February 16, 2024

Dear Vermont Academy at Mount Snow Families and Friends,

Winter is flying by and so are our student-athletes! Good conditions have contributed to exceptional performances as we move into the heart of our competitive season. All teams (alpine, freeski, and snowboarding) report great training and top performances from their athletes. We are on a wave of success on the hill and in the classroom as the Vermont Academy at Mount Snow teachers continue to deliver a strong educational experience to both our winter term and Vermont Academy student-athletes. A huge thanks to all for keeping our school and culture in the best place possible. We cannot do this without our incredible staff!

Hope to see you soon on the hill and at our Pawprints and Powder benefit event on Saturday, February 24!

Peter and the Vermont Academy at Mount Snow team

RSVP Today for our Pawprints & Powder Benefit

Don't forget to RSVP for our annual benefit, "Powder & Pawprints," to be held Saturday, February 24, 2024, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Matterhorn.

Only 100 tickets are available, so don’t miss your chance to attend and bid on incredible trips and experiences during our exciting live auction. We will serve hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine, and two signature snow-themed cocktails.

This annual event is a perfect opportunity to socialize with other parents along with our Vermont Academy at Mount Snow coaches, teachers and administrators, meet esteemed ski community members, and see many of our student athletes in their “home away from home."

In addition to the live auction at the event, everyone has the opportunity to bid on the fun items in the online auction. Check out the items for bidding here.

To purchase your tickets to join us for Pawprints & Powder, click here.

Thank you for supporting the experience our athletes have at Vermont Academy at Mount Snow!

Alpine News U16/U18

Our VA at Mount Snow U16/18 Alpine ski team is one of the finest ski teams in the East!

The team won the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class C overall championships on February 14. Congratulations to Cooper Spielman, Jake Olsen, Hugo Ruiz-Castillo, and Mauro De La Cruz Oria. The team trains four days per week and travels to races every Wednesday and every weekend for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard (USSS) races. 

In addition to the team's success, our racers from Spain have had many individual successes. Mauro is racing in the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) races throughout the winter and Hugo has also dominated the podium at the tri-state races with eight podium finishes for eight starts, one victory in giant slalom, and won both the giant slalom and slalom events at the NEPSAC championships.

VA Wildcat on skis with friends!

Alpine News U10/12 and U14

Our U10/U12 and U14 alpine teams have enjoyed success this season and continue to proudly represent themselves, their families, and the school on the mountain. With 30 athletes participating, our junior development program has never been stronger. Their wins have helped them prepare for the upcoming Vermont State Championships at Stratton Mountain and will hopefully move them on to the Eastern Championships that will be held March 16 - 19 at Sugarbush. The Vermont Alpine Racing Association (VARA) is one of the most competitive in the country and the commitment to the process and ultimately finding success is happening at every level.

Snowboard News

The snowboard team at Vermont Academy at Mount Snow is almost completely qualified for every upcoming event at Nationals! We have a few athletes that will still be doing some USASA competitions later this month to meet point requirements, but for the most part, we’re getting some training and fun comps in. Most recently, four of our older athletes attended a Mental Meet Up at Darkside Snowboards in Ludlow, Vermont. Our athletes learned some terrain park digging skills and showed off some of their tricks to industry leaders. We also ran into MSA Alumni Sophia Bruck (see pic). Sophia was stoked to see the kids and we hope to ride with her again soon! She’s currently in her junior year at The Ohio State University.

Freeski News

The Freeski Team has earned a shout out for demonstrating consistent effort in dry land training. This work happens behind the scenes but is critical to each athlete’s success. It has been so refreshing to see the team embrace the benefits that come from a structured conditioning and recovery program. With Tuesday and Wednesday’s strength and conditioning programs followed by Thursday’s yoga class, we have a balanced midweek dryland schedule that has been wonderful for the athletes to increase strength and range of motion as well as to reduce injury. Each athlete’s fitness program is developed individually by the head coach and is informed by fitness testing performed throughout the season. Combined with aerial awareness training on the Olympic trampoline here on campus, our athletes have been achieving the best physical conditioning of their lives. As a coach it’s incredible to see the dedication and work ethic of our young athletes as they embrace this hard work and discipline.

Coach Sam showing the freeskiers how it’s done, Wow!

Matterhorn/Dorm News

Dorm Parents helped students organize a Dorm Room Competition: clean your dorm room and win a prize! It was a Wildcat success as EVERY dorm room was cleaned, decorated and inspected by all the dorm students. Wow! It was tough (extra credit for creative art on walls), but Jackson Dousharm earned first place in the boys’ 25-point comp, and Lily, Grace, and Elizabeth won first place in the girls’ 25-point comp. Prizes included candy-of-choice for the winners and a pizza party from American Flatbread for the whole dorm. We also painted our nails (red, pink, green, orange, black…) and enjoyed a good time celebrating Valentine’s Day.

A Vermont Academy Minute

Over at Vermont Academy, the 115th Winter Carnival is taking place. Held each year in February, Winter Carnival includes such favorite events as the Big Air competition, tandem skiing, dodge ball, VA’s Got Talent, broomball, and mattress sled relay. This year's theme is "decades" where each team has chosen a unique point in history to represent. Follow along on their social media pages to see these events and which team will be crowned the winner!

Support Vermont Academy at Mount Snow's Annual Fund