Posted By Sarah Tuff Dunn on Fri, Oct 13, 2017 at 4:50 PM

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Courtesy of Merck Forest and Farmland Center

Merck Forest and Farmland Center cabin

If there’s anything better than a day in the backcountry, it’s two — or three, or more, and a network of cabins in which skiers, snowshoers, mountain bikers and hikers can hunker down for the night before tackling another section of trail. The Alps have such a system, as do the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada and the Presidential Range of New Hampshire.

But the Green Mountains of Vermont? Not so much. As Devin Littlefield writes in a blog post: “When I first moved here, the trails were looking bright and fresh. There was lots of great new terrain to let the outdoor wild-child in me let loose with — mountain biking, backcountry skiing, trail running, you name it. The one thing that I was most surprised about, though: lack of backcountry accommodations.”

So, in August 2016, Littlefield — who hails from Maine — partnered with University of Vermont grad and endurance athlete RJ Thompson to create the Vermont Huts Association. The new nonprofit is dedicated to creating a four-season hut network in order to enhance recreational opportunities across the state, no matter the weather.

Tags: outdoors , trails , backcountry , hiking , cross-country skiing , cabins , Long Trail , Green Mountains , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sarah Tuff Dunn on Thu, Aug 17, 2017 at 11:03 AM

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Courtesy of Laura Marttinen

Spruce Peak Stadium

From August 22 to 24, the largest summer sporting event will happen in Vermont — and it’s not baseball or boating. It’s tennis, bringing some of the tour’s top male players to the Green Mountain State on the eve of the U.S. Open in New York City.

Playing host are Grand Slam Tennis Tours, a Stowe-based travel company that has worked with Stowe Mountain Lodge to build a brand-spanking-new stadium, invite athletes and sell tickets. “What we’re doing here in Stowe goes beyond a tennis tourney,” says public relations director Kyle Ross. “It changes the American tennis landscape.”

This week, Seven Days lobbed a few questions at Ross about the Stowe Mountain Lodge Tennis Classic.

Tags: tennis , U.S. Open , Stowe , Spruce Peak , Stowe Mountain Lodge , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 2:00 PM

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Courtesy of Duane Carleton

'Divided by Diversity' film poster

Local filmmaker Duane Carleton's documentary, Divided by Diversity, premieres on Vermont PBS  on Thursday, May 18, at 7 p.m. The doc centers on the Mount St. Joseph Academy basketball team that won the 2011-12 Division II high school state championship.

Specifically, Carleton's film chronicles the racism that five black athletes from the Bronx faced after enrolling at the private Catholic school in Rutland to play basketball. Some parents and players complained about losing playing time to "outsiders." The five players also endured racist epithets from rival fans during games.

Cam Whittemore, a postal service worker who played surrogate mother to the athletes, was featured on the cover of Seven Days in December.

Tags: Duane Carleton , Vermont PBS , Divided by Diversity , basketball , Mount St. Joseph , Cam Whittemore , Image , Video , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 12:37 PM

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University of Vermont

University of Vermont Catamounts

The University of Vermont men's basketball team is dancing again. The Catamounts earned a bid to the Big Dance, aka the NCAA Division 1 tournament, by knocking off Albany last weekend in the America East conference finals, capping a record-setting season in which the team went undefeated in conference play. Their reward? A 13 seed in the tourney and a date with fourth seeded and heavily favored Purdue University at 7:27 p.m. tonight in Milwaukee.

Tags: March Madness , UVM Catamounts , basketball , Image , Web Only , Video