By Sandra Dee Owens At some point in my life, I decided to go solo. I did not get divorced, or leave my friends, family, or home. I simply started minding my own business. While raising our daughters in my 20s and 30s, I had neighborhood girlfriends also raising children. We would frequently walk, hike,…

By Victoria Gaither Arthritis is usually associated with older people, but a teenager in North Chittenden is on a mission to show another face of the debilitating condition.  Dylan Aker, 16, has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which causes joint inflammation, pain, and stiffness.  “For the first year, I was stiff in the morning. It would be…

By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Vermont-schooled Mikaela Shiffrin began the latest World Cup season by skiing through a snowstorm on Killington Mountain to win the only U.S. stop on the international women’s racing circuit. “I hope that everybody enjoyed watching,” the Alpine champion told a national television audience, “because that was about as much show as we have.”…

By Karen D. Lorentz The season-pass landscape has erupted with many options that can be perplexing to skiers and riders trying to decide which pass to take advantage of for an upcoming season. Multi-mountain passes have driven down the cost of skiing for people who ski or ride more than a few days each winter.…

Woodstock Union High School and Killington Mountain School alumna Ava Mattsson skied to an 11th-place finish in the women’s giant slalom at the 2022 NCAA Championships in Park City, Utah on Thursday morning, March 10. The Bridgewater native is now a senior at St. Lawrence University. It was her second trip to the NCAA Championships.…

By Katy Savage Growing up, Spencer Wood didn’t know he had a disability. Wood, a Pittsfield native, was diagnosed as a baby but his parents didn’t tell him until he was 10 and they didn’t let his disability get in his way. “We didn’t want it to be a crutch,” his mother Barb Wood said.…

By Brooke Geery Pico played host to the second edition of 2021/22 Mini Shred Madness last Saturday, Feb. 26. Despite warm temps in the leadup melting out much of the snow, the park crew was able to put together a special setup at the bottom of the Exhibition trail for the kids to enjoy, with…

15 skiers and riders honored for perfect record this season Killington Resort celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the 100 Day Club on Feb. 12, on its 100th day of the season. The 100 Day Club is a badge of honor for Killington Resort regulars. As part of the club, guests receive an exclusive hat, sticker,…

By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Vermont-schooled snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis has won her second gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. The Stratton Mountain School graduate first snagged gold at the women’s snowboard cross Wednesday, Feb. 9 —16 years after infamously stumbling in the homestretch of the 2006 inaugural race — the first domino in a line…

By Brooke Geery Burlington-based besties Mercedes Ortega and Hailey Ranconi brought their female-focused camp event, Park Affair, to Killington Resort on Saturday, Feb. 12. The goal of the event is to bring together anyone who identifies as a she/her in a supportive environment, where park riding skills can be learned, confidence gained and limits pushed,…

From Snowshed to Royal Flush, Killington’s ski trail names contain history, humor By Karen D. Lorentz From Snowshed to Royal Flush to Superstar, the naming of trails at Killington contains interesting histories and, at times, humorous stories. The most historic name is Snowshed. The Snowshed trail was named after the snowsheds built when logging occurred…

By Mark Bushnell/VT Digger If Fred Harris’ diary is any guide, it’s a miracle that skiing ever caught on. “[L]anded hard,” the Brattleboro native wrote one January day in 1904. “Tore the strap off the buckle part of my footgear. Hurt my back some. My skee [ski] went away and left me on another dump.…

By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin stood atop the Beijing 2022 Olympics giant slalom hill as a television announcer recalled how she won a gold medal in the same race at the last Winter Games. Seconds later, the 26-year-old fell cold on the steep, slippery course, wiping out for only the 14th time in…

By Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Vermont skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle has scored Olympic silver in the Super-G at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Cochran-Siegle, 29, of Starksboro won his medal almost 50 years to the day his mother, Barbara Ann Cochran, snagged gold at the 1972 competition in Sapporo, Japan. Cochran-Siegle skied “a near perfect run,” according…

By Katy Savage Hannah Soar didn’t get a medal in her first Olympics on Feb. 6, but that didn’t matter to those who watched her grow up skiing. About 200 people got up before the sun on Sunday to cheer Soar on at Killington’s Snowshed Lodge for a 6 a.m. watch party. The room had…