THE LEGENDARY STOWE DERBY CHALLENGES CROSS COUNTRY SKIERS TO TRAVERSE FROM MANSFIELD’S PEAKS DOWN TO THE VILLAGE IN A ROLLICKING RACE TO THE FINISH LINE.
By Lucy M. Clark
A Hairpin Turn History
The year was 1945. Erling Strom, a world- famous mountaineer from Norway, and Sepp Ruschp, the head of the Mt. Mansfield Ski Club hailing from Austria, were exchanging views on ski gear. The eventual subject of debate: would Nordic skis (Strom’s pick) or alpine skis (Ruschp’s choice) win out in a race that would test a skier’s all-around ability? A race, say, that started from the top of Mt. Mansfield and traveled across the valley, finishing in Stowe’s historic village. It wasn’t long before the pair had this very course set for a race to settle things, once and for all.
That first Stowe Derby, put on by Mt. Mansfield Ski Club, ran on the last Sunday in February, 1946. Twelve men participated. Ruschp, on alpine gear, won that day. But that wasn’t the end of it. Strom challenged
Ruschp to a rematch the following year. Ruschp was victorious yet again, and the race turned into an annual tradition.
For the next 20 years, Ruschp and Strom zipped down the same course on the last Sunday in February. The one rule—that racers could only use a single pair of skis to cover all of the terrain—became part of the Derby’s lore...and lure. And as the years ticked by, hundreds of other racers began joining in. (Today, nordic skis are the most popular gear choice; alpine gear is rarely if ever used.)
In the mid-60s, a spate of unfavorable weather led to repeat cancellations. The Derby fell off the map until 1972, when Johannes Von Trapp of the Trapp Family Lodge and Mt. Mansfield Academy brought it back. After its revival, the Derby began to snowball, drawing 700-plus racers by the 1980s. “It was a big party day, with wine and food stops along the way,” Chenowith recalls. A tradition of racers donning costumes, from tutus to moose antlers to cow suits, added to the fun.
In 1987, with the advent of skate skiing, Derby organizers split the event into two races: a skate competition, followed by the classic nordic competition. Skate skiing (also called freestyle skiing, where skiers move in a side-to-side motion similar to skating) is much faster than classic cross-country—it would win in a race every time. They also added a “Derby-meister” category for the skier who doesn’t think one lap is enough: Derby-meisters ski both the skate and classic Derby.
A Harrowing Descent
The prospect of downhill skiing on cross country skis is daunting, to say the least. On alpine skis, you can regulate your speed by making turns all the way down, enabled by your skis’ metal edges. Nordic skis have no edges and are ultra lightweight. In addition, your heel is free, compared to alpine skis where the entire boot is secured. “This alone deters the faint of heart from signing up for the Derby,” says race director Sarah Sterner. “Racers must rely on their skill and strength alone to complete the descent safely.”
Another stumbling block: Toll Road, where the race begins, is narrow and windy; you never know what you’ll discover on the path ahead. “You might come around a blind corner to find three people laying across the ground in front of you,” says Jeff Nichols, project manager at Spruce Peak. “There are a lot of surprises and you have very little control, which is super scary.”
Moreover, you depart from the top of the mountain in groups of four, leaving every 30 seconds. “You are side by side with other people, touching and bumping them,” Nichols says. “It is easy to fall and hard to recover your balance.”
Along the route, spectators on the sidelines applaud the skiers, often ringing cowbells handed out to racers along with their bibs the night before. “Crowds tend to congregate wherever there will be big falls,” Nichols says, citing one particularly tough corner where Toll Road connects to the ski trail on top of the triple. “There’s a roundhouse turn with a steep drop-off that’s famous for tremendous crashes.”
In fact, ski patrol is on standby at this danger zone, ropes in hand, ready to pull up skiers who tumble over the edge. “At least 100 people will line up here to watch,” Nichols says. “They cheer when racers make it—and when they fall!”
So what’s the secret to getting to the bottom in one piece? “Don’t come full tilt around tight corners,” Nichols says. “Check your speed by breaking into a snow plow or throwing your skis sideways.”
Once you reach the base, it’s typically smooth sailing into town. The race culminates with the Derby Party, where everyone—from racers to friends and family to casual spectators—comes together to celebrate the winners and swap stories from the day.
Cheers to the Derby
Today, Mt. Mansfield Academy continues to organize the Derby, which is open to skiers ages 14 and older. While it attracts some serious competitors—Olympians, U.S. Ski Team members, NCAA champions—it has always been, and still remains, a race for anybody and everybody who loves to ski.
“It’s incredible and unusual—you have to go down the biggest mountain in Vermont, and then travel cross-country through town,” Sterner says. “It’s a jack of all trades, master of none sort of event.” Many racers spend all year looking forward to the Derby, and have years’ worth of fond memories of skiing the course.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Andrew Ruschp still remembers the extraordinary anticipation he felt leading up to the first year he was old enough to participate — and he’s already looking forward to racing with his daughter (now just a toddler). She’ll be the fourth generation of Ruschps to ski the Stowe Derby. “I feel honored that the Derby is still in existence,” Andrew Ruschp says. “It’s part of the fabric of Stowe.”
