Craftsbury Nordic Ski Center

The Craftsbury Nordic Ski Center (CNSC), located in Craftsbury Common, VT was established in 1978 on the grounds of the defunct Cutler Academy.  Russell Spring, an investment broker from Stowe, VT bought the Cutler Academy campus in 1976 to develop a training facility for running, sculling, soccer, and eventually a cross-country ski center.  In 1978 Russell Spring recruited Jim Fredericks (head ski coach at JSC) to start a training center designed to give aspiring nordic racers an opportunity to excel in academics and nordic ski training. The new program had limited success as an academic/training center but later morphed into a nordic training center without the academic component. 

Along with Fredericks, Russell Spring also hired Bucky Shelton to develop a touring center on the premises. Jim Fredericks developed the training component while Shelton focused on developing the public touring aspect of the Center. The CNSC was soon known for its excellent snow and ideal training opportunities. Over the next three years, Fredericks conducted numerous training camps for junior, collegiate, and master racers while training some of the country’s top nordic athletes throughout the year. Fredericks also directed many races at the CNSC that included numerous collegiate carnivals, junior qualifying races, Olympic Tryouts, Dannon Series, and numerous citizen races. 

In 1982, Fredericks was recruited by the Green Mountain Valley School to start a nordic component of the alpine ski academy. John Broadhead, a frequent guest coach at the CNSC took over Fredericks’ position as Director of Skiing and remains in that position today. The Craftsbury Nordic Ski Center name was eventually replaced by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, which was currently being used by the non-winter programs at the facility. The Craftsbury Outdoor Center has turned into a thriving non-profit training facility developing national and Olympic caliber nordic ski racers and rowers under the name of the Craftsbury Green Team. 

The Outdoor Center continues to host numerous high school, collegiate, and national level races on one of the country’s premier trail systems complete with snowmaking.