Craftsbury Scramble Recap

Hazel and Josie model their custom team hats, homemade specifically for the event (Photo: Anika Leahy).

Over 150 racers toed the line on Sunday for the inaugural Craftsbury Scramble, a team sprint full of bumps, twists, and turns. The chilly temps were no match for the abundant sunshine, grinning faces, and heat radiating off the many, many waffle irons that threatened to short-circuit the entire Craftsbury campus. Races were mass started by group, which meant sending 30 racers at a time straight into a downhill, followed by a tight corner, slalom, and bumps. In the open men’s and women’s races, Craftsbury juniors showed their prowess in navigating the obstacles of Mount Craftsbury, taking home top honors. In the mixed division, however, recent biathlon retirees Alex Howe and Emily Dreissigacker proved that moving on to a life of farming doesn’t mean you can’t still ski fast. Most notably, the many couples who raced together as teams still appeared to like each other at the end of the races. In the BKL races, teams from around New England threw down, with many kids racing for their first time ever.

Highlights of the day included a post-race DIY waffle station with no fewer than 27 topping options, cookies for everyone, a prize raffle, sequined outfits, and some of the best cheering we’ve seen in years. An estimated 70 lbs of waffle batter were consumed in addition to at least 2 gallons of maple syrup.

Full results (by team name only!) can be found on the Craftsbury webscorer site.

Racers round a corner on Chip Hill before heading into some downhill rollers. (Photo: Anika Leahy).