Peter and JoAnn Kavouksorian - Mountain Travelers Ski/Hike Shop
Published in Vermont Magazine – Jan/Feb 2004
Story by Brian Mohr
If there is ever a book of Vermont fairy tales, the story of Mountain Travelers Hike and Ski Shop in Rutland, Vermont deserves a chapter in it. It is a classic tale about two individuals coming to Vermont, tasting their dreams and through hard work, a little luck and smart thinking, making them come true.
It all started back at Killington in the spring of 1974, when co-owner Peter Kavouksorian pulled over in his van – in which he and his dog were camping out of at the time – to offer his future wife JoAnn a ride home to nearby Pittsfield. They had spotted each other as ski instructors on the mountain before, but I doubt ever imagined what was to come.
In the years that followed, after getting married and deciding to stay in Vermont together, Peter and JoAnn Kavouksorian went on to establish one of the most successful outdoor speciality shops in the northeast.
“We specialize in non-motorized, non-competitive sports,” shares Peter Kavouksorian or “Peter K.”, as he is often known. “Telemark and nordic skiing, kayaking, backpacking and snowshoeing is what we are all about.”
Today, Mountain Travelers occupies a growing niche in the world of self-propelled outdoor sports, and Peter and JoAnn take pride in welcoming customers who are looking to enhance their enjoyment of the natural world around us. They have customers from as far away as Chile, and customers “that have known us since our kids were young,” shares JoAnn.
“Their shop is definitely one of premier shops in the northeast,” says Tyler Merritt of Richmond, VT, a Sales Representative with Black Diamond Equipment Ltd., makers of high quality telemark and backcountry skiing equipment.
Key to their success, according to both Peter and JoAnn, has been their long-term personal commitment to the sports and activities that their business promotes and depends on.
After growing up in the northeast skiing, hiking, paddling and camping, starting Mountain Travelers only seemed natural.
“With Rutland being the gateway to the Green Mountains…we saw an opportunity to support year-round outdoor adventures,” reflects Peter on the shop’s early days. There were other traditional sporting goods shops in the region, but none that specialized in what Mountain Travelers still carries today. Riding the nordic skiing and hiking boom back in the mid to late 70s, their business got off to a promising start.
“Really though, we didn’t know what we were doing,” admits JoAnn about the early days.
Yet, they did enjoy what they were doing and they were experts at finding others who also knew how to have fun. From their earliest days up at Killington, Peter and JoAnn were active participants in the revival of telemark and backcountry skiing, sports that had all but disappeared, yet were brought back to life by the nordic skiing craze of the time.
Telemark skiing combines both the thrill of downhill skiing with the freedom of uphill mobility, and thus became the preferred method of exploring off-trail or “backcountry” ski terrain. Before long, Peter and JoAnn found themselves in the middle of a small community of dedicated telemark skiers at Killington, which in turn helped to build their customer base at Mountain Travelers.
“We’d head up to the mountain any day that little wooden skis with ligno-stone edges would work,” remembers Dick Hall, a long-time friend of the Kavouksorians who now runs the North American Telemark Organization out of Fayston, Vermont, and who, like Peter, used to teach cross-country skiing close to the mountain.
Soon enough, Mountain Travelers had its own telemark ski racing team – The Tasmanian Telemarkers – their own races up at Killington, and their business and the sport continued to grow. By the late 1980s, Mountain Travelers stood as the primary purveyors of telemark and backountry skiing equipment in the northeast. And thanks in part to significant feedback from Peter and JoAnn and their growing community of skiers and customers, telemark ski equipment took a turn for the better. Boots became more supportive, skis got wider and this in turn attracted more people to the sport – and their business.
“Telemark skiing is now our predominant business,” says Peter. And he even goes so far as to say that telemark skiing, a sport that has long been on the fringe of skiing culture, has become mainstream.
The now famous Tasmanian Telemarkers raced for several years before realizing that free skiing was much more fun, and continued to meet up every Wednesday on the slopes of Killington from thereon. It was the beginning of a tradition that is stronger than ever today – and one that Peter and JoAnn are still at the heart of. They still call themselves the Tasmanians, and this vibrant cast of characters can be attributed to a large part of Mountain Travelers’ success.
“I’m getting constant input from twenty five to thirty skiers every Wednesday,” says Peter, referring to the product related feedback and advice he is able to gather from his community of dedicated skiers that meets every week at Killington. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support I get from a tremendous array of interested and expert individuals involved in the sport.”
As much as they love to spread out and enjoy the relatively quiet slopes of Killington mid-week, the Wednesday crew is also passionate about getting off the trails and into the backcountry, hiking in the spring and fall and even going out for a paddle together now and then.
No doubt, without the support of the Wednesday crew, and the multitudes of other skiers and outdoor enthusiasts within their sphere of influence, Mountain Travelers wouldn’t be where it is today. It is a classic example of grassroots networking based on nothing more than pure fun.
Has it all been fun? I inquired.
I posed this question inside their colorful and spacious store along Route 4 in Rutland, just before the road begins the steady climb to Sherburne Pass and Pico Ski Area. Their store is adorned with images of beautiful mountains both near and far, and the latest kayaks, skis and clothing to keep you warm and dry. The Kavouksorians stopped renting and moved Mountain Travelers to their current custom-built location in 1995.
“To be honest, developing a business property in Vermont was much more than I envisioned…and it was very costly,” shares Peter. “But on the plus side, we’ve got no billboards, a small population and I get to live where a lot of this country comes to vacation.”
The two share that the internet, product trends and new technology, the weather and the economy has kept them on their toes.
“Good communication…Wednesdays…really good luck with employees,” have all contributed greatly to their success, claims JoAnn. “There’s also the male/female thing and type A and B personalities balancing each other out…And we never discuss business with pleasure.”
It sounds like one healthy formula. Yet, funny enough, I’ve never come across a better example of business and pleasure going hand in hand.
For more information about Mountain Travelers, go to www.mountaintravelersinc.com or www.mtntravelers.com . Their website underwent a redesign this fall.
Brian Mohr is a writer and photographer living in Moretown, VT and can be reached at through his website at www.emberphoto.com
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