The 2024/25 winter season has officially come to an end, and I want to say thank you for enjoying it with us. Thank you to our staff for your warm smiles, welcoming everyone to Sugarbush, and for handling all the challenges that make up a Vermont winter. Thank you to our partners for persistently making the Mad River Valley the special place that it is. And of course, thank you to you, our guest, for continuing to show your passion for this place day in and day out, rain or shine, snow or sun.
That type of passion is what led us all to log 801,847,933 vertical feet in the name of mental health through our Descent To Rise Above challenge. It could be felt during our historic January and February where we saw a combined 151” of snowfall. And it’s certainly what kept us skiing and riding early and late season when Mother Nature burdened us with no water in the former and too much of it in the latter.
Overall, our 147 days of operation and 281” of snowfall made for another incredible winter. We felt the wind on our faces on the new Heaven’s Gate Quad, shared warm chocolate chip cookies at the new Tucker Coffee & Cocktails, and enjoyed both pizza and sushi at our upgraded Paradise Provisions. We also released our first ever Be Better Here Report, detailing all the hard work we’re doing in social responsibility, from sustainability to our people to the community.
As it does every year, the end of a season always presents itself as a time for self-reflection. Each year we take guest feedback and our own learnings to commit to growing, improving, and focusing on how we can improve the guest experience for each and every one of you. That work has already begun. We’re working on projects for next year including replacing Tommy’s Toy at Mt. Ellen with a new covered surface lift. We have a robust lift maintenance program already started to improve our lift experience and have everything ready for you for next season. Be on the lookout for project updates throughout the summer.
Speaking of the summer, we are going to be shifting our operations around a bit. The Sugarbush Resort Golf Club (daily starting 5/17), Sugarbush Health & Recreation Center (open daily, with the outdoor pool opening 5/24), and disc golf (opening end of May) will be running daily throughout the summer and fall. Like last year, we will have at least one restaurant open every day of the week for dinner between Hogan’s, Rumble’s, and Mt. Ellen. This year we are scaling back our summer lift operations to only offer rides on July 4th weekend and Community Weekend in October. Summer camps, events, and weddings will all operate as normal. We will continue to evaluate operations in future summers including things like lift rides, mountain biking, music events, as well as new ideas.
We can’t wait to welcome many of you back for our warmer months, but for everyone who we won’t see until the snow flies again, I hope you have a great summer. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to lock in your lift access for next year with a season pass, TBD Ticket, or Quad Pack, all on sale now.
Until that time comes, thank you for being a part of this incredible Sugarbush community. See you again soon.
John Hammond