Stowe Derby

"Crazy....but a helluva lot of fun" were the words used by my husband to describe his first experience at the Stowe Derby.

Dubbed one of the oldest and most unique ski races in North America, it was voted the top sports event in the state by readers of Vermont Sports Magazine.

This years event is scheduled to take place on February 24, 2008. And what an event it will be! Hundreds of competitors will participate racing from the top of Mt. Mansfield(Stowe Mountain) to the finish line in the Stowe Village...10 miles of challenging terrain. The course has a total vertical drop of around 3,000 feet. Just imagine bright Lycra racing outfits flying past on thin Nordic Skis down an alpine ski slope...Crazy... as my husband said. The spectators provide half the fun lining the trail while taking a break from schussing down their own trial in the more traditional alpine fashion.

Race Course Details

Registration Details

The race was originally a personal challenge set back in 1945 between two great skiers; Austrian Sepp Ruschp hired to head the new ski team at Stowe and world famous mountaineer Erling Strom. Ruschp prevailed and a tradition was born.

Read more about the race at Mt Mansfield Ski and Snowboard Club who now host the race along with their sponsors.

The race is broken down into four divisions: Long Course freestyle, Long Course classical, Short Course, Derby Meister

Short Course: Designed for kids ages 6 to 13 or those who prefer to avoid the rigors of a long and sustained descent. This race is approximately 6km. The course begins in a mass start at the Stowe Recreation Path Parking Lot at 9:00 A.M. next to the Alpenrose Motel and follows the final leg of the Long Course. Course subject to change.

Long Course Races: 16 km course. We offer two separate divisions- skating and classical. The Skating race starts at 10 A.M. with five racers every 30 seconds. The Classical race starts at 12 NOON with the same starting format. The track will be set all the way to the finish line for classical racers. Computer timing stops at 2 P.M. If you are caught skating in the classical division you will be disqualified! If you are unsure of which course to sign up for, most likely you will want to enter the Skating (Freestyle) course. Please contact MMSC if you have further questions.

Derby Meister: Derby Meister participants compete in back-to-back Skating and Classical races and are included in the individual Skating and Classical results in addition to Derby Meister results. Racers do not have to use the same pair of skis for the Classical and Skating races but must use the same pair to complete each of those individual races. The Derby Meister is for experts only and limited to the first 100 entrants.

Photo courtesy of the Mt. Mansfield Ski and Snowboard Club

Woman and Surfing

Did you know that for the first time in history the number of woman entering the sport of surfing has surpassed men. Traditionally, surfing has been dominated by men, but not anymore. Some statistics indicate that there are twice as many women entering the sport as men.
"There are an estimated 260,000 women surfing in America, and female participation is growing twice as fast as that of men, according to the Surf Industry Manufacturer’s Association. The number of female surfers jumped 15 percent last year alone."
Read More
And those are statistics from as far back as 1998. In the last three years, I have seen an explosion of young and not so young female surfers at our local beach break in Narragansett, Rhode Island. On any given day, I witness just as many women in the water as men...sometimes more.

About five years ago, My daughter was interested in a surf camp here in Rhode Island. Having tried surfing 12 years earlier but never really getting the knack for it, I thought it would be fun to enroll myself. I have been surfing ever since. At forty five I may not be the youngest female in the water but I am certainly not the oldest one either. In the early 1980's, "Gidget" Lee Ferrera, began surfing at the age of 21. She was recently featured in an article in the Rhode Island monthly on the diehard pioneers of surfing here in the Ocean State.

Photograph by Dana Smith
Rhode Island Monthly November 2007
She surfed for love before she loved to surf. “I had a boyfriend who surfed, and if I ever wanted to see him I had to go in the water,” says the Peace Dale resident. “That first time felt like dancing on water. I still get that feeling, that ‘Yeeaaahhhhh!’ What a rush!” A year and a half later, she was surfing competitively. Ferrera was a Northeast division champion in the Eastern Surfing Association and still competes, recently scooping first place in its thirty-five-and-up women’s division. Her first board—a 9'6" 1967 David Nuuhiwa longboard—still “rides like a gem.”
This article appears in the November 2007 issue of Rhode Island Monthly.


I love this paragraph run in a SurfPulse publication back in 2002 titled Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,
"Today, however, a whole new culture is emerging within women's surfing: surfing for fun. While previous rises in popularity revolved primarily around professional surfing, today's surfer-girl to be isn't necessarily aspiring to be a traveling pro. Rather, she may just want to go down to the local beach to ride a longboard, hang out with her friends, and enjoy the ocean. This represents a 180 degree shift in both mentality and image for women's surfing. Instead of the previously serious, often very aggressive representation of women in the surf, today's portrayals are centered simply on women having fun."
Written by Dane Larson


So this is for all you women out there!!! You are never too old or too young to start surfing. It may just turn out to be the most exciting thing you have ever done. If you need a little inspiration, check out this link to my a favorite video clip of an amazing longboarder by the name of Summer Romero that can be found on the online surf magazine Jetty Girl.

If you are ready to take the next step there are numerous camps, clinics and resorts that cater to the female surfer. Here are a handful to get you started.
Surf Diva
Las Olas...Surf Safaris for Women
Pura Vida Adventure
Boardfolio.com...surf directory

Yours Truly...Costa Rica 2007

New Lodge at Craftsbury Nordic Center

We just returned from Vermont after the long Martin Luther King holiday weekend. As usual we split our days between Burke Mountain and the Craftsbury Nordic Center. I justed wanted to post some pictures of the Craftsbury Nordic Center's new Nordic Lodge. We witnessed the work in progress this summer and have been anxious to see the interior. Although a few conveniences and finishing touches need to be added, such as more cubbies for stuffing bags, hooks to hang things on and a bench or two in front of the Wood Stove, the new lodge is open, sunny and bright. It also boasts a second floor with a large table for eating and plenty of seating.

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