Living the Dream
Merisa Sherman is a committed ski bum October to June, but don’t worry she enjoys the warmer months too paddling, hiking, biking, running… there’s so much to enjoy in the mountains of Killington and valleys surrounding — Merisa does it all! Live vicariously through here adventures here.
211
Stories
2
Writers
Living the Dream: Choosing Killington
May 8, 2024
My mom moved here, to Killington, seven years ago, after the passing of my father. She was the first widow of her friend group and no one knew what to do with her in a world where everyone was coupled up. She was lonely and alone, so when the needlepoint shop that she worked at started…
Lot life
May 1, 2024
Three vibrant young 20-somethings were just gathering up, skis on their shoulders as they walked from their vehicle to the trailhead. Their day packs were small, ready for whatever fast and light adventure they had chosen for the day. But they had definitely been here before, definitely had a plan and definitely ended the day…
Loon vs. Canada goose: A battle for Goose Poop Island
April 24, 2024
I am pretty sure she was a little disappointed when I turned into the Kent Pond parking lot. Can someone really get excited about the 100 acre pond that you pass by all year long on the way to the resort or to work? It is definitely not expected when someone says “Will you take…
Spring slush, it’s fun to ski and paddle through
April 17, 2024
Settling into my lawn chair in the parking lot, I extend both legs outward. My toes are pointing straight up, my forward lean angle set by my ski boots — super soggy and full of water. I don’t want to even think about touching my wet socks. And the aroma that wafts through the parking…
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Boring winter gives way to exciting spring
April 10, 2024
I found myself stopping every few minutes. Not to catch my breath or recalibrate my route, but simply to stop moving for a moment and let myself really take it all in. Too much all at once, when there hasn’t been enough at all. From one of the most boring winters that I can…
Vermont and its bipolar spring
April 3, 2024
I woke up this morning to the sounds of birds chirping outside my window. And not just one lonely, mixed up and confused bird desperately looking for a bite to eat buried underneath the snow. No, this was a plethora of birds, belting out their happy morning songs on another beautifully warm day. Last week’s…
Livin’ the Dream: Bumps in the sun, au naturel
March 27, 2024
By Merisa Sherman I came over the crest, and my heart skipped a beat. I wasn’t ready for this kind of greatness. Who really was expecting something that I don’t remember witnessing since I was a child? A little one at that. But there it was, laid out in all its glory for everyone. Well,…
Women’s History Month: let’s bring more ladies along!
March 20, 2024
I know Vermont loves to trick us with the weather, but come on! This week has been absolutely ridiculous! I don’t know if it was the viral stomach infection I got messing with my mind or what, but I think Sunday had about five seasons all rolled into one 12-hour period. Between the pouring rain, sunshine,…
My skis, hero snow
March 6, 2024
I love hero snow. I love the feeling of safety it provides, like there is no way my edges are going to give out no matter how aggressively I throw my skis out from underneath me. I know the hero snow will be there to catch me. Maybe it is because I don’t tune my…
Livin’ the Dream: Quintessential East Coast steeps
February 29, 2024
Author’s note: I use the male gender here to describe the skiers because women are usually not stupid enough to ski Lower O when it sucks. At least they didn’t this past weekend. Living here in Killington we just get spoiled, even with a desk job. Well, a moveable desk job, that is. This morning, I have…
Livin’ the Dream: Fresh tracks, the joy of a surprise powder day!
February 21, 2024
It wasn’t supposed to snow. Like there wasn’t an inkling that there would be anything coming out of the sky at all. It was predicted to be a normal grey Vermont day, nothing special scheduled at all except for the KMS Future Stars race. But Vermont weather is never what you expect it to be.…
Livin’ the Dream: Safdie and the Killington Village: we’re in good hands
February 15, 2024
My mom had left me a cardboard box filled with papers and what looked to be just a bunch of junk mail. So I left it in my car trunk for a few weeks, procrastinating in the hope that this box would just somehow vanish instead of being forced to acknowledge its own existence. But…
Perfecting the life of a ‘ski bum’
February 7, 2024
When I first moved to Killington in the early 2000s, I was able to skin right out my door and into the woods. I mean, literally. On a snowy day, I could put my skis on the walkway, make a couple strides through the parking area and then climb a plowed berm into the woods…
Livin’ the Dream: Bodies in flow
January 31, 2024
I love a good party. And by good party, I mean one where everyone is on the dance floor, free of their inhibitions and simply loving life. The ones where your vision starts to blur and all that surrounds you is the sound of music and the feel of the dance floor beneath your feet.…
Livin’ the Dream: The weight of snowy eyelashes
January 17, 2024
It is quiet. Almost eerily so if you aren’t used to it. All I can hear is the squeak of my skins as they slide across the snow and the sometimes random clicking of a binding or a boots here or there. The forest is so quiet I can even hear my pole planting…
Livin’ the Dream: Here’s to chapsticks!
January 10, 2024
My dad always kept a chapstick in the driver’s side door of any vehicle he ever owned. And he must have kept one in a pocket somewhere, because I can vividly remember him being able to pass me a chapstick whenever I asked him for one. No matter where we were, my dad was…
Living the Dream: Thriving in survival mode
January 3, 2024
Living the Dream By Merisa Sherman Last week was probably one of the most difficult ski weeks I have ever experienced in my life. I’ve skied in that much precipitous weather for one day, maybe two. But an entire week of water pouring off the brim of your hood — this was a week…
Living the Dream: Thriving in survival mode
January 3, 2024
Living the Dream By Merisa Sherman Last week was probably one of the most difficult ski weeks I have ever experienced in my life. I’ve skied in that much precipitous weather for one day, maybe two. But an entire week of water pouring off the brim of your hood — this was a week…
Livin’ the Dream: New Year’s resolutions
December 28, 2023
Everything I need to know about life, I learned from skiing. Right? Well, I have at least learned enough things from skiing that I should be able to translate those into my everyday life. Skiing teaches us so many things, like respect gets respect, body awareness and how (hopefully) to anticipate the reactions of…
