It’s been an action packed opening days in Europe and we’re glued to the headlines. The Green Mountain State is standing strong on the world’s stage with a disproportionately high number of athletes representing and better yet they’re tallying results. The TV has been on early in the morning at the UnTapped office and we’ve been cheering a pair of UnTapped Maple Fanatics as they perform with the best their sports have to offer. Ben Ogden’s silver medal in the cross-country men’s sprint is the stuff dreams are made of. Having grown up in southern Vermont and in the same home town of cross-country skiing pioneer, Bill Koch, Ben’s silver in cross-country skiing represents the first in fifty years for the United States. That last medal a half century ago? Bill Koch!

Ben takes a break from training for a quick energy boost. Photo: Carter Hall

Meanwhile on the alpine ski slopes, Ryan Cochran-Siegle matched Ben with a Silver of his own. This marks his second such result in four years in the discipline of alpine Super-G. On the topic of historic events, his mother was on-hand to watch Ryan in Europe this week and she has a gold of her own from fifty-four years ago! It’s worth mentioning that UnTapped and its sister company, Slopeside Syrup, got it’s start on the very ski hill which bears Ryan and Barbara’s name, Cochrans Ski Area.

Ryan trains are Cochrans Ski Area less than one month before winning Silver!

Here’s a very fun article summing up the connection between all this excitement!