SAM Magazine—Mount Snow, Vt., Feb. 4, 2025—Nearly 12,000 total votes were cast for the five competing snowmaking teams during the 14-day voting period of the 2025 I AM a Snowmaker contest. Contest sponsor HKD Snowmakers president Charles Santry revealed this year’s winner in the video below:

 This year’s competing teams each produced a “day in the life" video that captured the heart and soul of their snowmaking team. The videos showcase how snowmakers' contributions to the mountain result in personal development and the overall success of an operation.  Voting concluded Wednesday, Jan. 29. 

“After a tight race up until the end, the 2025 I AM a Snowmaker winner is Vermont’s Bolton Valley,” said Santry.

The Bolton Valley team was honored on Feb. 4 at the HKD snowmaking demo during the National Ski Areas Association Eastern Conference at Mount Snow, Vt.

HKD will host the Bolton Valley snowmakers at its Canadian headquarters in Quebec City, Quebec, for two days of education—the crew will deep-dive how to maintain, troubleshoot, repair, and safely operate HKD equipment—and entertainment in Quebec City.

“All of this years’ videos conveyed what it means to be a part of both a snowmaking crew and a community,” said Santry. “We are excited to see another year of 12,000 votes, so thank you to everyone who participated! And a big thank you to Ski Area Management for coordinating this contest and being a great partner. We look forward to hosting the team from Bolton Valley at our factory in Canada to see our manufacturing in action and explore the unique culture of Quebec City.”

This year’s contest showcased five snowmaking teams from across North America: Big Sky, Mont.; Bolton Valley, Vt.; Holiday Valley, N.Y.; Jackson XC, N.H.; and Mount Sima, Yukon, Canada.

"It was great to see the competing ski areas rally their communities to support their contest entries, and Bolton Valley’s community responded in a big way,” said SAM publisher Olivia Rowan. “We’re honored to share the stories of these hard-working snowmaking teams. The value of giving the public a behind-the-scenes look at who snowmakers are and what they do cannot be overstated.”

The I AM a Snowmaker contest—sponsored by HKD Snowmakers—was launched in 2013 and puts a spotlight on the expertise and character of a wide variety of snowmaking teams across North America.

To view all the teams’ profiles and videos, visit: https://www.saminfo.com/i-am-a-snowmaker.