Industry News
Mad River Glen in Vermont has announced an ambitious plan to allow a trial run for snowboarders on February 29, 2026. If all goes well, snowboarders will be allowed on the mountain starting in winter 2026-27.
Mad River Glen is well known for being one of only three ski resorts in the country prohibiting snowboarders from accessing its lifts. The story goes that snowboarders kept de-roping the single chair, so they were banned from that lift. Following an altercation with Betsy Pratt, the owner of Mad River Glen, they were banned from the entire mountain. In honor of Pratt’s legacy, the resort will allow this trial run of snowboarders on February 29. If they leave a positive lasting impression, they will be allowed the following season.
As part of the preparation, Mad River Glen has announced that it will blast away the vast majority of the mountain’s cliff faces to build more snowboarder-friendly traverses. Specifically, the famed Paradise Woods area will be blown up and replaced with a wide-groomed trail.
Mad River Glen’s ambitious plan will surely have ripple effects throughout Vermont skiing, especially at the two other resorts that still ban snowboarding: Alta and Deer Valley in Utah. SnowBrains asked Alta Ski Area for comment, to which the resort responded that it is interested in a similar plan, though with snowboarders being banned from all traverses and limiting their access to only 2% of the resort.
Time will tell how this pilot goes for Mad River Glen. Hopefully, the snowboarders leave a lasting positive impression and are allowed at Mad River Glen in the future.
APRIL FOOLS!
You do realize this is April Fool’s day story. And there is no February 29 th in 2016.
Good try MRG!