Don't Just Read the Story, Become the Story !

Hello Everyone!

Now that the proverbial New Years dust has settled, Happy New Year, from Pond Mountain Inn! This month's Sports Newsletter takes you through Vermont, New York, New Hampshire, and to our farthest destination—Montreal. If you’re looking for a winter escape, then retire for the weekend here in Vermont with the promise of experiencing things that you may not have considered.

All our best – Kay & Glenn

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Ice Fishing on Lake St. Catherine…

Have you ever wanted to go ice fishing but don’t know where to start? Or, you have no interest in ice fishing whatsoever, but love the idea of experiencing something entirely new and exciting outdoors, then let our friends Carrie & Kevin be your guide to successful ice fishing. We went ice fishing last year and caught 25 fish—perch, largemouth bass, northern pike, and a big brown trout. Click on the photo to see what you’re missing!

Summer Fishing, a Funny Read

Curds and Curling...

A Cheesy Winter Competition... takes place on Saturday, February 8, between 11 AM-3 PM… Sponsored by Jasper Hill Farm, one of our favorite cheese producers in Vermont, is hosting a twist on this classic sport. Instead of hurling a 44-pound granite stone down the ice, Jasper Hill substitutes a wheel of Jasper Hill cheddar weighing between 18-32 pounds—look closely! The ultimate prize: the coveted Golden Cheese Award!

For More Information Photo by Vanessa Fournier

Middlebury College Squash...

We Love The Bostwick Family Squash Center…

The Middlebury Field House and Athletic Complex bustles with activity most weekends, and it’s all about the timing. For example, the next two weekends, there are too many away games. Saturday, February 1^st looks like a good opportunity— Women’s & Men’s Squash, Women’s & Men’s Diving and Men’s Basketball. A few mid-week prospects also appear promising. The best place to check is the View Composite Calendar.

The Official Middlebury College Athletics Website

That’s Bob Dion—Founder of Dion Snowshoes…

We Met Bob Last Week…

Dion Snowshoes and NeviTREK Snowshoes have teamed up to combine the best of two Northeast brands. With decades of experience in snowshoeing, they are arguably the best snowshoes in the world. Made here in Pownal, Vermont, we were very fortunate to have meet Bob, and tour their facility last week. Bob gave us valuable insights into the sport, the equipment and learned more about his career as a competitive snowshoe racer. Bob has won 2 gold, 2 silver and a bronze medal at the National Championships and has won countless other medals and overall victories at distances from 2 miles to 100 miles. He was listed as one of the "10 Legends of Trail Running" by Trail Runner magazine.

Snowshoeing in Vermont is a fascinating quiet winter activity that opens up a world of thoughtful back-woods meditation and exercise while exploring snowy landscapes—then there’s the wildlife. The wildlife encounters are exhilarating—a few months ago, our neighbor spotted a very rare and elusive Canadian Linx. We snowshoe on our neighbor’s property—250-acres of exhilarating terrain, which sometimes has its challenges.

We have Dion Snowshoes and NeviTREK Snowshoes to rent if you want to join us behind Pond Mountain Inn.

Dion Snowshoes and NeviTREK Snowshoes

Lake Placid Empire State Winter Games...

The Winter Sports Capital of the World...

Long track competitors will compete outdoors on the 400m Olympic Oval—remember, this is where Eric Heiden won a historic five individual gold medals during the 1980 Olympics. The distances range from 500m to 3,000m.

There are events going on all month and into early February! Short & Long Track Speed Skating, Adaptive Bobsled, Alpine Skiing, Girls Hockey, Adaptive Cross Country, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Moguls, Sled Hockey, Luge, Ski and Snowboard Cross, Snowshoe, and still a lot more! Click on the photo to see the complete schedule of all the Empire State Winter Games.

It’s been a few years since we visited the village—and, we always seem to miss ECAC Men’s Hockey Championship in March, but not this year. It’s about two and a half hours from Pond Mountain Inn, and it’s a spectacularly beautiful drive.

Lake Placid Winter Events Schedule

The Royal Montréal Curling Club...

We Joined The Club Last Year...

The Royal Montreal Curling Club, the oldest active sports club in North America, established 1807, is located in downtown Montreal. This year, with a much smaller group—just four of us, we were able to play for about an hour—that’s after a full hour of instruction and strategy. We had a blast… unfortunately, Kay and I lost to our friends, Missy and Wayne, after a serious blunder on my part. Once we figured things out, it was very competitive—and, we still all rooted for each other!

Pond Mountain Inn is the gateway to Montréal... a beautiful drive through quaint Adirondack villages along Lake Champlain—it's only a three plus hour ride to old Montréal. A few of our guests are already planning to stay here and continue on…

Read About Our Royal Montréal Curling Club Experience—The Previous Year

Adirondack Thunder—ECHL Hockey…

New Jersey Devils Affiliate...

Just 17 seconds into the first period when the Orlando Solar Bears scored their first goal. Notice the scoreboard at the end of the first period—5-0! Certainly, disappointing start for the Thunder. Orlando went on to win 6-0.

Hockey, is considered the ninth fastest sport. Drag Racing tops the list, while, if you can believe it, Badminton comes in at number five—the fastest racket sport in the world, the current Guinness World Record for the fastest smash is 351.1 mph—one of my favorite sports to both watch and play, but that’s another story.

Now, back to our evening… only 45-minutes to Glens Falls. Pizza at Talk of the Town restaurant before the game, then a four-minute drive to the arena. Even though our team lost, all of us had the perfect night out on the town! So much fun that we’re already planning our next game, perhaps in one of the upper-level suites with 10-12 friends!

For regular hockey followers… We just missed seeing Jeremy Brodeur, he was just called up to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League (AHL). Yes, Jeremy is the son of Hall of Fame New Jersey Devils goaltender, Martin Brodeur.

And, finally, many thanks to Zach Walker, former Adirondack Thunder and Boston College hockey player. Zach, is the Director of Sales and Community Relations. Thanks again, Zach, for everything!

Adirondack Thunder

Lake Champlain Pond Hockey Classic...

A Hockey Purist’s Dream...

"Each year since 2012, we unite to celebrate a sport in its most authentic form." This year, the tournament takes place on February 7-9, 2025. “We lace up our skates and hit the ice for three days of outdoor hockey and cold beers. Over 150 teams compete in 350+ games across 14 rinks, bringing our sport back to the basics." I’ve never watched or participated, maybe we’ll watch this year?!?! Please, we need someone to join us!

More Information

Closer to Home...

Our Neighbor Skiing Killington...

Some background… Our neighbors, Cherrish & Greg are one of the most impressive couples we’ve ever met. Together, they are in the final stages of building their home that can withstand wind gusts up to 100 mph—they have built everything except pouring the foundation. They also built a full solar array that powers the entire property, which means they’re 100% off-grid. Their house is about a mile from the road, a driveway which they excavated and built. Together, they are quite comfortable operating heavy equipment—so comfortable that Cherrish operates bulldozers in flipflops!

However, this is a ski story… last year, they made it to the Vermont slopes 59 times! The goal this year is 70 visits. Next month, they're flying to Japan to ski Niseko—Asia's premier year-round resort. It is best known for receiving the world's best powder snow throughout winter. I don’t know if they would classify themselves “world class skiers,” but we will! We could say so much more, but we won’t. We don’t want to embarrass them any further…

Pond Mountain Inn is Perfectly Situated to Ski Stratton • Bromley • Killington • Pico • Okemo.

The Most Challenging Ski Resorts on the East Coast

More Winter Sports to Consider...

Dartmouth Basketball

With a record of 6-21, the sub-two-hour drive may not be compelling. The good news is that Hanover is a great New England town, and the campus is well worth visiting!

Harris Hill Competition

Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition is next month, February 15-16. Experience the Olympic sport of ski jumping on New England’s only Olympic-size, 90-meter hill.

UVM Men's Hockey

With an 8-8-3 record, the Catamounts have pulled off some impressive wins. Another sub-two-hour drive north may be worthwhile—we’ve never seen any UVM athletic events!