Waterbury writer David Goodman to receive ski journalism award
July 29, 2023 | By Lisa Scagliotti
Waterbury author, journalist and radio host David Goodman. Photo by Jeb Wallace-Brodeur
Waterbury Center author, journalist, and radio host David Goodman will be among the honorees at the 2023 Vermont Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame induction ceremony in October at Killington’s K1 Lodge.
The Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum announced this year’s Hall of Fame class members and award recipients on Tuesday as tickets for the Oct. 14 ceremony went on sale. The annual event features short documentary films about each of the inductees and award winners.
Goodman will be receiving the Paul Robbins Journalism Award for his contributions to ski journalism in his published books and articles over more than three decades. Goodman is the author of what the museum described as “the bible of Northeastern backcountry skiing,” referring to Goodman’s backcountry skiing guidebooks, first published in 1989 and updated several times since. Written for the Appalachian Mountain Club, the books were the first comprehensive guides to backcountry skiing in New England. The most recent edition was published in 2020, “Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski and Snowboard Tours in New England and New York.”
The Paul Robbins Journalism Award is given in honor of Robbins, who died in 2008 after a career covering and working in the U.S. ski racing world that began in the 1960s. He worked at eight Olympics from 1980 on and later as a press officer for the U.S. Ski Team and ski commentator for CBS and NBC.
The award recognizes ski and snowboard print, broadcast or photojournalists who follow Robbins example by carrying out their work “with ethics, humor, good taste, and always with the promotion of Vermont skiing and snowboarding and the larger communities in mind,” according to the museum’s announcement. The recipient is chosen based on their body of work and service to the ski and snowboard community.
“With his deep passion for skiing, love of history, and his gift for storytelling, David has inspired countless skiers to make their own tracks in the winter wilderness,” the award nomination explains. “David’s books helped ignite a revival of interest in backcountry skiing and inspired a community-based ski movement in the Northeast. Volunteers have come together to cut backcountry ski trails for the first time in a century.”
The author of more than a dozen books, Goodman is a freelance journalist writing for the New York Times, the Boston Globe and magazines including Mother Jones, Outside, Ski and Backcountry. He also is the host of the weekly radio show, “The Vermont Conversation,” broadcast on WDEV and produced with VTDigger.
More about Goodman’s nomination for the award is on the museum’s announcement online at Paul Robbins Journalism Award — VTSSM.
According to the announcement, the Hall of Fame this year will add five new members:
John Egan, a longtime Mad River Valley resident, pro skier, pioneer of extreme skiing, and “renowned Sugarbush ambassador”
Howard Buxton, a Vermont native and former Vermont Army National Guard member who was instrumental in moving the U.S. Army biathlon training facility from Alaska to Vermont and in founding the U.S. Biathalon Association.
Diane and Tim Mueller, longtime members of the Vermont and national ski and snowboarding community as former owners of Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow as well as ski areas in New Hampshire and Colorado.
Suzi Rueck, a pioneer of snowboarding as a sport as well as snowboarding instruction, education and coaching.
In addition to Goodman, a second special award is on the program of the Oct. 14 event. The Fresh Tracks Award honors a young Vermonter who is contributing to and enriching skiing or snowboarding in Vermont and/or beyond, according to the museum announcement. “Awardees will serve to provide models for future generations to emulate,” it says.
This year’s recipient will be skier Tara Geraghty-Moats. In 2021, at age 28, Geraghty-Moats of West Fairlee, Vermont, won her first World Cup in the Inaugural Women's World Cup Nordic Combined competition which involves both cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The event was not open to women until the 2020-21 season. Read more about the Fresh Tracks award and Geraghty-Moats’ nomination at First Tracks Award — VTSSM.
Tickets for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony are available now for $125, with fees increasing to $145 closer to the date of the event.
More information on the inductees and tickets is online on the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum’s website.