Age: 26
Residence: Essex Junction
Family: Husband, Garnet Smith
Occupation: Environmental consultant
Primary sport: Nordic skiing
VS: You grew up in Western Massachusetts. How did you land in Vermont?
KC: I came here for school; I transferred into the University of Vermont as a sophomore, from Colby College. Initially, when I was applying to colleges, I thought small, liberal arts colleges were the way to go. But I ended up transferring and UVM had a great Nordic program. I fell in love with the area, stuck around here, went to graduate school at UVM, found a job, a husband, and a house.
VS: You grew up on a Nordic ski center called Stump Sprout in Hawley, Mass. What was it like having your parents own a Nordic skiing facility?
KC: At the time, I didn’t really realize it was anything out of the ordinary. You’re just used to what you grow up with. But I loved it. It was very much a family-fun business. My parents, brother, and I did most of the work. So we always got to see all different people come through the lodge and the ski shop. We grew up skiing, and had trails named after us and the like. My dad had us teaching lessons at five or six years old, much to the chagrin of some of the adults.
VS: Is the center still open?
KC: Yes, they still operate it. It’s in its 33rd season.
VS: How do they do for snow?
KC: Believe it or not, they do pretty well. We’re probably 25 minutes from the Vermont border, so it’s close. The house is situated at about 1,500 feet, and the trails are up there too, so that helps.
VS: How did you start racing?
KC: I went to a small, grade seven through twelve high school. A Nordic ski program had just started the year before I was a seventh grader at the school. My dad had heard about it, being in the Nordic ski business. I had never done team sports before, never done the youth soccer programs or anything. My dad said I should try it, and I did. I really liked the team, and I really liked the older students on the team. Admittedly, I guess I had some fairly successful races early on. The success probably is what kept me going through my early years, before I actually fell in love with racing. And then, I raced all through high school and carried on through college.
VS: You raced for UVM. What did you enjoy, and what were your best events?
KC: I skied at UVM from 2002 to 2006. Carnival was really fun; I guess in any sport it’s always so nice to be on your home course or your own field. In addition, there’s so much history associated with UVM ski racing, and it’s held at a place where there is so much history. There’s been lots of really phenomenal racing at UVM. It’s kind of a legendary place, so it’s a special event. They also hosted the NCAAs in my third year of racing. As far as events? I tend to be better at distance and skating, even though I like classic the best.
VS: You mentioned Nordic skiing never gets old. How do you keep it fresh and interesting?
KC: When I was racing, there was always the excitement of new events to train for and new places to travel. Now that I’ve stopped racing, it’s especially exciting because with my job, I don’t get to ski that much, so when I have the chance, it’s a big deal. Short of that, the scenery in the woods just never gets old—whether it’s fresh snow and everything is lightly dusted, or it’s a sunny spring day.
VS: Where do you like to ski?
KC: I have to say my parents’ place! But in Vermont, the Trapp Family Lodge is by far my favorite place. My husband also skis so we go to Bolton sometimes. Sometimes we go out to Sleepy Hollow, sometimes Ethan Allen.
VS: Do you ever downhill?
KC: Occasionally. I did a lot when I was little, through the elementary school program and there is an Alpine area near my house. But once I started ski racing, that took up all my time. Since I’ve been done racing, we go a couple times a year, but we don’t get season passes.
VS: Does your husband ski?
KC: I’ve taught him. He’s a lacrosse player at heart.
VS: Do you miss racing?
KC: I definitely do. After collegiate racing, I took three years off, I didn’t try to pursue racing when I was done with my collegiate racing eligibility. I kind of thought I had bigger fish to fry in life. I’ve done a couple Sleepy Hollow 5Ks, which are very low-key. But I realize I don’t have this large group of people to drive to far away races with. Recently, because of time, I’ve been getting into running.
VS: How is that going?
KC: It’s going pretty well. I’ve been doing the Catamount 5K cross-country series. Running is one of those great things where all you need is a pair of sneakers. Because of time with work, running became my go-to sport. A lot of my friends run, so I have a good solid group of people I can go with. [Editor’s note: Kate often wins or places second in the women’s 18-35 division.]
VS: Do you have any racing goals for running, or is it more for enjoyment?
KC: It’s kind of to give myself something to do. Every year that I’ve lived up here, I’ve always done a couple of the Catamount races every summer. I always thought it would be fun to start in the beginning of the season and go every week and get myself in shape with everyone there. I improved every week. There was a group of women who would always finish one minute ahead of me, and by the middle of the season I had caught up to them.
VS: How are you balancing life-work-athletics?
KC: I don’t ever get to exercise enough, but that’s OK. I usually meet people to run a few mornings a week, at about 6 a.m. And then on the weekends I usually get out for a few runs and sometimes my husband gets up and comes.
VS: You enjoy gardening. Are you a veggie or flower gardener?
KC: Some of both. We just bought a house and one of the biggest selling points was the beautiful landscaping. But it’s hard trying to keep up on the work for that! We’re thinking about landscaping with vegetables.
VS: How are you enjoying being a homeowner?
KC: I think we’re liking it for the most part. It’s always a challenge, but an exciting challenge. The other weekend, we had to learn how to solder and figure out how to light the pilot lights in our furnace. It’s always those little things. Thank God for Google.
— Sky Barsch
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