New Hampshire Records Fourth-Best Alpine Season in Two Decades

New Hampshire’s ski industry is celebrating a wildly successful winter after recording 2,283,539 alpine skier visits during the 2025–26 season. According to Ski New Hampshire (Ski NH), the statewide association representing over 30 alpine and Nordic resorts, this winter marks the fourth-best alpine season in the past 20 years.

The exceptional turnout trails only the historic benchmark seasons of 2010–11, 2000–01, and 2007–08.

Snowmaking Investments and Early Powder Drive 5% Growth

Ski NH President Jessyca Keeler unveiled the official metrics during the organization's Annual Conference & Trade Show, which brought together 413 resort operators and suppliers at Bretton Woods. Keeler revealed that alpine skier visits jumped 5 percent year-over-year.

The surge was fueled by a potent mix of cooperative winter weather and heavy capital investments from local resorts. Favorable, cold snowmaking temperatures and robust early-season snowfall gave operators a strong foundation that lasted straight through the spring.

“Combined with the continued investments our members have made in snowmaking, grooming, lifts, and guest amenities, these advantages helped drive the increased skier visits we observed in the Granite State last winter,” Keeler noted.

While alpine resorts thrived across the board, the state’s cross-country landscape presented a more fragmented narrative. Preliminary Nordic data indicated a mixed winter, with some cross-country centers enjoying substantial spikes in trail traffic while others endured equal declines.

Snow Tubing Explodes to Near-Record Highs

The real surprise of the 2025–26 season came from the state's tubing hills, which experienced a massive 21 percent year-over-year surge. In total, Ski NH members hosted 125,314 tubing visits. Nearly half of the resorts offering the activity reported individual volume gains exceeding 30 percent.

Ultimately, the winter locked itself in as the second-highest tubing season on record since the state association began tracking the metric in the late 1990s.

New Hampshire’s ski industry is celebrating a wildly successful winter after recording 2,283,539 alpine skier visits during the 2025–26 season. According to Ski New Hampshire (Ski NH), the statewide association representing over 30 alpine and Nordic resorts, this winter marks the fourth-best alpine season in the past 20 years.

The exceptional turnout trails only the historic benchmark seasons of 2010–11, 2000–01, and 2007–08.

Snowmaking Investments and Early Powder Drive 5% Growth

Ski NH President Jessyca Keeler unveiled the official metrics during the organization's Annual Conference & Trade Show, which brought together 413 resort operators and suppliers at Bretton Woods. Keeler revealed that alpine skier visits jumped 5 percent year-over-year.

The surge was fueled by a potent mix of cooperative winter weather and heavy capital investments from local resorts. Favorable, cold snowmaking temperatures and robust early-season snowfall gave operators a strong foundation that lasted straight through the spring.

“Combined with the continued investments our members have made in snowmaking, grooming, lifts, and guest amenities, these advantages helped drive the increased skier visits we observed in the Granite State last winter,” Keeler noted.

While alpine resorts thrived across the board, the state’s cross-country landscape presented a more fragmented narrative. Preliminary Nordic data indicated a mixed winter, with some cross-country centers enjoying substantial spikes in trail traffic while others endured equal declines.

Snow Tubing Explodes to Near-Record Highs

The real surprise of the 2025–26 season came from the state's tubing hills, which experienced a massive 21 percent year-over-year surge. In total, Ski NH members hosted 125,314 tubing visits. Nearly half of the resorts offering the activity reported individual volume gains exceeding 30 percent.

Ultimately, the winter locked itself in as the second-highest tubing season on record since the state association began tracking the metric in the late 1990s.

“These outstanding tubing numbers highlight the growing popularity of winter recreation beyond traditional skiing and snowboarding,” Keeler explained. “Tubing continues to be an accessible and memorable way for families and first-time visitors to experience winter in New Hampshire.”

Industry Collaboration and "Women in Operations"

Beyond the balance sheets, the annual conference focused heavily on the evolving workforce and operational hurdles facing modern resorts. Hands-on training modules—including a tower circuit class and a live lift evacuation demonstration—offered technical staff practical training. Meanwhile, indoor seminars tackled modern resort dilemmas ranging from managing pass fraud in the age of RFID scanning to building reliable workforce pipelines.

A major highlight of the conference was the "Women in Operations" roundtable, which gathered female leaders and industry allies to discuss professional pathways and systemic challenges within a traditionally male-dominated field. Multiple attendees noted that the panel represented the largest concentrated gathering of women they had ever seen at an official ski industry meeting.

Ski NH Annual Industry Award Winners:

The event concluded with Ski NH honoring several key figures who have shaped the state's skiing heritage and those who represent its future:

• The Al Merrill Award: Ellen Chandler (Jackson XC)

• The H.H. “Bill” Whitney Award: Frank MacConnell (Bob Skinner’s Ski & Sports)

• The NextGen Award: Connor O'Neil (Mount Sunapee) and Sean Norton (Dartmouth Skiway)

Highly localized spikes and drops

“These outstanding tubing numbers highlight the growing popularity of winter recreation beyond traditional skiing and snowboarding,” Keeler explained. “Tubing continues to be an accessible and memorable way for families and first-time visitors to experience winter in New Hampshire.”

Industry Collaboration and "Women in Operations"

Beyond the balance sheets, the annual conference focused heavily on the evolving workforce and operational hurdles facing modern resorts. Hands-on training modules—including a tower circuit class and a live lift evacuation demonstration—offered technical staff practical training. Meanwhile, indoor seminars tackled modern resort dilemmas ranging from managing pass fraud in the age of RFID scanning to building reliable workforce pipelines.

A major highlight of the conference was the "Women in Operations" roundtable, which gathered female leaders and industry allies to discuss professional pathways and systemic challenges within a traditionally male-dominated field. Multiple attendees noted that the panel represented the largest concentrated gathering of women they had ever seen at an official ski industry meeting.

Ski NH Annual Industry Award Winners:

The event concluded with Ski NH honoring several key figures who have shaped the state's skiing heritage and those who represent its future:

• The Al Merrill Award: Ellen Chandler (Jackson XC)

• The H.H. “Bill” Whitney Award: Frank MacConnell (Bob Skinner’s Ski & Sports)

• The NextGen Award: Connor O'Neil (Mount Sunapee) and Sean Norton (Dartmouth Skiway)