Mad River Glen

Mad River Glen is a fiercely traditional ski area in Vermont's Green Mountains, famous for its motto "Ski It If You Can" and for preserving an old-school New England skiing experience. It is one of the very few cooperatively owned ski areas in the United States, run by its skiers, and one of only a handful in the country that still bans snowboarding.

Its most iconic feature is a single-chairlift, a rare surviving single-seat chair that carries skiers up the mountain one at a time to the summit around 1,110 m. From there, narrow, natural trails weave through the forest with minimal grooming and little snowmaking, following the contours of the land rather than being bulldozed wide. The vertical is roughly 610 m.

The terrain is demanding and characterful. Steep, twisting classics such as the Chute and the Paradise glades reward confident, adaptable skiers, while the ethos of leaving trails ungroomed and natural means conditions can range from powder to bumps to ice, as New England weather dictates.

Snow reliability follows the Vermont pattern, dependent on natural snowfall across a December to March season, with limited artificial cover by design. This keeps the mountain honest and its following devoted.

Practical notes: Mad River Glen sits in the Mad River Valley near Waitsfield, within reach of Burlington. It is not the place for beginners or those wanting modern high-speed lifts and manicured slopes; instead it offers a preserved, community-owned slice of skiing heritage that its loyal cooperative members work hard to protect.