“Weekends with Yankee” Episode 413: Heading North

On this episode of Weekends with Yankee, we join cohost Richard Wiese at Killington Resort in Vermont for women’s World Cup skiing, a two-day event that draws over 40,000 spectators. Richard chats with Olympic gold medalist Diann Roffe about the next generation of skiers, and also meets up with Willy Booker, the head of Burke Mountain Academy, whose students have included reigning World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin. Then Richard takes the gondola to the top of the mountain, where he chats with former Olympic skier Edie Thys Morgan about what it’s like to race at a World Cup. Next, we travel with Richard to Walpole, New Hampshire, to see artist Eric Aho working on one of his famed “Ice Cut” paintings, which are inspired by “avantos”—holes cut into a frozen lake as part of the Finnish tradition of ice swimming. Richard and Eric both go for a dip in the lake before warming back up in a lakeside sauna. Finally, we visit Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, to see José Clemente Orozco’s monumental mural series at the Baker-Berry Library. Covering nearly 3,200 square feet of wall space, The Epic of American Civilization depicts the history of North America, and we learn how Orozco’s work has had a profound impact on the art world. Finally, we visit Twin Farms, an exclusive resort in Barnard, Vermont, steeped in romance and history.