VT SKI + RIDE, Winter 2018

VT

FREE! WINTER 2018

SKI + RIDE

Vermont’s Mountain Sports and Life

WHO’S THE

BEST IN VT? IT’S TIME TO DETERMINE VERMONT’S BEST FREESKIERS, MOGUL MADMEN, SPEED DEMONS AND, YES, JACK JUMPERS.

LEGENDARY SKI BARS

OLYMPIC DYNASTIES

THE DIY ROPETOW

www.vtskiandride.com

DREAM HOME

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NEXT LEVEL Expand your skills in one of our specialty camps led by the best of the Killington Snowsports instructors. Learn more at killington.com/lessons

Donna Weinbrecht Women’s Camps Jan 20 & 21; Feb 24 & 25 Donna Weinbrecht Mogul Camps March 17 & 18 Weekend Mogul Camps Feb 3 & 4; March 3 & 4 Dan Egan Explore The Beast Camps Feb 10 & 11; March 17 & 18

CONTENTS / 03.03

FEATURES VERMONT’S OLYMPIC DYNASTIES, p. 30

These four Vermont families have been sending Vermonters to the Olympics for at least two generations. And this year is no exception.

THE BARNEBAKKEN REVIVAL , p. 38

The DIY rope tow behind the house is a New England tradition that’s come full circle. Adventure journalists Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson show how.

WHO’S THE BEST? p. 48

Spring is a time for unicorn costumes, beer-infused tailgating and a few insane competitions to determine who really is the best in Vermont... at something.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, p. 48

To train for the Jack Jumping World Championships at Mount Snow, you’ll need a few friends, a steep pitch and good beer, Leath Tonino reports. Lots of beer.

Carson Taylor laps Mad River Glen during the annual Vertical Challenge.

FIRST TRACKS

Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

FIRST TRACKS | FREEHEELIN’ VERMONT,

COLUMNS p. 6

EDITOR’S LETTER | MINING GREEN MOUNTAIN GOLD,

p. 5

The telemark World Cup comes to Vermont; Mount Snow gets Canned; Nomad settles in Sugarbush and new prospects for Prospect Mountain.

Why do so many of this year’s Olympians come from Vermont?

APRÈS | THE LEGENDARY SKI BARS, p. 15

Bootfitter Doug Stewart’s solutions to your most common foot problems.

What makes a ski bar a legend? The people who bring you those good times.

DREAM HOME | WINTER BRIGHT, p. 24

The met on the slopes of Israel’s Mt. Hermon, now they’ve built a stunning, and seriously fun, home in Stowe. Here’s a peek inside.

COACH | THE AGONY OF THE FEET, p. 53 THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CALENDAR |

p. 57

CHAIRLIFT Q/A | TIGER, OUT OF THE GATES, p. 64

Tiger Shaw, president of U.S. Ski and Snowboarding, on growing up in Stowe, Mikaela Shiffrin and America’s Olympic prospects.

ON THE COVER: Harvesting spring’s powder crop in the Mad River Valley backcountry. Photo by Brian Mohr/EmberPhoto

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 3

MINING GREEN MOUNTAIN GOLD

CONTRIBUTORS

For a state of 625,000, Vermont has been the training ground for an inordinate number of Olympians. Though full teams had yet to be named as of press time, the number of Green Mountain athletes headed to PyeongChang is impressive. Even

more so is where they are coming from. Burke Mountain Academy helped produce alpine racers Mikaela Shiffrin and Andrew Weibrecht and cross-country skiers (and northern Vermont locals) Liz Stephen and Ida Sargent—as well as 33 others over the years. Mount Snow’s Carinthia terrain park has been the stomping ground for two of the world’s winningest winter athletes. Four-time Olympic medal winner Kelly Clark (pictured), who grew up in Dover, Vt., is going for her fifth medal. Another Dover local, Devin Logan, competes in two freeskiing disciplines, slopestyle and halfpipe and in 2015 won the overall freeskiing World Cup.Though both women now live out West, you might catch them at Mount Snow when they visit their families. Stratton Mountain School alumns include boardercross vets Lindsey Jacobellis, currently ranked first in the world, and Alex Deibold, as well as slopestyle riders Julia Marino and Danny Davis and aerialist Mac Bohonnon. And then there is the cross-country team: Of the 22 slots on the U.S. team, nearly half belong to Vermonters and/or SMS Elite Team members, including locals Andy Newell, Sophie and Patrick Caldwell, as well as imports Jessie Diggins and Simi Hamilton, who moved to Vermont to train with SMS under program leader, Sverre Caldwell. But the story we found most fascinating is that of the Vermont families who have turned out generations of Olympians, often without the trainers and trappings of a big school or club team. Ryan Cochran-Siegle of Cochran’s Ski Area was the fourth U.S. man to be named to the alpine Olympic team. Craftsbury Green Racing Project biathletes Susan Dunklee and Emily Dreissigacker come from families of multiple Olympians. And Putney’s Sophie Caldwell will follow in her father and grandfather’s footsteps to the Olympics. See Vermont’s Olympic Dynasties, p. 30 for their stories. And ring that cowbell for them. —Lisa Lynn, Editor

Brian Mohr is one of the biggest proponents of human-powered backcountry skiing in the Northeast. But when it comes to his kids, the photographer/writer didn’t hesitate to put up a backyard rope tow, a project he shares in “The Barnebakken Revival.”

Leath Tonino has skied, hiked and ridden Vermont end-to-end, but one of his passions is jack jumping—in particular careening down Lincoln Gap at speed, as he writes about on p. 48. Tonino is a contributor to Outside and Orion.

College roommates, Oliver Parini and Leath Tonino are equally avid jack jumpers. So it was a natural to have Parini, who has shot for The New York Times, Wine Spectator and others, photograph their jack jumping buddies.

What’s New at VTSKIANDRIDE.COM?

GET THE UPDATES Follow us on Facebook for exclusive interviews with Olympic athletes and up-to-the-minute news. WATCH OUR VIDEOS See Mikaela Shiffrin train and watch Kelly Clark and Devin Logan get huge air. GET THE NEWS FIRST Sign up for our e-newsletter for breaking news, conditions, contests and deals. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE Don’t miss an issue—read our free digital edition. PAST ISSUES? They are all here. EDITORIAL Publisher, Angelo Lynn angelo@vtskiandride.com Editor/Co-Publisher, Lisa Lynn editor@vtskiandride.com Creative Director, David Pollard Staff Writer, Emma Cotton emma@vtskiandride.com Conributing Editors & Photographers: Brooks Curran, David Goodman, Bud Keene, Brian Mohr, Doug Stewart, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

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When the going gets deep, the knees start to drop. A teleskier get first tracks in Stowe’s sidecountry.

6 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

FIRSTTRACKS

FREEHEELIN’ VERMONT

With the rise of skimo and AT, has teleskiing gone downhill?

Photo by Brian Mohr/EmberPhoto

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elemark skiing is dead,” California’s Powder Magazine proclaimed in a headline last March, referring to the oldest of two-plank, snow-sliding sports. If you ski in Vermont, and if you’ve ever dipped a knee into powder or soft corn snow, you might want to quibble with that.To start with, according to Ski Industries of America, between 2008 and 2015, participation in the sport increased 44 percent. And then there’s this: Vermont plays host to a handful of tele clinics and events including—and this is the big one— the FIS Telemark World Cup, this year. The World Cup events are at Suicide Six, Jan. 17-18 and then Sugarbush on Jan. 20-22.The last timeVermont hosted was 2008, when Sugarbush held the event. And while thisWorld Cup may not draw the crowds that the FIS Women’s Alpine World Cup drew to Killington last November, the races attract the world’s topranked teleskiers from Switzerland, Slovenia, Norway and France. “Telemark racing combines the best of alpine’s speed through gates with distance jumping and skating used in various Nordic events, wrapped into one high-tempo course,” explains Garrett Long, president of the U.S. Telemark Ski Association and a Killington regular. TheWorld Cup has three different event formats: the Classic, which is a one-run endurance race comprising two minutes of skiing, skating and descending through more than 40 gates over 250 meters; the Sprint Classic, which is

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First Tracks

PRETZEL LOGIC

Fresh off the mountain, who doesn’t dream of hot pretzels and cold craft beer? This January, Mount Snow opened Canned, where you can pair canned Vermont brews with any number of pretzels, including salty Bavarian pretzel sticks with beer cheese, sweet pretzels with cinnamon and maple dipping sauce, and other daily specials. There’s even a take-out window, and outdoor beer-garden-style seating. Canned will operate daily starting at 11 a.m., and will offer a constantly evolving selection of beer, from old favorites to hard-to-find limited release brews. Have a favorite? Suggestions are encouraged.

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NEW PROSPECTS FOR PROSPECT MOUNTAIN

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nce a downhill area, Prospect Mountain Nordic Ski Center serves as one of southern Vermont’s cross-country ski hubs. The tiny Woodford center is home base to the Williams College crosscountry team and, this March, will host the US Snowshoe National Championships. Its trails have provided training grounds for two-time Olympic biathlete David Jareckie, four-time Olympic cross-country team member Andy Newell and Olympic medalist Bill Koch, who skied there as a kid. Now, Prospect is gearing up for a change. Recently, a band of skiers entered into an agreement to buy the Nordic center and ski trails from its longtime owners, Steve Whitham and Andrea Amodeo. “It’s time to step back and take a lesser role in the area,” Whitham said. One of those skiers is Dave Newell, Andy Newell’s father. He’s a leader of the newly-formed nonprofit, Prospect Mountain Association, which hopes to purchase the mountain this spring. “We have a solid contingent of longtime Prospect enthusiasts,” Newell said. “The attachment we all have to the place is somewhat mystical. It’s just a great place to be. It’s got rustic charm.” Prospect Mountain opened during the 1930s as a small downhill ski area, with a rope tow and later two T-bars. For the past 26 years, it has been exclusively a cross-country facility, offering 17.8 miles of trails. Of those, 9.8 miles of trail within the Prospect Mountain network are located on Green Mountain National Forest land, and are maintained by the center under a permit from the U.S. Forest Service. The Prospect Mountain center encompasses about 144 acres off Route 9 in the mountain town, 7 miles east of Bennington. The base lodge elevation is at 2,250 feet, which helps ensure a snowpack. For the moment, the Association doesn’t plan to change much. “It’s a Nordic center and it will continue to be that,” Newell said. “Way back in the day it was a downhill ski area, but that’s not feasible now with the spotty snow we have. But we want to refine and maybe do some trail expansion, and make sure it’s the best cross-country area we can make it. If we can use it in the summertime, that would be nice, but that’s plan B.” On March 9, the mountain will host the national showshoe championships for the second time, attracting approximately 500 snowshoe racers from around the world. According to race organizer Tim Van Orden, “Prospect Mountain is kind of an anomaly in the Northeast. Most mountains in Vermont are in the 2,000-foot range, but this plateau is all above 2,000 feet, and it’s huge. It’s a snow trap.” —Emma Cotton

Photo courtesy of Silvia Cassano

a two-run event that demands consistency and sound form; and the Dual Sprint, a side-by-side run that pits racers head-to-head. Though Vermonters may not be winning these events, there are still plenty of locals who tele, to race or recreate. For nearly two decades Waitsfield’s Dickie Hall, the founder and longtime director of North American Telemark Organization, conducted a yearly schedule of workshops, camps, expeditions and guide and instructor training. “Over the years I’ve probably taught over 40,000 skiers and trained 1,000 instructors and guides worldwide,” he says. And many of those folks still ski Vermont. If you want to up your tele game, Pico Mountain offers $59 group lessons on Freeheel Fridays (it’s BYO gear), or head to a tele fest like the 33rd annual Kare Anderson, held at Bromley on Feb. 25 to “free the heel and free the mind.” —L.L

SKI, RIDE, RELAX, AND DINE enjoy your winter season at Topnotch Resort

4000 Mountain Road, Stowe, Vermont . 800-451-8686 . topnotchresort.com

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First Tracks

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Every Tuesday through Saturday night tickets are just $25 from 4-10pm

A portion of every $25 lift ticket sold will be donated to Vermont Adaptive and the Chill Foundation

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10 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

A SNOWBOARD MONUMENT?

I

f you ask Jake Burton Carpenter where snowboarding was born, he’ll tell you South Londonderry, Vt., where he began building boards in his garage in 1977. Now, Burton and the townspeople of South Londonderry are working with Colorado artist Jason Dreweck to make the town the site of the first “National Snowboard Monument.” Dreweck had been working on models of the sculpture when he approached the town with the idea. It was a hit and the London Arts and Historical Society has since proposed a $1.3 million full-scale (30-foot-long) rendition of Drewek’s cast bronze sculpture to be set at the site of Burton’s first factory. The sculpture originally showed a rider doing a backflip, but Carpenter proposed Dreweck change it to depict Ross Powers’s signature move: a method. Powers, a Londonderry native, won two Olympic medals and still coaches at Stratton Mountain School. “There are so many amazing snowboarders from southern Vermont: Kelly Clark, Kevin Pearce, Forest Bailey...we’re looking forward to making them aware of our efforts as well,” says Dreweck. He has already made a number of limited-edition maquettes signed by the artist, Burton and Powers,which he’s selling for $14,000. So far, Carpenter and Stratton are owners of two and Dreweck has raised $55,000 toward the landmark. —L.L.

Photo courtesy Jason Dreweck

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First Tracks

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NOMADS FIND A WINTER HOME

Vt Ski + Ride Winter 2018 _b5042dec034996994d2c7e90110a51b0.qxp_Layout 1 1/5/18 7:17 AM Page 1

VT Ski + Ride | Spring 2018 |

1/4 page ~ 3.67 x 4.51

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Celebrate Winter in Woodstock, Vermont CK INN & TO

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The Woodstock Inn & Resort invites you to celebrate winter with luxurious accommodations, fine dining, a full service spa & many recreational activities. Woodstock Nordic Center offers 45km of groomed trails for skate & classic cross-country skiing. Snowshoers & fat bike riders may utilize the groomed ski trail areas in addition to a series of ungroomed trails for a more invigorating experience. Suicide Six Ski Area is one of Vermont’s most family friendly ski resorts with terrain that suits every ability. Come see what’s new at Suicide Six: New quad chairlift, renovated base lodge, enhanced snowmaking & grooming. Plan your winter getaway today! 888.504.4213 | www.woodstockinn.com

12 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

Photo courtesy of Nomad Coffee

A

fter they met at the University of Waterloo in Canada, snowboarders Nicole Grinstead and Andrew Sepic took a fivemonth road trip across the United States. In every town, they visited a local coffee shop, ultimately finding that some of the best coffee was housed in “coffee cabins” —tiny, moveable cafés that can be easily hitched to the back of a pick-up truck. The couple finally settled in Vermont and created a cabin of their own, called Nomad Coffee. The street-side café has been operating on Main Street in Essex Junction since August of 2016. This season, the cabin, a perfect picture of modern bohemia with its natural wood paneling and Christmas lights, is a semi-permanent fixture at the base of Sugarbush. Skiers and riders can grab fresh pastries, sourced from Sweet Simones bakery in Richmond, and one of many warm drinks, ranging from cappuccinos and cortados to London fogs and mochas, on their way on or off the slopes. “It was always our intention to take our tiny house coffee shop to the mountains when winter hit,” Sepic says. “I reached Gerry Nooney, their vice president of food and beverage, and he was immediately responsive, as he had already been on the lookout for a specialty coffee vendor.” The shop is already collecting regulars. “It made my day better just stopping in,” one Yelp reviewer wrote. “Coffee and positive vibes go a long way!” —E.C. n

general contractor Gristmill Builders |landscape architect Wagner Hodgson | photography Nat Rea

www.flavinarchitects.com

Naturally Epic Photo credit: ŠBrian Mohr/EmberPhoto

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Après

FOUR LEGENDARY SKI BARS

Photo courtesy Sugarbush Resort

What makes a ski bar a legend? It’s the abundance of good times, year after year, and the people who bring those good times into your life.

Henri Borel (top, in cap, at TImbers) has good reason to raise a glass: his bistro has been a Sugarbush institution for five decades.

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t Chez Henri, a Parisian-style bistro at the base of Lincoln Peak, Henri Borel has been bringing good times to Sugarbush for 54 years. And he’s still going strong. For years, each spring he presided over the Chez Henri Cup: a race followed by a fondue party. Last year, it was rekindled as a celebration of Henri Borel’s 90th birthday. This February 11, he will celebrate his 91st. And yes, he still races. A wiry Frenchman with boundless energy, Henri, as everyone calls him, captured the essence of good times during the high-flying “Mascara Mountain” years at Sugarbush during the early ’60s. That’s when Olympic skier Jean Claude Killy and Vincent Sardi (owner of New York’s Sardi’s on Broadway) were regulars at Chez Henri. And among Henri’s frequent guests were actor Paul Newman, the Kennedy clan, the Heinz family,Yoko Ono, Olympic skier Buddy Werner, socialite Nan Kempner and New York City jetsetters and original Club Ten founders Skitch Henderson, and Igor and Oleg Cassini (the designer and close friend of Jackie Onassis). Sugarbush attracted a who’s who of American society for those few years, with Olympic gold medalist Stein Ericksen running the ski school

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 15

at the time and holding court—almost daily—at Henri’s bistro. “He was my best customer those first years,” Henri remembers, recalling Eriksen’s legendary good looks and his international clientele. “He drew a crowd all around him. It was good for everyone that he was here—except maybe for the husbands,” he says with a sly smile. In those years the Sugarbush trail maps featured a run called “Out to Lunch,” that swung off lower Pushover at the base of Lincoln Peak, right to the covered bridge. You crossed the covered footbridge, ducked left and down a few stairs to a lower entrance that is Chez Henri. There, a courtyard faces Lincoln Peak with ski runs Spring Fling, the Mall and Stein’s Run in full view. Outside, a small circular table with two metal chairs sits surrounded by snow, a red-and-white checkered tablecloth on top, capped with a bouquet of flowers. On a sunny day, it’s a coveted spot for lunch. Henri and his partner Bernard Perillat, who joined him in 1970, would sometimes set up an oyster bar outside for guests, bring more tables, and serve lobster and escargot. In a documentary made for Henri’s 90th birthday by local filmmaker Charlie Brown, Warren architect Dave Sellers recalled one winter evening, just before Christmas, when he and his date showed up in a snowstorm. Henri greeted them, brushed the snow off that outside table, lit candles and served them wine and his famous warm bread — all while huge snowy flakes fell on top of them. That night they had their full dinner outside. “It was remarkable,” Sellers said. “What a guy! That’s just pretty cool.” Sellers would become a regular at the bistro and a good friend. He later started a Christmas tradition of showing up with horns and singers to serenade Henri’s guests with carols, with Henri going table to table to get his customers to sing along, pouring champagne freely to all. The caroling would end with a rendition of “Silent Night,” as Henri would dim the lights and everyone would join in. “It was magical,” Sellers recalled, noting they did the caroling for 15 consecutive years. Henri Borel came to Vermont in 1960, in his early 30s, with Olivier Coquelin—a fellow Frenchman who had introduced Henri to skiing in the Alps—to help at a bistro called Club Ten. Coquelin would go on to New York City to start the famous nightclub, Le Club. Soon, Coquelin convinced Henri to take his place at Club Ten in Sugarbush. He did, along with his wife Rosie, who was then pregnant with their son (later to be named Francois), and six-month old daughter, Francoise. A couple of years later, Borel was convinced by a few of the early investors in Sugarbush to open a restaurant in the newly constructed Sugarbush Village. And that became Chez Henri. But even while he was establishing Chez Henri, he would leave each summer and fall to help establish large dance clubs in Chicago, Santa Monica and New York under the Cheetah club name and others. He often tells stories about when the Chicago club was bombed during the Democratic National Convention in 1968 or when Jim Morrison of The Doors was performing and made a racial slur. Henri and others had to scramble to prevent a skirmish between Morrison and Black Panthers in the crowd. Or another time when rock-n-roll legend James Brown gave Henri a big smooch. It was all part of the job, and part of what makes Henri the ultimate host—he has stories to regale his friends and customers hour after hour, day after day, year after year.

16 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

THE BAR: Chez Henri, at the base of Sugarbush’s Lincoln Peak. YOUR HOST: Henri Borel, now 90. THE PARTY NOT TO MISS: Henri’s birthday celebration, or any birthday, anniversary or special event of long-time guests. MUST ORDER: A glass of Bordeaux, crusty French bread and fondue, if you can. WILD TIMES: Climbing the pole in the bar, using only your arms.

Those stories, and his obsession with French bread—crisp on the outside so you can hear it crunch when you squeeze it, served warm right out of the oven—are part of the legendary experience at Chez Henri. And there are the traditions: “We have a famous climbing pole, but the rule is you can only use your arms,” Henri says. The pole, an architectural mistake in the middle of the bar, is covered with a slick paint, and when the scene gets rowdy, the challenge awaits newcomers. It’s harder than it looks, but it’s been climbed by such notables as: Jean Claude Killy, Stein Ericksen, Sigi Grottendropher, the Cochrans and the Mahre brothers to name a few. Looking around, Chez Henri looks much as it did 50 years ago. It’s a look and feel that is captured in a time bubble, one former employee says, a time warp that has preserved

Photos courtesy Sugarbush Resort

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Celebrate the 50th Anniversary

Celebrate 50

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This winter, we’ll celebrate the first 50 years that made Johannes von Trapp’s vision a reality, and we’ll set the course for the next half century.

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THE MATTERHORN

On a night when cars are parked up and down the Mountain Road and there’s a line at the door of The Matterhorn, Charlie Shaffer has an air of perpetual calm. It may be getting rowdy with a gang doing shots going at one end the bar. The dance floor may be a mosh pit. There may be a skinny-dipping challenge in the river just off the back deck. Shaffer takes it all in with an impish, bemused smile. He greets the regulars with a pat on the arm, and a “good to see you, did you ski today,” runs a hand through his tousled hair and steps back into the kitchen to check on things. Meanwhile, Louise Shaffer deftly rolls sushi in the sushi/martini bar on the lower level, facing big windows and the river. As Charlie says, “the fish comes off the same boat that serves restaurants in Boston. It gets there at 11 and it is here by 5 pm.” The Matterhorn, a perennial favorite in national “best ski bars in the U.S.” lists, is a near-mandatory watering hole for any skier headed down the Mountain Road from Mt. Mansfield. It’s has been an institution since the 1950s, hosting the Monkees, members of The

18 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

THE BAR: The Matterhorn on Stowe’s Mountain Road. YOUR HOSTS: Charlie and Louise Shaffer. THE PARTY NOT TO MISS: Any apres-ski afternoon, or New Years. MUST ORDER: The spicy tuna martini with fish fresh from the coast, or woodfired pizza and a Heady Topper. WILD TIMES: Ski down the backcountry Bruce Trail to the Horn and if it’s spring, take a polar plunge in the river out back. Bonus points for skinny dipping.

Grateful Dead and NFL star Doug Flutie and the Flutie Brothers band (whom Charlie sometimes sings with). After being a regular customer, Charlie, a Boston skier who had a weekend house share in Stowe, bought the place in 1996. Soon after, he lost his job as a trader and moved up full time. “It used to be a little more wild here,” he says. “But then again, so were we.” Locals Jake and Donna Carpenter, and Burton’s posse of pro riders, are regulars. One night this past January, Ethan Hawke stopped in. Harvey Keitel threw his son’s birthday party here —and sent a video to the kid’s godfather, Robert DeNiro. The Matterhorn has also been the scene of a (predictable) cat fight on Season Seven of the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” (aired in 2016). In describing the episode, E! Online called the ‘Horn, “A restaurant in the midst of what seems to be an identity crisis (seriously, it looked like a barn and inexplicably served buffalo wings and sushi).” What they missed is the knack that Charlie, who used to work on the floor of the Boston Stock Exchange, and Louise have for making just about everyone feel at home—be it a fur-clad New Yorker sipping a martini or a 20-year-old liftie downing a Heady Topper. Over the bar hang mugs belonging to regulars. “We save the mugs for people who work around here and really give back to the community — patrollers ski instructors and such,” Charlie says. They come and bring their 60-year-old private lesson clients. They bring their friends and kids with them. And then they leave (or not) and the music cranks up and a new crowd shuffles in. “A lot of the people you see here have been coming here since they were in their 20s,” Shaffer says. “I can’t tell you how many met their wives or husbands here.” He looks around and smiles. “Toni and Eileen

Photo by Lisa Lynn

a special feeling. Henri and Rosie built the fireplace, found used antique tables for booths, snatched the beautiful white marble bar and stools from a soda fountain in Barre that was going out of business, and bought antique mirrors at auction. Henri hand-chiseled the distinctive archways in the dining room. The back room, famous for its disco dancing in the 1970s and ’80s, still hosts lively parties on occasion. “I haven’t changed a thing— it’s comfortable, cozy, we have good food, fresh warm bread and good wine—and we’ve been successful because of it,” Henri said recently, while getting ready to serve lunch. “This is our place, it is our memory and that is a very important thing—to keep a place that is in the hearts of your customers.” And he still loves his work. “People ask me how I stay so active and come to work every day and ski every day. It’s because I enjoy life. If you are unhappy, it’s yourself. Life should be something happy. I love skiing and I’m still living like a ski bum.” —Angelo Lynn

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THE PICKLE BARREL

The first time Chris Karr set foot in The Pickle Barrel he was 18. “I came up to take a year off after high school and be a ski bum,” he remembers. He got a job at Killington and began working at The Wobbly Barn,

20 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

THE BAR: The Pickle Barrel on Killington’s access road. YOUR HOST: Chris Karr. THE PARTY NOT TO MISS: The spring Miniskirt Party, skirts are mandatory for guys and girls. MUST ORDER: Onion rings with sundried tomato aoli. WILD TIMES: The holiday Pimp and Ho Ho Ho party. Or any concert night when Snoop Dogg (pictured top, with Karr and his wife) shows up to play.

RED FOX INN

On the morning before the Red Fox Inn opens for the season, Tom Logan sits beside his wife, Cindy—or Ma-Bean, to the locals. To his left looms a giant stone fireplace; to his right, a worn wooden bar with bottles of whiskey and Guiness on tap. Jameson, one of the couples’ three young

Photo courtesy The Pickle Barrel

Bowen, a couple in their late 70s who drive up from Montauk, Long Island, are long-time customers who have become some of our best friends and they bring their kids and grandkids,” Charlie says. “The people I have met in this community and the friends we have made here are just incredible.” At the back of the bar, beyond two pool tables, kids in ski gear are slamming quarters into a pinball machine. A crew that just skied down the backwoods Bruce Trail (which spills out a hundred feet up the road) has hoofed it in to grab a beer. The après crowd segues seamlessly into the family dinner crowd, then into a late-night singles scene as the bands shift from one beat to the next. Charlie drums his fingers on the bar to the beat and smiles. No matter how crazy it gets, he always seems to be having a good time. “Perhaps the best thing about owning The Matterhorn is you get to see your friends at work all the time,” he says. “There are some nights when I’m getting ready to go home and in walk some friends, and then I know I’m gonna stay and have a beer with them.” —Lisa Lynn

the other big nightspot, also owned by Jack Giguere. Giguere took Karr under his wing and soon he was a manager. “He was really my mentor,” Karr said, and his dying wish was that I should take over the Pickle Barrel.” Karr scraped up enough money and in 1999 became the owner of “The House That Rocks Killington,” as he branded it, and then the parties really started. “When I was in high school, I started booking bands for our school dances,” Karr says. One of the people he worked with moved on to become Snoop Dogg’s agent. “I called him up one day and asked if Snoop Dogg would ever consider coming to Vermont,” Karr remembers. It was 2011. By the end of the conversation, Karr had booked Snoop Dogg for two sold-out shows. Karr has also brought acts such as Warren Zevon, the Wailers and others to Killington. “One of the fun things is bringing a band like Yukon Kornelius in. No one knew who they were until they started playing.The crowd went nuts when they realized it was Stefan Lesard from the Dave Mathews band, Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies and Adam Gardner and Ryan Miller of Guster.” Though the big band nights sell out during the winter, for Karr, it’s the local party nights that are just as much fun. “I don’t think I’d ever want to own a place that wasn’t in a ski town like Killington,” he says. “Locals here love to ski hard and party hard and the most fun nights are ones like the annual Miniskirt Party we do as a sendoff each April (guys and girls wear miniskirts) or the Pimp and Ho Ho Ho party at Christmas.” Karr is married now with a four-year-old and an 11-month old at home. He’s also the owner of two other Killington hot spots, Jax and The Foundry but, as he says, “I’m usually the last one home and first one up in the morning.” And he never misses a night out at the Pickle Barrel. — L.L

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u THE BAR: The Red Fox Inn in Bondville. YOUR HOSTS: Tom and Cindy (Ma-Bean) Logan. THE PARTY NOT TO MISS. St. Patrick’s Day. Need we say more? MUST ORDER: Ma Bean’s apple pie. It was chosen to serve at President Obama’s inauguration. WILD TIMES: The Logans also host Bondville’s St. Paddy’s day parade and just about the whole town— as well as skiers and riders from Bromley, Magic and Stratton— shows up for the afterparty.

Vermont. After, parade-goers flood the inn, and the Logans get to work serving traditional corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, Guinness, and of course, as Ma-Bean says: “A lot of shots of Jameson.” On any given night, the regular crowd is split evenly between outof-staters and locals—including snowboarding superstars Lindsey Jacobellis, Danny Davis and Ross Powers. “It’s nothing to see those guys here,” Tom says. He and Ma-Bean have even spotted William Shatner (Star Trek’s Captain Kirk) at the bar. And Jackie Kennedy used to be a regular, back when she brought her kids to ski at Stratton in the late ‘60s. The crowd only grows on holidays like Halloween and New Year’s Eve, when the inn hosts blow-out parties. Skier and riders come for the food; upstairs, the restaurant features a menu hearty fare like root vegetable risotto and pan-roasted elk chops. Downstairs, the tavern offers specials like Irish night, with halfpriced fish ‘n chips and Guinness. Ma-Bean’s pies are famous—out of hundreds of submissions, her apple pies were chosen to serve to President Obama at the 2009 Inaugural Ball. And they come for the music. Considered one of the best music venues in southern Vermont, the Red Fox stage has hosted the Neville Brothers, Deep Purple, NRBQ, Seth Yacavone, Sonny Landreth, as well as a traditional Irish band that plays weekly. At the Red Fox, there’s a little St. Paddy’s day year-round. — Emma Cotton n

Photo courtesy Red Fox Inn

grandsons, plays with a toy truck on the floor. “He’s got big shoes to fill with a name like that,” says Ma-Bean, with a nod to the whiskey. ‘The Fox’ is in the heart of southern Vermont’s ski country, within 10 miles of Stratton Mountain Resort, Bromley and Magic Mountain. A tavern, restaurant and inn, it’s been a local favorite since it opened in 1960. The Logans have only upped its popularity. The Logans grew up in Boston and moved to Vermont in 1975, and after going to the Red Fox as customers, then working there as bartenders and waitstaff, the couple bought the pub in 1984. “We danced seven nights a week here before we owned it,” Ma-Bean says. When they’re not hosting at the Inn you still find the Logans out on the slopes. Tom’s a skier and Ma Bean teaches snowboarding at Stratton, and occasionally competes in snowboard events in the 50-plus age group. Unless it’s St. Patrick’s Day. That’s the day Logans host Bondville’s St. Paddy’s Day parade—the oldest and largest in the state of

22 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

Burke Vermont

It’s that simple. Play in the snow. Carve some turns. Enjoy dinner out. Snowshoe in the moonlight. Snuggle by the fire. Tuck in for the evening.

Get a good night’s sleep–you’ll need it. Because there’s more to do tomorrow.

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Dream Home

WINTER 24 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

STORY BY LISA LYNN. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUSAN TEARE

BRIGHT The interior of this Stowe home is a

tribute to local artisans who crafted the hand-blown glass lights and most of the furniture.

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 25

H

e was one of the first ski patrollers on Israel’s Mt. Hermon. A Montrealer living in Israel, he had grown up skiing in the East. He answered an ad and soon found himself working on ski slopes on the mountain that borders Syria and Lebanon. She was from California and studying fashion design in Haifa. They met after a day on the slopes and he gave her a ride home. More than four decades later, they are married and still skiing together, mostly at Stowe. The couple, I. and S. (who asked that their names not be shared), have been coming to Stowe from Montreal for more than 25 years. “We had a nice place at Notchbrook,” she says, “but as our kids grew we started looking around.” Not far from Notchbrook, an enclave just off the Mountain Road, they came across a lot they fell in love with. The land had been cleared long ago and there was a flat place for a house, right on top, and views out across the mountains. “One of the best things we did, though, is not to build there at the top of the lot,” she says. Instead, working with Milford Cushman of Stowe’s Cushman Design Group, they set the house slightly down the hill, tucking it into the hillside, to be accessed by a small bridge. This gives the 4,500-square-foot home an intimate feel and lets it drop

26 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

down three stories, views from nearly every room. “It was also great because it would not have met the ridgeline ordinances,” she notes. Most of all, with Cushman designing the landscaping as well, it gives the feel that the house is one with the hill and the nature surrounding it. That’s a feeling that Cushman, builder Travis Cutler of Donald P. Blake Builders and, most of all S., who did the interior design, tried to cultivate. Big, triple-pane Marvin windows look out across the valley toward the trails of the Trapp Family Lodge. South facing, they let light and warmth in, even in the dead of winter. “Milford Cushman was very strict about wanting this to be as energy efficient as possible,” Cutler says, and the building is practically air-tight. Wherever possible, S. tried to bring nature indoors. The entry is paved with Vermont black slate and inset with a river of pebblestones. The stones lead to a powder room where local artist Chris Curtis, owner of Stowe’s West Branch Gallery, carved a sink from a boulder Cutler found on the property. Bright blue tiles accent the sides of the walls, similar to red tiles S.

Tucked into the hillside and hidden beneath snowbanks, the house sits like a treasure that’s ready to be found. Indoors, massive windows give views across the valley to the ridgeline of the Trapp Family Lodge trails. The main floor (left) has an open kitchen, dining and living area while the top floor (below right) hosts a studio and a bedroom.

vtskiandride.com Holiday 2016 35

used in the master bath. “I found those red tiles even before we built the house,” she recalls. “I loved them and knew that one day I’d find a place for them.” David Osgood of Lowell laid the tiles in carefully, using a tweezer at times to adjust them. He also did the covered the fireplace in Vermont slate with rough-hewn slabs of the same stone forming a mantel and running in a vertical stripe up the chimney. “The craftsmen we worked with were amazing,” says S., who has since retired as a professional designer but plied her trade in Montreal as both an interior designer and costume designer. Carpenter Derrick Barrett crafted the kitchen cabinets in his garage in Morrisville, making full-scale plywood drawings and models ahead of time. Hinesburg’s John Lomas custom-made the tables, chairs and much of the living room furniture to meet S.’s design choices.The light fixtures were made to her specs, with artist and fellow Montrealer, Michael Trimpol of Little River Hot Glass in Moscow hand-blowing the shades that were then fashioned into fixtures by Burlington’s Conant Metal & Light.

36 Holiday 2016 vtskiandride.com

By setting the house down the steep hillside, Cushman Design Group created three floors with views across the valley and outdoor living spaces off nearly every room. The trellis shades a summer outdoor dining area, just off the kitchen. Below right, the fireplace of Vermont black slate rises between two cozy seating nooks.

The house flows easily from the entrance down a few steps onto the main floor and open kitchen and living room. The master bedroom is set and off to one side, with a door from the master bath leading out to the pool. On the other, the garage and ski room flank the home. “The master bedroom really has a lot of privacy this way,” Cutler notes. On the lowest level, the couple created bedrooms for their son and his family that are walk-out. Outside, giant boulders and landscaping reinforce the feeling that this house is part of the hillside. Perhaps the most striking thing about the home are the bright colors S. used throughout: vibrant teals and greens, bright oranges and deep reds. “We have a collection of folk art and I love the bright colors and sort of whimsical approach that folk artists use,” S. says. “Besides,” she notes, “we come here to ski and to relax on weekends. We didn’t want this home to be too serious. It’s supposed to be about fun.” And it is. At left, top to bottom: The entryway’s river of pebblestones leads past a stand of birch cut from the property, to the powder room and living area. The powder room sink was carved from a boulder by artist Chris Curtis. The cozy master bedroom on the main floor has a fireplace that roars all winter. The hand-blown glassware is by local artists.

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 29

Ryan Cochran-Siegle, back from two knee surgeries, at the 2017 Audi Birds of Prey World Cup slalom race in Beaver Creek, Colo.

30 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

Vermont’s

Olympic

Dynasties

Nearly 50 years after their parents or grandparents competed in the Olympics, a new generation carrys on the family tradition.

Photo Cody Downard/USSA

by Lisa Lynn

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 31

THE COCHRANS If your last name is Cochran, there are a few things that seem like a given. One is that you will grow up skiing on (and working at) the tiny ski hill in Richmond where Mickey and Ginny Cochran first put a rope tow behind their house in 1961. The other is, come spring, you will help with sugaring: tapping the trailside maples and bottling Slopeside syrup. The third is that you will go to the Olympics. Mickey and Ginny never went to the Olympics, but they raised four kids who did. Mickey was a star baseball player who once pitched batting practice for Ted Williams. After fighting in World War II and seeing action in the Battle of the Bulge, he returned to Vermont and taught and coached skiing at the University of Vermont. In 1972, the Cochrans sent three kids to the Olympics in Sapporo, Japan: Marilyn, aWorld Champion bronze medalist, Barbara Ann and Bobby. Barbara Ann won gold and Bobby took eighth in the downhill. Then, in 1976, Lindy, the youngest, went to Innsbruck where she finished sixth. Flash forward a generation. Bobby’s son, Jimmy Cochran, who currently runs and manages Cochran’s Ski Area, raced at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics. Lindy’s three children (Tim, Jessica and Robby) have all made the U.S. Ski Team. And now, Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Barbara Ann’s 25-year-old son, has been named to the U.S. Olympic team and is headed to PyeongChang. And there’s an outside chance Robby Kelley, Lindy’s son, will be too,. Kelley, who turned down a spot on the U.S. Team, has been competing on the World Cup on his own Redneck Racing program. “RCS is coming back strong,” said U.S. Ski and Snowboard’s presi-

dent Tiger Shaw in early January. In 2012, Cochran-Siegle was on top of the world, winning gold in both the downhill and combined at the Junior World Championships. A year later, at the Worlds he smashed into the third gate, ripping his ACL and MCL. After surgery and rehab, he came back strong in 2014, winning the overall Nor-Am title with a second in the downhill and a third in both Super G and giant slalom. But the knee was still plaguing him. In 2015, Cochran-Siegle went in for another surgery, this time a more aggressive lateral meniscus and osteochondral allograft transplant that would keep him out of the gates and in rehab for a year. Then, in December 2016 he was back with a vengeance, scoring his best World Cup finish to date: a 10th in alpine combined and then winning the Super G at the U.S. Nationals in March.

Top: Ryan Cochran-Siegle with his mother, Olympic gold medalist and ski coach Barbara Ann Cochran. Below, cousin Robby Kelley lays it down.

32 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

Photo Susan Theis; courtesy USSA

Alpine Racing

In the early part of the season, RCS has been remarkably steady, scoring a 6th in the downhill and 18th in the alpine combined at the World Cup in Wengen on January 12. As of press time, he was the fourth-ranked American in overall points on the World Cup circuit and fourth in giant slalom points. Based on his World Cup ranking in alpine combined, in early January Cochran-Siegle became the fourth American man to qualify for PyeongChang. The Cochran legacy lives on. —L.L.

Biathlon

THE DUNKLEES On February 19, 2017, Susan Dunklee of Barton, Vt., stood on the starting line for finals of the Biathlon World Championships in Austria’s Pillersee Valley. The snowy Ötztal Alps towered above her and 30 other women. At the time, the Craftsbury skier was ranked 15th in the World Cup standings. The gun popped and the women exploded from the mass start, pushing their skis in undulating V’s up the first hill of the 12.5-km loop. With Dunklee in 11th, the women pulled up to the first of four shooting stages. That’s when the unexpected happened: Dunklee fired five clean shots and pulled away, scurrying past women in the lead who were still lying belly-down to finish shooting. Exhausted at the final climb, Dunklee allowed Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, the 2016 silver medalist, to overtake her. She crossed the finish line two seconds behind Dahlmeier, with her arms raised in

exaltation. She was the first American woman to medal at Worlds, and in that moment, she knew she was headed to PyeongChang. Lowell Bailey, a University of Vermont grad from Lake Placid, N.Y., had already won gold at the same World Championship in the individual event. It’s not the first time Dunklee has made a ground-breaking performance. At the 2012 Worlds in Ruhpolding, Germany, she placed fifth in the individual race, matching the best result ever by a U.S. woman. In the 2016-17 World Cup season, she finished in the top ten in ten events. Biathlon is the only Olympic sport in which an American athlete has yet to stand on a podium, but this February, Dunklee (and Bailey) could change that. So what has made Dunklee so good? It could be genetic. Her father, Stan Dunklee, raced cross-country alongside Bill Koch in the 1976 Olympics, and again in 1980. Her uncle, Everett Dunklee, raced crosscountry in the 1972 Olympics. Born in tiny Barton, where her parents run Barton Veterinary Hospital, Dunklee was raised about a 30-minute drive from Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Her parents had met while racing on the University of Vermont cross-country team and Craftsbury was her playground. “From the time she could walk, she was skiing a cross-country loop around the backyard here,” her father Stan said. Yes, she has good technique but, according to her father, Susan succeeds because of her ‘race head.’ “Her ability to zone in—some people have that, some people don’t, and she was blessed with it,” he says. “There are very few people I can say that about, and I’ve met a lot of athletes over the years.”

Dunklee, competing in Osterlund, Sweden—a long way from the tiny town in Ver-

Photo courtesy US Biathlon.

mont’s Northeast Kingdom where she grew up.

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 33

Emily Dreissigacker has Olympic blood running through her veins. Her parents, Dick Dreissigacker and Judy Geer, competed in the 1976 Olympics as rowers, before going on to found Concept2, the rowing and erg company, and to build up the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Emily’s aunt, Charlotte Geer, won a silver medal in rowing at the 1984 Olympics. Her sister, Hannah, competed in 2014 at Sochi as a biathlete. Emily, 29, grew up skiing at Craftsbury in the winter and rowing in the summer. At Dartmouth, she was a two-time All-American rower, but switched her focus to skiing and became hooked on biathlon. This December, Dreissigacker was the third American in the third IBU World Cup event, a 7.5 km sprint in Annecy, France. Then, in early January, Dreissigacker learned she’d made the Olympic team. All of Craftsbury is ready to cheer.

And that’s one of the main things Susan is focusing on as she trains for the Games. “When the start gun goes off I shift into fight or flight mode,” she says. “I’m not entirely sure how it works, but I can dig deeper in a race than I ever could during training, no matter how hard I try,” she says. She adds: “However, I do think you can do a lot to prepare for high pressure situations. I try to keep my focus on what I need to do to perform well. I create a race plan ahead of time with simple, doable keys about what to focus on at each point during the race. My job is not to be Superwoman out there; my job is to stick to my plan. If I follow that plan, then I know I performed well, no matter what the result sheet says.” Biathlon, in particular, is a sport that requires control. In the 12.5 km mass start, athletes transition from skiing, when they need speed and which raises their heart rate, to shooting, where motions need to be precise.Transitions are made throughout the course as skiers stop at four shooting stages. At each stage, they must hit five targets in a row, taking a 150-meter (490-foot) penalty lap for each target they miss. To

34 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

Cross Country THE CALDWELLS

A progressive boarding school that sits on a hilltop dairy farm, The Putney School has turned out alumni such as Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, Nell Newman of Newman’s Own, and actors Tea Leoni and Felicity Huffman. Putney has also been home to the best crosscountry skiers the U.S. has ever had, including Bill Koch, four generations of Caldwells and America’s brightest hopes for a medal this year. “When my dad came to teach at The Putney School, I was in 8th grade and I didn’t know how to do any sport well except basketball,” says John Caldwell, 89, author of the seminal The Cross Country Ski Book. Like many Vermont kids at the time, Caldwell learned the four winter sports: alpine and cross-country skiing, ski jumping and biathlon, and competed in all four when he went on to Dartmouth. “In late winter of 1951 I went to two Olympic tryouts in Nordic combined, and finished second at both. In April, I’d almost forgot about it when I got a letter saying, ‘Report to New York for a flight to Oslo on the 22nd of January 1951 at 8:22 pm.’ And that was it. I heard nothing after: I was going to the Olympics, no training, coaching, no nothing – just ‘make the plane.’” Caldwell made the team but, as he admits with a chuckle, “We had no idea what we were doing. I fell on my first two jumps, eventually made the third and got to race cross-country, where I think I finished dead last. We didn’t know how bad we were. I was so mad that when I got back to the States, I said if I could do anything to prevent this from

Photo by John Lazenby

THE DREISSIGACKERS

go from full exertion to full concentration is one of the unique challenges that biathletes have to master. “I use my heart rate monitor to make sure my physical exertion level during a workout matches what my coaches prescribed on my training plan,” Dunklee says. “My max heart rate is just over 180 beats a minute. During a race, my heart is beating almost three times a second as I am trying to shoot. So I focus on my breathing and shoot during the stillness between breaths.” Dunklee is driven. In high school, she ran competitively for St. Johnsbury Academy and quickly rose to the top of her class in academics. “She was so disciplined,” Stan says. “Training started early, so she was at school by 7:30 a.m. Sports practice started at 3:15, and she wouldn’t get home until 6 p.m., and then she’d go upstairs and study until midnight.” Dunklee was recruited to Dartmouth for running, but changed her mind and joined the cross-country ski team. She graduated without ever shooting a gun, but then she got a call from the U.S. Biathlon Association inviting her to join their development team in Lake Placid. At 22, she fired her first rifle. Stan says he stepped back from being Dunklee’s coach, knowing early on that it might strain his relationship with her. But he snuck her tidbits of advice when he knew she was willing to listen, and served as inspiration as her career took off. “The Olympics were certainly a dream of mine from a young age, and having an Olympian role model to look up to in the family helped that dream seem more attainable,” Susan said. “The best advice I’ve ever received came from my dad: ‘Remember to keep it fun!’” “She’s a better athlete than I ever was, by the way,” Stan says. “I’ve learned never to underestimate her.” —E.C.

happening again, I’d do it.” Caldwell would not race in another Olympics­, but he kept his word. After returning to the Putney School as a math teacher and coach, he pulled together a cross-country team that is now legendary. In 1971, after one of his students, Dan Simoneau, came back from a European race talking about skate skiing, Caldwell set up a test with heart rate data to see which technique was faster and more efficient: kick double pole, straight double pole or marathon skate.That year in the Junior Worlds his son Tim, as well as Bill Koch, skated for most of the course. “I was so far ahead I actually got scared I was going to fall and stopped skating,” Tim remembers. In 1972, Caldwell’s team pioneered the use of one-piece uniforms. In 1976, one of his students, Brattleboro local Bill Koch, won Olympic silver in the 30 km and holds the speed record for that event. “In the

1980 Olympic relay, we had my son Tim Caldwell, Bill Koch and two Brattleboro boys, Stan Dunklee and Jim Galanes. At the time, there were only 37 members of the Putney Ski Club and membership was $1.” Caldwell also helped coach a number of Olympians, including Putney School grad Martha Rockwell, Bob Gray, Canadian biathlete Willie Carroll, Dan Simoneau and National Geographic explorer Ned Gillette. “I always tried to make it fun,” he said. “One summer I got together a group of skiers (including Gillette) and we hiked the Long Trail, end to end, in 9 days – hiking out to friends’ houses to stay overnight then back to the trail so we wouldn’t have to carry gear.” Tim Caldwell remembers it: “I was pretty young at the time so only did about a day or two but it was a death march.” Tim Caldwell would go on to compete in four Olympics. Sister Jennifer won the Birkebeiner and her brother Sverre followed in his father’s footsteps, setting up the Stratton Mountain School cross-country program and the SMS Elite Team. Today, the SMS Elite Team of graduates and recruits is to the Olympic team what Putney Ski Club was to the 1976 team of John Caldwell’s era. There is Andy Newell, the three-time Olympic racer from Shaftsbury and his wife Erika Flowers. Jessie Diggins, the most successful U.S. cross-country skier with four World Championship medals, moved to Vermont from Minnesota so she could train with the team. Simi Hamilton, another veteran Olympian and Middlebury College grad, (whose family helped found Aspen and whose dad ran Aspen Skiing Company) also moved to Vermont to join the team. Then there is Tim Caldwell’s son Patrick, who was on the cusp of making the team at press time and Sverre’s own daughter, sprinter Sophie Caldwell who took two World Cup podiums in December and early January.

Vermont’s dream team above, Ida Sargent, Liz Stephen and Sophie Caldwell. Below, Jessie Diggins leads Sophie Caldwell in the World Cup sprint in December

Photos by Reese Brown

in Davos.

vtskiandride.com September 2015 00

Middle: Patrick Caldwell skates hard during the 2017 Tour de Ski. Bottom: Two-time Olympian TIm Caldwell (left) with his father John Caldwell and cousin Zach Caldwell.

36 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

Photos: Top left, Lisa Lynn; right and bottom, courtesy Tim Caldwell. Middle: John Lazenby

Top: Patriarch John Caldwell at home in Putney and his son Sverre, right, at Stratton.

Along with Craftsbury skiers and northern Vermonters Ida Sargent and Liz Stephen, the 2018 Olympic team is a traveling family. Literally. Sophie lives with Simi Hamilton. Sophie and Paddy are cousins. Cousin Zach (the son of John Caldwell’s youngest brother, Bill) is one of the top wax technicians and has privately coached another Olympic team member, Noah Hoffman. “Sverre is one of the best coaches I’ve ever seen,” says Zach, who lives just down the road from his uncle John, at the foot of The Putney School campus. “He’s never let being Sophie’s father get in the way —in a good, or bad way—of being her coach. He’s one of the most supremely organized people I know. Most important, he just knows how to make it fun for kids.” For Sophie, that has meant hiking or biking in the summer with her cousins as a kid. Now it means traveling with a team that’s remarkably close. “The thing with the women’s team is they all push each other, but they all really like each other and support each other,” says John Caldwell. “They bake for each other’s birthdays and teach each other dance moves.They really have a good time. And that’s made a difference: the men, unless they’ve grown up together, they snarl at each other.” In fact, with results, the team is looking stronger than ever. Sophie took silver in one leg of the World Cup Tour de Ski in December and two bronzes in the World Cup sprint in Dresden in January, including one in a team sprint with Ida Sargent. Jessie Diggins, with three World Cup podiums in January alone, is also set up to medal in PyeongChang. “Sophie is fast as lightning,” John says. “I remember watching her in a soccer game when she was a kid and my god, she went 0 to 60 like that,” he says snapping his fingers. “She’s also technically one of the best in the country at both classic and skate skiing, but she doesn’t have the endurance of Jessie Diggins – that girl can push herself!” says Caldwell. U.S. Team coach Matt Whitcomb (former Burke Mountain Academy coach) has taken the core group from the SMS Elite Team, along with two Burke grads—two-time Olympian Liz Stephen, an alpine racer and runner from Montpelier and Barton native Ida Sargent— and created the strongest women’s team the U.S. has ever seen. With nearly half the U.S. team hailing from Vermont, John Caldwell has, indirectly, upheld his promise of sending skiers from the Green Mountains prepared. —L.L. n

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THE DIY BACKYARD ROPE TOW IS A VERMONT TRADITION

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In the early dusk of winter the Mohr’s backyard rope tow is a place friends, neighbors and their kids gather for a lap or two after school.

AKKEN

REVIVAL

THAT’S COME FULL CIRCLE. STORY AND PHOTOS BY BRIAN MOHR

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 39

A

s we were having our land in the Mad River Valley logged a few winters back, we couldn’t shake the idea that the slope above our home had “rope tow” written all over it. Just before logger Rich Hallstrom sunk the teeth of his feller-buncher into the upper reaches of the hill, we singled out six trees to be spared with the idea that their trunks could serve as the future towers for a backyard rope tow. “I can’t say I’ve seen this happen on a logging job before,” said Hallstrom with a smile. Growing up skiing in Vermont, it’s hard to miss the story of Gilbert’s Hill in Woodstock, and how in January of 1934, it became home to our country’s very first mechanized lift—a 1,100-foot-long rope tow powered originally by a Model T engine. Pride in Vermont’s skiing history undoubtedly fed our appetite for a rope tow of our own. But it was sporadic laziness that was our primary motivator. As much as we’ve always loved climbing for backyard runs on our 500-foot long hill, the appeal of being whisked up there in merely 42 seconds has always been attractive, albeit more of a dream than anything. That dream became reality when we fired up the 19 horsepower Briggs & Stratton motor under the hood of our retired riding mower this past fall, and we watched as our 1,000-foot long loop of threequarter inch, three-ply rope made its first trip up and down the hill. That weekend treated us to snow. Betsy (the motor) started right up, and we enjoyed our first rope-tow-assisted laps on the hill with our two girls – Maiana, 4, and Lenora, 2. Modern skiing, at least in our own little Vermont backyard, had just come full circle with its Model T-powered roots.

MAKING IT HAPPEN

There’s no doubt that putting together a backyard rope tow requires a bit of mechanical know-how and a healthy respect for the laws of physics, but ultimately, it’s quite simple. Some sort of electric or gas motor is required, which can be either at the top (preferred) or bottom of the hill. Of course, some sort of bull wheel (return pulley) is also needed for the opposite end of the tow. We use a late 60s vintage Moto Guzzi motorcycle wheel that was a gift from our neighbors, Penny and Jon, mounted to a simple wooden frame that we built, which is anchored with a come-along attached to two cedar posts driven into the ground above it. The come-along allows us to add or relieve tension in the line. Although not necessary, towers along the tow line are helpful for hanging the rope at night, for mounting lights, and for keeping the returning portion of the rope out of the way. Plus, they look cool, and the spinning return wheels on the towers (we used salvaged wheel barrow rims) are oddly soothing to watch and listen to. Last, it’s important to have safety shutoffs in place for stopping the tow on demand. Our tow features duplicate electrical and mechanical shutoffs, with the mechanical shutoff being little more than 2.5-mm cord running from the ignition key along the length of the tow to a shutoff gate at the top of the tow. A skier can push the gate just a few degrees, or give the cord a tug anywhere along its length to stop the motor. A second section of cord runs to a simple pull stop dangling outside the shack, too. Ultimately, once we had all of the pieces in place, the tow came together in a long weekend. And other than the big $500 purchase for the 1,000-feet of rope we needed, our expenses were less than $300.

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Then again, we milled or salvaged every piece of wood used for the tow shack, used our own field-grown sod for the roof of the shack, and our motor was a freebie from a friend. In planning our tow, it also helped to do some field research at community rope-tows around the state, and checked out those at Cochran’s, Hard’ack, Northeast Slopes and Ascutney. Every tow is unique and beautiful in its relative simplicity.

THE ROPE TOW MOVEMENT

We also discovered friends with rope tows. Angus McCusker, the founder of the Rochester/Randolph Area Sports Trails Alliance and his wife, Cricket, may be two of the most ardent backcountry skiers in the state but they’ve put in a rope tow on their land in Rochester. “The convenience of it being right out your door is pretty awesome,” says McCusker. “Our kids usually want to ski in that window right after dinner and before bed and that short hour is a great way to burn off that extra energy during the winter school nights. All it takes is LED flood lights, jumps and gates.” Or perhaps it’s a lazy Sunday morning. Snowflakes drift down from the skies above. We spark a small fire near the base of the Barnebakken (Norwegian for kids’ hill), gather the family, fire up the rope tow and burn off a waffle breakfast by laying fresh tracks on our little Vermont hillside. n Rough-hewn tree trunks logged on the property serve as poles and salvaged hubs of wheel barrel rims, the return wheels. Emily Johnson-Mohr, with Lenora on her back, gets ready to head up on the tow, powered by an old lawn mower. The Mohrs now keep a stache of old gloves for holding the rope and jeans are acceptable. The most expensive part of the tow? The $500 for the rope which Mohr spliced into an endless loop.

vtskiandride.com Holiday 2016 35

Noah Ranallo spins off the lip of Castlerock into a heli. The move

Photo by Brooks Curran

earned him a win.

Spring is a time for unicorn costumes, beer-fueled tailgates and the chance

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B

WHO’S THE

BEST? to determine who’s the best on the mountain … at something. By Lisa Lynn

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Wayne McCue, 62, a postman from Massachusetts, gets ready to send it at his

T

he best skier on the mountain is the one who is having the most fun. Yeah—we’ve all heard that. But that adage doesn’t muffle the chairlift chatter that starts every season. Really, who is the best on the mountain? It doesn’t downshift the party laps or curb the free-form one-upmanship that are regular rites of spring. Over the years, ski areas have come out with creative ways of corralling the craziness and helping to determine who really is king or queen of the mountain. Whether it’s hucking cliffs, going mach schnell (with a radar gun aimed at your back), bashing bumps, or an all-terrain challenge on skinny skis, these events attempt to determine who the best skiers and riders really are. Or, at least, who’s having the most fun.

20 YEARS OF CASTLEROCK’S EXTREME “The only thing that might top that 360 is a back flip,” David Babic mused as he looked at his judge’s score card. It was a bluebird day last March and Babic, a former World Cup mogul medalist, squinted into the sun as Noah Ranallo, 24, of Charlotte, Vt. soared off the 20-foot cliff at Sugarbush known as Castlerock. Ranallo floated against the sky, almost at the level of the double chairs passing by. On the lift heads turned, “YEAH BABY!” a skier screamed as Ranallo began spinning into a heli. The riders twisted in their seats to look back, waiting to see if Ranallo would stomp the landing. He hit hard.You could almost feel each vertebrae compress. He fell back. Then he sprang up, recovered and blazed down through the mogul field. Castlerock is a hulking, knobby chunk of granite that rears up like a vexed tyrannosaurus rex partway down the trail that runs under Sugarbush’s old double chairlift. It is a classic East Coast run— all-natural terrain, no bulldozed flats, no snowmaking, full of moguls. It flows for

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nearly a mile as it drops more than 1,600 vertical feet. “There’s nothing artificial or man-made about this,” says John Egan, who has been skiing the terrain here since 1976. “Unlike so many other ski trails, no one blasted out the rock or removed the stumps. What you’re skiing is the real mountain.” For more than four decades, Egan and his posse have ripped the trail. “I realized I could ski it, top to bottom, in 90 seconds, so we decided to double that and set up a challenge to see who could ski the trail well in under 3 minutes.” That was in 1997. Babic, 38, who’s been skiing Sugarbush since he was seven, has been part of that group. His father was a liftie here and his brother is currently CFO. At 16, Babic began competing in moguls, making it to the National Team by age 22 and going on to medal in the World Cup finals in 2008. “When John Egan dreamed up this event 20 years ago we were all out charging hard and it used to be just about time: fastest person wins,” said Babic. Now, it’s about style. Over the past two decades, Castlerock has challenged some of the top extreme skiers in the East: Lars and Silas Chickering-Ayers of Mad River Glen (who would go on to place first and second in the Extreme Worlds), Ryan Hawks and more. Egan, who ran the race, never competed. “The Mad River skiers would come into the finish, do a skid stop where I was judging and just coat me with snow,” he says with a laugh. “There’s always been a friendly rivalry between the two mountains.” More than just a run or a race, Castlerock became a rite of passage for any top skier in the East. “We’ve had Austrian downhillers, mogul champs and freeskiers all do it,” says Egan. “The guys and girls out skiing this today are just as good as some of the top trained Olympic ski racers when it comes to all-around skiing,” Babic says. “Growing up skiing natural terrain in the East kind of prepares you for anything— ice, rocks, trees—you name it.”

Photo by Brooks Curran

20th Castlerock Extreme.

Egan, often the judge, says: “It’s not about time, but about who’s the best all-around skier. Sure, you could ski it fast, but we give points for the best line, for skiing confidently and fluidly. If it looks like your back’s going to hurt after, you’re not skiing it right,” he says. Today, the event is part of the Ski the East Freeride Tour and judged on criteria established by the International Freeskiers & Snowboarders Association: line, control, style, fluidity, technique, style and energy. The 2017 Challenge drew competitors from around New England. More than 84 men, women and juniors signed up for the event. Among them was Wayne McCue. McCue, 62, a postman from Woburn, Mass., has competed in every Castlerock Extreme Challenge in the past 20 years. “If you can ski Castlerock well, you can ski just about anything,” he said. McCue learned to ski at now-defunct Horn Pond ski area in Massachusetts and stays in shape by doing what he calls the “Bode Miller” workout: “Every Sunday I run uphill with a wheelbarrow full of cinder blocks and then back down.” It seemed to work. The postman sent it on pretty much every bump he could and finished 24th, beating guys a third his age. Fitness counts. “It’s for sure the longest course we have, and the signature Castlerock cliff is one of the two biggest cliff features we have on the whole tour” says Chris James of Ski the East. “You see people finish and just collapse at the finish line.” As the last competitors set off, Andreya Zvonar, an 18-year-old skier from Jay Peak, roared up to Castlerock. He dropped off the first small bump, then kicked into a full laid-out back-flip. Like Ranallo, he landed hard, dabbing but then recovered. “Just when you thought you’d seen it all,” said Chad Borofsky, a ski patroller stationed just below the landing. “Yeah, I’ve never seen that done,” said Babic, shaking his head in wonder. But, as judge Alix Klein said, “it’s about form and skiing well and skiing safe.” In the end, Ranallo won overall with his buddy, Dylan Dipentima in second. Zvonar took third, as well as the “Biggie Smalls Big Air Award” of a Bern helmet and a Ski The East ugly sweater. Leigh Brandenburg, 16, who started skiing down the staircase when she was two, won the women’s event with MRG teammates Amelia Slade and Marley Tipper right behind.The top six won Scarpa boots, Flylow jackets, Ski the East clothing and part of the $1,000 in prize money. At the Lincoln Peak base, a band played and the plaza was packed with skiers taking in the spring sun. Beers were popped, stories were swapped and a new round of skiers vowed to do the Challenge again next year—McCue, included. This year: March 18, 2018; sugarbush.com

Ayers and Tom Runcie—stood on all three steps of the podium at the Subaru U.S. Extreme Skiing Championships at Crested Butte. In the women’s division, Angel Collinson won and Jay Peak skier Ashley Maxfield, finished third. As if the Unconventional Terrain Challenge (to be held Feb. 17, 2018) were not tough enough, MRG added a Mogul Challenge (Mar. 10) and then the Vertical Challenge (Mar. 2) in 1999 to see how many laps you could compete on the Single Chair in one day (9 am to 4 pm). “That first year Doug Lewis went toe-to-toe with Tiger Baird,” Eric Friedman recalls. “Those guys went at it all f-ing day, arcing these GS turns down through the mogul fields.” Lewis, who lives in Waitsfield, won the bronze in downhill at the Bormio Olympics. Baird works ski patrol at Mad River Glen and runs Tiger’s Auto Repair in town. The pair ended up setting a record that stood for a long time, skiing 27 runs on the 2,000-vertical-foot course—Lewis edging Baird out by 20 seconds on the last run. “And that was on the old chair, which took about 9 and half minutes to get to the top,” Friedman recalls. Since the single chair has been upgraded, times have gotten faster. Local MRG skier Aidan Casner, a World Cup downhill mountain bike racer, now holds the record at 31 runs. “He just showed up to ski that day, not even knowing the event was going on, and decided to enter—I don’t think he could walk the next day,” Friedman recalls. “And I don’t think it’s physically possible to do it any faster.” But you can always try. This year: Feb. 27, Mar. 2, Mar. 10, 2018; madriverglen.com

Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

MAD RIVER’S TRIPLE CROWN Even before the Castlerock Challenge, the Mad River Unconventional Terrain Challenge was a proving ground. The brainchild of Wendy Bridgewater, a telemark skier who worked ski patrol at the mountain, it was a ski-it-if-you-can showdown on the rocky, mogul-ridden natural terrain of the Chute trail beneath Mad River’s iconic single chair. “That was really at the beginning of extreme skiing in the East and the top spots were an automatic ticket (with airfare and hotel provided) to the finals out West,” says Mad River’s communications director, Eric Friedman. And Mad River skiers took those spots with force. In 2011, three MRG vets—brothers Lars and Silas Chickering-

Aidan Casner holds the record for the MRG Vertical Challenge with 31 laps. He’s not bad at freeskiing, either.

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 45

Airing it out at Killington’s rite of spring: the dual mogul challenge at Bear Mountain.

In 2012, Killington attempted the unthinkable: after 31 years of consecutive events, it tried to cancel the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge. The reason, resort officials said at the time, was liability. You might think that would refer to the number of ACLs strained as skiers zippered down the Outer Limits course, knees moving like sewing machines through bumps the size of VW vans.You might think it was because of herniated discs or the daffys that people hucked midrace. But no, the reason had nothing to do with what was going on up on the hill: it was the insanity of the tailgate parties where the competition to down a shot-ski or do a keg stand was just as fast and furious. Skiers revolted at the decision. Locals banded together and held the Denial Cup. And a year later the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge was back, complete with costumes, and head-to-head competition on the Outer Limits mogul field, the same that helped train local stars Donna Weinbrecht and Hannah Kearney for Olympic glory. But what makes BMMC (now called the Dos Equis Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge and is part of the Killington’s Nor’Beaster rites of spring) unique is this: it’s only for amateurs. No one who has competed on the USSA circuit in the last five years is allowed to compete. Contestants are scored on Turns & Line (60 percent), Air (20 percent —no inverted aerials, please) and Speed (20 percent).There are prizes for men and women in age groups that start at 13 and under and go to

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50 and older. And the list of “party tips” (e.g. no fireworks, no kegs) is now longer than the actual rules of competition—safety first. Don’t worry though, there’s still a Dos Equis Stein Hoisting Championship and live music by Jamie and the Junk Show. The party’s not over. Far from it. This year: April 6-8, 2018; killington.com

24 HOURS, UP AND DOWN, AT BOLTON There are dozens of races that challenge skiers to do downhill laps over 24 hours, including the 24 hours of Stratton and Aspen’s famed 24-hour race. But Bolton Valley’s 24 hours is a little different: there’s no resting on the uphill, no cushy gondola rides and no sleep—unless you choose to participate as a relay. Open to skiers or splitboarders, it’s a downhill-uphill ski mountaineering challenge where you skin up, ski down, then wash, rinse, repeat, from noon on Saturday (Feb. 10) until noon on Sunday (Feb. 11). The winner? Whoever has logged the most vertical. In 2017, the first year of the race, Dave Irving of New Hampton, N.H. logged 24,050 feet of vertical to win, topping the field of 50, with Leslie Burnard of Maynard, Mass. scoring 15,485 feet of vert as the top female. There are, as mentioned, options to do this as a relay. Or to limit yourself to a 12-hour challenge. But what’s the fun in that? Put on by Native Endurance, the race benefits Vermont Adaptive, so it’s all for a good cause. This year: Feb. 10-11, 2018; nativeendurance.com or boltonvalley.com

cPhotos by Jerry Leblond

KILLINGTON’S BEAR MOUNTAIN MOGUL MADNESS

MAGIC’S ULTIMATE SKIER CHALLENGE

Even the most serious alpine racers get silly each April at Cochran’s Nordic X.

With new ownership in 2016 and a renewed vitality, it’s clear that Magic Mountain is not going to be your typical ski area. One of the first things to appear on the events calendar this season was a series of challenges that’s clearly upping the ante. First, on December 31, there was Tuck It: The Dash for Cash – a straight-out speed comp where a radar gun clocked skiers and riders as they straight-lined down for $1,000 in prize money. Collegiate ski racers Kazui Kasumi and Austin Lilley both smoked the course, clocking 74 mph on the straight. Kasumi earned top honors by having a faster first run (73 mph, versus Lilley’s 74). To put things in perspective, Cody Wilson, who finished third, won the U18 Nationals speed event in 2014. In other words, these were not your average jeans-wearing, arms-flailing, straight-liners. They knew what they were doing, and they smoked it. Bummed you missed that fun? Next up, Magic plans to throw a gate or two on course for the Ultimate Skier Challenge on March 17, which will involve a freeski competition on the top half of Black Line that will segue seamlessly (or not, depending on skill) into a GS course. “It’s about finding the best all-around skier,” says president Geoff Hatheway. Our bet is on Kasumi. This year: March 17, 2018; magicmtn.com

Photo courtesy Cochran’s

FAT FUN AT THE STOWE DERBY It started in 1945 as a bet between Austrian alpine instructor Sepp Ruschp and his Nordic nemesis, Erling Stromm, a Norwegian mountaineer. The challenge was simple: Using only one pair of skis, see who could make it from the top of the Toll Road trail on Mt. Mansfield down to the center of town in Stowe, faster. Ruschp, using alpine gear, won. Nowadays, most Derby racers opt for Nordic gear—classic or skate skis and there are two starts, one for each division—and fat bikes. The 20-kilometer course is not so simple. While skiing down Toll Road might seem like a cake-walk on alpine gear, try negotiating the hair-pin turns on skinny skis with three or four other skiers who started with you all on the inside. There is a reason why spectators line up at each turn. While some of the racers are national-caliber and NCAA Nordic champs, the majority are not. For many, simply finishing without a crowd-pleasing fall is a goal. For others, there’s an added Derby Meister challenge of doing the course once on skate skis (freestyle division) and then taking a bus from the finish in town back up to the mountain to compete in the classic ski division that starts later. And new in 2015, there was a chance to partake in the madness on a fat bike (separate start, after all the skiers are off the course) and be a Fat Meister as well. The race is dependent on snow covering the valley floor, and the last two years it’s been shut out due to weather. But that’s all the more reason to sign up this year.

COCHRAN’S NORDIC X Leave it to the Cochran family, three generations of alpine ski racers with a passel of Olympic and World Cup medals between them, to come up with a Nordic race like this. Billed as the first “Nordic Ski Cross Event in New England” Nordic X launched in 2014. There was uphill. There was downhill. There were slalom gates – and some trees. There were jumps. And all of this to be negotiated by four skiers, who launched from the starting gate at once, boardercross style. Costumes were plentiful and after, there was a pancake breakfast for competitors. And thus, a tradition was born. Now, each spring, Nordic X challenges top alpine racers, including the likes of Bobby Cochran, Jimmy Cochran and Mike Ryan (Bode Miller’s former coach). In 2017, Nordic national champion Caitlin Peterson competed as well as U.S. Cross-Country Ski Teamer Ben Ogden. “We always have it at the end of the season so no one is worried about getting hurt before a race,” says organizer Pennie Rand. And for anyone who has a hankering for a good pancake breakfast, the Slopeside maple syrup the Cochrans pull from the maples on the hill is as sweet and local as it gets. This year: April 8, 2018; cochranskiarea.com n

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state’s oldest and craziest of sports.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING

COMPLETELY

DIFFERENT For those with absolutely no fear, there’s always jack jumping.

I

BY LEATH TONINO

t sounds like the setup for a joke: an exworld champion, a would-be world champion, and a journalist are cruising Vermont’s winter roads in a minivan on a Sunday morning, looking for a place to buy beer. The ex-world champion, Ethan BondWatts, a 33-year-old glassblower with a blond

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ponytail, sits behind the wheel. The wouldbe, Craig Bunten, a 32-year-old carpenter with a scraggly brown beard that’s longer than the hair atop his head, rides shotgun. A few months from now, these childhood buddies of mine will mount odd snow-sliding

Photo by Oliver Parini

Craig Bunten leads the pack in one of the

devices called jack jumpers—basically a stool attached to a single alpine ski—and square off in a contest for fame (yeah, right), glory (you wish), and a $100 bill (more likely crumpled than crisp) at Mount Snow. Bitter rivalry? Not exactly. At the moment, picking up a couple twelvers is the top priority. “Some session IPAs? Keep things civil on the hill today?” “What about a chocolate stout, a breakfast milkshake?” Held the first weekend in March (March 4, this year) at Mount Snow in West Dover, the Jack Jump World Championship has been going strong for 39 years. Competitors race down a dual slalom course, side by side. They’re not racing one another—they’re racing the clock. After two runs, the best combined time wins the championship. Racers are drawn to Mount Snow from the Green Mountains’ deep hollows, from its crooked barns and cluttered garages—a semiinebriated, fully-obsessed gang of hobbyists. I say “fully obsessed” because jack jumping is as much a proud pastime, a homespun folk tradition unique to Vermont, as it is an action sport. That doesn’t mean devotees eschew aggressive ripping—Bond-Watts and Bunten have reached what they refer to as “felonious” speeds (50 miles per hour on groomers). But the pleasure of adrenaline is paired with the pleasure of history, of knowing that farm kids have been shredding the local topography since at least the 1800s (early JJs featured a barrel stave in lieu of a ski) and that loggers once used a kind of proto-JJ to exit the woods after a hard day’s sawing. Jack jumpers have never been mass produced, let alone mass marketed. At the 2016 World Championship, which saw 70 competitors—56 adults, 14 children—every rig was personalized, custom-made and funky. Some boasted antique tractor seats and shock-absorbing springs, others a seatbelt allowing for arms-free carving. Bunten’s got a fancy one in the back of the minivan nicknamed The Smithsonian (maple post, horseshoe handles), and Bond-Watts also has a “museum piece” (walnut post, brass tacks on an upholstered seat). But don’t be fooled by the fine craftsmanship: the skis on these things are dumpster-salvaged junkers—yard sale scores at best—and their graphics (read: brand names) are hidden beneath layers of sloppily applied spray paint. “I waxed mine with lip balm the other

Photo courtesy Rutland Historical Society

day,” Bond-Watts says, emphasizing the goofy, playful side of the sport. Thirty minutes and one liquor store later, at the foot of Lincoln Gap, an unplowed pass that crosses the Green Mountains’ spine at a sustained grade of 24 percent, we park the minivan in front of a “Road Closed” sign.While Bolton Valley and Jay Peak allow jack jumpers on the slopes, and Mount Snow hosts its iconic race, for the most part the sport hews to its backwoods past. The east side of Lincoln Gap, dropping toward the village of Warren, offers two miles of twists and turns, dips and dives—a guaranteed smile-till-your-face-hurts descent. If there’s an ideal training ground for the World Championship, this is it. Beneath a gauzy gray sky, we load Bunten’s daypack with enough beer to stun a horse (for the record, both IPAs and stouts), toss a rack of all-natural beef franks in with the cans, and prepare for the hike. Standard jack-jumping attire is more rags than riches: tall rubber boots like those that dairy farmers wear when mucking out the barn, Patagonia jackets so torn and stained that they appear to have been found somewhere within said mucky barn, baggy Carhartt pants, floppy wool hats of uncertain provenance. “These were the second-place prize last year,” Bunten explains as he pulls on a pair of tattered, seam-busted gloves. “Mark Stirewalt, from up in Waterbury, he beat me by four one-hundredths of a second. Can you believe that? I came into the finish fully laid out, begging for whatever time I could get, and plowed through the spectator fence. Regrettably, I knocked down a ten-year-old girl. She was balling, her mom was shocked and I was like, ‘How’d I do?’” “At least you podiumed,” Bond-Watts responds, shaking his head in mock dejection. “I used to be the Champ, the Guy. I won three out of four years. And now?” “You brought shame upon your family by finishing fourth last spring.” “The kids don’t talk about me anymore. They’ve forgotten my name.” “Complacency. Lack of drive. A sad story.” With that, we sling jack jumpers over our shoulders and hoof it toward the crest of the state. No lifts, no lift lines, no nonsense. Just two inches of fresh powder and an intention

to flow, to fly. At the top of the pass there’s nobody around, just pillowed conifers and more pillowed conifers, a view of distant bluish mountains through the cracks between trunks—we sit down (chairs are always available when jack jumping, which is awesome) and debate whether to make a bonfire for the hot dogs immediately or wait until after our first run. Tucker Bond-Watts, the Ex’s younger brother, shows up mid-deliberation, having received word of our whereabouts via text message. He spent the past four hours alpine skiing at nearby Sugarbush, where he has a season pass, Racing at the Rutland Winter Carnival in 1954 wasn’t a whole lot different.

but cut out after lunch to meet us here, the JJ that lives in the bed of his truck coming in handy not for the first time, and not for the last. He shrugs, reaches into Bunten’s daypack for a refreshment. Click. “It’s like a damn call center up there. Hordes on their phones. ‘Dude, where are you? I’ll meet you in ten minutes. Call me when you get there. Wait, where are you?’ Honestly, it’s intolerable. And on top of that”—he glances at the Ex, whose ponytail is folded inside his hood—“they’ve all got ponytails.” We laugh, imbibe, keep laughing, and forget about the picnic. Eventually, our buzzes rising and toes going numb, it’s time to act. At low speeds, a jack jumper is wobbly. At high

speeds, it is as secure as Shaun White’s snowboard.Which is to say that the first hundred feet of flattish road make us look like a gang of toddlers learning to operate bicycles sans training wheels (except instead of holding handlebars, we’re gripping the undersides of our seats, legs extended out front in the manner of a hamstring stretch).Then, without a pistol shot or dropped flag, without any warning besides the hint of Bunten pulling ahead as the pitch steepens, our kiddie bikes transform into rocket-fueled booster chairs. And the race is on. Bitter rivalry? Again, not exactly. It’s fun to weave in and out of the pack, to jostle for position, to hip check and shoulder check, to spray your buddy with a rooster-tailing bank turn while calling him names unfit for publication. Making it down in the lead, though, is entirely beside the point. In fact, caught up in the joy of gravity, in the grip and rush of this favorite “trail”, there is no point. We’ve reached DIY nirvana, flannel-lined enlightenment, middle-of-nowhere bliss. We are one with the road, one with the season, one with the jack jumpers (things) beneath our butts and the jack jumpers (people) who extend back through the ages in an unbroken chain. I close in on theWould-Be, reading his line, and pass on the right. The Ex drafts me for a second before passing on the left. Lobotomizing wind. Tears on cheeks Crystalline perception meets crazy blur. One, two, three, four massive, energy-dispersing power slides and the run is over, a mere five minutes after it began. Everyone is grinning that mindless grin—the grin that appears after piddling thoughts have been scoured from consciousness by pure contact with pure elements. Here is the hush, the fleeting moment in a jack jumper’s day when no trash is talked, no extemporaneous disquisition on meaning or heritage or immortality offered to the mute forest. Bunten stands, shakes a cake of snow from his voluminous beard (plus a few muffins, maybe even a scone), and dispenses libations. “You’ve got to race like you practice,” he says, looking up the slope at our crisscrossing tracks. “Just shut the brain off and ride the edge.” Click, click, click, click. “I’m feeling good about Mount Snow this year.” n

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 49

NORDIC

centers of vermont Rikert Nordic Center, Ripton

NORTHERN VERMONT Ski Area

Total Terrain

Machine Tracked

Skating Terrain

Blueberry Lake

31 km

31 km

Bolton Valley XC

100 km

Catamount Family Center

Fat Biking Terrain

Town

Phone

Website

31 km

Warren

802-496-6687

blueberrylakeskivt.com

15 km

15 km

Bolton Valley

802-434-3444

boltonvalley.com

35 km

35 km

35 km

Williston

802-879-6001

catamountoutdoor.com

Craftsbury Outdoor Center

105 km

105 km

105 km

Craftsbury Common

802-586-7767

craftsbury.com

Edson Hill

10 km

10 km

10 km

Stowe

802-253-7371

edsonhill.com

Hazen’s Notch

65 km

60 km

60 km

Montgomery Center

802-326-4799

hazensnotch.org

Highland Lodge & XC Center

40 km

40 km

40 km

Greensboro

802-533-2647

highlandlodge.com

Jay Peak Nordic & Snowshoe Center

20 km

--

--

Jay

802-988-2611

jaypeakresort.com

Kingdom Trails

45 km

20 km

20 km

East Burke

802-626-0737

kingdomtrails.org

Memphremagog Ski Touring Foundation

35 km

35 km

35 km

Derby

802-334-1357

mstf.net

Morse Farm Ski Center

25 km

25 km

25 km

Montpelier

802-223-0560

skimorsefarm.com

Ole’s Cross Country Center

48 km

50 km

45 km

Warren

802-496-3430

olesxc.com

Sleepy Hollow Inn & Bike Center

35 km

30 km

25 km

Huntington

802-434-2283

skisleepyhollow.com

Stowe XC Ski Center

75 km

35 km

35 km

Stowe

802-253-3688

stowe.com

Stoweflake Resort

5 km

5 km

--

Stowe

802-253-2232

stoweflake.com

Three Stallion Inn Touring Center

35 km

10 km

17 km

Randolph

802-728-3475

threestallioninn.com

Trapp Family Lodge XC Center

160 km

55 km

55 km

Stowe

802-253-8511

trappfamily.com

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

45 km

Trapp’s XC Center is celebrating 50 years! Come experience one of the premier Nordic centers in the East, featuring 160 km, with 55 km of tracked and skating terrain. Plus a full retail shop and rentals, and professional instruction. Don't miss Slayton Pasture Cabin for a warm lunch and a roaring fire in the hearth.

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

boltonvalley.com • 802-434-3444

trappfamily.com • 802-253-8511

rikertnordic.com • 802-443-2744

4302 Bolton Valley Access Rd • Bolton, VT

700 Trapp Hill Rd • Stowe, VT 05672

106 College Cross Road • Ripton VT

G

Grafton Trails, Grafton

Bolton Valley, Bolton

Blueberry Hill, Goshen

Trapp Family Center, Stowe

Edson Hill, Stowe

SOUTHERN VERMONT

Snowmaking

Ski Area

Total Terrain

Machine Tracked

Skating Terrain

Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center

50 km

--

Brattleboro Outing Club

33 km

Grafton Trails & Outdoor Center

Fat Biking Terrain

Town

Phone

Website

--

Goshen

802-247-6735

blueberrytrails.com

25 km

20 km

Brattleboro

802-254-8906

brattleborooutingclub.org

30 km

30 km

30 km

Grafton

802-843-2400

graftontrails.com

Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home

20 km

14 km

--

Manchester

802-362-1788

hildene.org

Landgrove Inn

15 km

15 km

15 km

Landgrove

802-824-6673

landgroveinn.com

Mountain Top Inn & Resort

60 km

40 km

40 km

Chittenden

802-483-2311

mountaintopinn.com

Okemo Valley Nordic Center

22 km

22 km

8 km

Ludlow

802-228-1396

okemo.com

Prospect Mountain XC

30 km

30 km

30 km

Woodford

802-442-2575

prospectmountain.com

Quechee Club

25 km

25 km

12 km

Quechee

802-295-9356

quecheeclub.com

Rikert Nordic Center

55 km

50 km

40 km

Ripton

802-443-2744

rikertnordic.com

Strafford Nordic Center

30 km

20 km

30 km

Strafford

802-765-0016

straffordnordicskiing.com

Stratton Mountain Nordic Center

12 km

12 km

12 km

Stratton Mountain

802-297-4567

stratton.com

Trade Winds Farm

7 km

4 km

7km

Shoreham

802-897-2448

skiattradewindsfarm.com

Timber Creek XC

14 km

14 km

14 km

West Dover

802-464-0999

timbercreekxc.com

Viking Nordic Center

39 km

35 km

30 km

Londonderry

802-824-3933

vikingnordic.com

Wild Wing’s Ski Touring Center

25 km

25 km

--

Peru

802-824-6793

wildwingsski.com

Woodstock Inn Nordic Center

50 km

50 km

50 km

Woodstock

802-457-6674

woodstockinn.com

Grafton Trails & Outdoor Center has 30 km of multi-use trails, available for recreation, fresh air, and outdoor adventure in every season. The rental shop has everything you need from skis and snowshoes to fat bikes and tubes. Get on the trails for a day or make it a getaway and stay at The Grafton Inn.

Blueberry Hill Inn and Outdoor Center is located in the heart of the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area. Surrounding trails provide rustic access to some of the state's best hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, trailrunning, biking, and overall enjoyment of our beautiful and bountiful natural surroundings.

graftontrails.com • 802-843-2400

blueberryhillinn.com • 802-247-6735

edsonhill.com • 802-253-7371

783 Townshend Road • Grafton, VT

1245 Goshen Ripton Rd • Goshen, VT

1500 Edson Hill Rd • Stowe, VT

Our Nordic Center has been enriched with professional grooming equipment, great additions to our rental fleet, private instruction and a retail offering with some essential gear and Edson Hill logo-wear available. After a day on the hill, relax in elegant comfort in one of our rooms, and enjoy a meal by Chef Jason Bissell.

SAVE THEIR SNOW!

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COACH BY DOUG STEWART

THE AGONY OF THE FEET

If your feet are killing after a day on the slopes, don’t despair. There are some easy fixes.

A good bootfitter can make you infinitely more comfortable in your ski or snowboard boots.

M

y feet hurt.” Anyone who has spent time on the hill has probably said this at some time. While foot issues can sometimes end a ski day early, there are solutions. As a bootfitter and a ski instructor, here are four common problems I often hear, and some ideas about how to fix them.

MY FEET ARE FREEZING! When winter gets serious, you need to be ready. But on days when the mercury dips low, a thicker sock isn’t the answer. In fact, in a well-fit boot, a thicker sock will limit blood flow and make your feet colder. It’s best to use a pair of socks with little to no padding. The most common defense against cold toes is disposable toe heaters. Peel the package open, let them get warm, and stick them across the top of your toes. Just be careful as you slide your boot on to not wrinkle the heater. If you need heat more than just a few times a season, or if your boots are just too tight, try a heating system like Hotronics.

This involves installing a super flat disc on your footbed, under your toes with a wire running up to the cuff of the boot, where there is a holder for a rechargeable battery. You can choose how much heat you want, and the warmth will last all day. Hotronics also now makes a heated sock. One last solution to fight the cold is a boot glove. This is an insulating neoprene cover that goes over your boots (not so good under a snowboard strap, so usually for ski boots) and helps keep out the cold, and keep you going longer on those cold days. WHAT’S GROWING ON MY FOOT? Everyone’s foot is a little different, and it’s not uncommon to have a little bit of a bunion—a bony, protruding bump—on the big toe side or a tailor’s bunion on the little toe side, or maybe a knob on your heel, or on top of your foot. Bunions are caused by wearing tight shoes, and ski boots can accentuate them and make them painful. Luckily, bunions can be accommodated by a good boot fitter. If you are feeling excessive pressure or pain in any one of these spots, there are a number of solutions. A bootfitter can modify the liner of the boot for some space or even modify the hard shell of the boot. Many serious skiers look for a snug-fitting boot, and the closer the fit, the more likely it is you will need the boot modified for your foot. Most shops include this work with the boot purchase, and if not, the slight cost for modifications is well worth it. I KEEP LOSING MY TOENAILS… Lost toenails are nearly inevitable rites of passage for many lifelong skiers. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Identifying a toe issue early and making adjustments will keep you from losing a toenail in the shower. There are two main causes of toe pressure: boots too long, or boots too short. Since 86 percent of all skiers are in a boot at least one size too big, I’ll start with that one. When putting your foot in the shell of your ski boot, without the liner, there should only be a one- or twovtskiandride.com Winter 2018 53

COACH

The best way to comfort is start with a boot that fits. Dodge Ski Boots has a custom fitting app that paints a 3D picture (right). The old fashioned way (below)

finger width of room behind your heel when you toes are gently touching the front of the boot (about 1 or 1.5 cm of length). While you may be okay with a little more, if there is ever more than 2.5 cm of room, then your boot is too long. When a boot is too long, you can generate “ramming speed” as your toes hit the end of the boot. While things can be done to snug up a boot, none of the options are very good, and I would usually say just get a shorter boot. If the boot is too short, then a bootfitter can stretch or punch out the shell to make the toes comfortable. Bootfitters are better able to make space in boots, than to take space away. MY FOOT IS JUST SO SORE! One of the easiest and best ways to make a ski or snowboard boot comfortable is by using a footbed. Not having a proper footbed or orthotic is the most common cause of general foot pain, fatigue, or cramping. A very small percentage of skiers and riders understand the difference between the stock insole that comes with a boot and a functional footbed. While sometimes a company will try to dress up the stock insole that comes in the boot, boots don’t come with orthotics.

54 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

That’s because manufacturers don’t know what your arch looks like. A functional footbed cannot be folded up in your hands as it needs to hold its shape when you put your weight on it. The vast majority of boots I sell get some type of offthe-shelf footbed like Superfeet. They come in different arch sizes and widths, and can usually be matched to a foot well by a trained boot fitter. For the skiers and riders that have a less “out of the box” arch, a custombuilt footbed can fit anyone if built correctly. A “trim to fit” footbed off the shelf will run about $45, and a custom one will be about $150. Almost every serious slider should have some type of footbed. While these four complaints are the common issues I run across as a bootfitter, this is by no means an allinclusive list. Everyone’s feet are unique and sometimes the bootfitting issues are too. If you are going to spend serious time on the hill, you should get to know your local boot pro, and make sure you have help when your feet start barking at you! n Doug Stewart is a bootfitter at Skirack in Burlington and a PSIA examiner who teaches skiing at Stowe.

Diagram courtesy Dodge Ski Boots

works well too.

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91

89 7

2

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100

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2 85 Main St. Burlington, VT 802-658-3313 • skirack.com Hours: Mon.–Sat. 10am–7pm, Sun. 11am–5pm Service & Rentals Mon - Sat, 8am Skirack is located at the corner of Main and Pine streets in downtown Burlington. Since 1969, Skirack has been Vermont’s locally owned source for downhill and cross country skis, snowboards, bikes and running shoes. Plus full service tuning including infrared waxing and high performance base grinding. Daily ski and snowboard rentals and youth season leasing.

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The Outdoor Gear Exchange located on Church Street in beautiful Burlington, strives to offer a wide spectrum of prices, from consignment items to last-year’s closeouts to manufacturers’ newest designs. Staying true to their name, the OGE’s storefront is piled with gear on sale for all things outdoors. They also have an excellent service staff sure to help you with a missing bolt or loose piece of equipment.

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THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CALENDAR JANUARY 13 | Let It Glow Laser Light Show & Fireworks, Okemo Mountain Resort Watch a dazzling laser show with digital graphics in front of The Sitting Bull. Fireworks serve as a grand finale. okemo.com 13-27 | Stowe Winter Carnival, Stowe Mountain Resort This two-week annual festival features sports events, ice carving competitions, ski movies, snowgolf, snow volleyball tournaments and more. stowe.com 17-21 | Winter Rendezvous Gay Ski Week, Stowe The annual LGBTQ pride celebration attracts hundreds of LGBTQ skiers, riders and winter enthusiasts for five days of cocktail parties, drag bingo, downhill drag competitions, and more. winterrendezvous.com 19-20 | FIS Freestyle World Cup—Aerials, Lake Placid Catch the pros and all the high flying action, beginning on Friday at Whiteface Mountain with the moguls competition and concluding Saturday at the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid for the aerials finals under lights. lakeplacid.com 20 | Bolton Valley Split and Surfest, Bolton Valley Resort The Catamount Trail Association hosts a splitboarding festival with clinics, backcountry tours and an obstacle course. catamounttrail.org 20 | SheJumps Intl. Women’s Ski and Snowboard Day, Sugarbush Resort Celebrate female camaraderie at Sugarbush as it hosts group ski and ride activities, games, raffle drawings, après ski and more. sugarbush.com 20 | Mom’s Day Out, Bromley Mountain Calling all moms: present a photo of your kid(s) at the ticket window and ski for a discounted price of $25, 100 percent of which is donated to the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center. bromley.com 20-22 | Telemark FIS World Cup, Suicide Six This first of two 3-day events in Vermont, the World Cup features world-class, international competitors. Racers will participate in two sprint classics and one paralell event. Suicidesix.com 24-26 | Telemark FIS World Cup, Sugarbush Resort The second 3-day stop in Vermont, World Cup racers will participate in sprint classic, classic and parallel sprint races. sugarbush.com 26-28 | Nordic/Backcountry Ski Weekend, Huntington Chase the snow with backcountry gurus, hosted by Maple Wind Farm. Depending on conditions, skiers may head out to the 15 km Camel’s Hump Challenge Trail, the Catamount Trail, or one of several other options. activities.outdoors.org 27 | Winter Trails Day at Smugglers’ Notch Resort Celebrate snowshoeing and cross country skiing at this event, nationally sponsored by the Snow Sports Industries of America. Smuggs’ Nordic Center staff will give tips for first-time snowshoers and cross-country skiers. Rentals and trail access for first timers are free. smuggs.com

14 | Cloud Nine Nuptials, Mount Snow Celebrate Valentine’s Day by renewing your vows or getting married at the top of Mount Snow’s Cloud Nine run. The morning concludes with complimentary cake, hot chocolate and coffee on the second floor of the Summit Lodge. mountsnow.com 17-18 | Harris Hill Ski Jump, Brattleboro Ski jumpers from around the world head to Brattleboro to compete on southern Vermont’s historic ski jump. harrishillskijump.com 17 | February Festival & Fireworks, Bromley The annual celebration benefits the Bromley Outing Club with fireworks, torchlight parade, silent auction and live music. bromley.com 21 | Helmet Head Contest, Okemo Mountain Resort Celebrate safety week at Okemo by showing off your helmet head for a chance to win two free lift tickets. okemo.com 23-24 | Middlebury Winter Carnival, Middlebury Snowbowl At Rikert Nordic Center, watch NCAA cross-country ski racers go head-to-head. The neighboring Middlebury Snowbowl hosts NCAA alpine racing. rikertnordic.com 24 | Winterfest & Magic Olympics, Magic Mountain Magic hosts its own version of the Olympics, with competitions, a silent auction, buffet dinner, torchlight parade, fireworks and live music. magicmtn.com 24-25 | 33rd Annual Kåre Andersen Telemark Festival, Bromley Ski with some of the East’s best teleskiers in this two-day festival, chock-full of clinics and free-heel camaraderie, with a classic race on Sunday. bromley.com

MARCH 3 | Winterbike, Burke Mountain Kingdom Trails hosts a day celebrating fatbike culture with group rides, demos, races, food and beverages. kingdomtrails.org 3 | Relay For Life Nordic Style, Jay Peak Resort Teams and participants camp out on the snow while taking turns skiing or snowshoeing for eight hours around the ski trails at Jay Peak’s Nordic Center. Live entertainment and food are available all night long. main.acsevents.org/ 4 | Jack Jump World Championships, Mount Snow Complete with speed, racing action and great crashes, the Jack Jump World Championships return to Mount Snow’s racecourse. mountsnow.com 17 | Sugar Daze, Okemo Mountain Resort Just when the sap starts to run in Vermont, Blues Traveler headlines a free concert series in the base area courtyard, with grilled food and a beer garden. okemo.com 24 | ‘80s Retro Jam, Okemo Mountain Resort Revisit the 1980s with your most bangin’ retro gear in this rail jam. Prizes go to the Best Daffy, Best Method, and Best Outfit. okemo.com

26-28 | Smuggs Ice Bash, Smugglers’ Notch & Burlington Winter’s biggest climbing event happens at the Notch and at PetraCliffs. Sign up for free gear demos, clinics, competitions, a party and prizes. smuggsicebash.com

24 | Bud Light Sink or Skim at Mount Snow Celebrate spring at the annual pond skim with prizes and plenty of laughs for spectators. mountsnow.com

FEBRUARY

24 | Spring Fling at Bromley When the sun shines longer and the snow get softer, the people at Bromley come out to play at this annual festival. Enjoy barbeque fare and the annual pond skim. bromley.com

4 | Super Sunday, Smugglers’ Notch Resort Watch Super Bowl LII, live from Minneapolis, in front of a gigantic television screen and enjoy a half-time snack buffet. smuggs.com

vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 57

THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CALENDAR 24 | Pond Skim Competition, Burke Mountain Skim your way into spring in the Northeast Kingdom with an annual skim across the pond on Lower Warren’s Way. Winners will walk home with a season’s pass. skiburke.com

Travel with confidence at Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott®, a hotel with outstanding service for an easy and comfortable stay at an exceptional value. We look forward to welcoming you to our thoughtfully designed guest rooms and suites with plenty of room to work and relax, the perfect place to recharge between your Vermont adventures. Fairfield Inn & Suites Waterbury Stowe 1017 Waterbury Stowe Rd. Waterbury VT. 05676 802-241-1600 Fairfield.com/BTVWB

25 | Bud Light Duct Tape Derby, Mount Snow Competitors construct their crafts out of cardboard, zipties, ducttape and a creative paint job before a downhill slide and skim across the pond. Prizes will be awarded for the best designs and performances. mountsnow.com 31 | Spring Fling and Annual Pond Skim, Stratton Mountain Resort Goggle tans, t-shirts and wacky accessories of choice are welcome as Stratton skiers enjoys the soft snow and their annual spring party. stratton.com 31 | March-di Gras, Stratton Mountain Resort The resort village celebrates Mardi Gras in a style all its own with a block party, live music, Creole cuisine and an ice bar. stratton.com 31 | Special Olympics Vermont Penguin Plunge, Stratton Mountain Resort Take an icy dip to support of athletes with intellectual disabilities. The Penguin Plunge is open to anyone brave enough to take the Plunge. stratton.com

To reserve your room, call 1-800-MARRIOTT or visit Marriott.com

31 | Hops on Snow at Okemo A beer festival is paired with live music in the Jackson Gore base area. okemo.com

APRIL 7 | Slush Cup & Splash for Cash, Okemo Mountain Resort Costume-clad competitors attempt to skim across an 80-foot long pond without falling in. Prizes will be awarded based on style, costume and craziest run, with additional prizes for best wipe out. okemo.com 7 | Pond Skimming, Sugarbush Resort Skim across 120 feet of at the base of Lincoln Peak. Prizes are given for costume, style and splash. sugarbush.com 21 | Pond Skimming, Jay Peak Bring your Hawaiian shirt and get ready to get soaked. jaypeakresort.com 21 | Dazed and Defrosted at Killington As the spring heats up, keep on skiing with live music, equipment demos and beverages at the Umbrella bar. killington.com

COMPETITION

JANUARY 20 | Annual Ski the East Junior Qualifier, Jay Peak Resort Born from ice, watch the future’s finest step up to the challenge and send it off some of Jay’s toughest terrain. jaypeakresort.com 20 | Baxter Outdoors Winter Triathlon, Craftsbury Outdoors Center This unique 15K winter-themed triathlon has options to snowrun, fatbike and Nordic ski. 5K snowrun and fatbike solo options are also available. baxteroutdoors.com 21 | Komen Snowshoe for The Cure, Stratton Mountain Resort The Sun Bowl area hosts a competitive 3K race as well as a 3K and a 5K snowshoe walk. Free loaner snowshoes will be available from Snowshoe for the Cure’s Official Snowshoe Partner, Tubbs (first come first serve). komennewengland.org

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27 | USASA Rail Jam, Sugarbush Resort Sugarbush Parks hosts the Northern Vermont series freestyle event at the base area of Mt. Ellen. sugarbush.com 27 | Annual Craftsbury Marathon, Craftsbury Outdoors Center Skiers from all over the Northeast head to this annual race with options to ski 25K or 50K in a loop. craftsbury.com 27 | Ski For Heat, Bromley A fundraiser helps local neighbors in need of heating assistance. skiforheat.org 28 | Burke Backcountry Adventure, Burke Mountain This skimo race, part of the SkimoEast race series, has 4,000 feet of vertical gain, three climbs and at least one boot-pack ascent on each climb. Descent includes trees, black diamond trails, and bumps as well as groomed surfaces. skimoeast.com

FEBRUARY 9-11 | Canadian Ski Marathon, Buckingham, Quebec Three days of long-distance ski touring across harsh, windswept terrain. The marathon follows a point-to-point format. Skiers can travel as little as 12K or as much as 160K over the course of the weekend as the tour skates, kicks and glides towards Lachute, Quebec. csm-mcs.com/en 10 | Junior Castlerock Extreme, Sugarbush Resort Talented skiers (14 and under) are invited to compete in a highly challenging and technical run down Castlerock’s infamous Lift Line. Qualifiers will head to the main Castlerock Extreme on March 10. sugarbush.com 10 | USASA Boarder/Skier Cross, Smugglers’ Notch Resort The Northern Vermont Tour of USASA hosts a BX/SX with high banked turns and jumps. usasa.org 10-11 | 24 Hours of Bolton, Bolton Valley Resort he first 24-hour backcountry ski and splitboard event, participants compete for the most overall laps in a 12-hour or 24-hour period. nativeendurance.com 17 | Triple Crown Unconventional Competition, Mad River Glen The first leg of the Triple Crown Competition Series and the first stop of the Ski the East Freeride Tour sends skiers down the Lift Line trail. madriverglen.com 17 | Winter Wild Race Series, Ascutney Mountain A 3.1-mile trail run with 800 vertical feet of climbing. The course contains steep climbs, single-track, double-track, winding descents, all to be navigated by headlamp. winterwild.com 18 | Camel’s Hump Challenge, Hinesburg The Alzheimer’s Association holds their 29th annual 13.5-mile ski trek around Camel’s Hump, raising funds and awareness. act.alz.org 19 | Grommet Jam Finals at Mount Snow Groms battle it out at the final amateur rail jam of the season, for skiers and riders 12 and under. mountsnow.com 25 | Stowe Derby, Stowe Participate in or cheer on racers as they ski from the top of the Mountain Road, down to the Stowe bike path and finish in the center of town. Race is open to fat bikes as well. stowederby.com

Family owned & operated 4-season camping nestled in the Green Mountain National Forest. Snowshoeing & X-C skiing on 42 acres and miles of trails. Best of all worlds – quiet and secluded yet convenient to major ski areas: Sugarbush & Mad River, Killington, Stowe & more! Bring your camper or rent a quaint, cozy cabin.

4817 South 116 Rd., Bristol, VT • 802.453.3123 GreenMountainFamily.com • gmfc802@gmail.com vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 59

THE GREEN MOUNTAIN CALENDAR MARCH 2 | Triple Crown Vertical Challenge, Mad River Glen The second leg of the Triple Crown Competition Series sees how many vertical feet competitors can ski in a day. madriverglen.com

Bromley Mountain, Peru, VT

K ÅR E A N D E R S E N Feb. 24 & 25 Fun for the whole family! ... experienced telemarkers, or those just getting started! Clinics available for all abilities, beginner to advanced. Telemark rental equipment available. bromley.com for details, or to purchase tickets in advance!

3 | Frigid Infliction & Test Your Nettle, Bolton Valley With your team of 2 or 3, navigate through the backcountry of Bolton Valley (8 hours), or, if that’s too much time in the cold, ‘Test Your Nettle’ for 3-5 hours. Registration includes a post-event dinner and prize raffle entry. gmara.org/frigid 3 | Skimo East Randonne Race, Jay Peak A 9-mile ski mountaineering race with 5,250 feet of climbing. The course includes a steep boot pack, many transitions and off-piste descents. Part of SkimoEast’s race series. skimoeast.com 3-4 | Slash and Berm Banked Challenge, Killington Resort Snowboarders race a technical slalom course down Bear Mountain with curves, knolls and drops. killington.com 3-4 | Smugglers’ Notch Extreme, Smugglers’ Notch Resort Some of the best (or simply bravest) skiers take on some of the narrowest, most challenging terrain: The Madonna headwall, an ungroomed steep with a double fall line descent filled with cliffs, bumps, trees, chutes, and stumps. Competitors will be judged on line, control, fluidity, technique and style. smuggs.com 4 | Pico Skimo, Pico Mountain Ski mountaineering action comes to Pico this winter with a new race organized by the Endurance Society, with three laps, gaining 2,000 feet up the mountain. endurancesociety.org 9-10 | Carinthia Freeski Open, Mount Snow Some of the best pros flock to this annual slopestyle competition, hosted by Mount Snow’s Carinthia Parks, with a $7,000 cash purse. An amateur competition gives out gear for the winners. The course promises to be spectator-worthy. mountsnow.com

Stay . Eat . Play

9-11 | Vermont Open, Stratton Mountain Resort At the mountain where snowboarding got its start, Stratton pays homage to the pioneers and welcomes new generations of riders in this annual event. Pros and amateurs compete for a $20,000 cash purse in rail jam, slopestyle, halfpipe and banked slalom categories. stratton.com 9-11 | Dion US National Snowshoe Championships, Prospect Mountain The championships return to New England with two days of races: the classic 10K race, with 1200 feet of climbing, and a 5K Citizen’s Race on Saturday, and marathon and half marathon races on Sunday. ussnowshoechampionships.com

Farm-to-Table Dining, with a little more... Live Music Wednesdays, 6 - 9 pm Open 7 Nights ~ Food 4 ‘til 10 Reservations Available ~ Walk-Ins Welcome

802.496.2322 Between Sugarbush & Mad River Glen 1428 Millbrook Rd (Rt 17) ~ Waitsfield, VT ~ hydeawayinn.com

60 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

10 | Castlerock Extreme Challenge, Sugarbush Resort Advanced skiers tackle the terrain on Sugarbush’s renowned Castlerock Peak to find the best skier on the mountain and claim a $1,000 cash prize. Part of the Ski the East Freeride Tour. sugarbush.com 11 | Bread Loaf Citizens Race, Rikert Nordic Center The Rikert Nordic Center hosts their umpteenth running of the 5K cross country race with the traditional loaf of bread for the winner, plus a lollipop race for the kids. Costumes and spandex are highly encouraged. rikertnordic.com 11 | Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge, Bromley Amateur racers take to a dual giant slalom course at Bromley for a chance to advance to the national-level competitions. bromley.com

17-18 | Ski the East Freeride Tour Championships, Jay Peak Skiers charge some of Jay’s most difficult terrain in pursuit of the series championship. jaypeakresort.com 17-18 | 24 Hours of Stratton, Stratton Mountain Resort Skiers and riders take to Stratton Mountain from dawn until dusk in this annual fundraiser for the Stratton Foundation. Awards go to the most vertical feet skied and most money raised. stratton.com 18-20 | Special Olympics Winter Games, Pico Mountain The annual Winter Games moves to Pico with alpine and Nordic skiing and snowshoeing for people of all abilities and age groups. specialolympicsvermont.org

APRIL 1 | Bud Light Glade-iator, Mount Snow A glade challenge not to be missed, as competitors take on the double black diamond Ripcord in hero snow. mountsnow.com 7 | Dos Equis Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge, Killington Resort Killington’s famous end-of-season bumps contest and party. Come see some of the best bump skiers go head to head and stick around for the best party of the year. killington.com 21 | Stein’s Challenge, Sugarbush Resort Competitors have four hours to compete as many laps on Stein’s Run as they can. sugarbush.com

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vtskiandride.com Winter 2018 61

DRINK VT

VERMONT BEER, WINE, CIDER + SPIRITS

The Green Mountain State is home to some of the best breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries in the world. And most invite you to stop by their pubs, restaurants and production houses for a tour and to sample their goods. For more information, links and maps to each location check out www.vtskiandride.com.

5520 Rt. 4, Bridgewater Corners, VT 802-672-5011 www.longtrail.com Inspired by the 273-mile hiking trail that traverses the Green Mountains, Long Trail Brewing has been a caretaker of Vermont craft since 1989. From small-batch recipes to large-scale staples like our Long Trail Ale and Limbo IPA, our brewers are committed to crafting a trail-worthy family of beers.

160 Flynn Ave, Burlington, VT 802-651-4114 www.switchbackvt.com

Find Switchback Ale—the number one selling draught beer in Vermont—at New England ski & ride areas! We are proud to be the first 100% employee-owned brewery in New England, brewing unfiltered and naturally carbonated beers in the South End of Burlington, Vermont since 2002. Visit our brewery and Tap Room for pints, flights, and samples. Tours available on Saturdays by reservation.

52 Seymour Street Middlebury, VT 802-897-7700 www.whistlepigwhiskey.com

WhistlePig showcases the tremendous flavor potential of rye while maintaining a smooth and balanced profile, identifying it with the most acclaimed whiskeys in the world.

1859 Mountain Rd, Stowe, VT 802-253-4765 www.idletymebrewing.com

Our beer line-up represents a traditional take on classic European brewing with a healthy dose of the Vermont hop culture. Whether your preference is a brown or pale ale, Helles Lager or our famous Idletyme Double IPA, we have a beer you’ll love! And it’s brewed right here at our pub and restaurant.

7755 VT Route 9E, West Marlboro, VT 28 Church Street, Burlington, VT (802)-464-2003 www.vermontdistillers.com

Vermont Distillers produces the Metcalfe’s line of Liqueurs as well as other fine spirits. Tastings are offered daily along with brand merchandise and bottles to go. Conveniently located between I-91 and Mount Snow resort with an additional tasting room located in Burlington, VT.

610 Route 7, Middlebury, VT 802-989-7414 www.dropinbrewing.com

Drop-In Brewing is Middlebury’s small, independent, locally owned brewery, and is home to The American Brewers Guild Brewing School. Our Tap Room is open 7 days a week serving sample flights, pints, and selling cans and growlers to go. You can find our beer on draft in restaurants and bars across Vermont, and our cans in retailers that carry craft beers. For more information, check out www.dropinbrewing.com, or call us at (802) 989-7414.

1321 Exchange St, Middlebury, VT 802-385-3656 www.woodchuck.com

As America’s original hard cider, we have always done things our own way, forging a tradition of quality and craftsmanship with every cider batch we craft. At Woodchuck, our Cider Makers meticulously oversee the details of every cider before any bottle or keg leaves our Cidery. It’s this attention and passion for cider that ensures we always deliver a premium hard cider that is true to our roots. Enjoy the brand that started the American cider revolution. sponsored content

von Trapp Brewing is dedicated to brewing the highest quality Austrianinspired lagers with a Vermont twist. Experience “a little of Austria, a lot of Vermont,” in every glass. Plus come visit our new bierhall at the brewery!

6308 Shelburne Rd, Shelburne, VT 802-985-8222 www.shelburnevineyard.com

Join us to taste and tour and share our adventure growing grapes and making award-winning wine in northern Vermont. Then, pick your favorite to sip on the patio overlooking our vineyard. Check our concert and event schedule online or visit Shelburne Vineyard on Facebook or plan your own special event here! Open 7 days a week, all year.

150 Main Street, Newport, VT Near Jay Peak 802-334-1808 www.edenicecider.com

Founded in 2007 on an abandoned farm in the Northeast Kingdom, Eden produces high quality ice ciders, aperitif ciders and naturally sparkling hard ciders from heirloom and true cider variety apples grown at our own and 5 other local orchards. Slow Food Snail of Approval, Good Food Award Gold Seal, Great Lakes International Cider Competition Best in Show 2015. sponsored content

8814 Route 30, Rawsonville, VT Junction VT Rt 30N and VT Rt 100N 802-297-9333 www.CraftDraughts.com An intimate shop with over 300 craft beers plus ciders, meads and two rotating Vermont taps for growler fills. A muststop for craft beer lovers traveling through southern Vermont.

5 Bartlett Bay Rd South Burlington, VT 802-658-BREW MagicHat.Net

Where ancient alchemy meets modern-day science to create the best tasting beer on the planet. Come watch our spores dance and play! Visit the Artifactory for FREE samples, FREE tours and the most unusual shopping experience!

632 Laporte Road, Route 100 Morrisville, VT 802-888-9400 www.rockartbrewery.com

Enjoy samples of our beers during your visit and have a growler filled to take home to enjoy later. We have the best selection of our beers on tap. You’ll also find great Rock Art swag, Vermont foods and wonderful items from local artisans.

Caledonia Spirits is a craft distillery in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Raw honey distinguishes our Barr Hill vodka, Barr Hill gin, and Tom Cat barrel aged gin by imparting a pure and soft botanical essence into each bottle. All of our spirits reflect our deep connection to the land and Vermont’s agricultural heritage.

Open daily 12-5 for free tours and tastings at the distillery.

Pine Street Brewery Flatbread Brewpub 716 Pine Street 115 St. Paul Street 802-497-0054 802-861-2999 www.zerogravitybeer.com Visit either of our two locations for two distinct ZG experiences: The Pine Street Brewery houses a 30-barrel brew house, full canning line, tasting room, retail shop and a sundrenched beer garden in Burlington’s South End Arts District, and our original location in downtown Burlington at American Flatbread features the full line-up of ZG flagship and Specialty brews alongside some of the finest wood-fired pizza you can find. Cheers!

3597 VT-74, Shoreham, VT 802-897-2777 www.champlainorchards.com

Open daily 9-5. July-Nov. Please call ahead. We offer guided tastings of our locallymade hard cider including our Original Hard Cider, Mac & Maple, Limited Edition Ginger Spice as well as our Pruner’s Pride and Honeycrisp Ice Cider. All our ciders are made onsite with our ecologically grown apples. 100% of our electricity is generated from our solar orchards. 2015 Winner of Vermont Cider Classic.

VERMONT BEER, WINE, CIDER + SPIRITS

von Trapp Brewing 1333 Luce Hill Rd. Stowe, VT 802-253-0900 www.vontrappbrewing.com

46 Log Yard Drive, Hardwick, VT 802-472-8000 www.caledoniaspirits.com

The Chairlift Q+A

TIGER, OUT OF THE GATES A two-time Olympian who grew up in Stowe, U.S. Ski and Snowboarding president Tiger Shaw is the man behind the nearly 200 skiers and riders who will go to PyeongChang.

If you could be on any chairlift in the world now, where would it be?

No question, the Four Runner quad at Stowe. I grew up in Stowe and lived there until I was 18.With my family in either the ski business or the retail business, my entire life was centered around skiing and I just loved it. I remember being a little kid and going up the Toll House chair and then coming down, going off the groomed terrain and just falling in soft snow and thinking how fun that was, just lying there in this light fluff. Mikaela Shiffrin’s father was the doctor who delivered your kids, and you’ve known her since she was born. When did you first realize how good she could be?

Even at age 8, Mikaela was creaming 12-year-olds. It was clear to me then that she had all the makings of a great racer, but so do a lot of kids. After that comes the hard work. And Mikaela has put that in.When people ask me how she got so good I have to say, it’s an old-fashioned answer but she just works incredibly, incredibly hard. She’s really deliberate and dedicated to her practice and her parents have supported her in that since she was a kid.

64 Winter 2018 vtskiandride.com

Bode Miller recently said Mikaela was the best racer, male or female, that he’s seen. Do you agree?

Mikaela is certainly among that rarified group, and I’d say currently she’s absolutely stunning. Best racer? Maybe she will be, though there’s also Lindsey Vonn, and Ted Ligety has won 25 World Cup races and has 51 podiums to his name. What about the men’s alpine team?

It seems to go in waves. Right now we have a lot of depth and a lot of incredibly talented men coming up on the B and C teams, but we’ve also had a lot of injuries. It’s really good to see skiers like Ryan CochranSiegle coming back from knee surgeries and climbing a giant staircase. It’s going to take a few steps to get back to the top, but I think he will. How do we get more skiers like Mikaela and Ryan?

One of the reasons why we’re seeing so many top athletes coming out of Vermont is that we have an incredible depth and activity in our ski clubs, and the top athletes from the past are helping new ones grow.Take Craftsbury Outdoor Center or Stratton Mountain School. At Stratton, you have [two-time Olympic medal winner] Ross Powers coaching and Sverre Caldwell has attracted a world-class team of cross-country skiers. But most important, the good coaches and the good schools realize it takes a village to raise a top athlete. Parents also need to accept that sometimes not all the kids are going to be able to get the same treatment or get the same top coach’s attention. Generally, kids know this and accept the fact that maybe they won’t be the one going to Nationals or the Olympics, but they can help someone else get there. Best thing about bringing the World Cup to Killington?

For me, the best thing was seeing the ski club kids have a chance to see people like Mikaela race and to have a chance to interact with her. If you ask Mikaela, or other ski racers, what the turning points in their lives were, it was often seminal moments like that, meeting the heroes who inspired them. —L.L.

Photo courtesy USSA

J

ust after the Sochi Olympics, Tiger Shaw took over as president of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. Since then, he’s done a lot to shake things up. Shaw rebranded the organization. He’s been instrumental in bringing the women’s World Cup to Killington, and he’s worked hard to put the organization on sound financial footing, chipping back a $6 million debt. He’s also made education for athletes a priority, setting up a partnership with Utah’s Westminster College so skiers and riders can learn remotely while on the circuit. Shaw went to high school in Stowe and then raced for Dartmouth.. He was the top American finisher in slalom at the Calgary Olympics in 1988, finishing 12th. Shaw spent 20 year in Hanover, N.H. before moving to Utah for the job but he still spends a good deal of time in Stowe, where his mother and cousins (who run Shaw’s General Store) still live.

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Adventure Awaits There’s something more to the Sugarbush experience than the legendary terrain variety, the meticulous snowmaking and grooming, the fabled history, and the authentic Vermont mountain setting. Come discover what makes Sugarbush different. For the best deals on season passes, discount tickets, lodging and more, visit sugarbush.com.

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