Women’s Cross Country Ski Day

This past weekend my 8 year-old daughter Valentina and I headed to Central Vermont to participate in our first Women’s Cross Country Ski Day at the gorgeous Mountain Top Inn in Chittenden, VT. On Super Bowl Sunday, while millions of fans were getting their parties and kegs rolling, 200 intrepid and active women of all ages and abilities were focused on learning and improving their cross country skiing techniques. My daughter and I decided to make it a special mother-daughter weekend and pull out all the stops. After a two hour drive we made a “tasting” stop at the fabulous Vermont Country Store with really cool and hard to find stuff that I have not seen since I was a kid. Another two hours and a wrong turn onto Route 100, we arrived at Mountain Top where we checked in had dinner and toasted, Valentina with a Harpoon ROOT beer and I with my own local draft, to another great mom-daughter weekend. We listened to a couple of folksingers play James Taylor and other Irish tunes and since I am now 2 months into “learning the guitar” I watched the chords carefully. “Someday you’ll play like that Mom” Valentina says smiling and boosting my guitar spirit. After dinner we took a horse drawn sleigh ride and enjoyed the jacuzzi in our wonderful room with a porch and a snowy white view of the lake and the distant Green Mountains.

On Sunday, we bounded downstairs holding hands and excited for the buffet breakfast with our fellow female skiing friends. We then walked up the hill to The 7th Annual, sold out, New England Women’s XC Ski Day, “for women, by women,” inspired by similar events in Norway (the Inga Lama) and Alaska (the Anchorage Women’s Ski Day).

Event organizers, Olympiad Trina Hosmer, of Stowe, VT, and Anne Donaghy, of Meriden, NH, started this special ski day to share their love of the sport with other women. “To teach women of all skiing abilities the joy of gliding that lies just beyond the plodding walk usually taught to new skiers” said Trina Hosmer, a member of the United States’ first women’s Olympic XC Ski Team in 1972.

Mountain Top is a beautiful location with well groomed, easy terrain just outside the door of the resort. It was a perfect facility for the extended lunch hour with speakers and a well-stocked raffle table including several items donated by Ciclismo Classico; Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, an avid and accomplished cross-country skier was the featured guest speaker at this delicious lunch, which was included in the $25 registration cost, an amazing deal for an outstanding day of learning, exercise and bonding!

The instructors provide three clinic periods through the day, ranging from Beginner classic or skate technique, Intermediate classic or skate and Uphill/Downhill classic or skate. Valentina and I participated in the intermediate skate clinic and learned a few new tricks about V-1, V-2 and V-2 alternate…does anyone have a V-8? Why didn’t they just call these techniques, power stroke, glide stroke and glide and speed stroke?

The instructors (all women) included former Olympic, National team, and collegiate skiers such as JoAnn Hanowski, winner of the Birkiebeiner, Trina Hosmer – first women’s US XC team, 1972 Olympics, Olympiad Leslie Krichko -was in two Olympics, Kathy Maddock a Top Dartmouth Skier, Top Harvard skier, Anna Mcloon, Mary Osgood who started the Dartmouth women’s xc ski team, Amy Patenaude a masters racer and politician, Janice Sibilia -NENSA’s program director and ex bike racer, Liz Stephen -who won at US nationals this year, masters champ Sally Swenson and Cami Thompson -head coach at dartmouth.

What united all of these super women athlete is that they knew how to make skiing fun. An optional, fun 1KM relay took place in the afternoon with prizes for sister-sister, mother-daughter, relative-relative, friend-friend and oldies divisions. Since Valentina opted to sit on the side-lines, I connected with another skier and we raced in the “oldies” division and came in second place, right behind Olympiad and organizer Trina HosmerJoan Benoit Samuelson, what an honor, what a thrill!! I had a moment to talk with Joan who said that she will be starting to bicycle more after her “swan song” and marathon retirement at the 2008 US Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials the day before the Boston Marathon on April 20th.

At the end of the day we all raised our poles, let out a HOOT and a cheer for a great day. Ski author and photographer Kris Dobie, who throughout the day captured all the best moments on camera (while on skiis) snapped us all for a final group photo. Every year New England Women’s Ski Day also raises money for a local women’s charity. This year the event supported the Rutland County Women’s Network and Shelter, a non-profit, community-based organization serving victims of domestic violence and sexual violence in Rutland County.

After spending the day learning, bonding and exercising, I got the idea, why not start a Women’s Bicycling Day. Ladies in Lycra? Interested? Comment here, let me know & Stay tuned

Thanks Trina, Anne, coaches and Mt Top for a very special day!