Justin Reyher
Me
Justin Cash
Route 100 is a true skier’s and snowboarder’s superhighway, running about 200
miles from the Massachusetts state line north to Newport, Vermont, near the
Canadian border. From Mt. Snow to Killington to Jay Peak, 100 provides access to
a stronghold of great ski areas. In the waning days of spring, our three-man crew
was aiming to ski them all.
We were on a mission: in 48 hours, lay down tracks at 10 Vermont ski areas in
the 100 corridor. It would be no straight shot—we’d branch off and back onto 100
all the way up, rolling past sugar shacks and two-blink towns, bouncing off frost
heaves and bogging down behind farm trucks. We’d run into lines at lift-ticket
counters, convenience stores and cafeterias, and be tested at every turn.
Photographer Justin Cash lived in the southern half of Vermont, near Killington.
He was a Yankees fan, and liked his martinis colder than a Vermont winter’s
night. I was the reporter, a Red Sox fan living in northern Vermont near
Smugglers’ Notch. Cohort and Stowe skier Justin Reyher was our alpine advisor
and photo boy, making telemark turns look good in front of the lens.
We were a band of brothers, but the rivalry ran deep—northern Vermont vs.
south, Sox vs. Yankees, snowboarder (me) vs. skiers (the Justins). We put our
differences aside for one reason—to finish the 100 Challenge.
It was early April, but it had been a stellar winter, and most areas were still
stacked with snow. We convened at Killington, ditched Reyher’s truck and jumped
in Cash’s trusty Ford Explorer—a true gentleman’s chariot—to take us to Mt.
Snow, the starting line, and southernmost extent of our trip.
Before checking in at the Grand Summit Hotel, we stepped out of the soggy night
into the Dover Bar and Grille, a gritty locals’ haunt with great attractions: beers,
giant soft pretzels, and the Sox throttling the Oakland A’s on TV. Still, we shut it
down early to gear up for a fast start.
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