RIPTON — New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) has announced its 2018-2019 Club of the Year Award to Frost Mountain Nordic. The club, which offers ski instruction and racing for children, young adults and adults at the Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, did an amazing job this year hosting both an Eastern Cup and the New England Bill Koch League Festival. 
Both events were well-organized, inclusive, fun and celebrated the spirit of Nordic skiing and the joy of going fast on skis, NENSA officials said in announcing the award on June 12.
Frost Mountain Nordic always strives to put on the best possible events — the combination of exciting trails, hard-lined snowmaking, the Rikert staff and volunteer force always make for memorable days up on the mountain. Perhaps the most striking attribute is the knowledge that they bring to the table as an organizing committee — folks genuinely like gathering at the Breadloaf Campus to act as one large skiing family.
On top of putting on amazing events, Frost Mountain Nordic has maintained strong programming and involvement from the Bill Koch League up through a successful Junior racing program and their Phatcats masters program. The racing programs are overseen by Ryan Kerrigain, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. This year Frost Mountain Nordic tied for 7th in the NENSA Club Cup standings, and sent one skier — Elvis Macintosh — to Alaska for Junior Nationals. The club’s mission to “create a healthier, more active outdoor lifestyle for all ages and abilities” is admirable, and completely in line with NENSA’s mission of sustaining a vital Nordic ski community here in New England.
This year’s New England Bill Koch League Festival had one of the highest turnouts that NENSA has seen in recent years, with the theme of “Glide on the Wild Side.” Led by Festival Chair Keith Wilkerson, the crew at Frost Mountain Nordic came together to turn Rikert Nordic Center into a wild and wooly gathering of creatures big and small, with volunteers sporting animal costumes and giving out high fives and cheers to passing skiers. It was a true festival atmosphere, and a great example of how a kids event can be fun and easygoing, while still offering high level ski racing.
They also hosted a three-day race weekend that included that included an EISA Carnival, an Eastern Cup and a citizen race — no small task — but as an organizer if you’ve done your work things seem easy. The whole weekend ran like clockwork. 
“It was a real pleasure to host with Barney Hodges, The Rikert staff, and the Frost Mountain crew,” said club officials. “From taking care of the small details like raking the corduroy to perfection and awarding tasty prizes – everyone made sure skiers had a fantastic experience.”