SAM Magazine—Bretton Woods, N.H., June 5, 2026—Doug and Liz Fichera, Summit Resources, with SAM's Karolyn Towle.New Hampshire’s alpine ski areas recorded 2,283,539 skier visits during the 2025-26 season, according to Ski New Hampshire (Ski NH), which represents more than 30 alpine and cross-country member ski areas in the state. The result is the fourth-best in the past 20 years, trailing only the skier visits recorded in 2010-11, 2000-01, and 2007-08.

Ski NH president Jessyca Keeler shared the results during the association’s annual business meeting at its Annual Conference & Trade Show, held June 1-2 at Bretton Woods. According to Keeler, alpine skier visits increased 5 percent year-over-year, reflecting strong early-season snowfall and favorable snowmaking temperatures throughout the season. “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,” she said.

Preliminary data from cross country ski areas suggests a mixed picture, according to Keeler. Some Nordic centers experienced significant increases in visitation, while others saw comparable declines.

Tubing operations across the state experienced a 21 percent year-over-year increase, with Ski NH members reporting a combined 125,314 tubing visits. Nearly half of the ski areas reporting tubing data posted year-over-year gains exceeding 30 percent, with the 2025-26 season ranking as the second-best tubing season on record since Ski NH began tracking tubing visits in 1997-98.

"Female leaders and allies gathered during the "Women in Operations" roundtable to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing women in the industry. Many attendees noted it was the largest gathering of women they had ever experienced at an industry meeting."“These outstanding tubing numbers highlight the growing popularity of winter recreation beyond traditional skiing and snowboarding,” said Keeler. “Tubing continues to be an accessible and memorable way for families and first-time visitors to experience winter in New Hampshire.”

The annual conference and trade show welcomed 413 ski area and supplier attendees and included several education tracks, a vendor trade show, and an awards dinner. Operator-led sessions gave mountain staff a structured opportunity to swap solutions and benchmark with peers across the state, with topics ranging from managing fraud in the age of RFID to developing workforce pathways and the experience for women in operations. Several hands-on learning opportunities, like the tower circuit class and lift evacuation demo, offered a change of pace from traditional conference programming

Ski NH honored Ellen Chandler, Jackson XC, with the Al Merrill Award; Frank MacConnell, Bob Skinner’s Ski & Sports, with the H.H. “Bill” Whitney Award; and Connor O'Neil, Mount Sunapee, and Sean Norton, Dartmouth Skiway, with the NextGen Award.