Vermont's Environmentally Oriented Green Racing Project has 3 skiers at Sochi

[cali]

In the summer of 2009, a half-dozen elite collegiate cross-country skiers embarked on the sort of grueling training regimen required of any Olympic hopeful. In two- and three-a-day workouts, the young men and women cranked through five hours of roller-skiing on mountain roads, double-poled sprints on a SkiErg machine, and had their maximal oxygen consumption tested by their no-nonsense Bulgarian trainer

Among them, they’d captained teams, earned top-10 finishes in Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association races, stood on medal stands at winter carnivals, been named NCAA All-American. None wanted to stop there, though. All had raised their hopes higher: the World Cup in 2012, the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

They were committed in ways that went beyond skiing. Their base was Craftsbury Outdoor Center, a rough-hewn former boys’ academy along the shores of Lake Hosmer in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. When they weren’t training, members of the ski team could be found drawing up plans for a commercial-size composter or meeting with wildlife managers to protect a critical habitat corridor. They called themselves the Green Racing Project. They’d come to Craftsbury for intensive training and an equally intensive internship in environmental stewardship. In the world of driven, focused, national-level competitors, they represented a unique take on an emerging concept: the green athlete.

The visionaries behind the project, Judy Geer ’75 Th’83 and her husband Dick Dreissigacker, had bought the outdoor center in 2008 through their family foundation, turned it into a nonprofit, and immediately expanded its purpose. (The nonprofit status “allows us to be more driven by mission” yet still follow a strong business plan, says Geer.) To its well-known summer rowing camps and annual ski marathon, Geer and Dreissigacker added a threefold mission of nurturing lifelong sports, community, and the environment. The Green Racing Project was their first attempt at that kind of cross-pollination. -

See more at: http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/magazine/good-sports/#sthash.RiXiFGwv.dpuf

Susan Dunklee is competing in Biathalon- Today she placed 14th in the Sprint, fastest ever for an American woman. the next American placed 45th. Had she not missed her last shot, she would have medaled.
http://www.teamusa.org/Road-to-Sochi-2014/Features/2014/February/09/Dunklee-Earns-Top-Sprint-Finish-Ever-By-US-Woman

Ida Sargent is a cross country racer
http://www.teamusa.org/News/2013/January/01/Go-For-The-Gold-Home/Go-For-The-Gold-Ida-Sargent

Hannah Dreissigacker is also competing in Biathalon events
http://www.teamusa.org/US-Biathlon/News/2014/January/29/Sochi-Spotlight-on-Hannah-Dreissigacker

Dunklee and Sargent are both from the tiny Northeast Kingdom town of Barton. Dreissigacker is also from Northeast Vermont. All three went to Dartmouth.

[cali]

1. I'm kicking this. Susan Dunklee may not have won a medal but

she did better in Biathalon events than any American ever has.

she came in 9th in the sprint and 12th in the mass start.