December Storm Drops Up To Two Feet Of Snow On Vermont Resorts

The holiday season is upon us in Vermont and Mother Nature has gifted our slopes with up to two feet of snow this week. This abundant early season snowfall allows for expanding open terrain at resorts and has enticed above average amounts of mid-week visitors. With resorts dropping ropes and making snow, and most of the remaining Vermont ski and snowboard areas planning to open this weekend, Vermont’s open terrain will double over the next week and could be close to 100% open over the holiday.

Mount Snow Resort held their annual Founders Day Celebration on Tuesday, December 12 with crowds that rivaled a busy Saturday afternoon. “In what has become a Mount Snow Founders Day tradition, we once again saw a 10”+ powder day correspond with our $12 lift tickets. This meant that our guests paid roughly $1 per inch of powder on Tuesday. Not a bad deal!” said Jamie Storrs, Communications Manager at Mount Snow.

Further north, Burke Mountain saw a 60% increase in open terrain from Tuesday to Wednesday thanks to 15 inches of snow overnight. Nearby at Jay Peak Resort, reservations jumped 30% as the storm rolled in with visitors booking for this coming weekend as well as the holiday period. Similarly, in Southern Vermont, 18 inches of fresh snow at Stratton Mountain Resort resulted in an increase in mid-week and holiday reservations.

Stowe Mountain Resort has had an exceptional start to their season with mid-week skiers and snowboarders expanding beyond Vermont residents to guests from states to the south and north of the border. Director of Communications at Stowe Mountain Resort, Jeff Wise, said that the early season snowfall and cooler temperatures have them planning to open 100% of their terrain by Christmas.

At Sugarbush Resort, President and Owner, Win Smith said that thanks to the cooler weather, “we have had terrific snowmaking temperatures and have already blown over two thirds of what we do in a normal year. And now Mother Nature has given us over a foot of snow to add icing to the cake!”

Other Vermont resorts that have relished in Mother Nature’s bounty this week include Bromley Mountain, Smugglers’ Notch Resort and Okemo Mountain Resort. Smugglers’ Notch Resort will have top to bottom skiing and snowboarding on all three of their mountains, Morse, Madonna and Sterling come this weekend. Okemo Mountain Resort expects to double their trail count from last Saturday, December 8th to this Saturday, December 16th and Bromley Mountain began their weeklong operations a day early thanks to the natural snowfall.

Vermont’s cross country centers welcomed over 15 inches of snow to their trails, too. Centers like Trapp Family Lodge and Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center reported winter wonderlands on their properties, with Trapp Family Lodge operating 8 km of trails and Blueberry Hill operating 57.3 km. Kingdom Trail Association and Rikert Nordic Center are 100% open, with many other cross country centers opening more terrain in the coming days with added snowfall.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Vermont resorts like Mad River Glen, Pico Mountain and Middlebury Snowbowl are avidly awaiting opening day on Friday, December 15th and looking forward to opening with more terrain than previously anticipated. General Manager of the Middlebury Snow Bowl, Peter Mackey said thanks to the 14” of snowfall, “we’ll be able to open two trails on just natural snow this weekend that we hadn’t planned on.”