Summary
JD Vance’s ski trip to Vermont’s Sugarbush Resort was met with hundreds of protesters following his confrontational behavior toward Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
Demonstrators carried signs calling Vance a “traitor” and suggesting he “go ski in Russia.”
A resort employee posted an unauthorized political message in the snow report criticizing the administration’s environmental policies.
The backlash follows concerns over Vance’s alignment with Trump and his remarks urging European nations to engage with far-right parties.
The snow report in question since it was removed:
Mar 1st, 2025, 6:49 AM: Today of all days, I would like to reflect on what Sugarbush means to me. This mountain has brought me endless days of joy, adventure, challenges, new experiences, beauty, community, and peace. I’ve found that nothing cures a racing mind quite like skiing through the trees and stopping to take a deep breath of that fresh forest air. The world around us might be a scary place, but these little moments of tranquility, moments I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy as a direct result of my employment here, give me, and I’d guess you, too, a sense of strength and stability.
This fresh forest air, is, more specifically fresh National Forest air. Sugarbush operates on 1745 acres of the Green Mountain National Forest. Right now, National Forest lands and National Parks are under direct attack by the current Administration, who is swiftly terminating the positions of dedicated employees who devote their lives to protecting the land we love, and to protecting us while we are enjoying that land.
This Administration also neglects to address the danger, or even the existence of, climate change, the biggest threat to the future of our industry, and the skiing we all so much enjoy here. Burlington, VT is one of the fastest-warming cities in the country, and Vermont is the 9th fastest-warming state. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), a resource I use every day for snow reporting, is crucial in monitoring extreme weather events and informing public safety measures, and is also experiencing widespread layoffs and defunding at the hands of the Administration.
Sugarbush would not be Sugarbush without our wonderful community. Employees and patrons alike, we are made up of some of the most kind hearted, hardworking people I have ever met. Our community is rich with folks of all different orientations, ethnicities, and walks of life, who all contribute to make this place what it is. They all love Sugarbush because it is a place where they can come to move their bodies, to connect with the land, to challenge themselves, to build character, to nourish their souls with the gift of skiing.
Many of these people are part of the LGBTQI+ community. Many (well, that’s a stretch, we all know this is an incredibly white-washed industry) are people of color. Half are women. Many are veterans or adaptive skiers who, through Vermont Adaptive, are able to access snow sports in part thanks to federal grants through the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is also facing devastating cuts. Many of our beloved employees moved across the world through an exchange program on the J1 visa to help this resort run, and they are not US citizens. ALL of these groups are being targeted, undervalued, and disrespected by the current Administration.
The beauty of National Forest land, is that anyone and everyone is welcome to enjoy it. Anyone and everyone can buy a lift ticket. I also imagine it is incredibly difficult, and likely impossible, to say “No” to the Secret Service. I hope that, instead of faulting Sugarbush management or employees for “allowing this to happen”, you can direct your anger to the source — the Administration that, in my oh-so-humble opinion, is threatening our democracy, our livelihoods, our land.
I want to reiterate how much I admire and respect my fellow employees and managers — they work so hard to make this place operate, to keep you coming back and enjoying it and making lifelong memories. Many of them may feel the same way that I do, but their hands are tied, and for good reason. They have families to support, they have benefits and health insurance to receive, they face far greater and more binding pressure from Corporate. I am in a privileged position here, in that I work only seasonally, I do not rely on this job for health insurance or benefits, and hey, waking up at 4:30 AM isn’t exactly sustainable. Therefore, I am using my relative “platform” as snow reporter, to be disruptive — I don’t have a whole lot to lose. We are living in a really scary and really serious time. What we do or don’t do, matters. This whole shpiel probably won’t change a whole lot, and I can only assume that I will be fired, but at least this will do even just a smidge more than just shutting up and being a sheep.
I am really scared for our future. Acting like nothing is happening here feels way scarier than losing my job. I want to have kids one day, and I want to teach them to ski. The policies and ideals of the current Administration, however, are not conducive to either of these things, because, at least how things look now, I’d never be able to afford a good life for a child anyway, and snow will be a thing of Vermont history. So please, for the sake of our future shredders: Be Better Here. It has truly been a pleasure writing your morning snow reports — I hope this one sticks with you. With love, peace, and hope, Lucy Welch
But hey, while we’re here…1-3” of fresh snow to kick off this interesting weekend. Chance of scattered mixed precip showers today, with warmer temps reaching 36 at the base and 28 at the summit. Right now, the snowpack is a mix of machine groomed and frozen granular, with more winter-like conditions near the summits, but the new snow may help nudge conditions into the powder/packed powder category in certain aspects and elevations. Enjoy 60 groomers and 100% open terrain today! For Saturday, we’ll be rocking 111 trails, 484 skiable acres, and 60 groomed runs. Temps are expected to be in the mid-20s and mid-30s under cloudy skies with winds out of the WNW ranging from 15-40 MPH. With all the new snow we saw this month, it is more important than ever to be diligent when skiing and riding in the woods — tree wells pose a greater risk with all this fresh pow.
Acting like nothing is happening here feels way scarier than losing my job. - Yankee patriot, Lucy Welch
She’s doing more than a lot of our politicians. Thank you snow reporter.
Can they ambush the oligarchy in a way that ends the oligarchy next time?
Make him unwelcome everywhere he goes maybe then he’ll begin to understand
No chance of that. These people have serious mental health problems. Most Cluster B types can’t ever see themselves as the problem. Its always someone else who is the problem.
I mean he’s kind of right… It’s our fault that he’s still alive…
I dunno. They can be in their own little echo chamber and nod their heads when they are together - but I’d love to see a paparazzi type protest everything they step foot into public. I’m sure they’ll pull some Beyonce type shit of renting out an entire place, but I’d love to see verbal harassment everywhere they go
Can’t fix stupid
He isn’t stupid.
He’s ivy league.
He, and Yarvin, and thiel, and musk, and Blake Masters and a host of others have been planning this for a very long time.
He just plays stupid for the magas.
He is evil.
The upset worker added: “This whole shpiel probably won’t change a whole lot, and I can only assume that I will be fired, but at least this will do even just a smidge more than just shutting up and being a sheep. I am really scared for our future.”
Based.
The ‘based’ part wasn’t that they showed up to protest. It was that they potentially sacrificed their job, endangered their own comfort and security, to stand up for a moral code and take a side. Something that escapes centrists/fascists.
“Unauthorized political message”?
Let’s fix that real quick:
I’m GuyFawkes and I authorize that message.
Yeah I noticed last November 5 passed w/o so much as a sparkler burning
Snow report?
Yeah, ski resorts issue daily reports on their snow conditions. Like are they using snow makers, or if there is fresh snow, or if it’s packed snow, or icy, etc. Every ski resort does it.
unauthorized political message
You know your country is a dictatorship when political messages have to be authorized.
I’m assuming they mean authorized by the resort rather than the government.
Which makes sense because companies are dictatorships.
Hell yeah make them afraid
Can you bang a couch while wearing skis?
His favorite part of skiing is the private time he’s gets with the ski lift bench
We can’t, no. I do know of a VP that can, though.
Depends on whether or not the skis can fit under the couch.
Vance too dumb to be a Russian agent. He’s just a Peter Thiel employee.
JD Vance like Ted Cruz is incredibly intelligent. He did quite well at every step of his academic career. He’s smart he’s just smarmy and willing to lie which makes him appear less educated which is intentional. Remember many conservative voters do not want people who appear smarter than they are so the smart ones have to play dumb.
Vance sucks but he’s not stupid. He is just vile.
Please explain the leprechaun pants if you will
Awkward chair forcing the material of his pants to bunch up higher up this making it look like he’s wearing floods.
Also, poor tailoring. All the broligarchs seem to be getting their suits a couple sizes too small these days. Idk why, it looks super dumb
Does he poop in diapers on this picture?
He’s plenty smart in terms of verbal fluency and debate. However he lacks introspective capacity or moral center or empathy, without which he is simply an ambitiously sharp tool being wielded by others (like Thiel)
With the top of that food chain being Putin.
Never underestimate the stupidity of a pawn. Yet here we are, being forced to make the chess pieces and chess board for minimum wage.
Exactly. Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
I think they need to lookup the word “ambushed”.
There’s probably better skiing in Russia. It’s been warmthis year on the East coast
Good.
