Learn to Ski and Ride Program gives students a true Vermont experience

From left to right are Sophie Burt, Charleigh Wagner, Livy Waranis, and Libby Rossi, all from the Class of ’26, during a recent ASC trip to Sugarbush.

The Learn to Ski and Ride Program offered by the Adventure Sports Center is for students who want to learn how to ski or snowboard.

For $75, the program consists of two full-day lessons with professional instructors, rentals from Sugarbush, and transportation to and from the mountain. Students who complete both lessons receive a Premium Pass (typically $200) to Sugarbush. “The Learn to Ski and Ride program provides students the opportunity to try skiing or snowboarding at an extremely low cost,” said Eben Widlund, Direct of the Adventure Sports Center.

First-year Sophie Burt ’26, a Digital Media and Communications major from Madison, CT, participated in the program this past winter and learned how to snowboard. When she and other participants arrived at the mountain, the larger group divided into groups of six and paired with an instructor. They started on the bunny hill, learning how to go down the mountain and turn. Then when they were ready, they graduated to the green hill and could go off on their own, Burt said, explaining that in the ski world, trails are rated by colors and shapes, with green being the easiest beginner level. The next levels are blue squares (intermediate) and graduated expert levels of black diamonds.

Having never snowboarded before, Burt said, it was frustrating at times, but the experience was rewarding and fun. The instructors allowed participants to go at their own pace and encouraged them along the way, “The whole time the instructor was cheering us on, and never once gave up on us,” Burt said. Throughout the lesson, the students were able to ask the instructor questions and have some one-on-one time with them.

Skiers at Sugarbush in a publicity photo courtesy of the resort (as is large image behind headline).

Coming from Connecticut to Vermont, where it appears everyone already knows how to ski and snowboard, Burt was worried about learning how to snowboard at an older age. Through the program, she found a group of students her age to learn with, “I had friends learning with me, and became friends with those learning who I did not know. We were all in it together,” Burt said.

Burt enjoyed the program, and said she would recommend it to other students. “If you have access to a program like Ski and Ride, 100 percent do it,” she said. “It will be worth your time and money. You gain a new skill and make new friends.”

The Learn to Ski and Ride program developed from a 1990s task force intended to increase opportunities for students to participate in all forms of recreation and sport, Widlund said. The current program began in 2018 when Saint Michael’s College and the Adventure Sports Center made an agreement with Sugarbush resort. Inspiration for the program is Sugarbush’s “First Timer Lesson Program.” The St. Mike’s program has had as many as 104 students participate, with 60 participating this past year.

In addition to the Learn to Ski and Ride Program, the Adventure Sports Center also offers Sugarbush Program Passes. “The Sugarbush Pass Program is an opportunity for undergraduate students (primarily) to access a highly discounted pass to Sugarbush,” Widlund said.

Eben Widlund

For the last four years, at least 50 percent of the student body have purchased a pass, with three levels of passes offered. The most popular is the Premium Pass, which offers unlimited access to Lincoln Peak and Mt. Ellen, the mountains that make up Sugarbush. The Double Major Pass offers access to Mad River Glen as well as Lincoln Peak and Mt. Ellen. The Value Pass offers seven days a week access to Mt. Ellen and access to Lincoln Peak Monday-Friday. It also allows early and late season access to Lincoln Peak when Mt. Ellen may be closed.