7 Vermont Ski Traditions Locals Won’t Give Up

Vermonters have ski traditions that go back decades, and they aren’t about to let them go.

Here are the Vermont ski traditions locals won’t give up.

1. Riding the Single Chair

You ride Mad River Glen’s Single Chair alone, one skier per chair.

Your friend rides next.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation calls it the oldest continually operating single-chair lift in the country.

Mad River Glen says the lift, built in 1948 and restored in 2007, is also the only single chairlift in the continental U.S.

Skiers own the mountain through a cooperative that formed in 1995.

The “Ski It If You Can” bumper sticker dates to 1984 and the snowboard ban to the 1991-92 season.

2. Cochran’s Rope-A-Thon

Cochran’s Ski Area in Richmond calls its Rope-A-Thon its most important annual fundraiser.

In March 2026, skiers and riders collected pledges from friends and family, then lapped the rope tow all weekend.

The goal was 4 million vertical feet and $175,000, and by the Monday after the event the total stood at $152,650.

The rope tow climbs about 250 vertical feet, but Cochran’s credits each run as 500 feet because the climb is as demanding as the descent.

That makes 8,000 laps.

If you ski at Cochran’s, you’re on a nonprofit hill, and your pledge can help keep the ski area operating.

In 2022, VTDigger reported that the area ran on a nearly $500,000 annual budget and that tickets covered about 60% of its costs.

3. Harris Hill Ski Jump

Brattleboro’s Harris Hill Ski Jump is a ski tradition that dates to 1922, when Fred Harris built the hill.

Competitions have run in many winters since 1923, with gaps that include 2021, when the pandemic canceled the event.

In 2026, the competition filled Presidents Day weekend, and several thousand spectators watched Sunday’s finals, so you can expect a crowd.

Saturday’s opening event let one teenager qualify for the Junior World Championships, and he went on to win Sunday’s trophy tournament.

VTDigger reported that the 2026 field was the largest since 1992, when the hill hosted the last of its nine national championships.

Harris Hill is also Vermont’s sole Olympic-sized ski jump.

4. Stowe Derby

The Stowe Derby began in 1945 as a match race between two skiers, each using a single pair of skis, from the top of Mount Mansfield to the village.

Sepp Ruschp, who had come to run Stowe's ski school, beat Erling Strom, a Norwegian mountaineer, on long wooden alpine skis.

A Stowe Reporter column says the Derby was brought back about 1972 after a long hiatus.

The long course races down Mt. Mansfield's Toll Road and along the Stowe Rec Path to the finish in Stowe Village.

The drop is more than 2,600 feet, and modern Nordic skis are now the standard gear.

The field ranges from National Ski Team members to recreational skiers.

If you want to try it, registration opens Dec. 1, 2026, for the race on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2027.

5. Spring Pond Skims

Every spring, pond skimming sends skiers and riders across a manmade pond, and Ski Vermont calls it a hallowed tradition to cap another fantastic winter in Vermont.

In April 2006, Seven Days counted Sugarbush's 39th annual Pond Skimming.

Crossing a pond that is usually about 100 feet long takes speed, balance and a bit of silliness.

The 2026 listings put skims at Bolton Valley, Burke, Stratton, Okemo, Sugarbush, Killington, Stowe and Jay Peak between March 28 and April 18.

Burke's 2026 skim offered prizes for Best Costume, Best Exit and Biggest Splash.

If you'd rather watch than skim, Ski Vermont says spectators are welcome at Sugarbush's annual skim.

6. Killington's Early Openings

Killington has built a habit of opening early, and in 2025 it opened on Nov. 12 and said it was once again the first resort in the Eastern United States to open.

Killington said the opening followed a record start to snowmaking, with 175 snowguns running in the first cold window.

Only pass holders could ski that day, and the public followed on Thursday, Nov. 13.

Ski Vermont's opening-dates list had no date for Killington's 2026 opening as of Oct. 13, so you can't plan around one yet.

7. Middlebury Winter Carnival

Middlebury's Winter Carnival is a ski tradition that has run in its present form since 1934, according to the college's historian.

If you go, the carnival is traditionally held in February over three days, and NCAA ski events for alpine and Nordic skiers anchor the weekend.

Then comes the party.

A bonfire, fireworks, snow sculpture building, an ice show, a comedy club and the Carnival Ball fill out the weekend.

The 1934 carnival included skijoring, with skiers pulled by a galloping horse.

Snowless Years

Harris Hill's timeline shows no snow in 1980 and 1981, and a one-month postponement in 2005.

In 2002, the jump held its competition in January to avoid a conflict with the Olympics.

If you're counting on a date, remember that even long-running events have to work around the weather.

The Stowe Derby's route has changed over the years too, and a Stowe Reporter column says snow, trail conditions and development forced short-term changes to the route.

November Ski Sale

Cochran's Ski & Ride Sale is a November ski tradition, and Seven Days called it one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the state.

Around 100 volunteers work each day to label, arrange and sell the gear.

Proceeds from the 2022 sale supported the Cochran's Ski Club, which trains young alpine racers.