© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

After a rough start, Vermont ski resorts glide into the end of the season

People are set up to watch the eclipse from Stowe Mountain Resort on Monday.
Courtesy
/
Stowe Mountain Resort
People are set up to watch the eclipse from Stowe Mountain Resort on Monday.

It was a rough winter for Vermont’s ski resorts, and then it wasn’t. A barren January and February was followed by a snowy March and April, given a boost by a once-in-a-lifetime total eclipse.

“We were probably 15% or 20% behind our budget headed into fiscal March,” said Steve Wright, president and CEO of Jay Peak. “We’ve made up all that ground as a result of both the natural snow we’ve received — which is over 100 inches in the last six weeks — and also the eclipse.”

Wright said Jay Peak’s late season — the resort closed in early June the last two years — helps it attract spring skiers when other resorts have closed. This upcoming weekend, Wright said, rooms are completely sold out.

Other resorts have benefited as well: Stowe extended its season an additional week, now ending on April 21, to take advantage of the snow.

And while resorts in the path of totality may have reaped the most benefits from the eclipse, March and early April’s snow brought two to three times as many visitors to resorts in the southern half of the state as they’d generally see in spring, said Bryan Rivard, director of communications at Ski Vermont.

“The only areas that wouldn’t have benefited from [the snow] — and everybody that I spoke to did — would have been those that have closed,” Rivard said. “So some of the areas that were either of smaller operations or didn’t have full time staff or didn’t have a lot of snowmaking ability.”

At Killington, March typically has the highest snowfall of the season, said Kristel Killary, the resort's brand marketing and communications manager.

And Rivard said that late spring storms, rather than being an anomaly, have happened enough to form a pattern the industry will adapt to.

“The last two years, we’ve seen pretty big spring storms that have come in just this time of year,” Rivard said. “This is pretty standard, I think, for what we’re seeing now and we’ll be ready for it in future years.”

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.

Corrected: April 16, 2024 at 4:19 PM EDT
An earlier version of this story misspelled Bryan Rivard's name.
Corey Dockser worked with Vermont Public from 2023 to 2024 as a data journalist.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content