Mount Snow in West Dover and Okemo in Ludlow got an early start on the skiing and snowboarding season last week.
Mount Snow opened on Thanksgiving day with four lifts serving about 10 percent of the mountain, including the Carinthia terrain park for the boarders.
Okemo couldn't wait for the holiday and started its season on Nov. 23 with two lifts and four trails on the upper part of their mountain.
Stowe and Killington were the only other Vermont ski areas to open before Thanksgiving - Stowe on Nov. 24 and Killington on Nov. 1.
Stratton Mountain Resort chose to wait out Friday's rain and sleet, and opened Saturday for the season with about a dozen trails available.
Both Mount Snow and Stratton took advantage of the return of cold weather early last week to make snow, but it will be some time before conditions will be good enough to take off the “rock skis” and take to the slopes with the front line gear. Trails are icy, and the snow bases are generally in the 10-to-24-inch range.
As for other southern Vermont resorts, Bromley in Peru is shooting for Dec. 3 as its opening day. Magic Mountain in Londonderry has Saturday, Dec. 18, as its anticipated first day. However, they say if a big snowstorm or sustained snowmaking conditions intervene, they might open earlier.
Ascutney Mountain in Brownsville will not be open for skiing this season. The mountain was foreclosed on this summer, and according to news reports, the chances do not look that the historic resort will ever reopen.
Biathlon comes to Grafton Ponds
As one of the few nordic ski resorts in New England that make snow, Grafton Ponds Outdoor Center in Grafton hopes to open for the season on Saturday, Dec. 4.
For opening day, the resort will host a biathlon event, which will be free of charge to all participants.
Biathlon is a race in which contestants ski around a course, and the total distance is broken up by either two or four shooting rounds, half in prone position, the other half standing. For each shooting round, the biathlete must hit five targets. Depending on the shooting performance, extra distance or time is added to a contestant's total distance/time for each missed target. As in most races, the contestant with the shortest total time wins.
At 1 p.m., Grafton Ponds director Bill Salmon and former U.S. Olympic Biathlete Michael Collins will host a training session on how to use the laser guns for the race. Racing will commence at 1:30 p.m. with waves of 10 competitors going every two minutes. The race is free of charge. For more information, visit GraftonPonds.com.
Lyman, Conarroe win Turkey Trot
The Red Clover Rovers' annual 3-mile Turkey Trot road race may be a Brattleboro tradition, but out-of-towners won this year's edition. Ned Lyman of Belchertown, Mass., won the men's race in 16 minutes, one second, while Heather Conarroe of Greenwich, Conn., was the top women's finisher in 18:09, which was the 13th fastest time overall.
Landen Elliott-Knaggs of Brattleboro was the top local men's finisher, coming in just behind Lyman in 16:18 for second. Tammy Richards of Williamsville was the top area female runner, she was 18th overall in 18:58. There were 226 runners who participated in the race.
Ethan Milsark, 12, of Northampton, Mass., won the 1-mile race in 6:49. There were 49 runners in this race.
Winter season about to begin
The Vermont high school winter sports season begins next Saturday.
The Brattleboro Union High School nordic skiing and hockey teams will be first into the fray. The nordic team opens at Grafton Ponds on Dec. 11 with a Marble Valley League race. The girls hockey team will be first on the ice with a 1:30 p.m. home game against Northfield at the newly-refurbished Nelson Withington Rink. The boys will also open at home at 4:45 p.m. against Rutland.
The BUHS varsity basketball teams will start play on Tuesday, Dec. 14. The girls will travel to St. Johnsbury, while the boys open at home against Hoosac Valley.
Bellows Falls begins its varsity basketball season on Friday, Dec. 17, when the boys host Black River at Holland Gymnasium. The girls open their season on Monday, Dec. 20, at Springfield.
Twin Valley gets its varsity basketball season going on Monday, Dec. 13, as the girls host Leland & Gray in Wilmington, while the boys go on the road to face Otter Valley.
The Leland & Gray boys basketball team opens at Arlington on Wednesday, Dec. 15.
Changes to divisions could disrupt football rivalries
The Vermont Interscholastic Football League has proposed some divisional realignments for the 2011 and 2012 seasons that could mean some significant changes for high school football.
The VIFL's proposal, which the Vermont Principals' Association still has to sign off on, would incorporate out-of-division and out-of-state contests into its Quality Point Rating index system. This would likely affect some of the traditional rivalries in the Connecticut Valley.
Under the divisional realignment, Champlain Valley, Mount Mansfield, Colchester and Middlebury would move up from Division II to join a new, 14-team Division I. Also, Division I would have a quarterfinal round added to its playoffs, which would be played during Week 9 of the season. Non-playoff teams would play a Week 9 game as usual.
Bellows Falls, the recently crowned Division III champs, and Springfield would move up to Division II as the VIFL creates two, 10-team divisions. That might mean that Windsor and Woodstock - two longtime rivals of BF and Springfield - might not meet up as often, because the new rules only allow no more than one out-of-division or out-of-state game.
Windsor and BF have been on each others' football schedule for years, and the thought of ending the annual Dale Perkins Trophy game doesn't make either school happy. But under the new rules, playing Windsor would hurt BF's index rating because Windsor is a lower division school.
The VIFL is also considering a proposal that would extend the extend the preseason practice time for high school football teams to three weeks, which is the schedule that New Hampshire uses.
The VPA requires two weeks of practice time before any player is eligible to play a varsity sport, which is a reasonable amount of preparation for most sports. But given the physically demanding nature of football, and the element of risk that comes with playing it, another week of preparation would increase the margin of safety for players.
Terriers' championship season available on DVD
If you didn't get to the games, or if you are looking for a souvenir of a championship season, Falls Area Community Television in Bellows Falls has put together a DVD box set of the Bellows Falls Terriers' march to the Division III state football title.
FACT stepped up their production of BF's games with a two-camera set up and instant replay. For $40, you'll get all the home games at Hadley Field, plus the state championship game against Windsor at Castleton State college. Visit www.fact8.com for more information, or call 802-463-1613.
A gift of the outdoors
Here's a holiday gift where you don't have to worry about sizes, or whether it comes with batteries - passes to Vermont's state parks.
For $39, you can get the Day Tripper package, which is a punch card good for 10 state park day visits, plus a water bottle and a gift card for a one-hour boat rental.
The Weekend Getaway package, at $79, includes two nights of tent, RV or lean-to camping, two travel mugs, and a bundle of firewood for your campout.
If you know someone who really loves getting outdoors, you can give them the Full Season of Family Fun Gift Package for $149. It includes a Vehicle Season Pass that provides unlimited day entry into any state park, all season long for up to 8 people per visit, plus two VT water bottles, two Vermont State Parks ball caps and two gift cards for one-hour boat rentals.
The packages come with attractively packaged gift boxes. Shipping is free and you can order them anytime at www.vtstateparks.com, or by calling 888-409-7579, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.