First Ski in Vermont Around Robert Frost Cabins

Alessandro, Kelly, Liam, and Massimo out skate skiing at Rikert Nordic Center on Sunday, February 3, 2019

I traveled to Vermont to see my son, Massimo, compete in the Middlebury Invite Swim Meet. [Proud parent warning: Not only did he swim personal bests in the 50-meter Freestyle and the 100-meter Freestyle, but he WON both races!] Hotels in Middlebury were booked up, so I rented a cabin at the Robert Frost Cabins up in the Green Mountains, about 25 minutes from town.

I woke up early on Saturday morning and went for a ski around our cabin on the Trillium Trail.

It is a tiny trail through the woods that connects with a snowmachine trail for a bit and then veers back to the cabins. It is just a mile, but it got me out in the woods before breakfast.

In between the morning and evening swim meets, Alessandro, Denali and I went up the mountain a bit further to Rikert Nordic Center on the Middlebury Breadloaf campus. We rented skis for Denali and did some classic skiing on their fine set tracks. The Lodge has bathrooms (with shower), some snacks, places to change boots and sit and rest or warm-up and a kind and helpful staff.

The temperature was warmer than Fargo (about 15 above), so that was enjoyable. The many loops through the woods were lots of fun. I especially liked Batelle and the fun downhill one gets after a good climb. Denali, a seasoned downhill skier, had never tried cross-country skiing, so we gave her some pointers and she took to it quite easily. Like a lot of downhill skiers, it took some adjusting to get used to doing the same kinds of downhill moves on much skinnier skis and with a free heel. She did great!

Denali and Alessandro in front of the ski rental shop and lodge at Rikert Nordic Center

On Saturday night, all the Geres joined us at the cabin. We cooked dinner together and then had an epic Monopoly game (Denali won). After that, the young folks went to the hot tub, which is located on the porch of "The Loft," a social center for the group of 7 cabins. I was tired from all the swim cheering (it's a tough job, but someone has to do it), so I went to sleep early.

We stayed at Cabin 4: Serene Outlook, where they deliver a basket of warm cinnamon twists to your doorstep in the morning

On Sunday, the Geres departed, and the boys and I made another trip into Middlebury to pick up Massimo's teammate, Liam, who is from Arizona. He, too, wanted to try cross-country skiing. Since it was so warm that day--about 28 degrees above zero--we decided to skate ski. Fortunately, Liam knows how to ice skate, so he got the hand of shifting his weight from ski to ski quite easily, and because of his swim conditioning, he was able to get up the hills even though he's new to the techniques. By the end, he was looking quite comfortable on skis.

Liam and Massimo at Rikert Nordic Center. 

We got a good workout and the snow felt so fast! My first time skiing in Vermont was just wonderful, and I hope to be back one day soon. It was so great to ski on hills again.