When brothers Tyler and Elliot Wilkinson-Ray were growing up in Richmond, their parents were hesitant to put them on skis. 鈥淚t sounded like an expensive sport to them,鈥� says Elliot Wilkinson-Ray. But a daycare provider suggested they try Cochran鈥檚 Ski Area, a small, affordable family hill. 鈥淪he brought us [there], and it changed our lives,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淥ver 20 years later, we鈥檙e still passionate about the world of skiing.鈥�
The brothers now run a film production company called T-Bar Films (named for the old-fashioned method of transporting skiers up the hill, still in use at some Vermont mountains), and have created a documentary about Vermont鈥檚 community ski hills, 鈥淯nited We Ski.鈥� The film premiers in Burlington on November 7 and will . Tyler and Elliot joined Vermont Edition鈥�s Jane Lindholm to talk about why these small ski hills have been so culturally important to the state of Vermont.
On Tractor-Motor Rope-Tows
"[There鈥檚 one] up in the Northeast Kingdom鈥n a 300-cow dairy farm. And it鈥檚 the same tractor that the farmer uses at the farm. And when he鈥檚 going to run the rope tow, he just puts his skis in the bucket, and drives it up and hooks the PTO [power takeoff] off the back into the rope tow鈥nd that鈥檚 as traditional you got. That was how people first started doing it.
"You'd farm in the summer, but in the winter there wasn't that much going on. And so people went skiing."
"These places were born back when Vermont was still predominantly an agricultural community, and that鈥檚 what people did in the winter. You鈥檇 farm in the summer, but in the winter there wasn鈥檛 that much going on. And so people went skiing."
On The Importance Of Volunteers
"These places are only around because the volunteers keep them running 鈥� There is a sense of community that forms around them, that for a lot of people involved them, I think, goes beyond just an act of skiing. This is where people get involved in their community; this is where people meet other people in their town, this is where people give back ... The film, for us, really extends beyond just a ski movie into more of a movie about Vermont and the Vermont community."
"The film, for us, really extends beyond just a ski movie into more of a movie about Vermont and the Vermont community."
On How Small Ski Areas Are Facing Climate Change
"Cochran鈥檚 put in snow making, and Hard鈥檃ck in St. Albans did as well. Cochran鈥檚 studied climate trends, and said, if you look over ten years, there鈥檚 still going to be enough cold nights, that with snow-making we [will be able to] make enough snow to still be able to ski. And then Northeast Slopes took it in a different direction, and they said, 鈥榃ell, because of climate change, it doesn鈥檛 make sense for us to make this investment. We鈥檙e going to ski here as long as we can. When there鈥檚 snow we鈥檙e going to ski; when there鈥檚 not snow we鈥檙e not going to ski.
"But climate change is a big concern for all these places. In many ways these small places are relatively well-geared to deal with that because their operating costs or so low 鈥� they鈥檙e not depending on people coming up from Boston to survive."
from on .
Screenings:
Nov. 7: Main Street Landing Film House, Burlington, 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 9: Saint Albans Historical Museum (proceeds to benefit Hard'ack Ski Area). 7 p.m.
Nov. 14: Billings Lecture Hall, University of Vermont, 8 p.m.
Nov. 15: Richmond Free Library (proceeds to benefit Cochran's Ski Area). 7 p.m.
Nov. 16: Bradford Academy Building (proceeds to benefit Northeast Slopes). 7 p.m.
