West Windsor’s solution was Ascutney Outdoors, an indepen- dent nonprofit launched in 2015 to manage the mountain on the town’s behalf. The new organization secured the benefit of experience in the form of executive director Laura Farrell. A passionate advocate for accessibility in the outdoors, she founded Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports at Ascutney back in 1987, as well as two popular fixtures on the New England adventure-race circuit: the Vermont 100 Endurance Run and Ride and the Vermont 50 mountain bike race. Both draw thou- sands of visitors to Ascutney. Today, Ascutney Outdoors runs on donations and volunteer muscle. About 50 people have put in time to help install a new rope tow, refurbish the warming hut, clear some of the old trails, and install lights for night skiing. Farrell says the orga- nization hopes one day to restore lift access to mid- mountain, granting both skiers and mountain bikers easier access to more terrain. Meanwhile, Lyall and others are working on a plan for flow trails: smooth mountain bike tracks with berms and jumps, accessible by the lift. Wanner predicts this community-driven approach to an all-season mountain could become a model for ski hills across the Northeast. In the face of warming winters, most of the re- gion’s resorts are projected to close by the end of the century.
TPL.ORG · 59
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68