In this episode of Nordic Nation, we speak all things trail design with John Morton. Based in Vermont, and global in perspective, Morton provides insights into the literal ups and downs of trail design and how full-blown nordic centers and small scale trails can bring a modern vibe to an old-school sport. He runs Morton Trails locally but has a global reach with projects based in China. His most recent trail work at Paul Smith’s...
The following was submitted to FasterSkier by John Morton, a former U.S. biathlete and two-time Olympian (1972 and 1976) who has attended 10 Winter Olympics as “either an athlete, a coach, the Biathlon Team Leader, Chief of Course or, more recently as a spectator,” according to his bio (at end of article). Today, Morton, 71, lives in Thetford, Vermont, and works in trail design. *** I’ve had the remarkable good fortune of attending 10 Winter Olympic Games....
Note: In addition to the Dublin School, at least one other private school in New Hampshire has FIS-homologated trails. first high school in the world to receive the FIS homologation distinction. Founded in 1935 by Paul and Nancy Lehmann, the Dublin School had unusual criteria. For location, according to its website. In addition to the new race loop, the Dublin School developed three additional kilometers of track that are not homologated. ...
(Press release) Seeley Lake ROCKS is pleased to announce that John Morton, former Olympic Nordic Skier, will participate in the Peter Hale Memorial Race to be held on Saturday, February 4, 2017, in Seeley Lake, MT. Morton is very familiar with Seeley’s ski trails. He knows the existing Seeley Creek Nordic Trails system well, and worked on the proposed Fawn Creek trail system that is bringing such excitement to the regional ski community. “We are...
Susan Dunklee had been looking forward to racing at a home World Cup for the better part of the last five years, and then some. She found her "happy" place on Thursday to achieve a historic career-best: second place in the women's IBU World Cup sprint. "In order to have my best performances in biathlon or anything in life … I really have to find what I love about it,” she said.
The Casper Mountain Biathlon Club has broken ground on an ambitious plan for a 30-point biathlon range and 10 kilometers of new homologated trails -- at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level -- for both adaptive and able-bodied skiers.
Inspired by the Maine Winter Sports Center, a small Montana community formed the Seeley Lake Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports (ROCKS) in 2010, and this spring, ROCKS will file an application to build a new Seeley Lake nordic-ski venue. If all goes according to plan, the area would be one of six venues with D-category homologation.
Mention the name 'Peter Hale' and you'll be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn't think he was one of the nicest, most giving people in the U.S. nordic industry -- and it wasn't because he was a salesman. In fact, making money might have been least important to Hale; he was in it for the athletes.
From a new 5 k homologated course to the largest snowmaking system of its type in North America, Middlebury College's Rikert Nordic Center in Vermont is on the cutting edge of cross-country ski racing. It did so largely in part to attract events like NCAAs, which start today.
Seeley Lake, MT – Olympian and Nordic ski trail designer John Morton of Morton Trails was recently in Seeley Lake to assess the potential of Seeley Lake’s Nordic trails. Morton Trails teamed with local firm CTA Architects and Engineers and was selected through a competitive bidding process to perform a Nordic events and training center feasibility study for Seeley Lake. The team was selected by Seeley Lake’s Nordic Challenge Steering Committee, a group representing various...
What do a GPS, a retired airline pilot, and a Norwegian guru named Hermod Bjorkestol have in common? All are key components of a plan to bring many of the U.S.’s biggest venues in line with International Ski Federation (FIS) standards. At its annual meetings in Turkey in early June, FIS made it clear to American officials that a longstanding exception would be revoked: starting in the winter of 2011-2012, all races held in the...
John Morton received this year’s EISA Service Award for the work he has done in trail design which has so positively affected many communities and nordic skiers; racers and recreational tourists alike. Many of the EISA college races are run on trails that he has designed or modified, including the new homologated race courses at Trapps Family Lodge in Stowe, VT, and The Jackson Touring Center in New Hampshire. Morton is a two-time Olympian who...