Warren, Vermont — It seems like it’s been a great start to December for Vermont, as many mountains have been getting dumped on. However, not every ski resort is thriving at the moment.
After planning to open in November, Sugarbush Resort finally opened on December 4th. Since then, a couple of snowstorms have added to the Vermont ski resort’s snowpack. However, the amount of open terrain there remains minimal. So why is Sugarbush not making snow?
On December 3rd, Sugarbush Resort detailed that its snowmaking ponds were running low. This has resulted in lower production levels for snowmaking, and thus, was part of the reason for a delayed opening. This was caused by the drought that has been ongoing since this past summer. While Mad River Valley did experience some flooding earlier this summer, the following months were abnormally dry. This led to Sugarbush’s snowmaking ponds being below normal levels.
The next update on snowmaking came on December 6th, which ironically occurred on a powder day. Despite receiving 5-7 inches of snow on Saturday morning, Sugarbush announced that they’ve paused snowmaking operations. Their reasoning was that the snowmaking ponds had gone below operating levels, thus resulting in snowmaking crews pausing the guns. For now, Sugarbush has 22 trails open and one lift open in a singular terrain pod: Gate House.
This means Sugarbush is praying for rain, which is not typically desired by New England ski resorts. Some wet weather is expected in the upcoming days.
This isn’t the only Vermont ski area that’s pointed out the problems cause by the drought. In October, the Brattleboro Ski Hill stated that its pond needed lots of rain to make snow. However, the local ski hill did commence snowmaking this past weekend.
While some guests understood the reasoning, others were critical of Sugarbush’s announcement. The detractors are perplexed as to why Killington and Stratton have been able to open terrain quicker than Bush. Sugarbush has more natural terrain than these mountains, and its snowmaking prowess isn’t as strong, even though it’s made big investments recently.
Ultimately, every section of Vermont and its water sources are different. Just ask towns in the Northeast Kingdom, which experienced severe rainstorms that caused flooding this summer. So, I believe Sugarbush’s explanation is legitimate. However, this could become a concerning situation for Sugarbush, especially if the Vermont ski resort can’t get a significant amount of its terrain open by Christmas break.
Image Credits: Sugarbush Resort, Brattleboro Ski Hill
