"The Best Day of the Year"

We were making friends all morning long in the Mansfield Lodge at Stowe Mountain amidst the click-clack racket of ski boots on the hardwood. Everyone seemed to wish they were us, the Dublin School Nordic Ski team. Done up in glitter and aura farming the morning away, we were beseeched by one stranger after another to add some flare to their race kit. We were teaching a retiree the subtle art of glitter application when a couple stomped on up in their alpine getup and asked “so, do you all wear helmets?” 

Screaming down Mount Mansfield in a semi-controlled freefall an hour later, face numb from a recent encounter with the frozen ground, I knew that I should absolutely, without a doubt, be wearing a helmet right then. Or maybe we shouldn’t be skiing down the “Aspen of the East” on Nordic skis in the first place. Peri C. ’27 is wrecked on the side of the trail, binding on her foot, her ski elsewhere - she throws a thumbs up, smiling everything is okay. Except no, it’s not. This is so stupid. I’m stupid. I’m afraid. We’re all stupid for doing this. Whose idea was this? Where are the adults? 

And then I hear a tutu clad skier howling with delight a few meters down-trail, one of ours. All caution to the wind, I make haste to join them in embracing utter enjoyment of The Stowe Derby. 

Ten Dublin Nordies rallied for The Stowe Derby this past weekend, completing an epic weekend of Nordic ski racing that began with Saturday’s NEPSAC championships at Gould Academy and continued into the heartland of Vermont, where the prevailing road surface is dirt and you count sheep to pass the time.

The Derby has its origins in a bet between two friends, one a Nordic skier, the other an alpine skier, both of whom believed they could best the other in a race down Mount Mansfield. The course these days includes an extended section where Nordic skis provide an obvious advantage, though some still insist on completing the 20km “long course” on skis meant for going downhill only. 

Dublin has been sending a contingent to The Derby for a long time now. Some call it the “best day of the year,” and this year was certainly one for the books, delivering on an intensely beautiful day, phenomenal snow conditions, and a group who was just plain happy to be out on skis. 

Shoutout to Morgan's family for hosting the team up in VT! And shoutout Ms. Burkhardt for making logistics happen!

While you're here, watch this video recap of the day.