Liz Harris raised five children in the Mad River Valley. She loved all of them, deeply, with that distinct kind of love that a parent feels for their kids.

In 2016, Liz’s teenage daughter, Mary, was in a car accident with four of her friends. A wrong-way driver collided with them on I-89, and all five teenagers died. The accident made national news, profoundly affected the community and changed Liz’s life forever. What’s helped her move forward is to try and spread as much love in the world as she can.

As part of the series exploring love this week, Liz explains how her ideas about love changed after experiencing a profound loss.

Our show is made for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for clarity and concision.

Liz Harris:  I think there’s that love you have for your friends. There’s that love you have for your community. There’s that love you have for your partner, your spouse. And then there’s that love you have for your kids.

My name is Elizabeth Harris. I go by Liz. And I live in Moretown, Vermont.

We had seven different personalities in the house, and it was busy. I stayed home with five kids. Two of my sister’s kids I watched, and she has four. And a couple of neighbor kids. So I’d have 10 kids at my house on a regular basis. But I hiked with them, I skied with them, I swam with them. 

I remember this one time my sister and I hiked up Mad River, and we had my five, her four, and Janie and Ollie Cozzi with us. And everybody was so happy. And it was a long hike! And you know, there was a little bit of complaining, but everybody was kind of in their groups.

And my sister and I got up there and we sat them all down and took a picture. And it’s that feeling of nothing could be better, you know? 

And on our way down, we had — one of our kids was running so fast that they tripped right before one of the towers, and launched probably like eight feet and cleared the pad. And my sister and I both looked at each other and thought, “Goodness, what would we have done if we were out here with two adults and all these kids and something happened?”

In 2016, something did happen that changed our lives, changed the direction of all of our lives. It actually changed love, and what would be spread in love. What was left behind in love, and what was felt through love.

My daughter Mary was killed in a car accident when she was 16 with four of her friends. They were coming home from a concert in Burlington and they were on the interstate and a wrong-way driver hit and killed them all. 

When you love something so much and that physical presence is ripped away from you, you realize how fortunate you are to love someone that much. And have somebody love you that much. 

And I felt like she played a huge role in why or how I could move forward. And I think, honestly, that is love. 

Mary was a giver. By nature, she was a giver. She gave every part of herself while she was here. And the ripple effect of her love came out in all the people around me,.

She was empathetic towards others and she was kind. She gave every part of herself while she was here. And the ripple effect of her love came out in all the people around me. 

For six months, people brought us dinner. And I probably wouldn’t be eating if people didn’t bring me food. I felt like it was a giant spider web, and Mary was the center of the spider web, and then we were the next ring. And then those rings just kept going out and out and out until people would start reaching out to me from as far away as Arkansas, and had lost their child and couldn’t get out of bed and would ask me, “How do you do it?” 

And I’d say, “I’ve got other kids. I have a community I love. I have a lot of life that I love. And it’s a long road. It’s a long journey. It’s something that sits with us every day, but it’s part of the story. It’s part of life. It’s part of love,” you know. 

And I honestly think Mary puts people in front of me all the time.

The owners of Berkshire East have expanded again to acquire another family-owned ski area in Vermont.

Less than a year after taking over Burke Mountain, in Vermont, Bear Den Partners announced the company has entered into a deal with Bill Stritzler, the long-term owner of Smugglers’ Notch, in Jeffersonville, Vermont, and will become an operating partner.

“The Stritzler family will continue to have an ownership stake,” said Jon Schaefer, chief executive officer and managing associate of Bear Den Partners, adding Stritzler’s daughter Lisa will serve as adviser on the future of the mountain.

The Schaefers, which have owned Berkshire East in Charlemont for decades, purchased Catamount Mountain on the New York-Massachusetts border in 2018 when the two families who owned the Egremont mountain put it up for sale after struggling for years to make improvements.

Then in May 2025 the Schaefers joined with several other partners to form Bear Den and purchase Burke Mountain for $11.5 million, which has suffered through years of turmoil including multiple owners, at least one bankruptcy and a financial scandal over misuse of federal funds that sent its owner and two others to jail.

“We were intentional about finding an operator who truly understands what makes ‘Smuggs’ special,” Stritzler said in writing. “We sought out Bear Den Partners as an equity partner because they share our belief that this resort is about families, employees and community, not trends or shortcuts.”

The company was knee-deep in making improvements and preparing to open Burke when it was invited to consider taking control of Smugglers’, Schaefer said in a letter to the community.

“When the time came for him to transition to new ownership, he had two paths — corporate or independent. Bill (Stritzler) chose Bear Den Partners, a group who he believed (and we will live with every cell in our bodies) to be independent-minded operators, family-focused and committed to high-quality outdoor experiences,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer promised each of the four mountains will continue on with their own unique vibes.

“From where we sit, both (Vermont) resorts remain independent, each with its own personality, specialty and on-mountain management teams,” he said.

The company plans to share some resources where it makes financial sense but they will be behind the scenes things such as banking and using collaboration to improve purchasing power, Schaefer said.

Acquiring Smugglers’ fits a lot with the current mountains the Schaefer family and their partners own. None of them have a lot of glitz but each has strong family-friendly programs and a huge summer business. Berkshire East especially has a strong mountain biking and whitewater rafting component.

Skiers and riders will eventually also see some pass perks that will let them go to all four places, Schaefer said.

Berkshire East and Catamount, which are located about 60 miles apart in Massachusetts, already share the Summit Pass which gives unlimited skiing and riding to any holder. This year additional perks were added to the Burke and Summit passes that allow skiers and riders a chance to visit the other mountains.

The three mountains are also members the Indy Pass, which gives holders two tickets at a wide variety of independent ski areas. Smugglers’ Notch is not of the multi-mountain pass and it is unclear if it will join next year.