Today, the Vertical Challenge released its 2023 schedule. The family ski and snowboard tour will visit its largest number of resorts in five years this season. In addition, the VC will showcase the schedule and much more on a revamped ski-vc.com website.
“We’re so excited to reconnect with racers at some of our favorite resorts, including a few we haven’t gotten to visit in recent years” said Vertical Challenge owner Heather Clifford. “Plus, we’re looking forward to bringing VC fun to some new mountains that have never hosted one of our events.”
The Vertical Challenge Presented by Chevrolet is a series of casual ski and snowboard races open to skiers and snowboarders of all ages and abilities, accompanied by a festival experience. The tour offers adaptive categories and also looks to engage its participants in raising funds for the state chapters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the areas it visits. The VC stages one-day events at mountains throughout greater New England.
The season opens Sunday, January 8 in Maine, traveling to Saddleback for the first time since 2009.
New resorts added this season include BigRock Mountain in Maine (January 15), Swain Resort in New York (February 19), and Connecticut’s Ski Sundown (February 26). The tour will stop in six total states (Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in addition to those noted above) in 2023. Clifford and company will also offer a virtual reality experience with their new Oculus Quest 2 headsets, product samples, and prizes at the VC booth (H30) this weekend (November 18-20) during the Snowbound Expo at the Hynes Center in Boston.
The Vertical Challenge races are free for participants, with costs paid by tour sponsors, including Olivia’s Organics, Stonyfield, Dermatone, PepsiCo, ALOHA, Northeast Delta Dental, Xfinity, and presenting sponsor Chevrolet. All entrants need to do is purchase a lift ticket from the host mountain and complete a registration form, which can be done in advance at ski-vc.com. The VC will once again work with NASTAR for racer registration and results. The top three finishers in each category qualify for the finals, which Jay Peak Resort will host Saturday, April 1, 2023.
More information about the Vertical Challenge (a WBENC-certified woman-owned business) is available at the tour’s official website at ski-vc.com. Digital transformation agency UO Solutions created its new look, including updates to information pages, the VC’s blog, and extensive insights for potential sponsors.
2023 Vertical Challenge Schedule
Saddleback, ME Sunday, January 8, 2023
Lost Valley, ME Saturday, January 14, 2023
BigRock Mountain, ME Sunday, January 15, 2023
Nashoba Valley, MA Saturday, January 21, 2023
Cranmore Mountain Resort, NH Sunday, January 22, 2023
Ski Butternut, MA Saturday, January 28, 2023
Jiminy Peak, MA Sunday, January 29, 2023
Catamount, NY Saturday, February 4, 2023
Berkshire East, MA Sunday, February 5, 2023
McIntyre Ski Area, NH Saturday, February 11, 2023
Pats Peak, NH Sunday, February 12, 2023
Snow Ridge, NY Saturday, February 18, 2023
Swain Resort, NY Sunday, February 19, 2023
Mount Southington, CT Saturday February 25, 2023
Ski Sundown, CT Sunday, February 26, 2023
Burke Mountain, VT Friday, March 3, 2023
Smugglers’ Notch, VT Saturday, March 4, 2023
Saskadena Six, VT Sunday, March 5, 2023
Bolton Valley, VT Monday, March 6, 2023
Pico Mountain, VT Saturday, March 11, 2023
Bromley Mountain, VT Sunday, March 12, 2023
King Pine, NH Saturday, March 18, 2023
Jay Peak, VT-Finals Saturday, April 1, 2023