Badness Ski Reports: Bromley Mountain
While living in New Jersey, we started making some loose plans with our friend from Whitefish, Kate Farmer, hoping to pull off a ski trip while we were in New Hampshire. We were stoked to make it happen! We met up with her, her nanny, and her kids for a sun-filled ski day at Bromley Mountain in Vermont. That means it’s time for the second edition of Badness Ski Reports. Oh, and did I mention that Kate might be a faster skier than me? Montana was turning heads all day.
This is the Badness East Coast Ski Report:
Bromely Mountain
Mile: 60,898
Quote of the Blog: “Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.” Oprah Winfrey
Song of the Blog: “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” - Beastie Boys
Bromley has been on our radar since we moved out here. One of my best friends from college grew up snowboarding there, so I’ve known about it for a long time. It’s not much farther than Mount Snow or Okemo Mountain, both of which we’ve already been to. With a quick hop across the Delaware River, we’re in a whole new zone in Vermont.
BROMLEY MOUNTAIN
Overall Score 7.4/10
Open Terrain 8/10
Technicality of Terrain 7/10
Lodges 6/10
Snow Conditions 9/10
Vibe & Apres Scene 7/10
Chairlifts & Access 6/10
Parking 8/10
Crowds 8/10
Bromley is an independently owned ski area, which was a refreshing change after spending so much time skiing at Vail-owned resorts. The catch? We had to buy lift tickets. But with a work discount bringing the price down to $100, it was still a solid deal compared to the greater ski industry. Bromley isn’t a resort in the typical sense—it has great amenities but leans more toward a family-oriented atmosphere. That was clear the moment we arrived. We pulled up right as parents were dropping their kids off at ski school and daycare, filling the village with the morning buzz of little skiers getting sorted into their classes. The timing worked out perfectly, as Kate was there dropping off her son and daughter.
In true racer fashion, Kate was scraping wax off skis slopeside at the lodge when we met up with her. She had been in the Bromley area for the week, taking advantage of her kids’ school break and settling into her new role as a local landowner. This made for a perfect chance to ski together. She had also brought along her children’s nanny, Lola, a ripper from a small village in France. Not only is she amazing with the kids, but she can also seriously ski.
One of the first things I noticed as we drove in was Bromley’s fully south-facing slopes. That’s rare in New England, where most ski areas take advantage of northern exposure to preserve snow and improve conditions. But Bromley embraces the sun—so much so that their slogan is “The Sun Mountain,” and they even have a sun mascot walking around the lodge. We lucked out with the weather, too. It was a classic bluebird day—temps in the teens and not a single cloud in the sky.
The chairlift layout is simple but does a great job of spreading people out. We primarily skied off the top, either using the main lift or one that accessed just the upper two-thirds of the mountain. Skiing with Kate and Lola worked out perfectly—Kate and I could ski as fast as we wanted while Lola and Amity cruised at a similar pace. The mountain had a great flow, and one major plus was the lack of crowds. We never felt like we had to constantly watch out for other skiers, which was a nice change from some of the bigger resorts we’ve been to. We could take in the beautiful views of the other Vermont ski areas in the distance; Stratton Mountain & Magic Mountain.
Bromley’s terrain is a mix of steep and rolling slopes, making for some really fun carving. The tree runs are lower-angle, which makes them perfect for kids learning to ski off-piste. And what would East Coast skiing be without moguls? Bromley has some great runs where one half is groomed daily, while the other half is left to bump up naturally. That meant the ladies could carve their turns while I mashed moguls right next to them—no need to split up!
While we were skiing, Kate told us about a local porcupine that lives at the summit. We didn’t see him, but we kept hearing from others on the slopes about where he’d been spotted that day. A porcupine as the unofficial mountain mascot? Love it. Just wouldn’t want to get too close!
Once we couldn’t feel our extremities from the cold, we took a break at the lodge to warm up and grab a beer. It was great catching up with Kate—she now lives in Brooklyn but spends her winters skiing up here. I’m happy she found her new winter “happy place.” While we were hanging out at the Wild Boar Tavern, the group next to us randomly gifted us a free order of French fries. Big bonus points for the locals here—Bromley definitely has a strong, tight-knit community.
We spent the afternoon making more laps and exploring the mountain. It was interesting to see how much the conditions changed throughout the day—morning groomers turned into mogul fields surrounded by patches of ice. It made for a playful and sporty style of skiing. At some point, we picked up Kate’s son for a few runs, and he was all about hitting every single jump on the mountain. My kind of skier! Before wrapping up, we grabbed her daughter from ski school and took a summit lap with her. We were seriously impressed—she’s only three years old, and she already angulates her skis to engage the edge while keeping her upper body level. Most adults struggle with that! No doubt, Kate’s racer genes landed in this one. As with any great bluebird ski day, we eventually had to call it and head home. One of the nice perks of Bromley is their parking lot shuttle, which makes any spot in the lot easy to access.
On the drive home, we made our usual stop at the Vermont Country Store for some local cheese. And in a totally unexpected win, I found my favorite caramel sauce—from Idaho, of all places. No idea why the country store had it, but I’m not complaining. WINNING!
Final thoughts on Bromley? It’s a classic mom-and-pop ski hill, run really well with a strong local vibe. We caught a perfect sunny day, so no complaints there. It’s smaller than I expected but definitely not the smallest place we’ve skied out here. If the opportunity came up again, we’d 100% ski Bromley again. Thanks for an awesome day, Kate & Lola!