Today is a very special day at the CTA! According to this calendar detailing the schedule of the Catamount Nordic Ski Trail Ski Vermont ’84 Expedition. On this day–March 19, 1984–Steve Bushey, Paul Jarris, and Ben Rose completed the inaugural ski of the Catamount Trail. That’s 30 years ago today!
From the Press Release that accompanied this calendar:
Steve Bushey believes that a cross country ski trail running the length of Vermont holds great promise. Drawing from a collection of individual ski touring center maps, various Vermont cross country ski guidebooks, personal interviews, skiing explorations and a comprehensive collection of Vermont topographic maps, Bushey has pieced together a cross country ski trail from “end to end”; a Long Trail for skiers. The “Catamount Nordic Ski Trail” runs parallel to the Long Trail in many cases, but only at lower elevations, passing through or very close to almost two dozen Vermont ski touring centers. These centers are seen as the foundation of the entire route, since their trails compose a significant proportion of the route’s approximately 250 mile length and provide many necessary skier services in the sales, dining, and lodging categories.
Bushy, editor and compiler of Northern Cartographic’s “Vermont Cross Country Ski Atlas”, Paul Jarris, a fourth year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ben Rose, a recent Yale graduate and writer, will team together and on March 1, 1984 to ski north to Canada from the Massachusetts border. They plan to test the skiworthiness and hospitality of a route that in the future may become a well-used cross country trail and establish Vermont beyond dispute as the premier touring region in North America.
The future is here! The skiworthiness and hospitality of the Catamount Trail have been well tested and Vermont is–without doubt–a premier venue for nordic and backcountry skiing!
Join us today in celebrating our Founders and 30 years of skiing on the Catamount Trail!
Make a donation of $30 or more to our Trail Fund between now and Sunday March 23 and we’ll send you your very own CTA pint glass so you can help us celebrate!
