Montpelier, VT – It’s no secret that record warmth through November and December stunted, or in many cases outright prevented the start of the ski season throughout the Northeast, but resorts throughout the region are leveraging this week’s change in the weather to try to make up for lost time.
In Vermont, what’s being dubbed Winter Storm Goliath brought up to 11 inches of much-needed snow to the state’s ski and snowboard resorts this week and cold weather has increased snowmaking operations. Moving into the New Year, skiers and riders can expect more open resorts and terrain in Vermont as resorts embrace the return to winter weather.
“Goliath not only brought snow to the mountains, but skiers and snowboarders as well, excited about the winter weather,” said Ski Vermont’s Sarah Wojcik. “There was certainly some pent-up demand for winter in the ski community, as you could see from smiles of the enthusiastic skiers and riders that charged the mountains after the snow.”
Vermont is currently counting 10 alpine resorts and six Nordic resorts open. The state’s 80% snowmaking coverage capabilities guarantee expansion of terrain moving into the weekend.
Natural snow and snowmaking are also allowing for several resorts in Vermont to open for the first time this season for the end of the holiday period. Here are the scheduled openings for those resorts:
- Bolton Valley: Thursday, December 31, 2015
- Middlebury College Snow Bowl and Q Burke Mountain: Friday, January 1, 2016
- Pico Mountain and Suicide Six Ski Area: Saturday, January 2, 2016
- Quechee Ski Area: Friday, January 8, 2016
- Magic Mountain: Saturday, January 9, 2016
- Cochran’s Ski Area, Mad River Glen and Northeast Slopes: TBD