Since 2010, farmer Evan Perkins has spent his winters exploring the wild ice outdoors around his home in Barnet. “Wild” ice is ungroomed, and Perkins wears Nordic skates to glide across the uneven surface. He owns Small Axe Farm with his wife, Heidi Choate, who often joins him on skating adventures. In between food deliveries, Perkins clips on his skates and takes off — sometimes traveling between 50 and 100 miles over different frozen bodies of water. He shares videos of these visually stunning escapades on the farm’s Instagram page.
For the latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger met up with Perkins at the Apple Island Marina in South Hero for a Nordic skating lesson. Perkins also shared safety tips and stressed how important it is to be prepared for anything out on the ice. This Nordic Ice Skating site has some helpful tips.
Filming date: 1/28/25
Music: King Canyon, “Keep On Movin’”