Alpine Skiing

Eggnog Needs Eggs, Waxless Skis Need Wax

It's that time of year again, when, according to Andy Williams or anyone who has received royalties from a beloved Christmas tune, it is the most wonderful. Many others share that view as well, but when Christmas day is just one day off, wedged between two of the

Off Piste in the Adirondacks

Skiing in the High Peaks of New York’s Adirondack Mountains should be on every northeast skier’s to-do list. From the snow-filled gulleys and slide paths of the region’s highest peaks to the gentler backcountry trails of the valleys below, the Dacks are an adventure skier’s paradise.

The Jay Cloud: Fact or Fiction?

If, like me, you grew up in a place like Long Island, NY, when it came to skiing, you probably unfairly lumped all of Vermont together into a kind of single, large Great White North. Of course, now that I’ve spent my share of time tromping around the Green Mountain State, I know that the reality is more nuanced. All ski areas are not created equal.

Wagger Athlete - Oscar Aiken

Breed: Blended, though I look like a yellow lab
Age: 3
Residence: Richmond
Family: Mark and Alison Aiken (humans) and Scout and Waffle (cats)
Primary sport: Running, skiing, and dog-play

VS: Hey Oscar! You have your own blog. How did you land that sweet deal?

May 2009 Reader Athlete: Marc Sherman

Age: 43
Residence: Burlington
Family: Australian Shepherd, cat, and is in a relationship
Occupation: Visionary, co-owner of Outdoor Gear Exchange
Primary sport: Seasonal—biking, skiing, kayaking, and hiking

Skiing at the Vancouver Games

I’m really sticking my neck out here. My deadline for this article is February 1. The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games open on February 12, and the flame will be extinguished 16 days later, on February 28.

SWEET STATEWIDE DEALS FOR SKIING AND RIDING IN VERMONT

Grab your gear and hug your helmet; the love affair has continued! With the last two years of snow-filled February memories, the honeymoon of a Vermont Valentine’s Day and President’s Week is packed with dozens of discounts to get skiers and riders on the snow affordably.

Reader Athletes: Sam Osborne

Age: 55
Residence: Burlington
Family: Wife, Eleanor; three sons, Erik, 20, Alex, 19, Ben, 16.
Occupation: Sales of Campaign Software
Primary Sports: Road Biking, Skiing, Snowboarding

VS: You attempted an alpine ski career in your younger days. What happened?

vtsports.com Launches The Vermont Sports Gear Exchange

vtsports.com is launching a website for outdoor fitness and adventure enthusiasts to buy, sell, and trade new and gently used gear and equipment online. The company has set-up and is testing gear.vtsports.com as an auction site.

Nordic Boots

Many winter foot injuries happen because of poorly fit, worn-out, deformed ski and snowshoe boots.

Boots and Bindings for the Backcountry

This year’s crop of backcountry boots and bindings is more impressive than ever. On the binding front, most telemark bindings now feature a flip-of-the-switch “tour mode,” offering skiers the same resistance-free uphill performance that AT-skiers have enjoyed for years.

Vermont's Best Lift Ticket Deals

These days, buying a lift ticket is like being dealt a hand of cards and deciphering how best to play them. This season at Vermont’s ski areas you’ll come across special ticket deal cards named Magic, X2, Points, Passport, Fanfare, Club, and Express, to name just a few. Purchase one of these cards and you’ll get discounts on lift tickets and possibly other merchandise and services.

Around the State - Paul Robbins Ski Journalism Award Goes to Hubert Schriebl

Stowe, VT—The Vermont Ski Museum’s board of directors selected Hubert Schriebl to receive the Paul Robbins Ski Journalism Award. The Paul Robbins Ski Journalism Award recognizes a Vermonter who performs his/her skill in written, broadcast, or photo journalism, with ethics, humor, good taste, and always with the promotion of Vermont skiing and the larger skiing community in mind.

Lateral Ankle Sprain and Chronic Ankle Instability

The commonly occurring lateral ankle sprain, also called an inversion sprain, can be the precursor to painful and disabling chronic ankle instability. The ankle twist, rollover, or sprain may be the most overlooked athletic injury, and for that reason may also be amongst the worst. A common ankle sprain can lead to ankle instability, cartilage damage, arthritis, and a lifetime of ankle pain.

Muscles Not Motors Gear Review - March 2010

I just got back from the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show in Salt Lake City, UT, where 40,000 or so outdoor industry types like me converged for a week-long gear summit. By the last day, I was dehydrated from drooling. Here are just three of the items that I found particularly tasty.

GSI OUTDOORS VORTEX HAND CRANKED BLENDER

White Magic

When it comes to skiing downhill in Vermont, there are two major populations of skiers: those who ride the lifts to reach the top of their chosen descent, and those who earn their turns by skinning uphill before starting the gravity-enabled schuss.

The Life of an Alpine Skier Turned Snowboarding Tele Skier who Cross-Country Skis

My first time Alpine skiing was at Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire in 1983. I was ten years old and my family had just moved to Littleton, NH, from Portland, ME. My parents were nice enough to sign me up for the skiing program at my new school, which aside from providing me with a lift ticket and lunch, provided me with really lousy rental equipment.

New England's Rise of Rando

At first glance, the towns of Chamonix, France, and Carrabassett Valley, Maine, don’t appear to have much in common. Sure, they’re small mountain towns whose residents have a love for the peaks that rise up above their villages. But that’s where the parallel seems to end.

Cold Season Outdoor Gear

We’ve made the long trip around the sun once again. Before long, Old Man Winter will blanket Vermont in white, and many of us will be out there making the most of it on our skis, boards, snowshoes, bikes, and sleds. Ever year, we stumble on a few items that we feel could make your winter season even more enjoyable, and they are featured here. Have a great winter, and stay warm and dry!

Green Racing Project: The Great White Circus Opens in Yellowstone

The ski season is finally here. By “here,” I mean that it’s winter in West Yellowstone, MT. The Green Racing Project has escaped the warmth of November in Vermont to cut the tape on the 2009/2010 cross-country ski racing season in the colder climes of Yellowstone National Park.

The Search for Early Snow

A characteristic shared by most Nordic skiers is the anticipation of getting on snow. For dedicated competitors this becomes an obsession. Swimmers, runners, and tennis players can enjoy their sports year round, but Nordic skiers in this part of the country are typically limited to four or five months of reliable snow cover.

Training with Kids

Urban legend has it that Bill Koch rollerskied up Mount Greylock pulling his daughter on a mountain bike. With a rope around his waist, Koch double-poled eight miles uphill, towing his 70-pound child. Was this extreme strength-training, childcare duty, or both? Even if the story isn’t true, it illustrates how far some parents will go to get a workout.

Time is of the essence

Vermont Ski Resort News

From new chairlifts to wind turbines, from routine trail mowing to new cooperative ownership structures, Vermont ski areas have been busy these last few months preparing for the exciting winter sports season ahead. Here’s a look at what’s new for the 2009-2010 season.

ASCUTNEY MOUNTAIN RESORT

VERMONT’S SWEET SEASON

SYRUP, SPRING SKIING AND SEASON PASS SALE

Honing Your Heart Rate?

For years and years we’ve been testing people in our Human Performance lab at UVM for all kinds of studies ranging from fluid intake to heat tolerance. One thing that has always plagued me is the accuracy of the maximal heart rate numbers we get. For the most part we don’t really question the data as it’s all carefully collected and monitored.

Skiing and Me

Growing up in 1950’s Baltimore, outside of movies, I’d never seen a ski.

When I left for college in cold and mysterious Vermont, my mother’s friend gave me a pair from her college days. They were ancient even by 1958 standards: taller than an NBA center, with primitive beartrap bindings, and lacking that newfangled invention, steel edges.

Flying High: Ski Jumping is Alive and Well in New England

Vermont and New Hampshire have an impressive tally of residents who have participated in Olympic sports. With the exception of bob-sledding, these two states have public access to every sport represented during the winter games, including ski jumping, a sport where Vermonters and New Hampshire-ites have excelled.

18th Annual Holiday Gift Guide

We are pleased to present the Vermont Sports annual Holiday Gift Guide. The goods we recommend on these pages were reviewed by members of the VS editorial staff (Jules Older, Brian Mohr, and Kate Carter) and are their picks for most interesting, impressive, and thoughtful gifts for people who spend time in the outdoors.

Governor Douglas Proclaims January as Learn a Snow Sport Month in Vermont

MONTPELIER, Vt. (Dec. 31, 2009) - For the first time, Governor Jim Douglas proclaimed January as Learn a Snow Sport Month, endorsing Vermont ski resorts as learning destinations for Vermonters and all winter visitors to the Green Mountain State.

Put Sports Injuries on Ice: Play it Safe and Glide through the Winter Season

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. - The tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson this past March put a spotlight on the potential risks inherent to skiing, as well as the deadly consequences that can result from head trauma. Richardson died two days after suffering an epidural hematoma and slipping into a coma.

Vermont Sports Magazine Offers Digital Subscriptions: 10% of subscription sales to support three Vermont non-profits

Vermont Sports Magazine and it’s online service www.vtsports.com, have recently launched a digital subscription service for it’s magazine readers interested in helping the magazine reduce its’ carbon footprint in Vermont and helping out some noteworthy non-profit organizations in the state.

Muscles Not Motors Gear Review - November 2009

Whether you’re a snowboarder or snowshoer, mountain hiker or mountain biker, Nordic skier or Nordic walker, you need gear. Each month, I review, right here, three items that I personally feel are especially cool. Here are my picks for this month.

Swix 2 in 1 Split Mitt

The Winter Olymic Games - Greek or Roman?

I always look forward to, and enjoy, the Winter Olympics. This year was no exception. It was thrilling to watch so many of our sons and daughters of the Green and White Mountains perform and excel on the international stage. While enjoying all of this exciting competition, I was also struck more than ever by the death-defying risks that so many athletes are taking in the pursuit of Olympic gold.

Thoughts About Chrysler

The recent headlines regarding Chrysler’s bankruptcy, sale to Fiat, and the probable loss of thousands of American jobs reminded me of a unique and memorable connection I had with the company. In 1988, I was the team leader for the U.S. biathletes at the Calgary Winter Olympics. The Nordic skiing events were held more than an hour west of Calgary in the beautiful mountain village of Canmore.

Vermont Ski Academies

Vermont is home to four distinct ski academies spread out across the length of the state. Starting in the south is the Stratton Mountain School, founded in 1972. Heading north is the Green Mountain Valley School in Waitsfield, celebrating its 37th year of existence. Forty miles up Route 100 is Mount Mansfield Winter Academy, the youngest of the group, having been established in 1993.

Burke Mountain Sled Dog Dash

“3, 2, 1, …Go Driver!” echoed from the loud speaker through the crisp cool air. “Eurrp” I bellowed, and lifted my foot from the claw brake and placed it firmly on the runner. The sled snapped forward, my arms instinctively tightened, and I grabbed hard on the driving bow.

The Worst Trap in the World

So very many traps—danger lurks everywhere.

There's the rat trap and the Havahart trap. The velvet trap and the parent trap. The Wolf Trap and the Trapp Family Singers.

But the worst trap of all is the Can't Do Anything Until You Do Everything trap.

Skiing and the Olympics - A Brief Primer

In the past, the skiing at the Winter Olympics was straightforward. The glamorous events were the Alpine disciplines (which originated in the European Alps), slalom, giant slalom, and downhill. Slalom required technical proficiency, while downhill demanded raw courage.

Hope in the Hornstrandir: A Sailing and Skiing Adventure

Ken was gone. In the few minutes we’d stopped to nibble some chocolate-covered biscuits, the clouds cloaking Iceland’s Hornstrandir had morphed into a howling blizzard, and Ken and his kite had disappeared. Barely able to feel our way to the edge of a ravine that would lead the rest of us safely down to sea level, we prayed that Ken would turn up. He didn’t.

The History of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center

For what it is today—a world-class facility that grooms top athletes and attracts Olympians to its races—the Craftsbury Outdoor Center had humble and even uncertain financial beginnings.

The Mountains Majestique

Some landscapes you visit just once in your life. Not because there’s anything inherently wrong with them, but rather because there are simply too many other places to see in the world. But sometimes, a landscape grabs you and calls you to return. Such is my relationship with Quebec’s Gaspesie, a mere stone’s throw (globally speaking) from the Green Mountain State’s borders.

Green Racing Project - The Real World

This is the true story of six strangers picked to live in a house, train for ski racing together, work on sustainability projects, and find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. Welcome to the “Real World,” with the Green Racing Project in Craftsbury,VT.

FIRST WIND TURBINE AT A VERMONT SKI AREA UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT BOLTON VALLEY RESORT

(September 10, 2009) BOLTON VALLEY, VT.-- Bolton Valley Resort, a locally owned and operated family ski and snowboard area, has announced construction of a wind turbine that will be operational in late autumn. It is the first wind turbine to be constructed at a Vermont ski area.

Floor Statement by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to Congratulate Vermont Olympians

Congressional Record – Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Reader Athlete: Jessie Janowski

Age: 28
Residence: Winooski
Family: Fiancé, Peter, and dog, Carter
Occupation: Medical student
Primary sport: Skiing

Vermonters in the 2010 Winter Olympics

When the 21st Winter Olympics kicks off in Vancouver, British Columbia, on February 12, as many as eight Vermonters might be dashing from some sort of starting line, hoping to become immortalized in the pantheon of Olympic medalists.

Teaching Kids to Downhill Ski

Teaching downhill skiing to kids has become a passion for me, as seeing a child’s ear-to-ear smile out on the slopes is a delight. Instructing kids to ski requires a healthy mix of knowledge, enthusiasm, creativity, and patience. Chris Saylor, director of the children’s ski program at Okemo Mountain Resort, reminds parents that patience is key when teaching kids to ski.

Best Vermont Ski Area Deals

ASCUTNEY MOUNTAIN RESORT

Ascutney’s Two for Tuesdays program returns again this season. Show up with a friend and you both ride the lifts for $30 a piece on typically sedate Tuesdays. There’s a special deal just for telemarkers on Thursdays: a $29 ticket price. Friday afternoons lands Vermont and New Hampshire residents a $27 tariff and the same deal repeats on Sunday afternoons.

Build it and They Will Come: Skiing the Trails of the CCC

Skiers in New England have it good. When it comes to terrain, just one word applies: varied. There are groomers, glades, steep chutes, alpine bowls. In other words, the works.