
Stowe
485 acres, 116 runs on Mount Mansfield. Vermont's storied Ski Capital of the East, Epic Pass access.
Stowe's summit reaches 3,625 feet, dropping 2,360 vertical feet to a base at 1,266 feet across 116 runs spread over 485 acres on Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak. Terrain splits 55 per cent intermediate, 16 per cent beginner, 15 per cent advanced and 14 per cent expert, with average annual snowfall of roughly 315 inches. The resort carries Epic Pass affiliation. Twelve lifts, including two gondolas and four quad chairs, serve the mountain alongside two double chairs, two triple chairs and two surface lifts.
Stowe has long carried the informal title 'Ski Capital of the East,' a reputation built over nine decades on Vermont's highest and most storied mountain. The resort's combination of legendary terrain, a charming New England village and considerable skiing heritage has made it one of the most recognised ski destinations in the eastern United States.
The Civilian Conservation Corps cut the first trails on Mount Mansfield in 1933, and the Stowe Ski Club, founded in 1932, saw Roland Palmedo, founder of the New York Amateur Ski Club and later founder of Mad River Glen, formulate early plans to develop the mountain. Stowe became the first ski area in Vermont to install a single chairlift, built by the American Steel & Wire Company in 1940, a landmark moment in the resort's development.
Insurance magnate Cornelius Vander Starr, founder of the American International Group, took ownership of the Mount Mansfield Company in 1949 and played a central role in consolidating the mountain's ski operations. AIG became the resort's primary owner in 1988, retaining control until selling the ski-related operations and facilities to Vail Resorts on 21 February 2017, while AIG and the Mount Mansfield Company kept the Stowe Mountain Lodge, Stowe Mountain Club, Stowe Country Club and other real estate holdings. Adult daily tickets run from 169 to 239 US dollars.
Stowe covers 116 runs on 485 acres (196 hectares) of Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak, from a base at 1,270 ft (386 m) to a summit of 3,630 ft (1,105 m), a vertical of 2,360 ft (719 m). Blue square runs make up 55%, with 16% green circle, 15% black diamond and 14% expert, a notable share of hard terrain for the East. About 315 inches of snow falls in an average winter. Two gondolas, four quads, two triples, two doubles and two surface lifts move skiers around the mountain.
The Front Four of Goat, Starr, National and Liftline define the expert side. These double black trails are steep, narrow and twisty, with natural hazards and little grooming, and they can be reached from the Forerunner Quad or the Lookout Double. Away from them, long blue cruisers fill most of the mountain. Stowe suits confident intermediates and experts who want old-school East Coast challenge, while beginners have a smaller share of runs to work with and should plan for fewer gentle options. Mornings on the Front Four are best saved for when the snow is soft, because they firm up quickly.
The 2025-26 season at Stowe ran from 28 November 2025 to 26 April 2026, a roughly twenty-one-week season supported by average annual snowfall of around 315 inches, among the highest totals of any Vermont resort. This substantial snowfall reflects Mount Mansfield's status as Vermont's highest peak.
Midwinter, from December through February, typically brings the most consistent conditions to Stowe's varied terrain across the resort's full 2,360-foot vertical drop. As an Epic Pass resort within the Vail Resorts network, Stowe draws substantial visitation from Epic Pass holders alongside visitors specifically seeking its storied reputation and charming village atmosphere.
Stowe's status as the Ski Capital of the East continues to draw a genuinely national and international visitor base throughout the season, supported by the village's extensive lodging, dining and shopping infrastructure developed over decades. School holiday periods bring substantial visitation given the resort's varied terrain and considerable base area amenities.
Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Since AIG's February 2017 sale of ski operations to Vail Resorts, Stowe has continued operating as part of the Epic Pass network, building on nine decades of history since alpine skiing first arrived on Mount Mansfield in the early 1930s. The resort's storied reputation remains central to its seasonal identity.
Daily snow reports at Stowe go back to 2025, 2 winters on the books. Open the record to compare winters, lifts and piste.
Stowe sits on Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak, near the town of Stowe, with a base elevation of 1,266 feet and a summit at 3,625 feet across a 2,360-foot vertical drop over 485 acres. This setting places the resort at the centre of one of New England's most storied ski towns.
The village of Stowe offers extensive lodging, dining and shopping, with a genuinely charming New England character developed over nine decades as a premier ski destination. Burlington, Vermont's largest city, lies within a reasonable drive, providing additional visitor amenities and air access.
Vermont State Route 108 provides direct access to the resort from the village of Stowe. Winter driving conditions on this route can include snow and ice, though the well-travelled road is regularly maintained given the resort's status as one of the Northeast's premier ski destinations. There is no direct public transport service to the mountain, though the village offers local transit options.
Burlington International Airport, within a reasonable drive, is the nearest airport with substantial commercial service, making Stowe genuinely accessible for visitors flying into northern Vermont from across the country and internationally.
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Halloween weekend brings a wet, windy storm to the Sierra Nevada. Our five-day forecast has Dodge Ridge on top with 19 in, followed by Bear Valley at 15 in and Mammoth Mountain at 12 in, with most of it landing on Saturday. A winter weather advisory covers the Tahoe Basin and Mono County until 7 AM Sunday, gusts could reach 47 mph and the freezing level swings between 4,900 and 8,700 ft, so some bases will see rain. A dry spell follows from Monday.

The Rockies get their first lift-served turns of the season early. Lake Louise opens Sunday 1 November, five days ahead of schedule, after a cold October and round-the-clock work from the snowmaking and mountain crews. Terrain is limited to Juniper Express Chair and Easy Street, with two small terrain parks and the beginner area for lessons. Opening-day tickets are over 60% off, with prices rising as more lifts open. First chair is at 9:30 am under the resort’s new lift hours.

A Tyrolean summit lift that has been carrying guests up the Kitzbüheler Horn since 1955 is on borrowed time. Its licence runs to 2045, but a new inspection rule has made refurbishment uneconomic, so Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel will spend around €15 million on a replacement on the same line. It should hold roughly 100 people and keep running in winds that would stop today’s lift. Building starts in autumn 2027, which makes this winter and next summer the last chances to ride the old one.

Niseko Village is replacing a lift from the early 1980s with an eight-person gondola, Tsugaike gets a six-person chairlift, Madarao joins the Ikon Pass and Togari opens Asia’s first private ski resort. Here’s what is actually new in Japan skiing for 2026/27, plus what is still a year or two away.

Colorado’s early-season dominoes keep falling. Arapahoe Basin opened on Wednesday, Keystone follows on Friday, and now Wolf Creek is joining in on Saturday 31 October, just in time for Halloween. A storm on 23 and 24 October left 20 inches of natural snow in the San Juans, and three lifts will turn from 9:00 am, covering about 30% of the mountain. Expect rocks, unmarked obstacles and open water, but also Local Appreciation lift tickets at $73 for adults.

Keystone is next. After Arapahoe Basin claimed the first chairlift skiing of the season on Wednesday, Keystone opens on Friday 30 October at 9:00 am with more than two miles of snowmaking-built terrain on Schoolmarm and Silver Spoon, plus free donuts, coffee and a live DJ. Last year the order was reversed, when Keystone squeezed in a three-hour afternoon session to beat A-Basin by a day. Snowmaking has been running since 15 October.

Beaver Creek is getting ready for the biggest Birds of Prey ever, and this time it is not leaving the snow to chance. Crews started making snow on 27 October with 16 newly installed automated guns on the lower third of the course, after last December’s warm spell forced a downhill off the schedule. Seven races across two weekends run from 3 to 13 December, the most the course has hosted since its 1997 debut, and the guns start themselves whenever the weather allows.

Winter has officially started in North America, and it is one blue run long. On Wednesday 28 October, Arapahoe Basin fired up the Black Mountain Express at around 10:30 am after a surprise announcement just hours earlier, becoming the first major North American resort open for 2026/27. Cold nights, a dusting of natural snow and a lot of snowmaking made it happen in the resort’s 80th winter. More terrain is promised as the snow guns keep running.
Stowe runs twelve lifts: two double chairs, four quad chairs, two triple chairs, two gondolas and two surface lifts, serving 116 runs across 485 acres on Mount Mansfield. This considerable network traces back to a genuinely historic moment in 1940, when Stowe became the first ski area in Vermont to install a single chairlift, built by the American Steel & Wire Company.
That pioneering lift, installed under the guidance of the Mount Mansfield Company's early ownership, marked Stowe's transition into a serious lift-served ski destination, well ahead of many contemporaries. Subsequent decades of investment, particularly under insurance magnate C.V. Starr's ownership beginning in 1949, consolidated and expanded the mountain's infrastructure considerably.
The two gondolas and four quad chairs now distribute the considerable skier volume across Stowe's varied terrain, supporting the resort's reputation as the Ski Capital of the East. The double chairs, triple chairs and surface lifts provide additional capacity across the mountain's beginner and lower-mountain terrain.
Since AIG sold the ski-related operations and facilities to Vail Resorts on 21 February 2017, bringing Stowe into the Epic Pass network, continued investment has supported this twelve-lift system on Mount Mansfield. Specific recent individual lift replacement projects beyond this ownership transition are not confirmed in available resort information. Stowe's extensive lift network remains central to its stature among Vermont's most significant ski destinations.
More Stowe intelligence: trail map, snow report, webcams, resort overview.