont Cheese Trail Map with the cider, wine or beer trail map, and call ahead to make sure farms are open and accepting visitors.”

If this sounds like a delicious but daunting task, you’re in luck. We’ve pared the list for you. Here are some of our favorite stops along the way: Grafton Village Cheese Co. in Brattleboro is a good place to start your journey.

Here, you can watch cheesemakers through the large glass viewing area, then taste the variety on offer, including a clothbound cheddar.

“My kids adore that they can see the cheese being made. And I love that they are able to connect their experience of seeing it made with a product they eat at their house,” said NJ Rogner of Holyoke, Mass., who regularly visits Grafton Village with her children, ages 5 and 9.

After honeymooning in Wisconsin, Rogner and her husband were cheese lovers but didn’t think they could find anything in Massachusetts that compared. When they found Grafton, they were hooked, and the yearly trek to buy a wheel of 2-year-aged cheddar became an anniversary tradition, and, eventually, a family tradition. she said.

The kids also love the petting farm next door, an added bonus at the end of a long cheese-trail journey.

In Putney, you’ll find Vermont Shepherd, run by David Major and his family.

Vermont Shepherd is the oldest sheep dairy in the country and the largest in Vermont.

You might have heard of it; the cheeses are served on flights around the world through SkyChef.

Vermont Shepherd’s cheese cave is a sight to behold … tucked underground

RIGHT: Crews at Grafton Village Cheese make cheddar cheese. Photo: Kristopher Radder.

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and accessed by a rather elfish door, its 1,500-square-foot cheese cave keeps the cheese wheels in the mid- to upper-50 degrees with high humidity. This is the perfect environment for the natural rinds, stamped with the variety (either Verrano, meaning Summer, or Inferno, meaning winter), to cure as they are brushed and rotated twice a week.

Major said he loves to have “cheese pilgrims,” as he calls them, visit, and the honor-system farm stand sells other locally made products, including yarn spun with wool from its sheep.

If you’ve managed to arrive on a Sunday afternoon, pop over to Townshend, a stone’s throw from Putney, to visit the goats at Big Picture Farm. While goat milk caramels are the specialty of this farm, its small-batch raw goat’s milk cheeses, Sonnet and Haiku, are sought after by enthusiasts. You’ll be greeted by the farm dogs, Elvis and Josie, who protect the goats, which also have charming names, such as Winnie, Gertrude, Cicada and June.

If you’re up for a spur jaunt, about an hour each way (but you’ll pass Long Trail Brewery on the way), head down and over to Mount Holly to visit Crowley Cheese, the country’s oldest continuously operating cheese factory on the National Historic Register.

It’s worth the trip, according to Joyce and Mark Notarnicola, from the Hudson Valley in New York. The couple, who travel all over the world and spend weeks at a time in Italy, love Crowley Cheese.

“We love the quaintness of it,” Joyce Notarnicola said. “They are always very friendly!

The extra-sharp cheddar is our favorite, but we also love the Muffaletta and the sage.”

Next, you’ll want to visit Neighborly Farms in Randolph because, well, it’s neighborly and loves having visitors. Just a few miles off Exit 4 from Interstate 89, this small family-run farm creates award-winning organic, raw cheddar, colby jack, locally grown green-onion cheddar, as well as a Vermont Feta.

For those ambitious enough to continue the trek north on I-89, be sure to stop at the Cabot Cheese store in Waterbury (also home to Ben & Jerry’s, if you can stomach more dairy, or Cold Hollow Cider Mill if you need something different), or if you pass the town of Cabot on your journeys, visit the store there or the one in Quechee.

Cabot can be found just about everywhere in Vermont, since it is a farmer-owned co-op

the state takes pride in. The Cabot stores are famous for their samples, but the Waterbury store is a favorite because it also happens to be next to the Lake Champlain Chocolates sample-heavy store (and you can purchase chocolate “seconds” in bulk, so be warned!).

Next, head over to Shelburne Farms just outside Burlington. The historic farms, set on the late-19th-century mansion of Lila Vanderbilt, boast an inn and farm-to-table restaurant for you to enjoy before resuming your cheese trail adventure. The picturesque Shelburne Farms is also a working and educational farm that hosts a herd of 110 purebred Brown Swiss cows.

Visitors can watch cheese making from mid-May to mid-October, though the farm produces cheese every day of the week for 10 months of the year. An $8 admission fee (mid-May to mid-October) not only allows you to watch the cheese being made, but you can walk the property, see the animals and visit the farm store. (You can visit the Welcome Center and Farm Store, and use the 10 miles of walking trails throughout the year.)

End your journey in the Northeast Kingdom at Barn First Creamery in Westfield.

Rebecca Velazquez’s farm is a micro-dairy with only 32 alpine goats. But Velazquez’s passion is creating cheese that isn’t generally associated with “goat cheese.”

“People tend to think it’s just chevre, but I didn’t know any better when I started, so I just made what I wanted to eat,” she said.

Alongside traditional chevres, you’ll find her three bloomy-rind varieties, a goat blue cheese, and alpine-style cheeses … everything you’d need to create a complete cheese plate, just as she intended.

“We are the most predictable potluck guests,” Velazquez says, jokingly.

Although Barn First doesn’t have open hours, it welcomes visitors, and recommends contacting it ahead of time will ensure that folks aren’t out haying when you visit.

While this is only a small sampling of the wonderful farms and delicious cheeses across Vermont, it offers a glimpse into the simultaneously burgeoning yet historic tradition of Vermont-made farmstead cheeses.

The new micro-dairies bring fresh ideas and flavors while some of the oldest cheese-making in the country began, and still is, in the heart of Vermont. Or, as Bivins puts it, “People take cheese making seriously here.”

LEFT: Crews at Grafton Village Cheese make cheddar cheese. Photo: Kristopher Radder.

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A few stops along the trail...

Grafton Village Cheese Co. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

400 Linden St. (Route 30) Brattleboro, Vt. 802-246-2221, ext. 101 graftonvillagecheese.com

Vermont Shepherd Farmstand open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

281 Patch Farm Road Putney, Vt. 802-387-4473 vermontshepherd.com

Big Picture Farm

Sunday afternoon tours by appointment 1600 Peaked Mountain Road Townshend, Vt. 802-221-0547 bigpicturefarm.com

Crowley Cheese

Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cheese making takes place Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 14 Crowley Lane Mount Holly, Vt. 800-683-2606 crowleycheese.com

Neighborly Farms

Store open MondayThursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

1362 Curtis Road Randolph Center, Vt. 802-728-4700 neighborlyfarms.com

Cabot Annex Store

Open daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

2657 Waterbury Stowe Road Waterbury, Vt. 802-244-6334 cabotcheese.coop

Shelburne Farms

Walking trails, welcome center and farm store open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (A general seasonal admission fee of $8 is charged mid-May to mid-October.)

A cheese-making tour, which last two hours and includes a block of Shelburne Falls cheddar, is available on Fridays, from mid-May to midOctober. Admission is $20.

1611 Harbor Road Shelburne, Vt. 802-985-8686 shelburnefarms.org

Barn First Creamery

Visits by appointment only. Call or Facebook message to arrange.

1248 North Hill Road Westfield, Vt. 802-744-6852 facebook.com/barnfirst

ABOVE: Kyle Pollica, cheesemaker at Grafton Village Cheese, puts cheese curd blocks into a slicer. Photo: Kristopher Radder.

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The UpCountry Ski Guide 2019 Cross-country in UpCountry 28 • Junior ski jumpers 37 Downhill thrills 42 • Lost ski areas of the Berkshires 47

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5 must-visit cross-country ski areas Miles of trails; a season of winter fun

By Makayla-Courtney McGeeney In New England, there are plenty of winter sports to keep busy until summer returns. For those who might not take to downhill skiing or snowboarding, there are other enjoyable outdoor activities, such as cross-country skiing.

While cross-country skiing is a popular Olympic sport, it originated as a form of travel over snow-covered terrain in the 19th century, especially in Norway, for the purpose of hunting and gathering firewood, according to the Olympic Games website. Nordic countries traditionally dominate the sport. Americans

28 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

weren’t exposed to it until Bill Koch participated in a 1980 Swedish marathon, according to the International Skiing History Association.

Southern Vermont and Western Massachusetts are rich in ski mountains, wilderness trails and rolling hills, but only some can be used for cross-country skiing. Just like other Olympic sports, cross-country skiing can be performed at a leisurely effort. Get your winter thrills at these hidden gems while the snow is still here.

THIS PAGE AND PREVIOUS: Notchview from above. Photo: Ben Garver

Notchview Open daily, 8 to 4:30 p.m.

Route 9, Windsor, Mass.

413-684-0148 notchview.org

Get the view without a chairlift while trekking part of the Hoosac Range more than 2,000 feet tall — the highest point, at 2,297 feet. This is where snow lasts the longest, approximately 80 days out of the year.

“It’s got an incredible rugged beauty up there,” said Thomas Por, general manager of The Trustees northwest properties.

“Certainly, there’s a community of familiar faces … but it’s also very welcoming to beginners and people who are just interested in trying out skiing.”

With more than 3,000 acres of open meadow and scenic forest, Notchview is the perfect outdoor winter escape. There’s no shortage of wildlife, including tracks of deer, moose and snowshoe hare. The Budd Visitor Center entails ski and snowshoe rentals, a cafe and a spot to warm up. Notchview is open year-round and offers lessons in the winter.

“Notchview is a great place to motivate people to get outdoors,” Por said. “It’s been happening there for decades.”

Notchview is adjacent to Snowmobile Association of Massachusetts (S.A.M.) Route 91 that links snowmobile trails from Connecticut to Vermont. It is located on the north side of Route 9 in Windsor.

PHOTO: Scott Stafford.

UpCountryOnline.com | 29

Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center Open Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

99 Millers Falls Road, Northfield, Mass.

800-859-2960 (for most current conditions) facebook.com/northfieldmountain

Just beyond Greenfield and east of Bernardston awaits a winter wonderland with 25 miles of trails groomed specifically for cross-country skiing — classical and freestyle. From beginner trails to a demanding 800-foot vertical climb, Northfield has terrain for every skier.

A lack of snow in November and early December kept the center’s trails open for hiking and walking. Hikers and pets are prohibited during the ski season.

In order to ski at Northfield, purchase a trail pass that ranges from $9 to $16 with the option of a full day or after 1:30 p.m. Seniors older than 70 and children 7 and younger can ski for free. Ski rentals cost up to $24, depending on the time of day and age of the skier. Lessons are available for 90 minutes in groups or $25 per person on weekends and weekdays by appointment.

Photo courtesy of Northfield .

30 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

Hilltop Orchards Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

508 Canaan Road (Route 295), Richmond, Mass.

800-833-6274 hilltoporchards.com

What happens when you combine an apple orchard with a winery on 200 acres of historic property? You ski on it upon snowfall.

The Vittori family has owned Hilltop Orchards for about 33 years and welcomes the public for apple picking, wine tasting, hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

The trails amount to about 7 miles and are groomed accordingly, said David Martell, manager and operator. The owners opened up the land to hiking and skiing about 10 years ago.

Two of the trails, the Johnny Mash I and II, were designed by Winter Olympian John Morton.

For those who aren’t inclined to ski, or want to take a break from the powder, the Barrel Room offers respite from the cold.

Warm up in front of fire on leather couches while enjoying a mug of hot chocolate or a glass of wine.

PHOTO: Caroline Bonniver Snyder.

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Wild Wings Ski Touring Center Open daily, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

246 Styles Lane, Peru, Vt. 802-824-6793

With three different-color loop trails, you’re never alone at Wild Wings. The newest trail, Peregrine, was designed by Ian Black and Olympian Bill Koch. Owner Tracy Black says its suitable to train up-and-coming racers on, as well as for intermediate skiers. Peregrine is open for skate and classic skiing.

“People just like to be out in the woods. It’s very safe,” Black said.

32 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

Glide by beaver ponds and brooks on the green trails, herringbone and work up a sweat on the blue trails or conquer the black trails with the steepest of hills.

The center runs a blog that’s frequently updated with trail and weather conditions, as well as announcements about the yoga schedule.

Photo courtesy of Wild Wings.

Viking Nordic Center Open daily, except for Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

615 Little Pond Rd, Londonderry, Vt. 802-824-3933 vikingnordic.com

Featured on Trip Savvy ’s 10 Places to Snowshoe and Cross-Country Ski in Vermont, the Viking Nordic Center offers about 22 miles of trails, and some even lit with gas lanterns at night. Trails are lit for holidays and long weekends or exclusively for private events, said Manager Malcolm McNair. Snowshoes and cross-country skis are for rent. Some trails are exclusive to snowshoers.

“We’ve been here a long time.

There’s second and third generation of families who come,” he said. “We have a lot to offer. Almost all of our trails are wooded, so it’s not like skiing on a golf course. We do have fields on some of the outer trails.”

Viking has a warming hut at the base of the center, along with a cafe and a shelter to break from the cold along the trails. For children 12 and younger, Viking offers a cookie punch card. The children get the punch card stamped at checkpoints on the trail and, at the end, are rewarded with a cookie. A similar hunt is available for adults if they take photos with Viking heads on the trails.

The center is open until April 1, weather depending, and every day except Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of Viking Nordic.

UpCountryOnline.com | 33

Where to ski

We advise readers to call ahead before heading out to any of these ski areas, as weather conditions and snow totals can affect hours of operation. Rates listed are subject to change. Many, if not all, of these locations ask that canine companions be left at home.

IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS ...

Canterbury Farm Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

1986 Fred Snow Road, Becket, Mass.

413-623-0100 canterbury-farms.com 22 kilometers of trails specifically designed for cross-country skiing. Groomed daily. Beginner, intermediate and advanced terrain.

Trail fees: Weekdays (nonholiday) and halfday weekend after 2 p.m.: adults, $14; children and seniors, $12.

Weekends and holidays (holiday ticket prices apply to all school vacation weeks.): adults, $16; seniors and children, ages 5 to 12, are $14.

Children younger than 5 are free.

Season pass: $150 for adults; $110 for children younger than 12.

Rentals: adults, $22; children, $16.

Ski lessons are available.

Hilltop Orchards Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

508 Canaan Road (Route 295), Richmond, Mass.

800-833-6274 hilltoporchards.com Hilltop Orchards, home to Furnace Brook Winery, features several miles of trials groomed for classic and skatingstyle skiing, as well as snowshoeing. The trails were designed by John Morton, a seven-time participant in the Winter Olympics as an athlete, coach and leader of the U.S. biathlon team.

Trails fees: Daily: adults, $15; children, 12 and younger, $12. $1 off for seniors. No charge for guests of Garden Gables Inn

Half-day: (Starts at 2 p.m.): adults, $12; children 12 and younger, $10.

Season pass: $125 for adults; $75 for children 12 and younger.

Rentals: Rossignol crosscountry skis, $20.

Ski lessons are available.

children ages 7 and younger are free.

Half-day (after 1:30 p.m.): adults (15 to 61), $14; juniors (8 to 14), $9; senior (62 to 69), $13; super seniors, 70 and older, and children ages 7 and younger are free.

Rentals: adults, $20; juniors, $14 Ski lessons are available.

Maple Corner Farm

Notchview

Open daily 794 Beech Hill Road, Granville, Mass.

413-357-8829 maplecornerfarm.com

Open daily, 8 to 4:30 p.m.

Route 9, Windsor, Mass.

413-684-0148 notchview.org

Featuring 20 kilometers of marked ski trails from beginner to expert; machine groomed for traditional and skating styles.

Featuring 40 kilometers of trails: 16 km of classic groomed; 11 km groomed for skate skiing, 2 km of dog loop and 11 km of ungroomed trails.

Trail fees: Weekdays: adults, $10; children, ages 6 to 12, $6; children younger than 5 are free.

Weekends and holidays: adults, $14; children ages 6 to 12, $9; children younger than 5 are free.

Weekends and holidays (after 1:30 p.m.): adults, $12; children ages 6 to 12, $8; children younger than 5 are free.

Season pass: $70 for adults; $35 for children ages 6 to 12; $130 for a couple.

Rentals: adults, $12 on weekdays; $14 on weekends and holidays; children, ages 6 to 12, $8 on weekdays, $10 on weekends.

Children younger than 5, $6 on weekdays, $8 on weekends and holidays.

Ski lessons are available.

Trail fees: Notchview ski passes are $40 for adults. A Trustees of the Reservations membership is also required.

Memberships start at $50 for one person; $70 for a family (two adults, two children younger than 18).

Rental shop on site.

Ski lessons are available.

Northfield Mountain Open Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

99 Millers Falls Road, Northfield, Mass.

800-859-2960 (for most current conditions) facebook.com/northfieldmountain 25 miles of trails groomed for classical skiing. Trails vary from beginner and intermediate to an 800-foot vertical climb of the Tenth Mountain Trail.

Trail fees: Daily: adults (15 to 61), $16; juniors (8 to 14), $11; senior (62 to 69), $15; super seniors, 70 and older, and

34 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

IN SOUTHERN VERMONT ...

Hildene, the Lincoln Family Home Open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Skiing is weather-dependent.

1005 Hildene Road, Manchester, Vt. 802-362-1788 hildene.org The estate’s nearly 20 km of walking trails become ski trails with varying levels of difficulty in the winter. Trails are not groomed. Skiing is included with the price of admission.

Admission: adults, $23; children, ages 6 to 16, $6; children younger than 6 and members are free.

Rentals: $15

Prospect Mountain 204 Prospect Access, Woodford, Vt. 802-442-2575 prospectmountain.net

Prospect Mountain maintains more than 30 kilometers of trails. Trails are expertly groomed for classic and skating cross-country skiing.

Trail fees: Daily: adults, $22; children 12 and younger, and seniors 65 and older, $17; children 5 and younger are free.

Late Day (after 2 p.m. in December/ January and after 3 p.m. February/ March/April): adults, $16; children 12 and younger, and seniors, 65 and older, $14; children 5 and younger are free.

Rentals: $17 to $20 Passes are available.

Ski lessons are available.

Wild Wings Ski Touring Center Open daily, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

246 Styles Lane, Peru, Vt. 802-824-6793 wildwingsski.com Featuring 18 km of groomed trail loops for all levels.

Trail fees: Daily: adults, $22; children ages 6 to 17, $12.

Half-day (any four-hour block): adults, $17; children ages 6 to 17, $9.

Season pass: $250 for adults; $400 for couples; $90 for children ages 6 to $17; $445 for a family consisting of two parents and up to four children (22 and younger).

Rentals are available.

Lessons are available.

Brattleboro Outing Club Open daily Skiing at Brattleboro Country Club 58 Senator Gannett Drive, Brattleboro, Vt. 802-254-8906 (ski hut, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends and school vacations.) brattleborooutingclub.org 33 km of groomed fairway, field and forest loops for classic and skate ski, as snow and weather conditions warrant.

Trail fees:

Guest pass (Guests are able to use the trails three times per season. A membership is required beyond that.)

Weekdays: adults, $10; juniors ages 6 to 21, $10; children 5 and younger are free.

Weekends and holidays: adults, $15; ages 6 to 21, $15; children 5 and younger are free.

Maximum fee: $50 per family per day.

Memberships: Season pass: $250 for a family pass (two adults and youth, 21 and younger, living in the same household); $125 for adults; $90 for youths ages 6 to 21; free for children 5 and younger.

Rentals available.

Grafton Trails and Outdoor Center Open daily.

783 Townshend Road, Grafton, Vt. 802-843-2400 graftoninnvermont.com

Timber Creek Cross Country Ski Center Open daily, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Route 100, across from the north entrance of Mount Snow, West Dover, Vt. 802-464-0999 Timbercreekxc-vt.com Offering several miles of groomed cross-country and snowshoeing trails. Find the latest conditions and status of the trails on Facebook.

Trail fees: Day: adult, $20; children younger than 12, $12; seniors 65 and older: $13.

Half-day (starts at 1:30 p.m.): adults, $17; children younger than 12, $9; seniors, 65 and older, $13.

Season pass: $155 for adults; $65 for children younger than 16; $335 for family.

Rentals available.

Lessons available.

Trail fees: Day: adults, $20; youths, $10; children younger than 5 are free.

Half-day (starts at 1 p.m.): adults, $15; youths, $5; children younger than 5 are free.

Season pass: $135 for individual adult; $90 for individual youth; $350 for a family.

Rentals available.

Viking Nordic Center

Stratton Mountain Nordic Center

Trail fees: Day: adults, $22; students 15 to 17, $20; children ages 6 to 14, $12; seniors 60 and older: $20; children younger than 5 are free.

Half-day (starts at 1 p.m.): adults, $18; student, $16, children ages 6 to 14, $8; seniors 60 and older: $16; children younger than 5 are free.

Season pass: $206.70 for adults; $355.10 for a couple; $79.50 for children ages 6 to 14; $190.80 for children ages 15 to 18 and seniors 65 and older; and $402.80 for a family; Rentals are available.

Lessons are available.

Open daily, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sun Bowl Road, Stratton, Vt. 802-297-4114 stratton.com Featuring 12 km of trails groomed for classic and skate cross-country skiing.

Trail fees: One day: adults, $25; children 12 and younger, $19.

Season pass: $125 for adults and children.

Rentals are available.

Ski lessons are available.

Open daily, except for Wednesdays, 9 to 4:30 p.m.

615 Little Pond Rd, Londonderry, Vt. 802-824-3933 vikingnordic.com One of the oldest Nordic ski centers in the country, it features 35 km (nearly 22 miles) of ski trails for classic and skate ski techniques.

THIS PAGE AND PREVIOUS: Notchview. Photo by Ben Garver.

UpCountryOnline.com | 35

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Leap of faith Training the next generation of Harris Hill jumpers

By Kevin O’Connor

Vermont fourth-grader Ava Einig is 4½ feet tall. The Olympic-caliber Harris Hill ski jump in her birthplace of Brattleboro is 65 times as high, unparalleled in New England and one of only six of its size in the nation. So, how does someone of Ava’s ground-level stature learn such a skyscraping sport?

The 9-year-old suggests a leap of faith.

“I practiced jumping off my mom’s cedar chest onto a gymnastics mat,” she says.

Her father, Todd Eining,

a former Junior Olympian turned Harris Hill chief of competition, had another idea.

Vermonters have skijumped for nearly a century, ever since Brattleboro outdoorsman Fred Harris — he was a contemporary of the airplane-inventing Wright brothers — first strapped wooden slats to his feet and catapulted off a snow-covered ramp.

“Broke my skis all to pieces,” Harris penned in his diary at the turn of the 20th century.

Harris, a pioneering “extreme skier,” is credited with making the earliest slalom

descents of Mount Washington in New Hampshire and Whiteface in New York.

Harris founded the Dartmouth Outing Club — it was the first organization of its kind in the country — in 1909, then created the Brattleboro Outing Club in 1922, the same year he built the namesake ski jump in his hometown.

Harris Hill, in turn, now annually attracts several thousand spectators and has hosted nine national championships, starting in 1924 with the first finals held in the East and continuing up to the U.S. qualifiers

for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.

But with succeeding generations wandering elsewhere with the arrival of the interstate and the internet, participation has dipped to the point that only one Brattleboro jumper — Spencer Knickerbocker, a 26-year-old Marlboro College senior — now joins his national peers at Harris Hill’s annual competition, set this year for the weekend of Feb. 16 and 17.

To change that, Todd Einig, who competed three decades ago, has launched a junior training program to cultivate

ABOVE: Eli Mansur sits atop the 20-meter training ski jump at the Olympic Jumping Complex at Lake Placid, N.Y. Photo: Kevin O’Connor NEXT PAGE: Vermont’s Harris Hill Ski Jump features white lights during the holiday season. Photo: Allan Seymour

UpCountryOnline.com | 37

38 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

a new crop of homegrown athletes.

Want to skyrocket off the 90-meter height of Harris Hill? You have to start small.

Einig teaches interested boys and girls at such gentle nearby slopes as Vermont Academy in Saxtons River and, starting this winter, a newly renovated location at Living Memorial Park in Brattleboro.

This past summer, Einig also circumvented the seasons by introducing his daughter to the porcelain-track starting gates and plastic-covered landing hill at Lake Placid, N.Y., home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Games.

“If kids can try small jumps, hopefully, you’ll have some who decide this is a thing they can do,” says USA Nordic Team Director Clint Jones, who wore a T-shirt and shorts this past August as he sprayed a practice slope with a garden hose for added slipperiness.

Nearby, West Fair lee

seventh-grader Eli Mansur donned skis, boots, a bodysuit and helmet. A year ago, Eli hadn’t heard of the sport. Then, Upper Valley Olympic jumpers Jeff Hastings and Walter Malmquist visited Eli’s school, spurring the teenager to train both winter and summer.

“I really like the thrill of flying in the air,” Eli said. “My goal is to do the best I can — and keep getting better.”

Students tend to start on a 20-meter training hill before moving up to higher and higher launches.

“It’s such a gradual progression,” says Gabby Armstrong, a Lake Placid competitor and coach. “We’re trying to make you comfortable and confident on each hill.”

Students, for their part, begin as early as kindergarten.

“If you try to start when you’re older,” Jones said, “you’re going to be thinking too much.”

Eli’s sister, Isla, relates.

The fourth-grader lives just down the road from Tara Geraghty-Moats, a 25-yearold West Fairlee athlete who began competing at the World Cup level five years ago. But such inspiration can be overshadowed by the intimidation of a launch ramp bigger than the one Eli’s brother fashioned in their backyard.

“I think I’m just going to go down the landing hill,” Isla said.

Einig understands the apprehension.

“You’re up there and have a view of everything,” he said.

“That brings a little bit of scariness.”

Training, as a result, is as much mental as physical.

Watch a youngster eye the smallest hill with trepidation and you realize the fears and figments in anyone’s mind are often the biggest obstacles. To advance, coaches advise trying and, if you fall, standing up and trying again.

“You have to get to the stage where you totally commit,” Jones said. “When you get the courage, it can be a huge personal step and confidence builder.”

Norwich 12-year-old Caleb Zuckerman is proof personified.

“My first year, I just did the landing hill,” said the seventh-grader, who is now flying off Harris Hill at speeds approaching 60 mph before soaring more than 300 feet in the air.

Such spirit echoes that of Harris, who forged forward after his first “broke my skis all to pieces” fall.

“Tried jump several times,” the pioneer went on to write in his diary, “and at last made it.”

If only he could foresee what it all would snowball into.

“Hopefully, in a few years,” Todd Einig says, “we can get more hometown kids jumping.”

See for yourself Some of the nation’s best up-andcoming ski jumpers are set to fly at New England’s only Olympic-size venue this February, during the annual Harris Hill tournament in Brattleboro, Vt. The event will feature athletes from North America and Europe during the Pepsi Challenge on Feb. 16, and Fred Harris Memorial Tournament on Feb. 17.

Harris Hill boasts a snow-making system, so the program will take place regardless of ground cover in surrounding areas.

Gates will open each day at 10 a.m., with trial rounds at 11 a.m., and opening ceremonies and competition at noon.

The program will offer food and beverage vendors, a bonfire, music, tailgating and appearances by Jumper the cow mascot.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students ages 6 to 12, and free for children 5 and younger. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online. More information at harrishillskijump.com.

ABOVE: Ava Einig (right) receives coaching at the 20-meter training ski jump at the Olympic Jumping Complex at Lake Placid, N.Y. Photo: Kevin O’Connor

Families seeking information about Harris Hill’s junior training program can contact Todd Einig at einigt@yahoo.com.

UpCountryOnline.com | 39

Living the après-ski life

When the skiing is done, the fun begins What’s the best part of hitting the slopes?

but when you meet up afterwards, everyone is on a level playing field.”

For many, it’s grabbing a craft beer, a burger or some nachos at the bar with your friends and family while listening to a live band. For others, it’s a glass of wine in front of a roaring fire and chatting about the day while the kids sip hot chocolate.

The company you keep really determines what those social activities look like.

Whatever your preference, it’s all part of the après ski scene — the part that takes place after the skis and snowboards are tucked away.

“I like to describe it as the social activities that take place after a day on the mountain; being with the family and friends you were on the mountain with; sharing your experiences,” said Rich Stoner, owner of allaboutapresski.com, a website dedicated to all things après ski.

“When you’re on the mountain, not everyone is at the same skill level,

Stoner, an avid skier, and his wife, Marcie, a snowboarder, regularly make the four-hour trek from their home in New Jersey to the mountains of Southern Vermont with their three daughters, ages 5, 6 and 9.

“When I’m up [in Southern Vermont] with the wife and kids, it’s more family-oriented. We come in get together with friends, share photos. …

Even the girls love it. They come in, sit down with our friends’ kids and have hot chocolate,” he said. “When [just] my wife and I go, it’s a little more lively with music. It’s more crowded. When I’m out skiing with the guys, we go to different places for craft beers.”

Firefly Gastropub & Catering Co. 71 Church Street, Lenox, Mass.

Known for its fun and unique seasonal specials, extensive menu of craft beers and creative cocktails, and familyfriendly attitude, Firefly’s inviting pub-like atmosphere is the perfect place to warm up after a day enjoying the great outdoors. Join in Tuesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. on—and if you’re around on Friday or Saturday you can thaw out even faster, dancing to live music!

Hours of Operation: Firefly is closed on Mondays during the winter season, and open from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

More information: (413) 637-270 • fireflylenox.com

40 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

The Marina

A few of Stoner’s favorite places for après ski adventures are Grizzly’s at Stratton, Cuzzins Bar and Grill at Mount Snow, Whetstone Station in Brattleboro, Vt., and The Taphouse at Catamount Glass in Bennington, Vt. He also has heard good things about Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington, Mass., and John Harvard’s Brewery & Ale House at Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Mass. Both were listed by tripsavvy. com as one “The 5 Best Après Ski Spots in Massachusetts” in 2017.

Stoner said it takes more than shotskis (a ski lined with shots), crafty cocktails, fire pits and comfy couches to make the experience a good time.

“It’s really about great camaraderie,” he said. “Good music, a great day of skiing, great food and great beer just adds to it.”

28 Spring Tree Road, Brattleboro, Vt.

The Marina Restaurant in Brattleboro is a memorable, casual dining experience for he whole family. Located where the Connecticut and West rivers meet, The Marina offers beautiful views all year round! Enjoy waterfront dining and outdoor seating with an extensive menu of American cuisine, vegetarian options, pasta and seafood.

Make sure to check out their local craft beer selection and extensive wine list. The amazing sunsets, and cozy, friendly atmosphere make The Marina a must-see destination!

Hours of Operation: Monday-Saturday: 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Sunday: Brunch, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Lunch and Dinner, 1 - 9 p.m.

More information: 802-257-7563 • marina.restaurant

Sponsored Content

The Tavern at The Four Columns Inn 21 West Street, Newfane, Vt..

The Tavern is a favorite spot to enjoy some simpler fare. Cozy and very casual, friends gather here to enjoy the intimate setting, together with a large flat panel TV for sports, occasional live music, carefully selected libations and post-mountain get togethers. The bar features an impressive variety of local beer and hard cider, small batch wines and cocktails. Their Tavern Small Plates are a selection of popular dishes from the Artisan kitchen. They look forward to hosting your family and friends apres ski!

Hours of Operation: Tuesday- Thursday: 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Friday - Saturday: 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Sunday: Brunch, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., dinner, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

More information: 802-3657713 • fourcolumnsvt.com/ artisan-restaurant-tavern

Rick’s Tavern

386 VT-30, Newfane, Vt.

Rick’s Tavern is a family-friendly establishment that provides the comfort and quality of a quaint tavern. The bar at Rick’s Tavern was originally built around 1890 in Bismarck, N.D. It was shipped to the Winchester Hotel in Winchester, N.H. and served as their bar. In 1965, a 23-foot section was purchased by the Harmony Room, later known as the Village Barn, in Brattleboro, Vt. In 1972, the bar was removed from the Village Barn and stored in a garage for six years. It resurfaced in 1978 when Rick purchased it. He restored it to its original condition and installed it in his restaurant, where it now serves as the restaurant’s focal piece and a comforting spot to relax for those fresh off the mountain.

Hours of Operation: More information: Wednesday-Monday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. 802-365-4310 Closed Tuesdays

Bousquet Ski Area

101 Dan Fox Drive, Pittsfield, Mass.

Tamarack Lounge will bring you back to the era of the old-time ski lodge with an indoor fireplace and large natural wood bar, offering a delicious pub-style menu of homemade soups, including a delicious French Onion, piping hot paninis and daily specials. Sit by the window and watch the skiers come down the mountain. Bousquet is a natural winter wonderland offering downhill skiing and snowtubing.

Hours of Operation: Sunday: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Lifts close at 4 p.m. and the Tamarack Lounge stays open until 6p.m.

Monday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. High School Race Night Tuesday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Adult Race Night Wednesday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

Sponsored Content

Thursday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. $10 Night Owl Special - live entertainment in Tamarack Lounge Friday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Donny Sawyer and live Eentertainment Saturday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

More information: 413-442-8316 • bousquets.com

UpCountryOnline.com | 41

Ski it

if you dare These backcountry ski slopes are not for the faint of heart

42 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

By Mike Walsh

Trading in the noisy carving of hard-pack cords to dip your twin tips into some soft, succulent powder is an experience that can be lost on skiers and riders in the Northeast.

New England is home to some of the best ski resorts in the world, and you can cut up freshly-groomed terrain until the sun sets over the Berkshire mountains.

But, that type of shredding comes at a steep lift-ticket price, and as Josh Chittenden of Berkshire Outfitters outdoor shop in Adams, Mass., puts it, “you’re at the mercy of the power.”

Chittenden is a backcountry skiing veteran who took a break from fitting a pair of skis with new bindings to chat about the beauty of alpine touring, or what the French might call randonee.

“I think in the last 10 to 15 years, backcountry skiing has grown in leaps and bounds with the innovation of lighter equipment,” he said. “It’s grown because ski areas aren’t getting any cheaper and you’re at the mercy of the power, the electricity. Accessibility to backcountry areas is growing like wildfire.”

So, when bargain-hunting first-tracks junkies need to get a free fix, it’s time to skin up and hit the backcountry.

Not for the novice downhillers out there, tackling the backcountry takes a different level of winter sportsman. But skiing sans Liftopia is something attainable for all.

“If someone is just getting themselves into backcountry skiing, you need to have good skills at the resort,” Chittenden said. “Then, you need to be able to handle different snow conditions. We all take corduroy for granted.”

The backcountry shouldn’t be taken lightly, and one needs the proper equipment, with everything from skis, skins, snowshoes and boots to smartly-layered clothing, food and energy supplements.

For those testing the untamed wild of backcountry skiing, a spot like Mad River Glen can offer a nice entry point.

Mad River Glen

PREVIOUS PAGE: Patrick Cassidy of Orleans, Mass., rides his snowboard off an ice-covered cliff above the Headwall at Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington, N.H. Photo: The Associated Press ABOVE: The tow rope at Dutch Hill. North Adams Transcript File Photo.

BELOW: A skier flies down the black diamond trail, “Chute”, beneath the single chairlift at Mad River Glen. Photo: The Associated Press

Located in Waitsfield, Vt., the intimidating-sounding Mad River Glen is kicking off its 70th anniversary with its earliest-ever opening.

Despite being our starting point, the Glen is no joke. It boasts 2,000 feet of vertical drop and warns prospective powder hounds right out of the gates to “ski it if you can.”

Chittenden describes the Glen as a spot with tons of great glade skiing that can connect you with the sport’s roots. They have very primitive and minimal snowmaking and grooming and an old-school lodge that brings you right back to the old days. There even is the draw of one of only two single chairlifts in the country. For the stodgier skiers, there has even been a ban on snowboarders clogging up Mad River since 1992.

“Mad River can really help you get ready for bigger adventures,” Chittenden said. “They have plenty of hair-raising runs, but they also have ski patrol right there with snowmobiles. They have access to help you.”

Former Bennington Banner sports editor Adam White wrote a piece titled “Descent into Madness,” which details his first experience with General Stark Mountain.

“Nowhere else can go you go from having your butt in a chair to your heart in your throat so quickly. So if just finishing a run isn't enough for you, and you need to reach the bottom with the feeling that you've survived something,” White finishes. “I suggest you give Mad River Glen a shot.

If you can.”

Dutch Hill

Hop on 91 south for a couple of hours and you can take in the beautiful marriage of human ingenuity and Mother UpCountryOnline.com | 43

Nature at Dutch Hill in Readsboro, Vt. The elder among you will recall trips to this beacon of the Green Mountains for family ski outings, along some of the toughest terrain New England had to offer.

“I started my skiing career on Dutch Hill. Every weekend my family of seven would pack into the station wagon to take on the Hill,” writes reader Glenn Houle. “Great snow, great people and great memories. The Windmill and Christie were two of the most challenging slopes I have ever skied.”

Fellow Dutch alumnus Gary Schiff agrees.

“The final stretch of the liftline before reaching the summit was often littered with those who fell off the T-bar.

This was a particular problem, as the only way down was via the two steepest trails on the mountain — the Windmill or the Christiana — which flanked the T-bar lifeline.”

The ski area, unfortunately, went belly-up in the mid1980s, after about 40 years in the snow biz.

The mountain was returned

to Mother Nature fully by the turn of the century.

Recently, though, efforts have been made to reestablish Dutch Hill, not as a family resort, but as a backcountry haven in Southern Vermont.

The Dutch Hill Alliance of Skiers and Hikers (DHASH) has spent the past two years cutting out the old ski runs and new glades, with the help of the U.S. Forest Service, which designated the land for nonmotorized winter recreation, according to a report in VT Ski and Ride. It’s first season under the stewardship of DHASH brought folks from all over New England and New York.

Dutch Hill delivers just 600 vertical feet, but there is still an outrageous amount of fun to be had with a true return to nature.

Hogback Mountain Dutch Hill is following the lead of neighboring Hogback Mountain, just a short scoot west on Route 9.

The Hogback Mountain Conservation Association literally and figuratively forged new paths by taking over the

former ski resort and creating a constantly evolving backcountry paradise.

Hogback also succumbed to the elements in the mid1980s, and for about 30 years let nature run her course. Then, the HMCA bought the land in 2006, and plans were set in motion to start cutting some new paths through the growth.

Since 2013, the association has superbly worked a giveand-go with the local ecosystem, cutting backcountry ski trails one by one every two years. The most recent work session was in October, on the Practice Slope, which will join the Great White Way and the 3,000-foot Meadow Trail this season. The land is now owned by the town of Marlboro, Vt. Hogback and Dutch feature some of the heaviest snowfall in the Northeast and don’t need quite as much time to fill in as the better-known Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt Ski Trail Perhaps the best-known and most-trafficked backcountry spot in New England is right in the Berkshires’ back-

yard.

According to Chittenden, who lives five minutes from the base, you can find as many as 70 people earning their turns on the Thunderbolt during late-winter weekends. Some camp out overnight hoping for first tracks, only to be spoiled by the locals’ home-field advantage.

The key here is late winter.

The ’Bolt takes some serious time and snowfall to firm up a base that protects the mountain and the skier from serious damage.

Keep tabs on the Thunderbolt Ski Runners’ Facebook page for constant updates on the conditions. When in doubt, Berkshire Outfitters, in Adams, Mass., is a phone call away for the expertise to keep you and Mount Greylock safe.

“We’re trying to educate the backcountry user on ski etiquette and stewardship,” said Chittenden, a member of the Thunderbolt Ski Runners. “Trying to educate people to use Bellow’s Pipe as the up-traffic and discourage post-holing and skiing up the Thunderbolt itself.”

There have been big erosion

LEFT: Hogback Mountain.

Vintage photo courtesy of Jeremy Davis.

44 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

RIGHT: Skiing (and falling) at Thunderbolt on Mount Greylock, old finish line, 1936.

Berkshire Eagle file photo.

problems, and the Ski Runners are in talks with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to better educate the foot traffic.

When it’s right, though, the Thunderbolt is peak backcountry skiing. Over 2,500 vertical feet take you down 2.1 miles of spectacular panoramic views.

In a Powder Report column last season in The Berkshire Eagle, TSR’s Blair Mahar gave his expert take on how finicky the ’Bolt can be weather-wise, and some advice on tackling it.

“You have to realize that getting up is only half the battle. You've got to leave enough fuel in the tank to get back down the mountain,” Mahar said at the time. “You can fry your legs and lungs on the way up … If your legs are spent, you're going to have a wobbly run down the mountain."

There’s an outrageous amount of Thunderbolt information and stories out there. But, until backcountry ballers get the go-ahead, take a breather and as Schiff recommends, “Be sure to watch

“Purple Mountain Majesty,” a great documentary on the trail.

That, or find a good podcast, get in the car and head back up Interstate 91 for four hours and keep an eye on the Mount Washington Avalanche Center in New Hampshire.

Tuckerman Ravine If you’ve got your alpine touring legs firmly beneath you, you might be ready for the true backcountry pilgrimage to Tuckerman Ravine.

Unlike the Thunderbolt, skiers and riders are already tasting some powder on the left and central gully trails alongside Mount Washington’s monster.

As Chittenden puts it, Tuckerman’s has the “biggest consequences.”

He describes the steep headwall like climbing a ladder on the way up, and the way down features a lot of rocky outcrops.

“The climb up the headwall — one step at a time, avoiding crevasses, digging in so as not to lose footing and go into a slide,”

wrote Schiff, a two-time Tuckerman veteran. “If this happens, you cannot stop and will wind up at the bottom among large and dangerous rocks.”

While the blooper-reel wipeouts can make for entertaining or cringe-worthy watching, the danger of Tuckerman’s lies in its remoteness.

Buddy system is recommended, and that’s how Daily Hampshire Gazette reporter Greta Jochem tackled it with friends in 2014.

“The ski down the ravine is not long but I thought it was mostly worth it for the novel experience and adventure, still, I'm not going to do it again,” she wrote. “Once you get to the top of Tuckerman’s Ravine, you have to go down. So it's a commitment in that respect.

It's also really steep. From the bottom of the ravine it didn't look so bad, but when I got to the top and looked down I realized how seriously steep it was.”

Jochem took the leap and now has a story to tell for life.

Because, when you get down

to it, Tuckerman’s is asking you to put your life in its hands.

“It’s so steep that your first turn once dropping in is crucial.

The pitch is something like 4050 degrees,” writes Schiff. “If you miss it, you’re immediately in trouble. Really big — and possibly fatal — trouble.

For both Schiff and Jochem, though, the risk was worth it.

“Despite all that, it's beautiful up there and it's an adventure. If one is prepared for it, I recommend doing it once,” Jochem wrote.

“It’s a very fast descent — maybe a minute or so max,” added Schiff. “But pure adrenaline the whole way.”

Backcountry is far from a perfect fix for the lift ticket wallet pains. Chittenden admits that you go from being at the mercy of electricity and lift lines to the mercy of Old Man Winter’s snowfall totals.

His last bit of advice is fitting, no matter the path you choose.

“Ski it when you can, because you don’t know what next week will bring.”

UpCountryOnline.com | 45

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EXPERIENCE THE ART OF ADVENTURE on view through February 24

Finding the ‘lost ski areas’ that made the Berkshires a skiers’ paradise

By Jennifer Huberdeau

In the 1930s, thousands of skiers boarded “snow trains” headed for the multitude of ski tows and slopes that had popped up across New England.

The snow trains, an invention of the rail industry during the Great Depression, deposited their passengers in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont for the day and swept them back to their urban haunts at the end of the day.

“In the mid-1930s, in the middle of the Great Depression, people didn’t have cars.

Ski trains were like party buses,” said Jeremy K. Davis, author of “Lost Ski Areas of the Berkshires.” “You could go up for the day, arrive around 10 a.m. or 11 a.m., ski for the day and then go back home.”

Born from trails carved by the Civilian Conservation Corps. or from partnerships with the railroads, places such as Beartown in Lee, Mass., and Farnams-in-the-Berkshires, located in Cheshire, Mass., rose in popularity when the snow trains began running.

“The New York Central Railroad wanted to build its own stop,” Davis said of Farnams-in-the-Berkshires, once located across from the Cheshire Reservoir.

RIGHT: Snow train riders walk to Farnams-in-the-Berkshires in Cheshire, Mass., in this photo from Jan. 12, 1941.

Photo: William Whitaker — Berkshire Eagle file photo

UpCountryOnline.com | 47

The snow trains would arrive and the skiers would walk across the road (now Route 8) to a tow rope that would take them to the top of the slopes. It boasted four tow ropes and a 600-foot vertical drop, which were not enough to keep it open after the advent of World War II. Today, the majority of the popular ski areas that brought

tourists to the Berkshire Hills, the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire, beginning with the snow trains and ending with destination resorts from the 1970s and 1980s, exist only as abandoned ski lifts and tow ropes, photographs, postcards and memories.

It was a fascination with these abandoned ski areas that

48 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

led Davis to found The New England and Northeast Lost Ski Areas Project (NELSAP) and to pen five books on lost ski areas — two set in the Adirondacks, one on Southern Vermont and another in the White Mountains. His latest, chronicling 37 lost ski areas in the Berkshires, was released at the end of November.

Davis, 40, who lives Sarato-

ga Springs, N.Y., began his love affair with abandoned ski areas when he was a teenager growing up outside Chelmsford, Mass.

“Almost 30 years ago, I took my first ski lesson. My family started taking ski trips when my brother and I started skiing,” he said. “Up in the White Mountains, as we drove past Mount Whittier, an abandoned ski area caught my attention.

LEFT: Members of the Thunderbolt Ski Runners at an outing at the Elk Summit Practice Slope — once located behind the Elk on the Trail Monument at the Whitcomb Summit inn Florida, Mass.

BELOW: “Lost Ski Areas of the Berkshires,” by Jeremy K. Davis RIGHT: Snow trains drop off passengers in the Berkshires.

Berkshire Eagle file photo.

“

I could see this huge ski area, its abandoned base lodge all boarded up; the ski lifts rusting; trees growing up and around it. I wondered, ‘What happened there?’”

— Jeremy K. Davis, author, “Lost Ski Areas of the Berkshires”

UpCountryOnline.com | 49

“Lost Ski Areas of the Berkshires”

By Jeremy K. Davis Published by The History Press Paperback, 160 pages Suggested retail price: $21.99

LEFT: In this Jan. 12, 1941 photograph, skiers wait to use one of the four tow ropes at Farnams-in-the-Berkshires in Cheshire, Mass.

William Whitaker — Berkshire Eagle File Photo

“I could see this huge ski area, its abandoned base lodge all boarded up; the ski lifts rusting; trees growing up and around it. I wondered, ‘What happened there?’ There was no internet. There were no books on it; no one I could ask.”

As his family continued to take ski trips, he began discovering other places. Soon, he found himself out on a Saturday, typically with his father, searching for abandoned ski areas.

“It just kind of combined into an interesting hobby. It became a sixth sense, finding a collapsed lift tower or the foundation of an old ski lodge,” Davis said. “When I got to college,

websites were just starting. I started a website on Geocities.

I asked people to share their stories about these places. I was crowdsourcing before the word was created. The site grew gradually; people sent me information. Technology became better and microfilm was digitized.”

In 2007, History Press reached out to Davis, asking if he would turn his website into a print book. The first book, “Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains,” found a niche, and the other books followed.

“It’s been a rewarding project,” he said of maintaining the website and writing the books.

“I found a dozen places that

weren’t on the website while I was doing my research.”

But the biggest thrill still comes from digging up the history of an area based on the fragments left behind. In Cheshire, a small portion of the train platform foundation still exists on the side of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, just south of the causeway.

At the Greylock Glen, the remnants of the base of three chairlifts, with towers, and the foundation for a drive building can be found.

“You can see where money ran out,” Davis said. “It’s like a construction site that stops midway and was just left there.

It’s a new relic. It’s such a large scale unfinished project — a really unique example.”

Filled with photographs and information about how to find the locations of these gems, the book details numerous lost ski areas, including Abbey Hill in Great Barrington, the Elk Summit Practice Slope in Florida, Konkapot Farms in New Marlborough; and resorts such as Brodie Mountain, Eastover, Marlboro Manor, Jug End Barn and Leisure Lee. For more information and author signings, visit facebook. com/lostskiareasoftheberkshires or nelsap.org

Open Daily 5:00 pm to 1:00 am [Kitchen is open until midnight] 27 Housatonic Street Lenox, MA 01240 413-637-9171 www.bravalenox.com 50 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

PERSON OF INTEREST

The bird carver Carvers from around the world come to Bennington to study with Floyd Scholz, one of the best in the world

52 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

By David LaChance

There was no way that F loyd Scholz could have known it at the time, but he had found his life’s work while he was still in grade school.

Born with a depthless fascination for birds, and inspired by an uncle who taught himself to become an award-winning carver of decoys, young Floyd began turning out carved birds from the basement of his parents’ home in Connecticut.

He discovered that there was a demand for his carvings.

“When you’re a kid and your friends are shoveling walks for five bucks, and you’re in the warmth of your basement, carving little birds, and

people are willing to pay you for this hobby, that’s quite an incentive,” Scholz said.

Fifty years and 800 birds later, he’s still at it. Scholz, 60, widely acknowledged as one of the leading bird carvers on the planet, has earned the titles “master carver” and “living legend,” and his astoundingly lifelike birds, now created on commission, command prices from $2,500 for a small songbird to the mid-six figures for an eagle or hawk. Since 2005, he has been sharing his carving and airbrushing techniques through his Vermont Raptor Academy at the Laumeister Art Center in Bennington, Vt., where carvers come from around the world to

attend one of the six seminars he offers each year.

Did Scholz have any inkling where his destiny might lie?

“Not even close,” he said. “I knew that I loved to carve and that it would probably just be a hobby for me the rest of my life.”

When, as a teenager, a customer encouraged him to consider making carving his vocation, he scoffed at the idea. “‘A professional bird carver?

Was there even such a thing?’

But it has evolved. I’ve made it evolve. I’ve worked really, really hard at this. And I’ve made it into what it is.”

It all might have gone far differently if Scholz, the 1979 NCAA decathlon champi-

on, had been able to pursue his dream of competing in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. When the U.S. boycotted the games over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Scholz packed his belongings into his Jeep CJ-5 and headed to a log cabin in Granville, Vt., owned by family friends, “just to figure it all out.”

He worked as a logger, and then as a carpenter, but found solace in his bird carvings. One of his pieces, dubbed “Jeezum the Crow,” wound up on display at a hunting and fishing store back home in Connecticut; there, a customer suggested that Scholz enter the sculpture in a local show. He won a blue

LEFT AND ABOVE: Students watch closely, some with video cameras as they learn the tricks of the trade from master bird carver Floyd Scholz during a class held at the Vermont Raptor Academy at the Laumeister Art Center at Southern Vermont College.

Photo: Holly Pelczynski

UpCountryOnline.com | 53

ribbon, and then sold “Jeezum” to a Bausch and Lomb vice president for $7,000 — half his yearly carpenter’s salary.

“That was one of the turning points of my life. I’ll never forget it,” Scholz said. “I drove home with a renewed enthusiasm and optimism, and it really focused me in a most relevant way that hey, this could really be something for me.”

In 1983, he became a professional carver, and hasn’t looked back.

He seems still to be riding that wave of enthusiasm. He loves that his seminars have become not only classrooms for instruction, but places where like-minded people make connections and form friendships.

He’s proud, too, of his academy’s effect on the Bennington economy, bringing in nearly 100 students each year who spend money at local hotels, stores and restaurants.

“

Some of the top carvers nowadays can take a block of wood and make it look so realistic that you want to touch it, because you don’t believe your eyes. I’ve been doing this for 51 years now, and I still love it when somebody doesn’t believe what their eyes are telling them.”

— Floyd Scholz

That younger people are signing up for his seminars gives him optimism.

“There seems to be a backlash to the gaming world, where everything is digital and instantaneous and quick and disposable,” he said. Laumeister, which is owned by

Southern Vermont College, has twenty-eight of his carvings on display, and Scholz has been told that his gallery is one of the students’ favorite places to spend time.

“Some of the top carvers nowadays can take a block of wood and make it look so real-

ABOVE: Floyd Scholz works on a carved hawk. Photo: Holly Pelczynski

54 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

istic that you want to touch it, because you don’t believe your eyes,” Scholz said. “I’ve been doing this for 51 years now, and I still love it when somebody doesn’t believe what their eyes are telling them.”

Lake Paran Plunge Winter Craft Market Stories & Crafts Solar Fair Tractor & Horse Rides Pig Roast Snowman Building Indoor Carnival Chili Fest And Much More !!

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Classes held throughout Berkshire County More info at BerkshireOLLI.org FREE catalog: olli@berkshirecc.edu or call 413.236.2190

No tests No grades Just learning for the love of learning

UP NEXT

MONTHS FOR RECHARGING Find time to socialize and enjoy the arts scene this winter

By Benjamin Cassidy If you’re an arts buff in the Berkshires or Southern Vermont, chances are you’re guilty of some social procrastination during the summer and fall. Want to go for a hike? Sorry, I’m seeing that new art show. Can you stop by for dinner tonight? Nope, I have concert tickets!

January and February are your months for atonement. While the arts scene isn’t dormant during 2019’s earliest days, it’s certainly a tad sleepy. This is the time to grab a bite with that friend who might not be familiar with either of the arts world Nick Caves. But perhaps you can also persuade that comrade to accompany you to some shows.

Two very different institutions, albeit both at the foot of slopes, provide potential options.

In Williamstown, Mass., “Turner and Constable: The Inhabited Landscape” will be the main attraction at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, featuring paintings and other works

by J. M. W. Turner and John Constable. And at Vermont’s Stratton Mountain Resort, skiers and nonskiers can enjoy tunes by My Mother’s Moustache, among others, at lively venues such as Grizzly’s. It might get a little raucous on the mountain, but that’s OK. Art can be social, too.

ABOVE: Taryn Simon’s “A Cold Hole” at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Mass..

Photo: Jennifer Huberdeau

UpCountryOnline.com | 57

‘TURNER AND CONSTABLE: THE INHABITED LANDSCAPE’ Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute 225 South St., Williamstown, Mass.

Landscapes attract a little bit more attention in this part of the country. Art galleries and museums in the region regularly stoke this intrigue, presenting works by local and international artists that challenge our notions of nature and reinforce our affection for it.

This winter, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute feeds this interest with a show that presents two of the world’s most celebrated landscape painters: J. M. W. Turner and John Constable. The artists both hailed from England and rose to prominence during the 19th century. Turner often draws praise for his light depictions, Constable for his colors. But perhaps their greatest achievement was revolutionizing landscape painting, ensuring that, centuries later, it would endure as a significant area for artistic inquiry.

• “Extreme Nature!” through Feb. 24: Fact and imagination mingle in artistic portrayals of the environment, including natural disasters.

• “Turner and Constable: The Inhabited Landscape,” through March 10: Two landscape painting revolutionaries’ work captures 19thcentury scenes.

• “Thomas Gainsborough: Drawings at the Clark,” through March 17: An 18th-century portrait painter’s landscapes are at the fore.

In “Turner and Constable: The Inhabited Landscape,” more than 50 landscape pieces that include oil paintings, watercolors, prints and drawings demonstrate that this legacy is as entrenched as the surrounding hills.

“Osmington Village” by John Constable is on display as part of the Turner and Constable: The Inhabited Landscape at The Clark. Photo courtesy of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.

58 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

MY MOTHER’S MOUSTACHE Stratton Mountain Resort 5 Village Lodge Road, Stratton Mountain, Vt. • The North & South Dakotas, Grizzly’s, Jan. 5, 3 p.m.: Some fresh alt-bluegrass tunes from upstate New York.

• My Mother’s Moustache, Grizzly’s, Feb. 2, 3 p.m.: Joe Sabourin and company return for another Stratton show.

• Josh Panda Party, Grizzly’s, Grizzly’s, Feb. 16, 3 p.m.: Pop songs will fuel this rager.

Stratton Mountain Resort isn’t just home to some steep slopes; it also hosts a jumpin’ year-round music scene. The Wailers, Rusted Root and Judy Collins are among those who have taken its stages. While those acts have arrived in Windham County at different times on the calendar, Stratton’s music lineup acquires an added importance during winter, when festivals and other outdoor shows in the Green Mountain State are still months away.

This winter’s slate is heavy on cover bands that will appear at multiple resort venues, playing hits that out-of-towners and locals are bound to enjoy. But some groups will offer their own original sounds.

My Mother’s Moustache, for example, will belt some Americana tunes at Grizzly’s on Feb. 2, just over a month after its last appearance at the bar and restaurant. Vocalist/ guitarist Joe Sabourin is Vermont-based and raised in Massachusetts, so music fans throughout the region might recognize some of his influences.

Don’t worry: Ski passes aren’t required for entry. You don’t have to know what apres means to get in on this fun.

Photo courtesy of Stratton Mountain.

UpCountryOnline.com | 59

Ghost on the Thunderbolt Does a Civil War-era hermit still make his home on Mount Greylock?

By Jennifer Huberdeau

On cold winter nights, near the end of January, they say a ghostly figure of a man haunts the Thunderbolt Ski Trail.

“Old Coot,” as he is known, is said to have lived in a shack on the side of Mount Greylock, at the intersection of the Thunderbolt and Bellows Pipe trails. During the few select nights he chooses to appear during the last two weeks of January, Old Coot is said to walk from his former home, along a long-forgotten country road (most likely now the Bellows Pipe Trail) to an overlook above the old Bernard Farm in North Adams, Mass.

“Old Coot is one of the most harmless ghosts ever seen by man. He isn’t one of those chain-rattling, long-fingered gentry that abound in England,” a North Adams Transcript article from Jan. 19, 1939, said of the ghost.

The article, the oldest known reference in print about the winter specter, was published the week before that year’s Massachusetts Downhill Championship was scheduled to take place on the Thunderbolt.

“If Old Coot is not frightened away, he will be seen in the late afternoon near the last bend in the final dip of the ski run, for it was there that he built himself a shack in the late

1860s and where he finally died of starvation and exposure,” read the article’s tongue-in-cheek warning to the thousands of spectators who would gather at the finish line.

The story of Old Coot might have slipped into the annals of time and never been spoken of again had enough snow covered the ground that weekend. But, as fate would have it, the race was postponed for a week and an ambitious photographer from The Transcript and a few others headed out in search of Old Coot. They returned from their adventure with the tale of their encounter, and a photograph of the Thunderbolt’s ghost.

For four days, Transcript photographer Randy Trabold, along with a “small band of intrepid ghost raisers,” staked out the location Old Coot was said to haunt. Then, on the morning of Jan. 27, the image was captured.

According to Trabold, he had stayed behind at the campsite that morning, tucked in his sleeping bag, when an old man appeared.

“He was dressed in a worn and ragged Civil War uniform which seemed to afford little protection to his skinny shanks,” Trabold said.

The man offered a greeting of “Ski Heil!” or “Good skiing!”

ABOVE: ‘Old Coot,’ in a photo published in The North Adams Transcript, Jan. 27, 1939. Photo by P. Randolph ‘Randy’ Trabold

UpCountryOnline.com | 61

62 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019

Trabold, reportedly not a fan of skiers because “you have another husband. to climb hills to take their pictures,” said he responded rather Then, Saunders returned home. coolly to the greeting.

“No one, not even his most intimate acquaintances recog“Something in the old fellow’s face, however, attracted his nized the emaciated blue-uniformed gentleman-of-the-road as interest and he pulled out his camera with the intention of tak- William Saunders. He had been an impressive figure of a man ing a shot at the odd old character. When he looked up from before he had shouldered a gun.” adjusting his shutter, he saw the With his wife remarried old chap taking off at top speed. and his farm owned by another As he went into the woods, his man, the unrecognizable Saunform became faint and then ders took what little money disappeared into thin air.” he had and bought a small But, luckily, Trabold realized piece of land overlooking the who the man was and snapped Bernard Farm. There, he spent the shutter just before the ghost the winters keeping to himself, disappeared. He then proceedbut in the spring and summer, ed to write up his account, he came into the valley to find rounded up his companions work. The article relates that he and sent the fastest of the worked on local farms, includgroup, story in hand, to The ing that of his former wife, and Transcript. The account and the often supped, undetected, with photograph of Old Coot, which his children.

Trabold reportedly developed The legend grows in Richmond Cave on his way With the last of the major back, appeared in the Jan. 27 races on the Thunderbolt taking edition of The Transcript. place in the early 1950s, the tale — The North Adams Transcript, Jan. 19, 1939 The tale of William of Old Coot should have faded into the past, reclaimed like Saunders the trail itself by the wilds of But just who was Old Coot?

Mount Greylock.

And why does he haunt the But, in February 1965, the story of Old Coot was resurThunderbolt during the winter? rected when a North Adams resident found a faded copy of As told in the original Jan. 19, 1939, article, Old Coot was the photograph and article in a cookbook. She queried The a hermit named William Saunders who made his home on Transcript about the image, and Trabold, who was not identithe Adams side of the mountain. fied in the original as the photographer, once again related, in According to the story, Old Coot’s identity was unknown a newspaper article, his tale of meeting the ghost. until after his death. A group of hunters, who stumbled upon Old Coot was photographed once more, this time by his shack one February, found the old man frozen to death. It another Transcript staff photographer, in the 1970s, when a was assumed that he had taken ill and was unable to prepare team braved the woods in search of the shade. himself food or light a fire. The hunters found his discharge So, why has the legend of Old Coot survived, even at a papers, and his identity was established. time when the Thunderbolt Ski Trail had become a shadow of Saunders arrived in the Berkshires in his 20s, with his its former self ? wife, Belle, and two young children in tow. The couple owned “We keep legends and stories around because they connect a farm, which, in the original account, was “on the northern us to our past and to our history. Sometimes we hear a story outskirts of what is North Adams,” but has also been reported that’s so dark it literally haunts us,” said Jeff Belanger, author, as being on Bob’s Hill in Adams. co-host of the “New England Legends” podcast and researchThe young farmer joined the Union Army and headed off er for the paranormal television show “Ghost Adventures.” to fight in the Civil War. “We share those stories as cautionary tales in the hopes we “Nothing is known, unfortunately of those years of Saunders’ life other than that he undoubtedly saw action on at least won’t encounter the same fate as those ghosts of our past.”

He added: “The Old Coot is a classic tragic tale of a man one battlefield, for he was seriously wounded and hospitalwho went off to serve his country and fight in the Civil War ized,” the article states. …

Our hearts break for him. He’s so honorable he doesn’t When Saunders failed to return home from the war, and want to interfere in their newfound happiness, but he can’t with no news suggesting that he was still alive, Belle married let them go either, so he lives out in the woods like a herMilton Cliffords, a freelance farmhand Saunders hired to mit where he can still keep an eye on the people he loved so work in his stead. To her credit, the young mother did not dearly. He’s the epitome of devotion wrapped in a ghost story. remarry right away. It was a complete year after communiIt’s not much of a leap to imagine he’s still out there keeping cations about, and from, her husband ceased that she took an eye on all of us.”

“

Old Coot is one of the most harmless ghosts ever seen by man. He isn’t one of those chainrattling, longfingered gentry that abound in England.”

LEFT: An article published in the Jan. 19, 1939 North Adams Transcript warned those attending the winter race at the Thunderbolt Ski Trail to be on the lookout for a ghost, known as ‘Old Coot.’ Here, spectators and skiers stand at the finish line at the base of the Thunderbolt on Jan. 28, 1939. The finish line was said to be near where ‘Old Coot’ once made his home .North Adams Transcript file photo.

UpCountryOnline.com | 63

LAST LOOK

“

We descended dreamily, lazily skimming the beeches and maples, following what appeared to be a trail — but was more likely our own imagined route through a loose maze of trees.”

— Rob Woolmington describing a day spent skiing in the highlands of Somerset, Vt.

During the winter of 1977, Bennington Banner reporter Rob Woolmington and his wife, Meg, along with photographer Tyler Resch, spent days skiing in the Green Mountain highlands for an UpCountry article on ‘The Quiet Sport.’

64 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | January/February 2019