By Paul Bean
Everyone VDC talked to assisting Vice President JD Vance’s visit to the Mad River Valley said was in fact here to spend vacation time with his family and not engage in politics. They also told us that overall it was a positive experience and there’s every indication that he may return in the future.
This event was the perfect storm for this reporter. Not only did I get to spend the weekend skiing with my friends and family at my favorite place in the world (where I would have been anyway), but one of the most high profile guests on Planet Earth was there skiing as well. This event also resulted in unprecedented social exposure for VDC.
Saturday morning, while waiting in line to get on the chairlift, I noticed some people standing by the lines holding signs in protest of the VP’s visit. As a frequent skier of Sugarbush and former employee I can say confidently that such behavior would typically never be tolerated at the resort. This was clearly a unique circumstance.
So, despite my ski party’s objections, right before I was supposed to get on the chair, I jumped out of line and snapped the photo above and posted it to our networks.
That photo now has 220,000 views, 7K likes, and 295 shares on Facebook, and many more on other social media platforms.
In a matter of days our audience increased significantly and more rapidly than ever before. It has been extremely hard to keep up with the endless incoming stream of information in messages, comments, and calls during this whole event.
For a political reporter who lives in the-middle-of-nowhere central Vermont, it felt like the whole world was knocking at your door, especially considering the heated exchange that took place in the White House on Friday between President Trump, Zelenskyy, and JD Vance…
Protesters were in full force this weekend in downtown Waitsfield and some in Warren as well. However, I spent all of my time this weekend hoping to catch a glimpse of the Vice President on the mountain- and MAYBE he would see me skiing in my black MAGA hat.
“Nice hat Nazi!” said one of the protesters while flipping me off as I took the photo of the protesters by the chairlift.
Another skier who was protesting while skiing told me while waiting in line that he “hoped I tore my ACL skiing,” to which I replied, “do you really feel that way?”
“Yeah I do. Donald Trump is a f***ing racist.”
“Do you want to ride up with us?,” I replied.
“No. I don’t, and you’re a f***ing loser.”
Many in the crowd line stood there in shock as this exchange took place in front of a lot of people.
“Peace be with you,” I said.
This exchange spiked the blood pressure of myself and my companion. We both felt concerned that he might becoming physical or try to do something nasty. It was truly a vicious display of hate. And all I was doing was peacefully skiing in my hat.
Again, I was just hoping that I would get a glimpse of the VP, or perhaps he might see me absolutely rippin’ it up, sporting their cap.
The whole time we were skiing, we all felt like we were on a secret mission to find the Vice President. It felt like a mix of James Bond and an episode of National Treasure with Nicholas Cage.
Everyone was wondering the logistics. How they would make this happen? Would lifts be shutdown? Would trails be closed? How would they make this work?
I am genuinely impressed by the Secret Service and security overall. It was extremely hard to find the VP. As a former employee I know the mountain very well. I know a lot about the inner workings and operations of the resort and I have a pretty good idea of how they did it. I think it’s best, however, to just let everyone infer for themselves.
What was likely a very stressful weekend for the Sugarbush staff, was a very fun weekend for the rest of us. With every large grouping of skiers and riders we wondered, “is that him in the blue jacket?” “Oh maybe that’s him over there!!” “I think I just saw him you guys!!”
The feeling of anticipation that we just might come around a corner on Jester and there would be the Vice President of the United States of America… how weird!
Not all of my interactions with the protesters were bad, however.
I also rode on the chairlift with a man from Central Vermont who was wearing a Ukraine flag and some message of support for Zelenskyy.
“I love the Dark MAGA hat man,” he said. “I am not a fan of MAGA at all, but that design is just so sweet. I especially like Elon Musk’s ‘Gothic Dark MAGA.'”
His kid was also on the chair with us.
“I don’t necessarily disagree with a lot of the things the administration is trying to do. I am a tech guy, I know what they’re trying to accomplish,” he told me. “It’s just that my kid is transgender and I am concerned about what the way they’re going about this all.”
He also had concerns that Donald Trump might be seeking to empower himself indefinitely and effectively establishing himself as a dictator.
While he and I certainly disagreed on many things, we both agreed that our Government should be seeking to operate with a balanced budget and that we cannot continue to bury our nation’s future in debt.
JD Vance’s motorcade consisted of 30+ vehicles and hundreds of people including security, staff, and family
I did not personally witness the motorcade, but the Store Manager of Champlain Farms did, and took the video above.
Reactions on social media were mixed. Here are some of the responses from the Chronicle’s Facebook page:
This will go down as one of the most memorable weekends in the valley for many locals. Between the protests, amazing ski conditions, and our high profile visitor, the hype was pretty real.
I close with this text from friend and former candidate for office Dexter Lefavour, responding to a photo of me skiing in my MAGA hat. It expresses how I felt about the whole weekend:
