Changes are coming to The Middlebury Snow Bowl this year, which is in the full swing of its 91st season. A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system will be installed over the summer, which will require visitors to scan their passes to ride the chair lift next season. The Snow Bowl also raised ticket and season pass prices for the 2024–25 season — daytime passes for college students have increased from $99 to $189, and a pass for both day and night is now $239. Pass prices for adults and other age groups have also seen increases, but Middlebury first years can still ski for free.
The Snow Bowl also welcomed a new General Manager this season, Kim Essensa. She brings over 25 years of experience working in the ski industry from Maine to Wyoming. Essensa most recently worked as the guest experience manager at Dartmouth Skiway, the only other college-owned ski area in the country.
“It's been my dream to be a general manager at a small ski area, and working for a college is honestly the best,” Essensa said in an interview with The Campus.
In addition to running the Snow Bowl, she will oversee the addition of the RFID system this summer, which Essensa said will provide valuable data.
“RFID is fantastic for so many different reasons. It collects data, so we can actually see where our guests are coming from and really what aligns with their needs the best,” she said. “Right now, we have no way to track our skier visits. That [tracking] is huge to us and the industry in general, being able to track skier visits, to understand staffing and how our business ebbs and flows throughout the season.”
Current Snow Bowl policies require visitors to display their day or season pass to Snow Bowl employees monitoring the line to the lift, according to lift operator Tess Hegarty ’25.5. However, Hegarty said it is generally well-known that students often manage to avoid getting their pass checked and ski without a pass. With the addition of RFID technology, this will no longer be possible.
Many ski areas now use RFID technology, making the Snow Bowl somewhat late to the game. Most RFID systems work by scanning a credit-card-sized pass in the pocket on the skier’s left side at upper arm height. The chip in the card informs the lift system of the skier’s identity and opens the gate to the chairlift. Some RFID systems also track the skier’s movement throughout their time on the mountain, offering the benefit of safety if a skier becomes lost.
“We’re a little bit behind the times right now as far as that goes, so this will really get us into the next step,” said Essensa.
The Snow Bowl initiated changes to ticket prices before Essensa’s arrival, but she explained the college’s rationale for the increases.
“I like to look at other mountains that are similar to us, other mountains that have night skiing, and really take that into account when we put our pricing out,” she said.
Despite major price changes, Essensa mentioned that season pass sales are up from last year and the Snow Bowl has not received complaints about the price increases.
The mountain has also joined IndyPass, a season pass that allows holders access to multiple independent ski resorts. Pass holders receive two free lift tickets at over 230 member resorts and 50% off any additional day passes at the Snow Bowl, Essensa shared, adding that she is excited about the opportunities and the new exposure she hopes the IndyPass will create.
“We’re seeing new clientele here, you know, the new families in the lodge, and [we’re] really tapping into that new database,” Essensa said.
Another addition to the Snow Bowl’s offerings is Friday Night Skin Club, which met for the first time on Jan. 17. Piper Harring ’25 started the club with the hope of channeling the community-driven, outdoor-enthused qualities that she views as central to the Snow Bowl’s identity.
“My goal with this [the club] is to get more people outside, involved in skinning, and part of the Snow Bowl community. At the end of the day, this is about being outside with friends,” Harring wrote in an email to The Campus.
The Snow Bowl is in its second year of offering night skiing and its updated Sheehan chair lift. Aside from big changes, Essensa said the Snow Bowl is focused on going back to the basics, which for her, includes a commitment to inclusivity.
“Keeping skiing attainable and approachable for everyone is really our goal here, because we are at a super cool location, owned by the college, we have this great opportunity to get people here,” she said.
Maggie Bryan '25 (she/her) is the Senior News Editor.
Maggie is a senior at Middlebury, majoring in Environmental Policy and French. She previously held roles as Senior Arts and Culture Editor, Arts and Culture Editor, and Staff. During her free time, she loves running, listening to live music, drinking coffee, and teaching spin classes. She is from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
