The Silver Fox Trot 2025
The Silver Fox Trot
February 1, 2025
A festive crowd was treated to another perfect day of New England skiing at the Silver Fox Trot at Oak Hill in Hanover, NH. Dartmouth College has poured a significant amount of resources into the venue to transform it for the NCAA Cross-Country Skiing Championships to be held later this year. However, the effort did not have this singular goal. The upgrades at the venue are designed to serve a community passionate about the sport, which we are part of and invited to celebrate!
The first competition held at the upgraded venue was last year’s Silver Fox Trot. Then, the transformation left participants awestruck by how the community pulled off the endeavor. While wildly popular, the renovations were not complete. Lighting has been installed on the Silver Fox Competition trails, extending every day to 8:00 p.m. Groomers have been upgraded, and grooming has improved. A new lodge is under construction, with crews working overtime to get it done, and the course and connecting trails have continued to be refined. There was one other improvement that has made a significant impact. The dirt parking lot has been paved!
The conditions for the race were perfect for the New England Master Skiers to flex their might. An overnight snowfall had left 4-5-inches of fresh powder. During ski preparation, I was excited to see a ribbon of dark blue heavy snowfall on the radar maps that drifted over Oak Hill. The snow ended in time for the final passes of the groomers. Temperatures were in the high teens and dropping. There were mostly sunny skies with some wind. The conditions left skiers with a confident ski underfoot. Other conditions can make the technical course something left for the pros to deal with, but in this condition, anyone can enjoy the features of the course to its fullest.
The Open Race did the 3.3km course twice. We started in the Oak Hill Stadium and climbed for about a quarter mile. Skiers made a near 180 turn and skied down behind the stadium. There is a little rise in the trail about even with where the starting line is in the stadium, but most skiers could clear this in their tuck. Participants continued down past the stadium and to the lowest elevation on the course, heading towards Storrs Pond. Skiers then turned right and began a stepped climb over the next half mile, gaining 130 feet of elevation on the North Snowmaking Loop. The climb starts gradually, then builds, then gives a little relief before a wall. After the wall, there is another brief down before the final steady push to the top. Skiers then returned to the low point on the course near Storrs Pond on rolling downhills and then proceeded up the stadium climb to the lap/finish area. In the warmup, the rolling downhills felt like just downhills, but at pace, there were no breaks.
John Morton designed this loop, and it is his best work. It is skiable at any pace, but at a race pace, the athlete gets just enough recovery to keep their heart rates up over the next climb. It flows very well without providing an opportunity for proper recovery but just enough to extend time at an anaerobic threshold level without reaching anaerobic capacity, as long as you are somewhat careful until the final stages of the race when you leave it all out on the course.
Skiers congregated around the start, and a short grace period was allowed for those still collecting themselves for the race. A brief tribute to Al Merrill was made, and some course instructions. Soon after, skiers got in their starting stance, and the race was off. The front of the race broke apart early, with Justin Freeman (Unattached) making an early break. Thomas Clayton (NWVE) weighed his options. Go it alone in a futile attempt to stay with Justin or hang with Mark Johnson (Ford Sayre) and Sam Evans-Brown (Concord Nordic), and see what happens there. Thomas decided to play it smart and work with Mark to outpace the chase group. Sam could not keep the pace today and dropped back a bit. The rest of the field fought for trail position. The snow was soft, but where the PistenBully Tracks overlapped, there was a preferred line of firm snow. However, it was not always obvious, and as skiers pushed for an advantage, some would sink in the powder while others had a little more traction.
In the chase group, Eric Tremble (NWVE) and MNC skiers Nate Laber (MNC), Colin Pogue (MNC), and Michael Dillon (MNC) put their Wednesday Night Worlds skills to the test against Tim Van Orden (Prospect), Dennis Page (Nansen), Nick Trautz (GMVS), and Adam Groff (Ford Sayre). Tyler Magnan (NWVE) tried to hang in with the group but was early to drift off the driving pace. While the group held together somewhat, ski disparity in the conditions caused it to slowly spread out on the challenging course. A little further back, Robert Knapp (EMXC) was splitting two bananas, John Deforest (Dartmouth) and Teo Steverlynck-Horne (Dartmouth). The trio led the main field for the whole race with Sarah Pribram (NWVE), Jim Stock (EMXC), Mark Isselhardt (Craftsbury), Stephen Wright (NWVE), Jeff Palleiko (Gunstock), Peter Alden (Ford Sayre) and me just waiting for an opportunity to sneak by.
The main field kept the pace high, looking for any opportunity. After the first lap, Tom Masterson (Ford Sayre), Tricia Groff (Ford Sayre), and Rosalie Wilson (Ford Sayre) fell off the pace. In the next group, Gillian Snowden (Ford Sayre), Andrew Craighead (Ford Sayre), Jessica Bolduc (NWVE), and Luke Moffett (Ford Sayre) battled for position. A little further back, Dhyan Nirmegh (NWVE), Edward Parsons (CSU), and Angeline Andrew (BOC) settled into their own race. Several more racers followed, unable to find a pack to stick with.
On the final lap, Justin Freeman (Unattached) took the win. Thomas Clayton (NWVE) worked with Mark Johnson (Ford Sayre) until the final stages of the race,
when Thomas made a decisive move to seal second place in the race. Eric Tremble (NWVE)skied valiantly but drifted toward the back of the pack with the MNC racers. Tim Van Orden (Prospect) held his own against Nate Laber (MNC) and Dennis Page (Nansen). On a side note, Tim thought the Craftsbury Marathon bibs were tight, which was nothing compared to the Silver Fox Trot bibs. Tyler Magnan (NWVE) held position skiing alone between the packs. The two bananas peeled away from Robert Knapp (EMXC) on the final lap. Sarah Pribram (NWVE) would not have Mark Isselhardt (Craftsbury) take a spot from her and looked like she floated up the final climb with unmatched speed. Sarah clinched the women's overall victory as well! Stephen Wright (NWVE) and I hit the base of the final climb even. Both of us were
watching Sarah, Mark, Jim Stock (EMXC), and Jeff Palleiko (GSN) spread out in their final sprints. Stephen and I dug in and dropped Peter Alden (Ford Sayre) and worked on catching Jeff. I went way wide, hoping to find some firm snow, but lost ground. Stephen and Jeff rounded the last turn even, and the sprint of the day was on. Stephen got by Jeff, and I had to settle with losing the tiebreak for 24th place. Jeff did cross ahead.
Jessica Bolduc (NWVE) had an exciting second lap. On the major descent, a brisk wind developed, blowing all the powder off the trees and blinding all the skiers on the downhill after the stadium. After surviving that, Jessica went to work on staying connected with Luke Moffett (Dartmouth) and keeping Gillian Sowden (Ford Sayre) and Andrew Craighead (Ford Sayre) on site. Gillian accelerated, leaving Andrew and the group behind. Jessica played her hand on the final climb, overtaking Luke for good, and crossed the line exhausted. Dhyan Nirmegh (NWVE) outpaced Angeline Andrew (BOC) and Edward Parsons (CSU) on the rolling downhills on the North Snowmaking loop. Nirmegh loved the powdery turns and finished the race ready to ski some more!
After catching their breath, skiers returned to ski the loop some more. We talked about how satisfying the challenge was and that two laps seemed sufficient. At cruising pace, the skiing felt good. At race pace, it was grueling in a way that kept you right on the edge and gave you a sense of accomplishment for staying tough to the end. This, I imagine, was by design. Different groups traded stories, and Eric Tremble (NWVE) readied Daisy and Oliver for their respective races. Nirmegh
and Angeline regrouped and skied another lap together, appreciative of each other's efforts and support during the race. A brief Open Race Awards Ceremony was held where NWVE athletes took home some chocolate and ribbons after another impressive day.
Skiers departed with a great sense of accomplishment. The loop will certainly be exciting at the upcoming NCAA Championship. Many enjoyed The Box food truck, and others opted for some seated dining in downtown Hanover. A couple were not done exercising for the day and hit up the Lake Morey skating loop for some Nordic Skating with no hills! Congratulations to all the participants, and thank you to Ford Sayre for hosting another successful Silver Fox Trot.
Damian
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