Paul Smith’s College moves forward with Nordic skiing expansion

This November, Paul Smith’s College hosted John Morton of Morton Trails and entered the design phase of Nordic ski trail expansion at the VIC.

Morton, a former Olympic athlete and ski coach at Dartmouth College, spent most of the day on foot with Bobcats athletics and VIC staff, as well as Paul Smiths native and Olympic skier Tim Burke, exploring trail improvement opportunities.

“In the 28 years of designing recreational trails and competition venues, I have rarely seen a location with more potential for trail-based recreational activities than what currently exists at Paul Smith’s College,” Morton said.

Morton went on to explain that colleges with successful Nordic skiing programs often require their student athletes to commute an hour one way and several times a week for training while here students can walk from their dorm rooms.

Future work will include include minor widening and turn reconfiguration on select trails, giving both competitive and recreational Nordic skiers an improved experience at the VIC. Also in discussion is the addition of a biathlon range.

Staff involved emphasized that the effort is being carefully balanced between skiing improvements and other popular VIC uses, ranging from bird watching and nature photography to public programming and environmental education, and that this next phase will continue to best serve visitors who enjoy the facility and its 25-mile trail network.

The Nordic expansion is part of the college’s ongoing Olympic sports initiative, which began a year ago with the addition of women’s ice hockey and hiring of Andrea Kilbourne-Hill, an Olympic silver medalist and director of hockey at Paul Smith’s. This August, Kilbourne-Hill was one of the five Olympians to join college’s Advisory Committee for Olympic Sports.

The group includes Burke, Billy Demong, Chris Mazdzer and Andrew Weibrecht. The five athletes represent a combined record of 17 Winter Olympic Games appearances and six medal wins.

“Having grown up training at the VIC with Tim Burke and others, I know how much potential is at Paul Smith’s College and the VIC,” said Demong, a two-time Nordic combined Olympic medalist. “John Morton is the perfect person to help develop that potential and I am really excited about being able to bring USA Nordic teams to PSC for some great training opportunities.”

Pictured above from left to right: John Morton, Paul Smith’s College Athletic Director Jim Tucker, Tim Burke, Paul Smith’s College President Cathy Dove, and Mount Van Hoevenberg Cross Country and Biathlon Center Manager Kris Cheney-Seymour, a 1991 PSC graduate.

About Paul Smith’s College
At Paul Smith’s College, it’s about the experience. We are the only four-year institution of higher education in the Adirondacks. Our programs – in fields including hospitality, culinary arts, forestry, natural resources, entrepreneurship and the sciences – draw on industries and resources available in our own backyard while preparing students for successful careers anywhere. For more information, visit paulsmiths.edu.