R-270 Page 1 of 1
2024
No. R-270. House concurrent resolution celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Catamount Trail.
(H.C.R.205)
Offered by: Representatives Nicoll of Ludlow, Anthony of Barre City, Boyden of
Cambridge, Brownell of Pownal, Brumsted of Shelburne, Burke of Brattleboro, Buss of
Woodstock, Chapin of East Montpelier, Chase of Chester, Cina of Burlington, Demrow of
Corinth, Dodge of Essex, Dolan of Essex Junction, Dolan of Waitsfield, Farlice-Rubio of
Barnet, Graning of Jericho, Harrison of Chittenden, Higley of Lowell, Howard of Rutland City,
Jerome of Brandon, Krasnow of South Burlington, Logan of Burlington, McCann of
Montpelier, Ode of Burlington, Pouech of Hinesburg, Priestley of Bradford, Roberts of
Halifax, Shaw of Pittsford, Sheldon of Middlebury, and Taylor of Colchester Whereas, in August 1982, while camping in the Worcester Range on a rainy night, three young Vermont friends—Steve Bushey, Paul Jarris, and Ben Rose—committed themselves to
skiing the length of Vermont from Massachusetts to Quebec, and Whereas, they were not mere idle dreamers, and, over the next two years, Steve Bushey,
while writing his master’s thesis at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, identified a route for this proposed winter odyssey, and Whereas, in February 1984, Steve Bushey and Ben Rose filed articles of association with the Secretary of State establishing the Catamount Trail Association; and, on February 29, 1984,
these three daring adventurers, with the support of a fourth friend, the late Jim Painter, skied northward from Whitingham to the Canadian port of entry adjacent to North Troy, where, on March 20, they presented themselves to Canadian Customs officers before returning to
Vermont, and Whereas, as the result of this 1984 project, the Catamount Trail Association (CTA) was born, and today it is a thriving Vermont recreational organization, voluntarily stewarding and managing the 31 sections of the Catamount Trail, and Whereas, in commemoration of the Catamount Trail’s 40th anniversary on February 8,
2024, Paul Jarris and Ben Rose, along with CTA section leaders Bob Brandt and Kevin Batson and CTA Board Chair Jay Stearns, who served as the group’s videographer, set out to ski the current route of the Catamount Trail in an event named the Ruby Run, and Whereas, insufficient snow north of Stowe halted the trip on March 3, 2024, but a 40th anniversary celebration, which Steve Bushey also attended, still occurred that day at the Trapp Family Lodge; and, in 2025, all three of the original skiers intend to traverse the remaining nine sections from Stowe to the Quebec border, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Catamount Trail, and be
it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Catamount Trail Association.
VT LEG #376190 v.1