June 05, 2013 (Bennington, Vermont) – Olympic Day with Olympian Andy Newell, presented by The Bank of Bennington, is a celebration and international effort to promote fitness and well-being in addition to Olympic ideals of Fair Play, Perseverance, Respect and Sportsmanship.

When: June 23, 2013,  9-11:30 AM

Where: Willow Park – lower Pavilion

Event Details:
– Ages 15 and under
– Enjoy games and fun Olympic style events
– Create your own Olympic medals
– Photo signing with local Olympian Andy Newell
– Come any time between 9-11:30am

March 07, 2013 (Middlebury, VT) – Vermont’s Anja Gruber took the women’s 5km interval start FR crown for the host team at the famed Rikert Nordic Center with a time of 15:31.1 as the 60th annual 2013 NCAA Championships kicked off Day 2 in Middlebury, VT.

Dartmouth’s Mary O’Connell, who hails from Steamboat Springs, was the last racer to cross the finish taking second overall. Freshman Marine Dusser from the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves finished third for All-American honours. Dusser, a local of Villard de Lans, France, completed the cross-country course in a time of 15:43.0 for her sixth career podium result.

In the men’s race, the University of Colorado, led by an individual title in the classical race from sophomore Rune Oedegaard, moved into second place at the midway point of the championships. Oedegaard won the 10-kilometer men’s CL race in a time of 26 minutes and 0.2 seconds. He was just a couple of seconds off the lead at the first split, then took over the pace at the second split by nearly seven seconds and was ahead at the third and fourth splits for the victory.

New Mexico’s Mats Resaland finished second in 26:05.4. Making his NCAA debut with a third-place finish in the men’s race was rookie, Viktor Braennmark, a native of Alvsbyn, Sweden, who registered a time of 26 minutes, 28.5 seconds, helping UAA place  three finishers in the top 10 for 108 points.

Defending champs Vermont maintained their first-day lead, extending it by five points as the Catamounts have 389 points through four of the eight events. The University of Colorado Buffaloes are next with 368.5 points, making up 31 points on UNM thanks to a 193-point day on Thursday, the best by any school in the 21-team field.

Results (brief)

Women

1. Anja Gruber, UVM, 15:31.0
2. Mary O’Connell, Dart., 15:42.2
3. Marine Dusser, UAA, 15:43.0
4. Joanne Reid, CU, 15:44.2
5. Sloane Storey, Utah, 16:02.1
6. Maria Nordstroem, CU, 16:03.3
7. Annie Hart, Dart., 16:04.1
8. Linda Davind-Malm, UVM, 16:05.7
9. Silje Benum, DU, 16:10.0
10. Anna Svendsen, Utah, 16:17.1

Men

1. Rune Oedegaard, CU, 26:00.2
2. Mats Resaland, UNM, 26:05.4
3. Viktor Brannmark, UAA, 26:28.5
4. Ben Lustgarten, Midd., 26:32.6
5. Silas Talbot, Dart., 26:37.7
6. Miles Havlick, Utah, 26:46.2
7. Scott Patterson, UVM, 26:46.2
8. Lasse Molgaard-Nielsen, UAA, 26:50.6
9. Lukas Ebner, UAA, 26:51.3
10. Erik Soderman, NMU, 26:56.5

Women HERE.
Men HERE.

February 28, 2013 (Craftsbury, VT) – The Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP) is now accepting applications for the 2013-14 training year. Space will be limited, but we hope to be able to add a few new members to the team. Applications will be due by April 1 and decisions will be made by April 15 at the latest.

The Craftsbury Green Racing Project is enjoying another successful year, with one member on the USST, several others who got World Cup starts, two members on the USBA World Cup squad, an USST U23 team member, several top-10s at Nationals, SuperTour podiums, and the Eastern Cup overall women’s winner to name a few highlights of the year thus far.
The GRP is a program of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, a non-profit organization whose mission is:
1) to support and promote participation and excellence in lifelong sports with a special focus on rowing, running and nordic skiing;
2) to use and teach sustainable practices; and
3) to protect and manage the surrounding land, lake and trails.

In exchange for coaching, travel support, room & board, GRP skiers are asked to take on projects that contribute to work of the Center. GRP projects in the past have included: ski trail mapping and improvements, construction of single-track trails, coaching of youth and junior skiers, outreach to area schools, growing vegetables for the Dining Hall, designing and building a compost system for the Center, construction of a stone/brick pizza and bread oven, organization of events and programs at the Center, design of the GRP website and clothing, blogging and writing articles, helping develop a regional trail system, and working to bring more local food into the Center’s Dining Hall.

If this sounds like work you would enjoy, while taking your skiing to the next level, then you may be a good fit for the GRP. You can read more about the team at their website: www.greenracingproject.com. The application is available here, and you will find FAQs here. Any remaining questions may be addressed to skiing@craftsbury.com.

Athletes applying, or thinking of applying are encouraged to talk to coach Pepa Miloucheva at one of the late season ski races, contact her at the skiing@craftsbury.com address, or call 802-586-7767 ext 33.

February 07, 2013 (Wilmington, VT) – Snow is in the forecast – come join us for stop 3 of the Retro-Gear Tour Series on February 9th at Timber Creek in Wilmington.

Kelly Kahler, a long time cross country ski area manager, has put together a panel of cross country skiing experts. Come skiing (in new snow!) and join us for a lunchtime chat with Armand Roy, Rudy Veraguth, and John Tidd. As ski area developers, instructors, and skiers, they can offer insight into how the industry and sport have developed in Vermont.

At Timber Creek, the skier has a choice of adventures on a trail system that meanders and explores forested hills and reaches views of the high mountain ridges. The trails coincide, at times, along the way allowing the skier to create fun, mysterious loops that offer varying skiing experiences. Discover a wonderful winter world in the Vermont mountains through the trails of Timber Creek Cross Country Ski Area!

Mark your February calendars for: Hall of Fame Inductee Bucky Broomhall at Viking Nordic Center on February 23.

Read more about the Retro-Gear Ski Tour HERE!

2013 Retro-Gear Tour Series Calendar
– Craftsbury Outdoor Center (Craftsbury) – Sunday, January 13
– Strafford Nordic Center (Strafford) – Sunday, January 20
– Timber Creek Cross Country Center (West Dover) – Saturday, February 9
– Viking Nordic Center (Londonderry) – Saturday, February 23
– Rikert Nordic Center (Middlebury) – Saturday, March 2
– Ole’s Cross Country Center (Warren) – Saturday, March 16

Watch a video of our first tour at Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Click HERE for photos of Craftsbury and Strafford.

Click HERE for Meredith Scott talking about the Retro-Gear Ski Tour on WCAX .

For more information, visit the Museum web site www.vtssm.com or call Meredith Scott, Director/Curator at 802.253.9911 x 202.

November 09, 2012 (Craftsbury, VT) – As of the beginning of this month, you can reserve your spot in the biggest ski race in the east: the 32nd annual TD Bank Craftsbury Marathon! Choose between 25 and 50k options – either way you’ll enjoy some of the most scenic skiing in New England as you traverse the picturesque working landscape from Greensboro to Craftsbury Common, Vermont. Register now HERE. In addition to assuring your spot, you’ll also be signed up for only $60 ($30 for students!). Save your money for fast waxes, new skis or an annual membership at Craftsbury!

BKLers Ski the Marathon for $5
For the second year, BKL skiers (grade 8 and younger) can ski the Marathon with a full paying adult for only $5! Make some great winter memories together at Craftsbury this February! More pricing information HERE.

Stay in the know about our snow
In addition to our snow report, live weather station (now with field and forest versions), we’ve branched out into social media. Follow us on Twitter or our new Facebook page. All are great ways to keep tabs on what’s happening at the Center!

Snowmaking has started
Our permit to blow snow begins November 1, and we’ve begun stockpiling in earnest in the past several days. Currently Mt. Craftsbury is starting to really stack up, with around 20 feet through this morning. We’re going to keep at it grabbing what opportunities we can, with the intention of opening for Thanksgiving week. Find out more HERE.

Craftsbury Opener, November 24
Come put that early season snow to good use with our 10/15k Craftsbury Opener. You can burn off the turkey dinner with courses for all ages from BKL to Masters, 2k to 15k. Details HERE.

Early Season Tuneup: NENSA Masters Clinic at Craftsbury, November 24
After your race, stick around and start the year off on the right foot with technical expertise from NENSA coaches. Only $30 for NENSA members, you’ll get your on-snow time underway the right way. Find out more on NENSA’s website HERE.

Annual Membership at Craftsbury
Q: What costs between $25 and $100, gets you a year’s worth of trail access, FREE member events, access to year round programming, and much more?

A: An annual membership to Craftsbury!

Even if one puts aside all the other value, just the skiing alone is a great bargain: 105k of groomed trails patrolled by two PistenBullys and some of the best, most consistent snow in the east. Come train on the trails that you’ll be racing on in January. Go HERE for the full scoop.

Marathon Sponsor Profile: TD Bank
Our title sponsor, TD Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the United States, and provides customers with a full range of financial products and services at more than 1,300 convenient locations from Maine to Florida. Just as important to the ski community is TD Bank’s long-time support of skiing at all levels: from the USSA and U.S. Biathlon to the development projects of NENSA. They’re huge contributors to our sport and deserve your consideration when you’re looking for a bank. Read more HERE.

Think snow!

October 12, 2012 – Join the celebrations for the 10th Anniversary of the Vermont Ski Museum as the festivities go Nordic! Sunday, October 14, a panel of speakers will highlight the past, present and future of cross country ski areas, technology, coaching, and youth development. Sunday, October 21 will see the Paul Robbins Ski Journalism Award presented to Linda Adams and Sporty Bell.

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October 14 – Nordic Ski Evolution/Revolution
Salute the New Cool of Nordic Skiing: Rally with Today’s Superstars and Past Heroes

Visit the newly redesigned long term exhibits on the Museum’s second floor, including Nordic Ski Evolution/Revolution.

The afternoon will consist of three panels that highlight the past, present and future of cross country ski areas, technology, coaching, and youth development. Panels begin at 1 with cross country ski areas, 2:30-3:45 will be technique and coaching, and 3:45-5pm will be equipment. A cash bar with buffet dinner will follow. At 7:30, the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum Nordic Hall of Fame Inductees will be available for questions and answers.

Panelists include Johannes von Trapp, Tony Clark, Joe Pete Wilson, Charlie Yerrick,

Judy Geer and Dick Dreissigacker (Craftsbury), Mike Hussey (Rikert), Jere Linehan (Strafford), Charlie Yerrick (Trapp), Bob Gray, John Tidd (EPSTI/PSIA), Janice Fleetwood Bean (EPSTI/PSIA), Bob Gray, John Tidd (EPSTI/PSIA), Janice Fleetwood Bean (EPSTI/PSIA), Carol Van Dyke (Bill Koch League/Stowe Nordic Outing Club), Justin Beckwith (Green Mountain Valley School), Pepa Miloucheva (Director of Competitive Skiing at Craftsbury), Zack Caldwell, Graham Lonetto (Edgewise), Tim Reynolds (Craftsbury), Trina Hosmer, Peter Graves, Jan Reynolds, Murray Banks and more….

Tickets are $15 for dinner, $5 for any of the panel discussions and includes admission to the Museum

Thank you to our sponsors Stowe Nordic Outing Club, The Cushman Design Group, Dave and Trina Hosmer, Ole’s Cross Country Ski Area.

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October 21 – Paul Robbins Journalism Award

The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum cordially invites you to the Induction Ceremony and Dinner in celebration of

– Charles Minot Dole (1899-1976)
– D. Trowbridge Elliman
– Leslie Thompson Hall
– Tiger Shaw

Paul Robbins Ski Journalism Award presented to Linda Adams and Sporty Bell

Trapp Family Lodge Event Tent

– 4:30pm – Welcome reception
– 5:00-6:00pm – Induction Ceremony
– 6:30pm – Buffet dinner and music by Hall of Fame member Larry Damon and his band Z-Jaz

For complete biographical information, click HERE.

Tickets $60 members, $85 non-members

To purchase tickets, click HERE. For more details, click HERE.

For more information, contact Meredith Scott, Director/Curator, mscott@vtssm.com, 802.253.9911.

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Support the Museum
– Buy a raffle ticket.
– Renew or become a member.
– Make a donation.

More than $35,000 has been raised towards our $50,000 goal. Help us complete the 10th anniversary campaign.

Raffle tickets:
1. One-night stay in Hotel Jay Studio for four people, lift tickets and water park use included.
2. Two, four-day, adult, non-holiday, lift tickets to Stowe Mountain Resort with a guided tour by Historian Brian Lindner.
3. Scott Mega Dozer powder skis (185cm) with Marker Griffon bindings.
4. Burton set up: Custom Board, Cartel Bindings and Hail Boots (can be exchanged at the Burton Flagship Store for sizing regardless of men’s or women’s).
5. Two-night stay at the Trapp Family Lodge with trail use included.

Click here to buy tickets. $25 each or 5 for $100. You can pick the item you want to win.

Membership: Click the box for more details. 100% of membership income supports our exhibits and programs.

Donations: Click here for our 10th anniversary budget. We are almost there!

See the new exhibit One Track Mind: A Celebration of Snowboarding from Burton’s Archives.

More on the 10th Anniversary Celebrations and the museum HERE.

April 13, 2012 (Burlington, VT) – University of Vermont senior skier Amy Glen appeared in this week’s Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd section following her photo-finish victory to win the NCAA national title in the 15k classic event at the 2012 NCAA Ski Championships. Click HERE to see the Faces in the Crowd feature.

Glen beat out Dartmouth’s Sophie Caldwell by 1/10 of a second and two inches. The win was Glen’s first collegiate victory in her final collegiate race.

Glen’s individual victory helped the Catamounts capture the overall NCAA National Championship. It was UVM’s first NCAA title since 1994 and the sixth in the program’s history.

Vermont piled up 832 points, the most ever by an NCAA Champion, and won the national championship by a record-breaking 161 points.

The University of Vermont ski team and men’s basketball squad will be honored on Sunday, April 15 with a parade down Church Street starting at 12 p.m.

February 06, 2012 (Stowe, VT)  – Dartmouth College all but locked up the overall win at the UVM Carnival on Day 2 (Sat., Feb. 4) with a plethora of top-10 results across all disciplines at both Stowe Mountain Resort and the Trapp Family Lodge. The Big Green leads with 675 points, UNH is second with 558.5 and Middlebury sits third with 538. Vermont, competing with a shortened alpine roster, is fourth with 493 points, but team position changes beyond the win are expected tomorrow when the carnival concludes with the freestyle Nordic races.

In the women’s 5k classic at the Trapp Family Lodge, Dartmouth’s Sophie Caldwell took the win and her teammate Annie Hart was third. Caitlin Patterson of UVM squeezed between them for second. The third scoring skier for Dartmouth was Erika flowers in seventh, ensuring the team win. Middlebury Panther Patrick Johnson secured his second victory of the season today in the men’s 10k classic. Dartmouth’s Sam Tarling was second and UVM’s Franz Bernstein was third. Big Green skiers Eric Packer and Gordon Vermeer added critical team points in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Day 3
It was a picturesque bluebird day at the Trapp Family Lodge Sunday (Feb. 5) where Dartmouth claimed the overall win at the UVM Carnival with 916 points. On an impressive Nordic performance, Vermont rebounded from fourth place the previous day to finish in second with 735 points. Middlebury was a scant six points behind in third.

Vermont’s Caitlin Patterson, whose last win came in the opening freestyle race at the Bates Carnival, grew weary of numerous second place finishes since and skated to victory in the UVM Carnival women’s 10k freestyle race. “Sophie’s [Caldwell] had the past three wins, so I wanted to come back with a reply. When I got here I was extremely excited just to ski, let alone race, because of the great atmosphere and our team energy.” Caldwell of Dartmouth was second, her teammate Erika Flowers was third, and Catamount Lucy Garrec was fourth. The UVM women’s positive energy enabled them to best the Big Green in team scoring for the race.

Middlebury’s Patrick Johnson, the story of the weekend, skated to his second win of the carnival by a noteworthy forty-two second margin over Dartmouth’s Sam Tarling. Johnson noted, “Every race right now, I feel like I have a good chance to win. This course has a long uphill finish, and I was definitely really tired at that point which means I was able to put everything out there.” His fellow scoring Panthers finished eighth and eleventh. Franz Bernstein of UVM was third and his teammate Alexander Howe was fourth.

Final team scores at the conclusion of the UVM Carnival:
1. Dartmouth College – 916
2. University of Vermont – 735
3. Middlebury College – 729
4. University of New Hampshire – 698
5. Bates College – 534
6. Williams College – 512
7. Colby College – 576
8. St. Lawrence University – 441
9. Harvard University – 357
10. St. Michael’s College – 300
11. Plymouth State University – 213
12. Bowdoin College – 137.5
13. Boston College – 111.5
14. Colby-Sawyer College – 106
15. University of Maine Presque Isle – 72

January 30, 2012 – The largest Nordic ski event in the east, the 31st Annual Craftsbury Marathon, took place on Sunday. Hundreds of participants of all ages challenged themselves on 25km and 50km classic routes that traversed the spectacular Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.

Ada Peters finished first in the women’s 25k competition, with Steven Mangan grabbing top honours in the 25k men’s event. In the 50k distance, it was Clare Egan (GRP) who came out on top in the women’s race, and Nils Koons (Rossignol) secured victory over the men’s field.

The 2012 edition of the TD Bank Craftsbury Marathon was a blend of old and new. Typifying this was the return of the new “old” course: the point to point! The Center partnered with Highland Lodge to bring back the popular point to point course traversing some of the most scenic ski terrain in New England. Extensive trail work has vastly improved the trail, removing bumps, sharp corners, steep chutes, and poor drainage on the connector. The trail work also allowed grooming of the entire course this year with Craftsbury’s team of PistenBullys.

Overall results HERE.
Age group results HERE.

Results (brief)

25km Women
1. Ada Peters
2. Julia Harrison
3. Karina Packer

25km Men
1. Steven Mangan
2. Silas Talbot
3. Hans Halvorsen

50km Women
1. Clare Egan
2. Sage Morrison
3. Robyn Anderson

50km Men
1. Nils Koons
2. Eli Enman
3. Scott Lacy

October 27, 2011 (Putney, VT) – We’ve been sort of quiet on the website lately. It’s not because we don’t have anything to say. As usual, this time of year, it’s because we don’t have a lot of free time to say it. Ski season has definitely arrived.

A brief history of Caldwell Sport mark II (abridged)
We moved from Boulder to Vermont at the end of May. We had two trips to Europe for factory visits and ski picking (June and August). We bought a new house/shop with the closing coming at the very end of August (just in time to watch the flood waters from Hurricane Irene come up and lick our toes). We started right in with building out the new shop, and didn’t quite finish before it was time to get rolling on work.

With help from Pat and Will O’Brien and Noah Hoffman, we got the grinder moved from Uncle John’s sugarhouse down to the new shop on a flatbed trailer in the pouring rain. About three hours after we moved the grinder the sugarhouse driveway washed out in a deluge that could only be appropriately appreciated on rollerskis. Ask Pat and Noah about it sometime. According to the official Osgood meteorogical and hydrological records, it rained 4.5 inches that day. OK – that part wasn’t all that abridged (sorry).

Back in the early Summer I placed an order for new grinder supplies, including new stones. Lars has been working on a new stone compound for several years now, and the first “final” production of the new “blue” stones was finally in the works. I had tested the new stone compound previously, and have been eager to get ahold of the new materials for use in developing finer and colder structures. So, we agreed that we would wait for the new stones to be ready for shipment, which meant cutting it close for delivery – probably receiving the materials in late September. Well, it’s now late October, and due to a series of unfortunate occurrences and the vagaries of the international shipping industy, I still don’t have the new stones.

What that means is that we’ve been slow making final structure, because it’s more difficult to do good work on the old stone. We’ve finished about 130 pairs that we really needed to get done, and we’ve finished them to a very high standard. But we’ve held most of the work for the arrival of the new stones. So we’ve now got a huge backlog of flattened and polished skis eagerly awaiting final structure. Later this week Wayne Johansson is bringing his stone down from Gatineau Nordique Sport in the Ottawa area to help me crank out a whole bunch of skis. Thanks Wayne! To the left you can see some of the pending batch. I can’t get it all in one picture. That photo there is about 300 pairs of skis. OK – that part was also unabridged (sorry).

Work has been going well. It’s a small operation – a family business – so everybody has to do everything. That means that Amy handles all the accounting, billing, bill-paying, data entry, ordering, phone answering, binding mounting, wax scraping, etc. Since I’m really busy, she’s also running the grinder for flattening and polishing. It’s a pretty good system.

New Skis
One of the tricks to restarting an old business is figuring out who your customers are, and how much business you’re going to do. This isn’t a big deal with service, because the overhead is fixed and there isn’t much in the way of inventory (some service wax, grinder supplies, etc). However, new skis are a big deal! When we were working in Vermont previously, we would take orders, and then go select the skis to fill the orders from the manufacturer’s US distribution warehouse. Our last year in Vermont I spent 14 days in the Fall picking skis in the Fischer warehouse in new Hampshire. The model has changed significantly since then. Now, instead of picking skis using a flex tester, I use my hands and eyes. I’ve gotten better at spotting what I want, and the manufacturers have gotten better at pairing skis. So more time is spent identifying good skis, and less time is spent identifying matched pairs.

I also travel to Europe to visit factories and talk to the racing department guys who work with the skis all the time. This helps us understand what those guys are trying to do, which makes it easier to recognize when they do it well! I pick inventory from some companies when I visit the racing departments in Europe. The long and short of it is, we have to start the season with our inventory in-hand, and we don’t go pick skis to order in the Fall. All of this adds up to a considerable risk in ski inventory. We have a lot of astonishingly good skis, but it’s still a lot of skis that need to be paid for. So this time of year always produces anxiety. Do we have enough skis? Do we have too many skis? So far sales have been quite good, but we’ll keep pushing that end of things as snow season gets firmly established. About half of our profits come from service, and about half come from new skis. So you’ll hear more about this!

OK – back to work!

May 09, 2011 – VTXC masters training begins this week and will continue through August. The group will meet every Monday at 4 tentatively in the Stowe area. Training focus on steady-state intervals, speed, agility, strength and flexibility. Additional weekly options include group mountain bike rides, paddling, yoga, barefoot running and more. There will be a suggested donation to the VTXC racing team depending on participation. For more info please email vtxc.skiteam@gmail.com.

March 17, 2011 (Burlington, VT) – Forty-five adventurous skiers from throughout New England and New York stood on the starting line at Trapp Family Lodge for the 4th Annual Catamount Trail Backcountry Challenge Race and Tour on March 13th.

As the valley residents were experiencing rain in the lower elevations, these hardy backcountry participants were treated to lightly falling snow and up to five inches of fresh cover in the elevated mountainous areas. Unlike other Nordic ski races and tours, the participants were totally self sufficient on this remote backcountry trail. The 17km course in one of the most famous and well used sections of the Catamount Trail, generally skied from South to North. Race and Tour participants skied it in reverse fashion, which entailed a 2300 ft vertical climb and a 1300 ft hair raising descent off Bolton Mountain to the Bolton Valley Nordic Center below.

The touring division was given a head start before the competitive skiers raced off the start line 90 minutes later. While the touring division was able to enjoy the incredible scenery on their leisurely tour up and over Bolton Mountain, the racers were giving 100% of their effort to reach the finish line in the shortest possible time.

In the hotly contested field of elite racers, it was Eli Enman of Huntington Vermont who broke free of the main pack early in the race to set a new course record of 1:30:30, improving on his winning time and record from the 2010 race. Olympian Marc Gilbertson of Hyde Park and Eric Tremble of Jericho raced head to head down the mountain with Gilbertson making up ten seconds in the last kilometer to place second while Tremble nailed down the third position in 1:34:50.

The women’s race developed into a similar scenario as the men’s competition with Kate Crawford of Essex breaking free from the pack early in the race and setting a new course record in 2:05:22. The second and third positions were up for grab as Brie and Tyne Pike-Sprenger of West Dover, Vermont raced head to head throughout the entire race. Brie’s alpine racing experience paid off in the final descent, edging out her sister Tyne by two seconds to take second in a time of 2:13:13.

Following their heroic efforts over the grueling course, all participants were treated to a meal and over $2000 in donated raffle prizes and awards. Sponsors included Outdoor Gear Exchange, Rossignol Ski Company, Darn Tough Socks, Seventh Generation, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Silverwear Jewery. A special thanks goes out Trapp Family Lodge, Bolton Valley Resort, and the Bolton Valley Ski Patrol for making this Catamount Trail Association event so successful. Proceeds from this event will help protect the 300-mile Catamount Trail.

Full results HERE.

February 07, 2011 (Stowe, VT) – Despite and evening of crazy winter weather that included thunder and lightning at Trapp Family Lodge, morning arrived to greet racers to another day of great skiing on the 5K race loop at Trapp Family Lodge host to today’s TD Bank Eastern Cup events. Today’s contests included 5, 10, and 15 kilometer classic races.

The day started with the J2 Boys 5K. Mount Mansfield Nordic’s Ben Hegman (Huntington, VT) earned the first TD Bank Eastern Cup J2Q win of his career with Cambridge Sports Union’s Hamish McEwen (Weston, MA) once again in second. Gunstock’s Jack Schrupp (Gilford, NH) was third.

The J2 Girls were next and Julia Kern (Waltham, MA) yesterday’s winner from Cambridge Sports Union, made it 2-for-2 on the weekend with a big 25-second victory. Cate Brams (Belmont, MA) gave CSU the top two spots, with Stratton’s Brooke Mooney (Peru, VT) just 1.3 seconds behind in third.

With the top collegiate skiers heading home after the conclusion of the UVM Winter Carnival, the women’s and men’s fields did not have the same depth as Saturday, but did still feature athletes like Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s Hannah Dreissigacker and Patrick O’brien, a handful of fast Canadians, last weekend’s double-winner Corey Stock, Olympian Justin Freeman, and local standout Eli Enman.

In the women’s 10K classic, Hannah Dreissigacker (Craftsbury, VT) stormed out of the gate to a big first lap lead that she was able to ride to a 50-second win over the top junior, second place Corey Stock (Lincoln, MA/CSU.) Caroline Drolet, from Club Nordique Mont-Ste-Anne in Quebec was third. Ford Sayre’s Ellen Chandler earned the masters win.

The men were next and their three lap race turned into a battle between Olympian and masters racer Justin Freeman (New Hampton, NH) and a skier twelve years his junior, Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s Patrick O’Brien. Freeman’s lead lengthened by just a few seconds each lap, but it was enough in the end for a 16-second victory. Another masters racer, Eli Enman (Huntington, VT / VTXC) took the final spot on the podium. In a race dominated by masters and seniors, 7th place Nathan Weber from Nakkertok Ski Club (Ontario, Canada) was the top junior.

Today’s races were sanctioned by FIS and USSA and were contested on the 5 kilometer John Morton-designed and FIS homologated racing loop at Trapp Family Lodge.

After two straight weekends of TD Bank Eastern Cup action, the skiers get a break before the Finals at Hanover and Holderness, New Hampshire February 19 and 20. At the conclusion of racing on the 20th, the team will be named to defend New England’s “Alaska Cup” title at this year’s Junior Nationals, as well as overall 2011 TD Bank Eastern Cup Champions.

Results HERE.