On Friday, in the new lodge at Oak Hill in Hanover, NH, Jay Davis was getting ready to go for a ski.
The first day of the Dartmouth Carnival had just finished up, and with it, Jay had just relinquished his volunteer position at a spectator crossing.
I’ve quickly learned that conversations with Jay can go from small-talk to the profound just as quickly as the Oak Hill stadium gives way to a climb. And this was no different. “What a nice, cold day.” “The most snow I’ve ever seen in Hanover,” and, from me, “what a scene, from the BKLers on out to the Volunteers, all out here together.” Jay took that one and ran with it…
“You know, in Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam talks about how important those ‘Third Places’ are for every humans spirit – those places away from home or work here they can go and be in community, and I just am always thinking of how lucky we are to provide that here for this community.”
Right on cue with Jay’s observation, Annie Hanna and Safir Mehra, two Ford Sayre Junior racers familiar to the ski community, walked into the lodge to take a break from spectating. After a, ‘don’t you kids have school?’ They then exclaimed they were there on Friday because they were headed to do the Craftsbury Marathon Saturday. And then, into the lodge came another familiar face, with longtime Mansfield Nordic Club Bill Koch League (BKL) leader Rosemary Shea-Cobb coming in from spectating the race to get ready to go off on her own ski. From across New England and across the roles on a race day, we all ended up in one place. A third place, in Jay’s parlance.
During the Dartmouth Carnival, the ephemeral connections which hold the ski community together take on an ethereal quality. Physically central in New England, and, as the oldest race we New England skiers have, central to the vital spirit of skiing which has grown and grown over a century of competition.
Across a New England covered in a thick blanket of snow this weekend, that winter joy radiated out. The Craftsbury Marathon gathered hundreds of all walks and in all speeds of walking (or skiing) together. The Race for Snow in Boston did the same. There were high school skiers chasing NENSA Eastern High School Championship and U16 berths at the Sassi at Black Mountain of Maine in Rumford, in New Hampshire, and at Rikert in Vermont. For many, it was a weekend where they took on all the disparate niches to make a pursuit run, and did it in more ways than one.
One of the weird rules of culture is that something can mean very little to a lot of people, but likewise, mean a whole lot to a very few. When the universe balances just so – freezes just enough water in a land filled with hills rough hewn by millenia – you get skiing in New England. Where your third place is wherever you can find a quiet moment to head out on a ski.
Craftsbury Marathon Ski Festival
The rolling folds of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom put into relief the flat consistency of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center’s values. Laced in collectivism, competition, and a love for outdoor sports, Craftsbury celebrates the little bit of everything skiers do which belongs to me and you.
At this year’s Craftsbury Marathon, frequency of the winter matched this spirit, and it all rang true. Two cold days of racing through the fields, forests, and hills as a community together. The 2026 Craftsbury Marathon Ski Festival was a celebration of the homegrown community emanating out from Craftsbury Common to cover Vermont, New England, and – as the Green Racing Project sends Jack Young and Margie Freed to Milan this week – the world.
The visual metaphor of racers who are, or have, chased Olympic dreams at the front of both Saturday’s Classic and Sunday’s Skate race, filled in with supporters, community members, and a next generation of Bill Koch Leaguer’s, all pursuing their own challenge on skis as they challenge the ski community to stride forward, together, was a powerful one last weekend. Congratulations to all who took part.
Race Recap from Craftsbury Outdoor Center
Sights Provided by Phil Belena – FULL GALLERY HERE
The 9th Annual Race for Snow
Click the image above to visit the Race for Snow Instagram with more photos and videos!
If Craftsbury represented a groundswell high up in the Vermont hills, then what was happening down in Boston Saturday evening proved that the well runs deep in the New England ski community.
For nearly a decade, the EMXC Juniors have spent one of their few off weekends from racing by taking on the mantle of organizing a ski race, with all proceeds going towards nonprofits with a simple mission – preserving and celebrating our winters!
The 9th annual edition of the Race for Snow saw plenty of it, after nearly two feet of snow dolled the Weston Ski Track up in rare form ahead this year’s race.
Over one-hundred from Boston, the wider-Mass nordic community, and beyond gathered for an evening which lived out the race’s mission, more so than just working for it. Winter joy, plenty of it, and the joy of skiing together. Congratulations to this year’s Race for Snow organizer’s, and here is to a Boston ski community which will continue to flock to the Weston ski track for years to come!
Race for Snow Auction Ongoing
The Race for Snow auction, which accompanies the race, is open through this week! Head on over to see all the goodies you could take home while supporting a good thing: winter!
Results and Rankings
NENSA Results | Results on Bullitt Timing
NENSA Zak and Club Cup Rankings
Preliminary NENSA Rankings for the weekend are updated by 12pm Tuesday on the NENSA Rankings Page. A 48 hour protest period is open until 12pm Thursday. There will be no retroactive scoring of races after this per the Zak Cup scoring rules posted here.
