by Abby Stone, Administration, Marketing and Designer
Our team at Vermont Properties is all about passing down family traditions to the younger generations. Each member of our team has managed to get their children and spouses involved in some sort of family tradition or experience from skiing and snowboarding to fundraising and giving back to the community. In particular, Joe Karl, one of our agents, has begun passing down his love for snowshoeing to his daughters. Joe has been performing guided snowshoe tours at Okemo for 18 years for all types of events like the torchlight parades and fireworks displays. During the holiday vacation week, Joe had the pleasure of having his daughter, Brigid, join him on one of his famous snowshoe tours at Okemo. I felt that it was the perfect time to write about both his relationship with snowshoeing and his daughter during this holiday season, as I know it will warm your heart, so I decided to sit down with Joe and do a quick interview. Enjoy!
Abby: What do you like most about snowshoeing?
Joe: "It's simple! Once you invest in a good pair of snowshoes, they last forever, and then you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. Plus, it is great for all levels and abilities. It's always fun to go out with folks that have never snowshoed before.”
Abby: What else do you do on the snowshoe tours?
Joe: “I enjoy giving tips on the mechanics of snowshoeing and educating the group on Vermont's beauty. I like to be a fun-fact filled machine whether it be about history or nature."
Abby: When are you doing another snowshoe tour so that our readers can mark their calendars?
Joe: “January - stay tuned for the final date! I look forward to having another tour that is hopefully filled with more snow!"
Abby: How did Brigid get into snowshoeing with you?
Joe: “Vail Resorts has asked their employees at Okemo to help with events. Brigid's supervisor, Chris Saylor, asked her if she would be interested in helping to guide the tour and she said yes. Lucky me!” #FatherDaughterDuo
Abby: How did Brigid feel about the tour?
Joe: “She had fun. She is really great with kids and I was very proud of her as I watched her interact with the guests. I look forward to having her help me out in the future and to hopefully pass the torch to her."
Abby: What was a highlight of the tour?
Joe: “The torchlight parade was one of the best I've seen in years. The skiers were traversing in a tight-knit formation and skied in a smooth line. It looked flawless in my humble opinion."
Abby: Where do you like to snowshoe other than Okemo?
Joe: “My backyard! Even on a cold winter day, it is very sunny up on the ridge in Chester. I get some cool views on the Chester Stone Village along with the sight of some animal tracks."
Abby: Where does your family like to snowshoe together?
Joe: “Mainly our backyard but we will go to Lost Mine in Chester once in a while."
If you are reading this and thinking, “I should start a new tradition with my family!”, then take Joe’s advice and bring snowshoeing to your family. Joe gives snowshoeing the stamp of approval of being “a fun family sport that everyone can do and simply enjoy the outdoors together”. It also wouldn’t hurt to end this blog post with a note that if asked to, Joe would probably most-definitely say yes to guiding your family on a snowshoe tour, day or night!
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