Jay Peak hosted Ski Vermont’s 2026 Annual Meeting last week (and some play). Our annual meeting is a chance to bring together all Vermont’s ski areas to discuss the season’s challenges and successes, find ways to improve, and foster the outdoor community that makes Vermont Vermont.
The 2025-26 season finished strong with 4.36M skier and rider visits, up 4.7% from last year and 11% over the 10-year average. It’s the best season we’ve seen since 2014-15, and that’s saying something since Vermont’s average snowfall was down 11% from 2024-25 (and down 12% compared to the 2014-15 season).
Ski VT's Full 2026/27 Press Release
What’d We Do This Year?
We had speakers, breakout sessions, networking socials, and opportunities to explore Jay Peak Resort. But we still cut loose an evening BBQ (hosted by Jay Peak with some Long Trail beverages) and a 9-hole golf scramble on Jay’s picturesque course.
Regular golfers appreciate this course for its challenging layout. Once-a-year golfers like staffer Bryan or first-timer Becca get to appreciate the wooded landscape bushwhacking for lost balls. Winning teams walked away with telescoping poles from Rossignol, Darn Tough ski socks, Burton gloves, and more.
The following day Ski Vermont staff presented their annual report and skier numbers before turning the presentation over the Dr. Chrissy Semler. Dr. Semler’s presentation, Building Mental Resilience on the Mountain, centered on fostering an environment where discussion of mental health—check-ins, self-awareness, burnout warning signs—were part of the overall culture. Taking that time to connect with others—as managers or employees who live and work within the same sport is an extension of the personal connection that brings people to Vermont in the first place—and keeps them coming back.
It’s a theme at our annual meeting: how to we invite more people to the mountain—and give them the best experience when they’re here. Commissioner of the Department of Tourism and Marketing Heather Pelham discussed visitation and how we can bring more people to be inspired in Vermont; Kevin Chu of Vermont Futures Project discussed the myths around Vermont’s population and how we can forge a positive path to the future; a roundtable discussed workforce development for our ski industry—a way to bring much-needed workers into profitable careers and keep their talent in Vermont.
David Kaufman was honored for more than 40 years as a professor promoting tourism and recreation (and UVM's newest certificate program in Snowsports and Outdoor Adventure Recreation).
Accepting his Industry Achievement Award, Bill Stritzler of Smugglers’ Notch further-inspired a room full of ski and snowboard professionals with his reflections on a lifetime working passionately in the profession.
Ultimately, the 2026 Ski Vermont Annual Meeting celebrated our collective love of this sport and Vermont’s commitment to giving the best possible experience to anyone interested in skiing or riding here.
That’s why entire careers are spent in Vermont’s ski industry—the work is fulfilling, the people are passionate, and the views from the office are unbeatable. We had a great 2025-26 season and look forward to another year being to top ski destination in the east.
