Points North; Segments on Biathlon, Winter Sports, and Cochran's Ski Area

This time and points north. We take to the hills first an inside look at one of the months and best kept winter secrets the sport of biathlon them. Attention all speed dude. Here's the latest in half pipes and sick tricks. And finally for the young and gentle we visit a Vermont tradition Cochran's hear the story of a family who remains committed to their scheme mission. You know I think we're the envy of nearly everyone right now. Where else to be than in the middle of a great winter in Vermont on skis. Welcome to points north. I'm Rob aholic in our first story we travel to the foothills of Mount Mansfield near the tiny town of Jericho a place where athletes come from around the world to train and compete. And one of Winter's little known events. It's an event that combines speed and endurance with the patients and perception

of a great athlete. What does that add up to the sport of biathlon. It's nearly five o'clock on a cold wintry afternoon. But the temperature doesn't stop a few hardcore athletes who are up to the challenge. I competed in 1980 on the all Army military team and actually competed right strange. Twenty years ago and. Little did I know I'd be back up here coaching a junior by a fundy. Twenty years later Tom Lane this from Alaska where he grew up hunting and Nordic skiing and he joined the military after high school and saw the sport of biathlon as a way of combining two things he loved to do here. Marrying two wildly different activities one that requires patience and at a very slow art rate in the other

requires fast speed an extremely high rate. If you're going over a quick and down maybe. Tom coaches for athletics in the junior biathlon program at the Ethan Allen Regional Center for Excellence located at the firing range in Jericho. It's considered to be one of the best in the country. While teams have been training here for nearly 30 years the sport itself is much older. It wasn't too bad and historically it's European or they have cave paintings and Scandinavia there are 4000 plus years old that picture hunters on skis tracking large mammals. And so that got its start about 4000 years ago and has ended up that what we see here is that in the modern sport of biathlon I just reset the target.

It's really is two different sports. And to train to be a biathlon by athlete versus to train to be a straight Nordic athlete requires twice as much time. A lot of Nordic racers try biathlon and get disappointed because you can be the fastest skier in the country and you miss all your targets you're not going to win the race. And that's the way it goes. 22 caliber rifles are used on 50 meter ranges. Targets are two sizes approximately the size of a CD for off hand shooting and the size of a dollar coin for the prone position. It's basically getting that reflex where you get a sight picture and you get your finger to pull the trigger. Just the right time. And it's just doing it you're basically shooting in between heartbeats if you let your breath out slowly and get a sight picture and can and can pull off squeeze off the trigger they're in in get it to work every time. And then you'll clean the targets

and you have good races. The races are divided into two classes sprint races are seven and a half kilometers with two shooting positions and persued races are 10 kilometers for women and 20 kilometers for men with four shooting stations. You typically start a biathlon race with your rifling your ski ski about two kilometers and you come into the range and shoot in Crone or on your own. I'm a physician. You know I get up and ski another tuit two and a half kilometers and come in and shoot offhand which is standing and shoot at five targets at every shooting position. If you miss one of the targets on the shorter races you ski penalty laps. The military has always been connected to the sport of biathlon in the early 1970s

the team was centered in Fort Richardson Alaska when the state decided not to continue the program. Vermont adjutant general Reginald Graham sent Brigadier General Howard Buxton to Alaska to learn more. They decided by a fly it was something that Vermont could support. And it's been here ever since. And this range certainly gets its use not only do American athletes train here but by athletes from across Europe and Russia come the year round as well as military teams and the U.S. biathlon Association. Right now most of the trails are quiet since athletes have moved west to continue their training for the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City Utah. It's kind of a labor in obscurity really. There's not a lot of money in biathlon top international calligraphic it's from this country and Anyway don't don't make a lot of money. Right.

Right there you see where you're getting there. Now on that. As a coach ton trains as athletes a minimum of 500 hours a year in the summer they run roller ski and fine tuning their shooting skills in the winter. They work on skiing techniques more shooting and adjusting to cold weather. Currently there are four students in the program. Not only do they train every day but they provide their own clothing skis boots and rifles the rifles alone can cost over $2000. Buy a farm first appeared as an Olympic sport in 1924 but was dropped after World War 2. It reappeared in the Swat Valley Olympics of 1960 and has been an event ever since. But not until 1992 did we first see women competing on an Olympic biathlon team. When I go out on tour now they have runs a roller skiing on a nice summer

afternoon. Everybody else goes to the mall or to the movies and too tired to go out and they go I mean just come with us you know take a break from training. But it's going to be a little crazy. Champlain Valley Union High School senior Kate Dirda hopes to one day win a place on the junior national biathlon team and she just might do it. Kate was the girl's champion from the U.S. in Alberta Canada two years ago next year she plans to attend Colby College in Maine where she'll continue to train. When you're out on your loop then you're getting closer to the range you pick a point where you want to start switching over to shooters mentality and start bringing down your heart rate a little bit and then you come into the range you really have to focus on the prize. When you get into position and shoot and just really keep yourself nice and steady when you pull the trigger. I think what keeps me interested is the challenge of coming into the race having to

change from being a skier to thinking like a shooter and just that that challenge really makes it intriguing and just a common See if you can beat the challenge and help the tires even to their arrangement. It's a great feeling when you're able to do that. I've been coaching Nordic skiing for a number of years. I believe that as an athlete particularly and in sports like Nordic skiing and running that sort of thing you get I got quite a bit out of them. I always had planned. Along the road to put some time back into the sport and that's what I'm doing now. Are you up on the latest ski slope terminology. Rails began air sick tricks. Terrain Park.

It's all part of a new language that describes the emerging variety of snow sliding. A sport that's driven by young people who want to go beyond traditional skiing. We got curious and headed down to the snow zone of Vermont Killington ski area where the young and talented showed us their acrobatic skills. Just ain't what it used to be. Stop at a Vermont ski area and just the variety of equipment on people's feet suggests the changes add to rain parks and have pipes and the picture of ski areas is very different from what many remember. Young people want options to be additional scheme and they get them at Killington snow zone. Around. The sun Zone Program is a program designed for 13 year olds plus. At the joints of the resort here. It's right around the corner not flying just to have a

choice about how they take lessons here and what they learn. It features three major sports alpine skiing skateboarding which is what we call a new school sport. It's done on small twin tip skis and those pieces of equipment are used in various features on the mountain. From New A types of features like Half-Life in terrain parks to traditional venues like mogul skiing tree skiing and other natural features are. Probably the most radical departure from traditional skiing can be found in the halfpipe a structure brought to skiing by skateboard enthusiasm. Some of the veterans of the snow zone program perform amazing feats on snowboards and skis in Killington staff. It's natural highs very exhilarating. So my passion and running a pipe is exceptional. One of the best things to do get back to the house by physically

being very free in the air. Why as much as you want. Well the half pipe represents the new program also incorporates things of the past like skiing in the trees. Although it's an older venue many take the new equipment and new activities like snowboarding and jumps into the woods. I used to be able to steer and then I just kind of got Boyd and I wanted to switch over to snowboarding. Try something new. You feel like attached to your bike feel like it's almost like just a party you see. It's really I mean you know my eyes feel like I'm less than I really am.

Snow zone continues after the riders leave the slopes. Frank Sparrow who conceived the program considered a social element for the participants and a place to meet crucial to its success. A loft area in one of the ski lodges provided the space. The question for Frank was would the interaction he wanted occur. Recently over the Christmas period there were probably 50 years 60 kids up there and they had just gravitated into little groups all on their own and were talking and about various things some about their skiing and riding some about totally unrelated things. But the social aspect at all had happened just by virtue of proof presenting the venue for them to be there. That was a very important moment for me because it proved to me that our original concept really had some basis.

We're going to write gun grabs which is one of the easiest grabs when Frank also wanted to cultivate coaches and instructors who are close in age to the snow's own kids the coaching training program addresses that need. All right so you guys all remember how to talk in a John. All the off the lip get air. Go for the guy. Let's go start the landing All right. But this bit. That's what I'm talking about tonight. You're. Right Richard. Tucker you know it's it began the night. You guys are really good your form was nice going and stuck your Landon's. Very good for some of the participants the ultimate goal is competition and that means the X-Games hell that melts now. Dylan good speed does fantastic acrobatics called big air on 20 skis and hopes the X-Games are in his future going to be going out to squalid Valley for the X qualifiers for big air try to compete.

There's like 100 people can compete in it and I take the top three. So it's like yet feeling unbelievably good. If I cough or I don't go to the X Games I'm now snow. For big hair. My best trick probably for big haired 5 BE LIKE 7 20 cork. A 7 20 cork is you spent two full rotations around. And then the cork is like you're off access or not space straight up. It's been that kind of sideways. What I look forward to in skiing is when I like hit a trick. Perfect. You just are practicing and practicing practicing you following her and then you find the landing. It's the greatest feeling in the world. You're so psyched. Everything is so awesome doesn't matter how many times you fell before coaching competition. Riding the various menus and equipment all add up to the major appeal of the program. Variety we're talking about an activity where there's no rules the rules are being made up as we go on and the tricks are being made up as we go.

What I like about skiing it is really creative. You can do anything you want. You can go in the woods on the park in the pipe. You take it anywhere you want. Picture this. It's 1961. Mickey and Johnny Cochran by an old Hillside Farm that runs along the Winooski River in Richmond. Through a lot of hard work and with Mickey's talents the Cochran's transform this land into a family friendly skeary. A place where their children and the neighbors could enjoy skiing and race training. Sure enough. The Cochran kids rule the slopes for many years. Four decades later Cochran ski area remains a

local legend. I visited with Johnnie Cochran to talk to her about what it took to get started and what it will take to keep going. The Cochrane ski area has become a landmark in the state of Vermont. But back in 1961 people didn't know about it what were you and your husband Mickey looking for back then. Well we lived in South Burlington and our children started ski racing at Spyglass. And so we were looking for a place for them to practice during the week looking for a house with the big steep backyard. And we found it here. And so really this was just to be a place where the family could practice their scheme. Yes it was. That's how it originally started and it was just sort of like Topsy it just grew. The kids were just calling the kids no no they're all grown adults but way back then they were becoming quite the good skiers. They all went to some great success I think most people will remember barber and the gold medal but

they all did some great things. What were some of the highlights. Marilyn was the first American to win in a World Cup leg of the giant slalom. She won the which was in 1969 and in 1970 barbarian won a silver in song and world championships in me I want to bronze and combined. And Bobby was only the second American to win the non-income which is similar to the Wimbledon and tennis but it's a big race in Austria and he won the combined and I think that was 73. Sometimes I forget what was it like for the family with all these competitors especially achieving such a great level around the world and skating. What was it like for the family behind the scenes were they competitive with each other. I think they were quite supportive of each other actually I think that's maybe why they did so well because they did have each other I remember. Berberine in

Maryland talking about how discouraged they were in that one time in grand Weldon and a vegan is the other side of the mountain and Bobby and Rick Cherry skied over to have tea with them and it sort of boosted them in the night so I remember they went on and were one of the top five in that particular race so I think they just helped each other. I think our family has just we grew up with the experience of skiing and it was always just fun for us. And so mom and dad kind of passed on that love when they created the ski area and it started. With the rope to right behind the house. We used to have people come over. After dinner actually a couple times a week and they'd. Ride the rope and you know I didn't think that much about it but looking back it was pretty amazing to think that. That these other ski racers that we were competing against you know came to our backyard to get some more training in during the

week. But it was always fun for us it was just something that our family did and you know now I look back and I'm just current. You know what an incredible childhood. All of this notoriety I think played a big part in the Cochran spirit becoming a place where more and more people would come and bring their families and their children to learn how to ski. What are the challenges in terms of making this the ski area that people would come to and keeping it running. Mainly money or lack of it as it grew it required more and more capital then. And we really didn't have the business to support that but my husband and I never took a salary so we just sort of did it mainly for the love of the land then after my husband died I hated to see the land turned into development I really I mean

native or modern I love the land and I didn't want to see it be developed. And so that's when we started the nonprofit. Tell me a little bit about. That decision and what it is taking to have this nonprofit organization keeping the current ski area going into the future. Well fortunately this year it took some nice snow to keep us very busy and we also have a very supportive Cochran Ski Club which is a group of parents and racers that are very supportive. They help out wherever we need them and they're just wonderful. Right now as it is with most non-profits it's a eternal struggle to pay the bills but I think we're getting there. We have tried friends of Cochran's which has been rather successful and we have applied for some grants we haven't received any. We're still

hoping. I don't think if we raised our prices I don't think it would be cost effective I think it would. We get less skiers by and large we we're continuing to go to grow and to hopefully we can keep it going. It's really cheap. Easy to get to and it's you know a little more personal. I think actually I mean everyone I think in this area started to hear this. This thing has been going for so long and. It goes way back so they're really great with the kids. Just love to see. Kids and adults on the slopes all you wanted to see was that they were having a great time. You know and I think with that kind of the foundation. That we've been able to continue that. So I think the family's important to the sport to be able to continue it.

So one last question just as you frank about going into the future describe your vision your dream for all of this progress. Will I just hope that it will provide affordable for families. In one think you'll see this afternoon all the children that enjoy it. We have school programs we have a hundred school children that just for the week and on the weekends we are loaded with families. It's just a wonderful experience for families to do things together to ski together. They say the family this together stays together. So we hope that we can keep it. We hope we can keep it in a recreational use for ever. Time we hope you enjoyed the show and we hope you get out and enjoy the show

and we hope you send us your comments and suggestions. You can write North public television all 5 4 4 6. Or check us out on the web at. Org. And we hope you'll be sure to join us next on until then for all of us. Thanks for being with us.