Carrabassett Valley Academy, a Ski and Snowboard Academy at the base of Sugarloaf, has been pouring out world class athletes for decades. One of the newer programs they have on offer is the Backcountry Program. This non competitive program fosters skills having to do with human powered skiing and riding. Skinning, hiking and even some mountaineering along with all the proper safety skills needed to properly ski and snowboard in the backcountry. A few athletes joined us in the studio to talk about their experiences. Check it out.. [Read more…]
Carrabassett Valley Academy Scholarship Bash
Head of School Kate Webber Punderson stopped by to fill us in on this years Scholarship Bash. Check out the interview.
[Read more…]
Carrabassett Valley Academy Annual Wreath Sale
We caught up with Steve Arner, of the CVA PSO, to learn about this years wreath sale. Check it out and order yours before they’re all gone! Online at gocva.com/wreaths [Read more…]
Carrabassett Valley Academy: Ready for a great year ahead…
We caught up with Kate Webber Punderson, Head of School at Carrabassett Valley Academy, to see how the first few days of school have panned out. Enrollment is looking great and we’re sure to see some great stuff from the student athletes in the coming months. Check it out! [Read more…]
Seth Wescott’s Maine Ski AND Snowboard Hall of Fame Induction
The Ski Museum of Maine organization made two very notable firsts this past Saturday which we hope have broken the barrier once & for all! After sixteen years elsewhere, the 17th banquet to induct Mainers into their Hall of Fame was held at Maine’s premier mountain, Sugarloaf, with an attendance that surprised the skeptics, of over 425 who (comfortably) packed the King Pine Room in the Baselodge with cocktails before & after at the newly renovated Widowmaker upstairs (you won’t recognize the place; it’s awesome!). Even more significantly appropriate was the induction of TWO-time Olympic GOLD Medal winner Seth Wescott to their Hall of Fame. For those of us who devote our lives to, & make our living from, ‘skiing’, seeing the evolution of snowboarding was a shot in the arm of rejuvenation at a time when new skiers numbers were declining. The injection of energy into the industry & steady growth of snowboarding that followed, added to the winter sports business in a much needed way. The earlier push back from some skiers, & some entire ski areas, should be well in the rear view mirror, but when Seth alluded to the prejudice he’s experienced throughout the years, such as being spit on by skiers in the chairlift above him, that makes me angry to be reminded that some skiers would believe only they deserve the right to enjoy downhill snow, gravity sports!! So after NINE years since his last Gold Medal, after two decades of riding the most extreme mountains around the world, representing Sugarloaf, Maine & the USA with not only physical prowess above all the others, but an intellect & personality that always makes us proud, all I can say is, “It’s about time!”. Congrats Seth. We really do love you & thank you for representing us so well!! Ski & SNOWBOARDING Museum of Maine is way more representative of what we do for a living & many Mainers do for fun; let’s hope we see the name change reflecting that reality really soon!
