With the spring rains starting to turn toward summer’s dry dirt, it may seem all out-of-season to write about skiing and ski adventures. But dreaming about skiing is a year-round pursuit, and at the CTA office it never stops! As far as we’re concerned, the ultimate Vermont winter adventure is to ski the Catamount Trail from the Massachusetts border to Canada, and all 31 sections in between. It’s a journey that requires physical endurance, ski technique, perseverance through a wide variety of snow and weather conditions, and a deep love of the winter woodlands. All told, it’s no mean feat, and in recent years no more than a few skiers have finished an End-to-End ski. (Note: Several finishers “blitz-skied” the CT in one season during the high-snow year of 2014-15, but since then all finishers have required more than one season to ski the Trail.)
In winter 2018, we had one skier, Tim Marr, who finished his End-to-End ski. Tim, who started his End-to-End mission in 2002, claims that he may have set the longest time that anyone has taken to complete the Catamount Trail. Sixteen years, whew! His experience really was “the longest ski” on North America’s longest backcountry ski trail.
How did Tim get started on his Odyssean quest to ski the CT? As it happens, his relationship with the trail began when he came to Vermont. “I moved to Bennington with my young family in 1990, and continued my lifelong hobby of cross country skiing, especially backcountry ski touring,” Tim wrote to me. “On the recommendation of a friend, one day in the mid 90’s I ventured to a ski trail along the Deerfield river in Wilmington and skied with my long skinny touring skis across 2 swinging bridges and onto the Catamount Trail.” Sounds like a great first day!
“A few years after discovering the Catamount trail, in 2000,” writes Tim, “I started my End-to-End adventure by skiing section 2, along the Harriman Reservoir with a group of friends, 2 of which later became End-to-Enders, Jim Goodine and Ray Canning. [Ed. note: we covered Jim’s End-to-End journey in this post from last year.] I wrote in my journal that I thought it might take as long as 10 years. Well, it ended up taking 18 years, but I finally finished my “golden spike” section, Section 24, on March 12, 2018, the day before turning 65.” That’s almost two decades of blue-blazed skiing, in everything from “perfect powder” on some sections to a “non-breaking crust formed by freezing rain” on Section 18. CT skiers are tough!
Tim might be our only 2018 End-to-Ender, but he’s hardly alone. One of our 2017 End-to-End skiers, Brian Sharlach, was kind enough to speak with me by phone about what he cherishes most from his time on the CT. Brian, who’s been a CTA member for 30 years, began his journey in the early days of the Catamount Trail when he saw blue blazes in the woods near the town of Bondville. Curious about the possibilities of long-distance nordic skiing, Brian skied Section 1 as a self-introduction that didn’t require too many logistics. Following on that southern introduction, he continued to ski sporadically each year, driving up from Connecticut to enjoy midwinter tours in the Bondville area.
By his account, Brian’s trajectory as an End-to-Ender really took off in 2009, when he began doing Multi-Day Tours with other End-to-Enders such as Sam Bartlett and Phil Kivlin, who were completing the CT in the 2008-09 seasons. As more of a social skier, Brian says, “I focused on doing Multi-Day Tours as much as possible.” Each winter he would tick off sections of the Catamount Trail, often with the same friends from year to year — Steve Fernandes, longtime trail chief and tour leader, was a consistent presence.”I didn’t realize that there would be ‘regulars’ on the Multi-Day Tours,” he says. The company was enjoyable and the end-of-the-day potlucks and parties made the social aspect even better. Brian also put in a plug for the safety aspect of touring in groups. “I’m not that wild about going into the woods in the winter alone, especially in an area that I don’t know that well,” he says.
In 2017, the year that Brian finished his End-to-End ski, he was still missing a few sections when Winter Storm Stella hit Vermont on March 14. With storm totals eclipsing three feet along much of the CT, Brian cashed in on outstanding vacation days at his work and headed north. The “snowpocalypse” allowed him to finish off his four remaining sections, and on March 25, Brian finished his ski on Section 12 South.
Past End-to-Enders have noted that the effects of three hundred-plus miles of skiing include fatigue, hunger, and a desire to sleep in one’s own bed for a few nights. On the mental side, however, skiers have a habit of becoming more observant after so many days out on the trail. Brian, when asked about wildlife encounters on the CT, sent photos of a set of trees that he came across near a pond on Section 8 that had been gnawed heavily by beavers. He also noted how much an End-to-End skier learns about trail lore and the natural history of Vermont, especially when skiing with resident Trail Chiefs such as Bill Hegman (Section 19) and Dave Burns (Section 31). Skiing the CT isn’t all physical, after all — like any long-distance trail, it’s also a learning experience.
Want to start your own End-to-End ski, or tick off more sections toward the goal? It’s only six months until the 2018-2019 ski season kicks off, after all! Check out the Ski the CT section on our website, including a Trip Planning section, an Interactive Map (new this year!), and a 2015 article about End-to-End skiing.
Even in May — Think Snow!
~Scott
