It’s not really time for a winter retrospective (even though all the snow in the backyard is gone) because we know it’s going to snow in April. But here goes. Except for coaching, I photographed only three races in the winter of 2021, all local and all low-key, from the lollipop race of the Northwest Vermont Bill Koch League Festival at Sleepy Hollow to Vermont’s eastern high school championships at Craftsbury Outdoor Center. They may have been small, but they did not lack for great picture-taking opportunities. Congratulations to the kids, who ski so well and have so much fun, and to all the organizers, the parents and the coaches who put these events together in a pandemic. These are some of my favorites. Click here for full, giant galleries on the new SmugMug pages I have just added.
Category Archives: Winter
Winter Arrives
After a slow start, it suddenly snowed and winter was here, full-time, for now. Top and below, the Montpelier, VT, middle school cross-country team heads across a field on an adventure ski. Everything else is within about two miles of home during the first big snowfall of 2021.
Winter Happening
As crazy as the rest of 2020, winter at the end of the year was happening slowly, in cold starts followed by fits of warm weather. Above, the colors of winter rolled in over Camel’s Hump, north-central Vermont’s local mountain. Below, the wintry look of Dec. 23 followed by the unwintry look of Dec. 26, after a day of fifty-degree weather and rain. 
Snow due tonight and tomorrow will change things.
January in November
November turned to winter in a hurry: snow, skiing and temperatures one night near zero. Both photos, early season skiers at Craftsbury Outdoor Center, VT, USA.
Farewell, Winter 2018-19
In northern New England, the winter of 2018-19 really started in early November, and it kept going and going. In fact, it seemed as though spring did not arrive until the past few days, when temperatures reached the 60s and the peepers started peeping. There was a lot of winter. Toward the end of the season, snow at the snow stake on top of Mount Mansfield, the highest summit in Vermont, reached more than 10 feet. Above is one of my favorite pictures of the winter, from Craftsbury, VT.
Nighttime at the Oasis
Night and snow settling on LBJ’s Grocery, Worcester, VT. You can get garam masala and basmati rice here in addition to Bud Light and Hershey bars.
It’s been a busy winter, and I haven’t posted much, but I have been posting more regularly on Instagram (@lazenbyphoto), so if you have Instagram, follow! Meanwhile, I’ll be catching up here.
Winter Jumps
After a long cloudy day, the sun came out and the kids started jumping off the mini-mountain of manmade snow at the Craftsbury, VT, Outdoor Center last weekend. The guy on the bottom started out facing the other direction and in this series is en route to a 360.
Super Tour Finals at Craftsbury
The 2018 Super Tour finals brought nordic skiers from across the country to the Craftsbury, VT, Outdoor Center for five days of racing last week. Panning (moving the camera with the action while it is set at a slow shutter speed) is often a matter of luck, and I lucked out on the above photo of the lead pack in the men’s 50-k freestyle race starting down a gradual hill. Below, the 50-K start, a skier at the finish, and young racers in the club relay held after the Super Tour relay. Bottom, America’s Olympic cross country ski medalists: left and right, Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins (gold, PyeongChang, 2018); center, Bill Koch (silver, Seefeld, 1976). Click here for a gallery of all the events. Use the right arrow to speed up viewing.
It’s Still Winter in Quebec
No matter what it’s doing where you are, it’s still winter at Mont Sainte Anne in Quebec, just down the Fleuve St. Laurent from Quebec City. Four feet of snow on the ground in the last week of February. Velo d’hiver riders (below) and skiers taking advantage of the situation while they can. Hydro Quebec electric lines humming loudly in the falling snow. For more, click here for a gallery.
Cross Country Skier Cover
.
US cross country ski team member Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minnesota) leads up the hill above the stadium in Lahti, Finland, in a photo I took at last year’s World Nordic Ski Championships. It’s the cover of the newest issue of Cross Country Skier magazine. Diggins won her first World Cup race of the year today and will be headed to PyeongChang, South Korea, in a few weeks for the Winter Olympics. Click here for info on the magazine and, if you’re a skier, subscribe!