Mountain Info

Saskadena Six is a place where generosity of spirit extends to all, and where curiosity comes to play.

3 Lifts. 28 Trails. 60% snowmaking. 88 years of history to call your own.

Saskadena Six Trail Map

In January, America’s first rope tow was installed on Clinton Gilbert’s pasture in Woodstock and it launches a new era in winter sports. That same year, Laurance S. Rockefeller marries local girl Mary Billings, granddaughter of Frederick Billings.

The then-named Suicide Six first opened to the public in 1936 with its first rope tow on Hill No. 6. Installed by Wallace “Bunny” Bertram, a former Dartmouth College ski instructor, he often joked that skiing down the steep pitch of Hill No. 6 would be suicide, and in jest, the name stuck.

Just one year after its opening, the ski area held its first Fisk Trophy Race. Now known as the longest-running ski race in North America, this race is lovingly thought of as a right of passage for serious Eastern ski racers. Notable past winners include Chip Knight, Jimmy Cochran, and many other Olympians, US Ski Team members and NCAA champions. This historical race is still held annually.

As industrial machinery improved, so did recreational technology. “Bunny” Bertram purchased a Poma lift for $40,000 in 1954. This surface lift increased the ski area’s capacity exponentially, making it possible to lift 950 in just one hour. This innovation placed the mountain in an entirely different league for skiers.

1961 - Laurance Rockefeller Acquires Suicide Six

“Bunny” Bertram sold then-named Suicide Six to Laurance Rockefeller who saw the vast potential for the small mountain. In the decades to follow, Mr. Rockefeller began expanding the ski area to include chairlifts and J-bar, similar to how we know it today. At that time lift tickets were a mere $5.50!

In the summer of 1978, the new $400,000 baselodge was built that helped the ski hill gain resort status. It boasted gorgeous high-beamed ceilings and towering windows facing the slopes. It was a fantastic upgrade from the old warming hut that previously stood as a ramshackle, pieced together shelter. That summer also saw the 1,200-foot Poma lift replaced by a new 1,650-foot double chairlift and increased snowmaking operations that covered two-thirds of the mountain.

1982 - First National Snow Snurfing Championships

Then-named Suicide Six was one of the first ski areas to embrace a new form of snow sliding called “snurfing.” In 1982 the National Snow Snurfing Championship was held at the resort. Roughly 150 snurfers competed in the downhill and giant slalom events, helping shape the sport we now know as snowboarding.

The next era in the evolution began with the installation of a next-generation Leitner-Poma quad chairlift. This new lift further increased the capacity of the mountain, shorter lift ride times, and the ability to hold more skiers and riders; expanding the mountain from ski area to a premier resort.

2018 marked the first summer of mountain bike trails at the ski area. Over 6 miles of bike trails were added alongside the ski trails for the public to use!

In the summer of 2022, the ski area retired the previous Suicide Six name for the now known, Saskadena Six. In the Abenaki language, Saskadena means "standing mountain," symbolizing a deep connection to the original inhabitants, the land, and the nearly 90-year legacy of this community treasure.

Family laughing together on the mountain

Our Manifesto

The story of Saskadena Six is the story of a mountain where people experience connection.

A connection to nature, to others, and even to those parts of themselves they didn't know existed, or had long since lost touch with. It is the story of a young child learning wedge turns under the watchful eye of her grandfather, and that of the child’s parent, skiing alongside, knowing already that the memory of this moment will forever open a floodgate of emotion and gratitude. It is the story of a woman discovering mountain biking in midlife, and her surprised delight not merely at how much fun it is, but at how strong and capable it makes her feel, and how much she wants to share this experience with others. It is the story of guests who return time and again, in part for the thrills and the challenge, yes, but in greater part because at Saskadena Six, they experience something that transcends the physical: A sense of belonging, and with it, a deeper understanding of who they are and of their place in this complicated and occasionally confusing world.

Our Commitment to Sustainability

We are proud to have a sustainability initiative in place which continues to grow year after year with additions of new technology and revitalization of previously used materials.

AUTOMATION & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Saskadena Six Ski Area at the Woodstock Inn & Resort invested $400,000 to upgrade its snowmaking infrastructure for the 2018/2019 season with the installation of 10 new TechnoAlpin snow producers. For the first time, snow production on “The Face,” the mountain’s signature trail, and the ski and snowboard learning center, was fully automated. The snow guns replaced by the new technology have been reallocated to other areas of the mountain to phase out aged snow guns and ultimately create higher quality snow and shorter production times across the ski area’s 28 trails.

Each new snow producer is equipped with state-of-the-art weather monitoring capabilities to provide both instant and historical data such as wind speed and direction, relative humidity, ambient temperature, and wet-bulb temperature. The upgraded equipment also enables the Saskadena Six Ski area team to monitor and predict the weather at multiple elevations.

The 10 new snow guns include seven T40s, six strategically placed along the trail’s edge from top to bottom mounted on an adjustable 15-foot tower and one placed at the top of Pearson’s Path for 360 degrees of snow coverage to the ski and snowboarding learning center. One larger TF-10 model is mounted on a 30-foot articulating arm placed at a major trail intersection on the steepest pitch of the slope; with two automated V3 lance guns mounted on 30-foot towers that will produce snow on the narrow roadway leading into The Face’s descent.

2 skiers stand in front of the view from the summit

Let's Stay in Contact

Toll free: 888.338.2745
Local: 802.457.6661
Saskadena Six: S6Info@woodstockinn.com
Address: 247 Stage Rd, South Pomfret, Vermont, 05067
Formerly Suicide Six Ski Area

Saskadena Six is located near the town of Woodstock, Vermont. Centrally located near I-89 and I-91 and within easy driving distance from Boston, New York, and Montreal.

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