First Annual Bolton Valley Splitboarding Festival
This past Saturday we were fortunate enough to be invited to participate in the first ever splitboard festival in Vermont. If you’re not familiar with splitboarding it’s just like snowboarding, only the board splits apart into two skis so you can skin (climb) up the mountain/slope before snowboarding back down. It’s super cool and a great way for the snowboarding crowd to get some exercise and get away from the resort crowds.
At most backcountry events skiers are the focus, but not here. Events like this festival are special because they are snowboarder centric. During the day the Outdoor Gear Exchange, Skirack,Alpine Shop, Voile, Venture Snowboards, Mtn Approach, and Grassroots Powdersurfing were all on hand with demos for participants to try out for free. Here at the CTA we were responsible for the Uphill 101 Course where we would take small groups of new uphillers for a short 45-60 minute tour around Bolton and discuss the finer aspects of uphill travel, transitions, skin care, layering, and what to bring in your pack.
Special thanks to Lost Nation Brewery for donating beer, Bolton Valley for being willing to host this event and helping make it happen, and to Alex Showerman for organizing the whole thing!
We had a lot of fun, and it sounds like this is going to be an annual event. Stay tuned. As soon as we have a date for next year’s event we will let you know.
Final Saturday Night Lights Event at Stowe
After the Splitboard Festival at Bolton ended it was time to jump in the car and head up to Stowe Mountain for the last Saturday Night Lights event of the season. These are uphill events underneath the Gondola at Stowe and were a fun way to get out in the evening for some exercise and meet other like-minded uphill folk. Saturday night the weather was a little soupy, but the surface conditions were soft enough making for enjoyable turns. These events will definitely be back next year and we’re working on ways to make them even more fun.
The Catamount Trail Classic Fundraising Tour
On Sunday we hosted our annual fundraising tour on Section 22 of the Catamount Trail between Bolton Valley Resort and the Trapp Family Lodge. I have to say that the day didn’t exactly start off on the right foot. When I woke up in Burlington it was raining and rain is never welcome at a ski event. Fortunately though, the rain was a little more solid once you got away from the lake and gained some elevation. Both Bolton and Trapps both had about an inch of new snow when we started, and it just kept snowing all day long.
In the end it turned out to be a great day of skiing in the woods. The visibility wasn’t great, but the turns were good, and group of people that came out to ski were all wonderful which made spending time in the skin track that much more enjoyable.
Thanks to everyone that participated, and to the Outdoor Gear Exchange, Red Hen Baking, Nutty Stephs, Vermont Smoke & Cure, Julbo USA, Bolton Valley Resort, and the Trapp Family Lodge. Together we raised ~$1000 of which 100% will go to support our youth ski program the Ski Cubs.
Happy Winter!
