Conditions Report
Report from Opening Day, Friday, November 21, 2025
It’s not every day that you get to repeat Day 1, but this year I made the trip to Stowe for its start. There is something special about getting out on Day 1; like the last day of the season, this is a day usually reserved for the die-hards, the skier or rider who doesn’t mind traveling a huge distance to ski a run or two of man-made snow.
Stowe has a well-deserved reputation: it is relentless and the top is very steep. The vertical drop off the Fourruner Quad is approximately 2,100 feet. Long steep runs with an intermediate run out on the bottom quarter of the hill define the Mt. Mansfield experience.
Skiers and riders were already getting set when I pulled into the Midway parking lot at 8:00. I was planning to spend the day with members of my ski family who call Stowe home. Opening day crowds are usually pretty festive and this was no different. This is when everyone reconnects with their ski family. Friends who disappeared for the summer, suddenly reappear. You check in with familiar faces and then everyone is onto the more serious business of opening up a new season.
I ran into a few more people I knew and was feeling right at home. The longtime Stowe locals were bursting with anticipation. At the summit base stake on Mount Mansfield, snow depth was reported around 38 inches—a record-early-season high for that date. The mountain was running two chairs and all of its trails were open.
Local Greg Petrics tells SnowBrains,
“This was easily the best opening day in a decade or more. Usually, we open on a handful of snowmaking routes with very little natural snow. To have the whole mountain to explore was phenomenal.”
For our first run, we went over to a glade off the top of Stowe’s legendary Liftline and were greeted with knee deep, untracked powder. The snow was light and easy to ski through. What a treat; it was hard to believe that this was November and not January.
After that run, it was off to the Goat and the trees below the upper headwall; again, more untracked snow to enjoy. The rest of the morning, we lapped the front four while also getting over to the Nosedive and Bypass. “The conditions were good and maybe great, but not perfect,” according to Petrics. “There was a huge variety of snow types from velvet supportive powder to chalky bumps and some unfortunate chunky ice. Still for the date on the calendar, it’s not reasonable to complain. If it’s white, it’s right,” he adds.
Later in the day, we skied off a little off the Sunrise Six, which services primarily intermediate and beginner terrain. There was good snow to find in the low angle trees on that section of the mountain. I went to Stowe to ski steep and deep so I cannot report on the state of the groomers as I was off-piste all day. Looking back on the day, Petrics tells SnowBrains, “Upper National and Starr headwall were about as good as they ever ski except for when they receive fresh untracked powder. Those were on repeat to the end. No lurking ice bumps or chunks up there. What a treat.”
After skiing in the woods and on natural terrain, I put the boards on the bench to prep the edges and wax. During the day, I never experienced any “oh man” moments and under inspection, the skis were fine. Normal wear and tear is to be expected, but they looked way better that I would have initially imagined.
Stowe is now open seven days a week; check its website for conditions, hours of operation, and parking information (they charge from Friday-Sunday).
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