A LOOK BACK AT THE 2025-2026 SKI SEASON

May 30

After seven months of Ice Coast goodness, the 2025-2026 ski season has come to an end in the East, and what a legendary winter it was! Though this is the Ice Coast, the icy days were pretty limited, at least where I ski, which is primarily in Vermont and northern New York. The season got off to an epic start with plenty of cold and snow, and that pattern persisted until late February.

As we entered March, the pattern changed and it turned warmer-than-normal with little in the way of big snowfall, and that unfortunately held in to April. Nevertheless, multiple ski resorts were able to stay open in to May thanks to the snow they’d made, and a favorable cooler-than-normal pattern that arrived as April wrapped up. Because it turned warmer-than-normal after February, and we saw little in the way of significant snow after that, I actually believe the 2024-2025 ski season was a better overall ski season, at least where I ski. While this winter was legendary, so was the winter of 2024-2025, and that winter was a bit more complete from start to finish with snow in March and April.

Skiing Upper Skyward at Whiteface on Jan. 8, 2026.

However, there’s one exception to this, and that would be at Whiteface. This is a mountain that can struggle to get terrain open quickly. It’s also a mountain that can tend to be a bit more firm compared to its Vermont counterparts. That said, none of that was an issue this year, as Whiteface recorded its snowiest winter this decade, and persistent cold allowed for non-stop snowmaking. As a result, terrain opened rapidly. While it wasn’t really a complete winter at Whiteface either in terms of the weather, thanks to all the snow, great conditions and having so much terrain open early, such as Upper Skyward and The Wilmington Trail, both of which were open by early January, it was the best season I’ve ever experienced there.

As for me, my season started on November 15 at Whiteface, and wrapped up at Killington on May 24. Between those dates, I skied 127 days at 23 different ski areas and resorts. While 127 days isn’t a record high for me, skiing at 23 different ski areas and resorts is. From t-bar hills to mega resorts, visiting and skiing at different ski areas is one of my favorite parts of the ski season, and this winter I really made it a point to do so.

Early season highlights

The early part of this winter was incredible, especially at Jay Peak. It snowed a lot there in November. My first day there was Thanksgiving weekend. If you weren’t there, you were at the wrong place. It was like mid-winter with a deep snowpack in the trees. Though the resort only had 30 or 40 runs open, the whole place was skiable. Even the trees down low had snow. Honestly, it was the best November ski day I’ve ever had.

Skiing Cloudspin at Whiteface on Dec. 4, 2025.

Just a few days after that legendary November day at Jay, I had an epic powder afternoon at Whiteface. Snow squalls were hammering the mountain, and the snow quickly stacked up with ropes dropping on Cloudspin. About a week later, I headed to Mount Pisgah in Saranac Lake, New York, for their opening night of the ski season. What I found when I got there was a hill covered in powder, and not much of a crowd. It was amazing.

I spent Christmas Eve skiing at Cochran’s Ski Area in Vermont. Santa must’ve come early, because it was yet another powder day! I seemed to have had a lot of those this season. After Christmas, I headed to Smuggler’s Notch to ski Madonna Mountain for the first time in two years. I got hurt last season, and never made it there when Madonna was open, so it was an extra special treat.

January highlights

After the calendar flipped to 2026, I headed to a ski area I’ve always wanted to check out in the Adirondacks: Oak Mountain. This ski area is located in Speculator, New York, and it has a ton of charm. The terrain is great, too. A few days after that, I watched my life flash before my eyes in an uncontrolled slide down Upper Skyward at Whiteface. Visibility was low and I hit a patch of ice at the top of the run, which caused me to fall. The only reason I came to a stop was because I grabbed on to a tree, which snapped in half and came with me. The friction between the snow on the ground and the tree was enough to finally bring me to a stop.

Holding the tree I snapped in half during a slide on Upper Skyward at Whiteface. Jan. 7, 2026.

On January 10, I headed to the home of Pro Skier Darren White: Ragged Mountain. This was my first time ever skiing there. Conditions were terrible. It was very icy. In fact, it may have been my iciest day of the ski season. However, skiing through the barn off the Barnyard Triple more than made up for it! On January 22, I had yet another powder afternoon at Whiteface. It dumped snow that day, and I had some deep turns along the left side of Upper Skyward.

Pro Skier Darren White skis through the barn at Ragged Mountain. Jan. 10, 2026.

Riding the rope tow at Hard’ack Recreation Area. Jan. 28, 2026.

Near the end of January, I visited a ski hill in St. Alban’s, Vermont, named Hard’ack Recreation Area. Hard’ack is a small rope tow hill operated by the community, and the skiing is free. It’s got a couple hundred feet of vertical, and they even offer night skiing. It’s a really cool spot.

February highlights

February started off on a great note, as I had the first week of the month off. During that week, I skied at Killington, Wildcat Mountain, Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Cannon Mountain. Though there wasn’t much fresh snow that week, conditions were great and I had sunny days at all but Cannon. On February 15, I headed to Middlebury Snowbowl for the time ever with Pro Skier Darren White. Let’s just say that if you like skiing trees, Middlebury should be on your list. It’s a very underrated mountain.

About a week later, I had back-to-back ski days with my buddies Pro Skier Darren White, Wild Bill, and Chris, in Vermont. The first day we skied Sugarbush, and it was great. They had the Slide Brook Express open, and we tore each side of Sugarbush up. We skied a lot of bumps that day. The second day we headed to Stowe. For some reason, conditions weren’t as good there, but the trees were still pretty enjoyable.

March highlights

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice! Taken in East Corinth, VT, on March 1, 2026.

I drove by Northeast Slopes in East Corinth, Vermont, years ago, and I’d wanted to ski there ever since. March 1 was the day it finally happened. Not only is the skiing great at Northeast Slopes, but they’ve got some Hollywood set pieces from the Beetlejuice movies at the bottom. Both Beetlejuice movies were filmed nearby, so after skiing I headed to the town to see some of the famous sights from the movies.

I took another week off to ski in March, which wasn’t very well timed, as it was warm that week, but it was still nice to be off to ski nonetheless. While I didn’t stay the night anywhere, I still managed to ski at Pico Mountain, Loon Mountain, Gore mountain, Whiteface, Stratton Mountain, Smuggler’s Notch, and Jay Peak that week. While most of the week was warm, it ended up dumping at Smuggler’s Notch, and I’d say that was probably the best day of the week.

About a week later, I had a run of really great March days. I had an amazing powder afternoon at Whiteface, with free refills galore! That may have been my best snow day there this season. I took a day off, and then I spent the next two days skiing Jay Peak, with the second day being a powder day. It was my fourth powder day in nine days. After those two days at Jay, I headed to Stowe with Wild Bill, and had another incredible day there.

Towards the end of the month, I saw that Titus Mountain, in northern New York, was selling tickets for just a dollar for their closing day. Naturally, I decided to head there for some closing day turns. I paid for my lift ticket in quarters.

late season highlights

On the first day of April, I found a ski at Whiteface that’d been missing since December. Fortunately, I’d remembered seeing a post early in the season asking people to be on the lookout for a ski at Whiteface once the snow melted, and I was able to get it back to them.

The ski I found. Whiteface. April 1, 2026.

Walking to Spring Fling. Sugarbush. April 26, 2026.

On April 12, I had my last good tree day of the season at Jay. I did ski the woods again later in the month, but it was pretty rocky. In late April, I headed to Sugarbush with Pro Skier Darren White to ski Stein’s…and walk down to Spring Fling. It was a fun day, and the bumps on Stein’s were tiring!

I skied seven days this May, which is the most days I’ve ever skied in May. Three of those days were at Killington, and four were at Jay. Every day was a ton of fun, but my favorite was probably my last day of the season at Killington. It was pouring rain, but Superstar wasn’t busy, the skiing was awesome, and the vibes were high.

Conclusion

I want to say thank you to everyone who read the blog this season. I put a lot of work in to it and to see people enjoying it means a lot. This was my second winter documenting my ski season in the East, and I plan to do it again next winter.

Dynamite Hill Recreation Area. Feb. 19, 2026.

I skied 127 days this season and every single day was written about on the same day, no matter what. You can find ski reports for every single ski area I’ve visited by going to the main navigation bar for the site. After you select a state, every single ski area I’ve written about in that state will appear. Once you click a ski area, every report I’ve written about that ski area or resort will populate with the newest appearing first.

If you haven’t already, consider subscribing to my newsletter so you can receive my reports in your email. The emails contain the full report, complete with captioned photos. You can sign up for that at the bottom of this webpage.

Never Quit Skiing,

Lincoln

2025-2026Other

Lincoln Riddle