If you could handle the cold temps this was quite the weekend to get out and ski. The Juniors and a handful of Masters racers headed up to Craftsbury for the Kendall Cup on Saturday, a race honoring the passing of legendary timer and New England ski figurehead Tom Kendall.
Once again it was a Vermont-only affair, but we’re blessed to have what might be the most competitive state in the country for Nordic skiers. It’s possible Minnesota or Alaska might argue with that, but when you’ve got a race field of talented and hardworking athletes like we saw on Saturday I bet the Green Mountain kids could tackle any kind of competition.
On Sunday we traded-in the skinny skis for wider boards, and swapped the kickwax for skins as a group of 9 MNC Juniors and coaches took off from Underhill at -6 Fahrenheit. We chased the sun uphill en route to the Nose on Mount Mansfield via the Teardrop trail. Despite the frigid morning air, the top of the mountain was windless, clear and sunny.
We took our time at the top to snack and change layers, and then scooted a bit down the Toll Road before ducking onto the Bruce Trail. After a steep and sunny descent we found ourselves at the intersection of the Overland trail. It was skins-on again for another uphill journey to Devil’s Dishpan where we were greeted with another sunny, at this point borderline WARM smooth descent down to Stevensville Road.
Approaching the nose, without a cloud in sight
Although there were a few instances of not knowing exaaaaactly where we were, this ski tour had to be one of the most memorable and impactful days I’ve been a part of with the club. The intent had been to simply turn around and go down what we had gone up…but it seemed like the spirit of adventure captured a lot of us, and the day was just too nice. Going up, over, around, and back was a real adventure on a day (and with a gang) that couldn’t have been better.
Hard to underestimate how important it is for a Nordic ski team to go out and have experiences together that AREN’T just Nordic ski training and racing…unfortunately COVID put a halt to a lot of those types of activities…there aren’t trips to pizza places, swimming holes, mini golf, or otherwise. But we learned, hopefully not too late this season, that there IS backcountry skiing!
Strava map from Taylor Carlson
If there’s any indication of the health of skiing in Vermont right now, beyond just the ticket sales and the race results and the club development…just take a drive through Chittenden County and look at the ski tracks and pole marks through every field, hill, and front lawn…it’s awesome to know that skiers in MNC and beyond are just simply getting out on the snow!
VT, or CO?
Not a nordic trail for this training day!
View for days
The skinning uphill at hour 3+ isn’t too bad with this weather and snow
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