We are closed today. We will get open again as quickly as we can.

Don’t stop reading though. Here is a piece written by our friend Leah Mowry about growing up in the ski community around Wild Wings. Thank you Leah. I am printing the entire email she sent me. The photos are thanks to her parents.

Hi Tracy (I’m assuming it’s Tracy?),

As I was skiing today, I had the idea to write this little story about my experiences at Wild Wings this winter (and always), and I actually decided to sit down and write a bit of it out. I wanted to share it with you, and potentially ask if you’d be interested in posting it to the ski blog for others to read. You can read it and let me know what you think. No pressure, I just thought it could be fun to share. It’s always a joy to come back and ski here!

Here’s what I wrote:

Hello Readers!

My name is Leah Mowry, many of you probably know me, others probably have no idea who this guest blogger is. I’ve grown up in Peru, Vermont, playing outside in the snow for as long as I can remember. My days at Wild Wings started when I was a small tot, my parents stringing me along by ‘m&m gas stations’ every 50 yards of the trail. Although it definitely wasn’t my favorite activity, I loved being outside. I started skiing with West River, the local ski club as soon as I got in elementary school. Then I decided to take a break from skiing and play basketball for a few years, which definitely wasn’t my smartest decision. I was NOT a natural on the court, and soon got pulled back into the ski world. My Bill Koch League years were 4th grade to 8th grade, all of which were punctuated by fun skis with friends at Wild Wings and nerves that froze me on the start line of most races. My goals in these years were just to start and finish each race I did. A goal I continued to remind myself of as skiing got more competitive. 

Peru is a pretty special place, and I’m realizing now that Wild Wings is sort of a foundation for it all. There are some famous skiers that live here, and some incredible skiers in the current ski pipeline that also grew up skiing Turkey and Woodcock. I never felt pressure to be a fast skier, but something about the community fostered a lot of speedy athletes. 

I am now 20 years old and ski for the club ski team at Middlebury College. Prior to this, I skied for my public high school team and a couple times for the Vermont Elite Team. I never went to a ski school, skied on a club team, or raced in the bigger races where I could attempt to qualify for competitions like Junior Nationals. I trained for some bits of summer throughout high school with the Stratton Mountain School team, but mostly just because that’s what all my friends were doing all summer, so naturally I had to join them. My love for skiing has only grown in the years I’ve spent doing it. No matter how hard I train or how well I perform, I still can’t help but feel a little bit on the fringe. I’m not a varsity athlete and I don’t have these crazy cool international training and competing stories to tell. 

Yet, I feel a part of it all nonetheless. And I still find it incredibly cool to ski and train surrounded by all of these young, speedy skiers. 

This winter has highlighted the amazing ski community we live in, all of which revolves around our local ski joint, Wild Wings. As a college student, my days at home in the winter are numbered. But each visit home, I arrive at Wild Wings to get my fix and have been awe struck by what I find. 

I showed up at Wild Wings to go skiing with my dad and some of his friends early one morning earlier this winter. Upon our return to the center, a group of local kids were rounding up in their race suits to start a time trial. Most of said kids were my friends, alum from SMS, currently at SMS, or other skiers from the area. As I watched them all prepare, I was both struck with joy and another fringe feeling. But I nipped that feeling in the butt when I was asked if I wanted to join their workout. I knew better than to say yes, but I also knew I would always be welcome to join them. What struck me most, was that each one of them were representing a different team with their race suit. We had all the local colleges, Middlebury, Dartmouth, Williams, Bates, Colby… we had UC Boulder, SMS, and even a USA suit. And they had broken Sverre out of coach retirement to organize them all. This was a moment of unity for me. It reminded me how close this ski community is, and how special it is to have a place where everyone can come back together for some serious training and fun on skis. 

Around the holidays, word got around that Sophie and Simi were back in town with their beautiful newborn girl Lily. There I was, out for my morning ski around Peregrine in the sun, and Simi skis up behind me. It’s kind of a normal thing I expect at this point, but it’s not everyday an olympic skier passes you by on the trail. Later he skied up behind me again, but this time with little Lily on his chest. He said something along the lines of ‘you’re looking fast,’ which is just about the best thing a fringe skier could hear. My mind and heart were doing a little dance, saying ‘hey, your work isn’t going unnoticed.’ Point is, not everyone has a local ski center where they ski alongside Olympians or otherwise accomplished skiers. 

Just today I showed up to ski a nice, easy, slow ski in the sun. My car pulls in with the SMS high school team on one side and some just-returned-from-the-world-cup-in-Europe skiers on the other. All of whom were in race suits ready to embark on some set of intervals. As I made my way around the trails, I just kept recounting all the times similar things have happened to me at Wild Wings. How could I not be inspired to ski fast and train hard in this beautiful community?

The cool thing: Wild Wings feels like home to all of us. All of the local kids who grew up skiing here, as well as all the skiers who came here to train later in life. It has that homey, small-town vibe, while remaining someplace where professional skiers can do serious training. Truly a place of inspiration, as long as you accept that your skiing experience is valid no matter how serious or trained you are. 

I now ski in the U.S. Collegiate Ski circuit, with prospects of attending nationals this year in Mammoth, CA. This would be my first time traveling out of New England for skiing, which highlights how my ski experience has been different from many of the skiers I’ve grown up around. This is all just to say, I definitely don’t think I’d still be skiing if I didn’t have such a supportive and inspirational group of people surrounding me. No matter how on-the-fringe or illegitimate I feel, Wild Wings always feels like home. 

No matter how professional or fast we become, we all have those memories of building jumps in the snowbanks, playing games in the field, and warming up pies on the fire pit. Wild Wings can be a home to you too, as long as you aren’t afraid to jump in on all the excitement!

Hopefully this winter takes a turn for the better sometime soon! Wishing for snow and colder temps!

Best,

Leah