The snow dances continue as we await some real snowfall here…it has been a trying time to be a skier, but thanks to great efforts by Craftsbury, Rikert and Sleepy Hollow there has been skiable terrain if you know where to look!
Craftsbury hosted the first HS race of the season. It was a highly-anticipated event after a summer of great training, big improvements and more than a little trash-talking. When the dust settled, MNC-affiliated skiers took top honors in each event.
Aside from winning the short prologue stage of the Tour De Chittenden last season, Greg Burt spent much of last season duking it out with MNC senior athletes Ethan John and Charlie Maitland. On Saturday, Greg asserted himself with a strong win in the men’s Varsity event, while joining him in the top ten were Peter Unger, Baxter Bishop and Tim Cobb.
Towering equally high over her competitors (literally), Marika Massey-Bierman skied an incredibly smooth and quick race to take the victory in the women’s event. With slow and slushly snow, skiers that kept a good rhythm and rode flat skis really maintained their momentum and it was clear without looking at results that both Marika and Greg had very good control over their technique and power. Congrats!
Winning ran in the family this day, as Aidan Burt and Quincy Massey-Bierman surged to wins in their respective races, as well. Could we be looking at the next Northug or Bjornsen siblings? Only time will tell!
In search of a different slim patch of snow to cruise around on today, a few of us ventured to Rikert where we heard tales of a different strip of skiing! It is so sad to think that as of December 13th we’ve skied on a total of 2 different kilometers of snow (if you don’t count that alpine slope at Stowe). The Rikert loop was particularly thin, narrow and dirty after a bout of racing and warm weather the previous day, but it was incredible to see what they pulled off at all! Many thanks to everyone at these ski centers who have pushed the boundaries of what snowmaking can do. Winter is still on!
Getting ready to apply some klister this morning at Rikert. The snow patch can be seen in the background! Got to see some skiers from Clarkson, Bowdoin, HURT Nordic and Dublin today.
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