Skiing: the winter wonderland of Vermont
Skiing Vermont's winter wonderland.
BY CANDY SMITH
Flying down the trail at amazing speeds, cutting first tracks on fresh powder. Here, the only fear is having too much fun. Skiing, and all that it involves, is a hobby, an addiction, and a lifestyle. At Green Mountain College, the sport comes in all varieties – from the professional racing to the gnarly backcountry rides, which are numerous in the great state of Vermont.
Bruce Saxman, director of GreenMAP, has been skiing since he was six. Three years ago, he began telemark skiing because he wanted a setup he could use in the front-country and because, as he put it, he was “bored” with alpine skiing. Now a certified telemark ski instructor, Saxman takes the already risky sport to new extremes – ”shredding pow” without a heel attachment for his boots. According to Saxman, there can be difficulties in the transition from alpine to telemark skiing. “It’s hard to try something new if you just want to ski. It takes a long time to learn, so if you’re already a really good alpine skier, it’s hard to learn all over again,” Saxman explained.
Saxman also spends a lot of time skiing in the backcountry. “You don’t have to deal with crowds or lift lines…the snow is fresher, deeper, and it’s a lot more rewarding to really earn your turns,” he noted. Backcountry ski trips are frequently offered through GreenMAP, such as a day trip on February 25, and two weekend-long trips on March 27-29 and May 1-3. “Around here, it’s about knowing where to go, a lot of the places are kept secret…I keep some places secret,” Saxman said. In addition, it can also be expensive to get a good backcountry set up.
On a different end of the spectrum is competitive skiing. Senior Chris Wetzel is one of four men on Green Mountain’s Men’s Ski Team. There are also four women who compose the women’s ski team, including Wetzel’s sister Diann. Wetzel began skiing at four, and had a stint with snowboarding, but once he started racing on skis, he never went back.
According to Wetzel, there are some big differences between recreational skiing and competition skiing. “The biggest difference… is the level of preparation. For competitions you have to have your edges sharpened to the point of a razor blade so they can hook to the ice,” he pointed out. “You have your skis to a given temperature on the race day and once you’re done with waxing, you need to scrape all the wax off and go over the base with a series of brushes. The main pressure in competitions is being able to face your fears whatever they may be and come out on top.” Putting the competition aside is easy for members of the team, though. “The best part is the friends you make. There isn’t a whole lot of competition between teams, so we all joke around with each other and hangout whenever we can,” Wetzel said.
Short URL: http://www.themountaineer.org/?p=337
Posted by Candy Smith
on Feb 11, 2009 Filed under Adventure.
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