GMVS ATHLETES GET A CUTTING EDGE ON EARLY SEASON TRAINING WITH INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

Ski camps are an integral aspect of today’s GMVS experience, providing athletes an invaluable opportunity to accumulate time on snow in a highly focused environment. But a look back through history shows that through the ‘80s virtually all training was done at Sugarbush North. Travel for skiing wasn’t especially worldly or glamorous. However, as the school grew through the ‘90s, training was bolstered by improved facilities and an international reach. In 1997, the school bought a house in Kössen, Austria to serve as a base camp to provide students with exposure to European racing and training. Training camps in South America and Europe became a common part of the GMVS student experience.

The house in Kössen has since been sold, but early season international training remains fundamental to the GMVS experience. In fact, over 100 GMVS Alpine athletes and coaches are currently in Valle Nevado, Chile, and the Nordic team is in Mals South Tyrol, Italy.

Valle Nevado, Chile, located just 90 minutes east of Santiago at an elevation of 10,000 feet, expands along the spine of a beautiful mountain ridge, where athletes are treated to wide-open terrain, world-class snow quality, and spectacular Andean views. Coaches are focused on working closely with athletes on building fundamental skis in and out of the course. Much of the terrain provides a completely safe, wide-open canvas for long runs – some runs extend up to 2.1 miles PER RUN. The camp is a critical aspect of our speed training progression and sets up GMVS athletes for success in speed events throughout the season.

Across the Atlantic in Northern Italy, the Nordic team is experiencing altitude training at its finest. The town of Mals sits at 3,500 feet and is the team’s launchpad for all training. Out the door from their accommodations at the new Hostel Finka lies the impressive Vinschgau Valley which offers limitless single-track terrain for hiking and mountain biking. Paved bike paths for rollerskiing wind through what seems like never-ending orchards of fruit trees. Two world-class rollerski tracks are available for use at any time and a mere 45 minutes away lies the Stelvio Glacier for skiing at 11,000 feet. Only one hour and fifteen minutes away is the Val Senales Glacier and Cross Country ski track. For good reason, this is where national teams come to train from all around the world nearly every fall.

This year’s Nordic athletes find notes from previous GMVS camps in a journal on one of the peaks they explored in Italy.
Both Alpine and Nordic athletes fill their time off the hill with focused regenerative sessions, facilitated study sessions to stay on top of class assignments, and working closely with coaches to hone their tuning skills. Soaking in the local culture, trying new foods, practicing an unfamiliar language, and gaining comfort in a new environment are all part of the experience. In Italy, student-athletes even have an opportunity to learn about the rich history of German-speaking South Tyrol through various mini-lessons that GMVS teacher Jere Brophy conducts when training takes them to numerous places of historical interest.

Since the early 90s when international travel became synonymous with the GMVS experience, athletes have since traveled to a worldly list of destinations including, but not limited to Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Switzerland, and Italy. The list is long and will continue to grow as we continue to offer GMVS athletes opportunities to train throughout the year and accumulate more time on snow in the pursuit of being the best ski racers in the world.

50 YEARS OF GMVS — A THROWBACK TO REACH THE PEAK

50 YEARS OF GMVS — HONORING AL HOBART

50 years ago, a young man with a deep passion for ski racing had the courage to follow his dreams. 

The man? Al Hobart – a self-taught Masters racer from New York City. 

His dream? A school where competitive ski racers could develop the skills to become World Cup, Olympic, and NCAA champions, right here in the Mad River Valley. With a foundational understanding that becoming a world class skier starts with being intentional and deliberate about being a world class person, Al recognized ski racing as a humane discipline.

When he and his wife, Jane, first opened up their home to 11 winter-term students in January 1973, the Hobarts began a life-long commitment of service to GMVS.

Over the last 50 years, GMVS has been blessed with a number of highly passionate, dedicated teachers, coaches, administrators, and Trustees – all of whom have left an indelible mark on the school. But none have been as devoted as Al and Jane Hobart who have served the school for the bulk of their adult lives.

An alpine racer from New York City, Al moved to the Mad River Valley in 1963 with an undergraduate degree from Tufts University and an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. When he arrived he was an active racer in the Master’s series, winning many national championships in GS and slalom. He continued to pursue his passion for ski racing and surrounded himself with like-minded individuals – the kind of people who had the fortitude to not only believe in a shared vision, but also make it come to life. 

His vision began at the Mad River Glen Slalom Hill, where he installed a rope tow dedicated to alpine race training, then he founded the Valley Junior Racing Club which he ran from 1966 – 1972. It was at that time that Al recognized the need for more full-time, in-depth training which necessarily required a focused, college preparatory academic component. He, along with John Schultz, Bill Moore, and Ashley Cadwell, founded Mad River Valley School, “Mad Acad” for short (which would come to be known as Green Mountain Valley School) in his home. 

Since our founding in 1973, Al has served as Headmaster, an alpine coach, and a Trustee, overseeing all aspects of the school and truly holding it in trust. After 50 years of service to GMVS, Al officially stepped off the Board of Trustees in June 2022, yet he and Jane remain deeply invested in the future of the school.

Today, Al and Jane still reside in their home off of Glen View Drive which once served as the school’s dormitory, dining hall, and gymnasium, often seen on Inverness at Sugarbush, and on the sidelines of GMVS soccer or lacrosse games cheering for their home team.

As we kick off our 50th year, we honor Al Hobart for his tireless work and dedication to the school. Without Al and Jane, GMVS would never have become the premier ski academy that it is today. 

On the heels of the 2022 Beijing Olympic events, the 2022 FIS Junior/U23 World Ski Championships kicked off on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. The week-long event was originally scheduled to take place in Zakopane, Poland, but due to construction work near the skiing venue, the cross-country skiing events were moved to Lygna, Norway. The championships included U20 competitions in cross country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined, and in cross country skiing, a separate U23 Junior category.

Among the athletes competing were not one, but two GMVS alumni: Rena Schwartz ’18) and Brian Bushey (’21). Rena, a Vermont native, graduated in 2018 and attends Dartmouth College. As a member of the Dartmouth Ski Team, she frequents the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) carnivals and was recently named to the Women’s Second All-East Team. Rena competed in the U23 Women’s 10km Individual Start Classic, and the U23 Women’s Freestyle Sprint.

Brian, also hailing from Vermont, is in his first year at the University of Utah and is a member of the ski team. Competing in the World Junior Championships adds to Brian’s list of international competitions, which includes the 2020 Youth Olympics in Lausanne, Switzerland, and The Scandinavian Cup in Falun, Sweden. In Lygna, Brian competed in three events, including the 4×5 km men’s relay where he joined Michael Earnhardt, Walker Hall and Will Koch to a 3rd place finish! Congratulations Brian, Michael, Walker and Will!

For event photos and more, click HERE.

Photo: flyingpointroad.com

Whiteface Mountain was host to the USCSA Nationals March 7-12, with 26 teams and 278 alpine racers competing from across the country. USCSA has become very competitive over the past few years, hosting many racers with NCAA-level FIS profiles. Congratulations to the following GMVS alumni who attended Nationals, many of whom placed in the top 15!

WOMEN:
Maggie Beardsley ’18 – Brown University, 7th GS, 3rd Individual Panel SL, All American Honors
Hanna Petro ’18 – Colgate University, 14th Overall All American Honors
Lindsey Crowell ’18 – Hobart William Smith, 15th Overall All-American Honors
Allie Davis ’18 – Colgate University
Audrey Lafrance ’21 – Colgate University
Hannah Gray ’19 – Northeastern University

MEN:
Ryan Beardsley ’20 – Babson College,12th SL All-American Honors
Zach Roman ’18 – Babson College, 7th GSA ll-American Honors
Victor Wiacek ’16 – Babson College, 10th GS, 14th SL, 7th Overall All American Honors
Gavin Wirth ’20 – University of Wisconsin-Madison

Results and additional photos can be found at uscsa.org.

Congratulations to Thomas Walsh ’13 who won Team USA’s first Para-Alpine medal at the 2022 Winter Games. Walsh skied to silver, earning his first career Paralympic medal, after placing fourth three days earlier in the Super Combined.

The 2022 Paralympics Games were held in Beijing, March 4-13. Among the athletes selected to represent Team USA was GMVS alum Thomas Walsh ’13 from Vail, Colorado. Walsh was an avid athlete and ski racer growing up but was sidelined when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in May 2009. He had his final cancer treatment in 2010 and returned to ski racing at GMVS. Upon graduation, he attended Savannah College of Art and Design to study performing arts. Thomas returned to ski racing after one year of college, and the following year he was invited to be on the U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing National Team.

We are incredibly proud of Thomas’ accomplishments and we are excited to follow his journey in Beijing. For more on Thomas and his Paralympic experience, click HERE.