Wild & Woolly Snowshoe Race Recap

On Saturday, Feb 19th NorthWoods Stewardship Center hosted the return of the Wild & Woolly Snowshoe Event; featuring wild winter weather and intrepid winter travelers. This year’s event hosted nineteen athletes from around the Northeast to compete in 5K and 10k race events. A large group of twelve Paul Smith’s College Striders’ athletes brought the spirit to the event doting “Wild and Woolly” costumes as well as positive energy. Although the forecast coming into the event predicted warm and rainy conditions, races went off with fresh powder and snow squalls through the day! It was perfect race conditions for a snowshoe event.

Post races, athletes were treated to chili and cornbread around the fireplace inside the lodge. After their bellies were full, a short awards ceremony and raffle were held. Athletes walked away with some great and unique prizes such as a pair of Dion Snowshoes, an oil painting, and several hand-crafted wooden pieces. NorthWoods would like to thank all the staff and LEAP/ECO AmeriCorps members who made this event a success:  Kelsey Evans, Maria Young, Corrie Desilets, Charles Hill, Blase Saucedo, Sam Perron, Katlynn Vredenburgh, Will Brehm, Andy Cappello, Hanson Menzies, Meg Carter, Dusty May, and Amy Palaia. A special thanks goes out to our sponsor for this event: Dion Snowshoes who donated several items to our raffle which made our event even more special. Thank you Dion; we hope to continue our partnership in this event for years to come!

A note from the athletes: “This was the best snowshoe race I’ve competed in this year!” 

 “Yesterday, we had a dozen students take part in the 2022 Wild and Woolly Snowshoe Race held at the NorthWoods Stewardship Center in East Charleston, VT. Our own Corrie Desilets was the race director and chief cook and bottle washer for the event. The race course and the venue are awesome for the participants – plenty of indoor space to store your gear and stay warm, before and following the race. Snow coverage was not an issue, and the trail was groomed quite well. Plenty of hills and a variety of terrain so boredom was not an issue. The driving and travel will provide long term memories for those who made the trip, and the students surely made the best of the long drive to the Northeast Kingdom, of VT. Thank you Corrie for pulling off this event.” –Jim Tucker Striders Coach and Athletic Director at Paul Smith’s College 

United States Snowshoe Association Director, Mark Elmore, welcomed Corrie Desilets and NorthWoods Stewardship Center to the small, but growing ‘snowshoe race directors club.’