I was at Sugarbush this past weekend snowboarding in a hoodie and sunglasses. Not "well, there's technically snow on the ground" skiing. I'm talking real, honest to god, this is actually great skiing… in Mid April… in Vermont.
It felt like a perfect ending to a season that didn't get nearly enough credit.
While ski towns out west were dealing with a frustratingly thin year, dragging through low snowfalls and early closures, Vermont was quietly stacking up the inches to build up an amazing snowpack making for an amazing winter. If you were paying attention, you already knew. If you weren't, this is your reminder to keep Vermont skiing on your radar.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Let's start up north, because that's where the numbers get genuinely wild. An hour and a half north, right up against the Canadian border sits Jay Peak, and this season it was the snowiest resort in North America. Not just Vermont… All of North America. Jay finished at 404 inches total, hit 300 inches by late January, and opened November 29th before most people had shaken off Thanksgiving.
Closer to home, Smugglers' Notch came in at 307 inches across 135 operating days and wrapped up April 12th. Bolton Valley, Just 30 minutes from Burlington hit 301 inches and closed the same weekend. Both had genuinely great seasons and both earned every inch of it.
Stowe Mountain finished somewhere in the 300-304 inch range, one of the highest totals on record, with Mount Mansfield already sitting at 63 inches by December 12th! Sugarbush came in at 227-228 inches with a base still holding at 12-42 inches right now.
Vermont just kept going.
We had snow early. We had snow often. And we had snow late, which is sometimes the best snow of all, heavy and grippy in the morning, warm sun on your face, surface holding up longer than it has any right to in mid-April. Sugarbush and Stowe are still running and projected through late April, possibly into the first weekend of May.
The Moments That Stayed With Me
The numbers are great, but honestly it's the days you remember.
I rode all over Vermont this season. Smugglers' Notch, Sugarbush, Stowe, Bolton Valley. The snow was so good one afternoon after work I strapped on my splitboard and toured up Mount Philo and rode the carriage road back down!
Already Thinking About Next Winter
A season this good makes you want to be ready for the next one.
Buy your pass early. Local mountains like Bolton and Smuggs are a quick drive from Burlington and season passes are well priced right now. If Ikon or Epic are your thing, both cover nearby Vermont mountains and summer pricing is worth locking in before it goes up. Think about which mountains matter most to you and commit.
Watch for early season windows. Vermont can open strong or start slow, and the people paying attention in November are the ones who get those first good days.
And don't skip the spring.
I'll be watching the snowpack reports the second the leaves change. Vermont earned it this year.
