Be The Beast: Snowmaking Foreman Ashley Sanders

Ashley Sanders’ entry to snowmaking came from a desire to be outside in all seasons. Originally from Barre, VT, she was working seasonally for the Vermont Youth Conservation Corp and fighting wildland fires with the US Forest Service in the summers and needed a winter job. Snowmaking fit that bill.

“I remember doing my first interview with Greg Gleason via cellphone Zoom while we were out on hitch building hiking trails.”

She began her career at The Beast as a seasonal snowmaker in 2020 and moved into her full-time, year-round role as a foreman in 2023.

A typical day for Ashley involves keeping The Beast’s massive snowmaking system running smoothly. After getting a handoff from the night snowmakers—it is a 24/7 operation—she assigns that day's trails to designated hill chiefs and snowmakers.

“Foremen are responsible for all the valving and charging to move water/air across the mountain, while in communication with the control room operator. We perform trail maintenance, repair equipment, and try to produce the best quality product we can. The foremen stay a couple steps ahead of the snowmakers—charging trails, moving setups, repairing equipment—to allow the operations to keep chugging along. The mountain is like a giant board game to snowmaking and we keep the pieces moving. We also work closely with the grooming team to assist in transport, moving larger stockpiles of equipment, and plowing roads for us.”

Unsurprisingly, the snowmaking team at Killington is made up of mostly men, but Ashley isn’t intimidated by working in a male-dominated environment.

“Coming from other male-dominated jobs, I had a pretty solid understanding of what I was signing up for with snowmaking. When I originally started, there was one other woman who showed me the ropes—shout out to Natalie (Manzi) Scott! In my third season, I was assigned to be one of two snowmakers to run Pico. Natalie was assigned as the other, so two women were running Pico snowmaking for the first time. Now, we have women who come into the department seasonally, and I hope to have the same teaching mentorship to them than Natalie gave to me.”

And of course, having awesome coworkers helps.

“The guys I work with are great and everyone is part of the team, regardless of gender. Respect is earned from reliable hard work. Some days come with brutally cold weather with rugged gun runs and the whole crew comes together to see the task to completion.”

That crew is just one of the things she loves about the job.

“The crew I get to work with is a big part of why I love the job so much. During the peak of winter, we’re spending 5-6 12-hour days together per week and you form really close bonds with the people you work with. Nothing beats doing a gun run with a solid group of experienced snowmakers; everyone is so fluid, no one is talking, but 100% communicating through signals and gestures.”

But for Ashley, the number one reason to keep snowmaking is nature.

“The best part of the job for me is getting to be outside every single day—every season, all times of the day, every weather condition. We get to see the mountain at every possible moment: silence in the middle of the night, the busiest winter Saturdays, when the first leaves begin to change in fall, a mother bear plus cubs crossing your path in spring. I love being out in the darkness, turning off my snowmobile, and just taking in the rawness of the mountain around me.”

She encourages anyone who loves working outdoors to get into snowmaking.

“Don’t be intimidated by the crews or the job! If you love being outdoors and working hard, take the job and just buckle in. The first two weeks on the hill as a new snowmaker is such a crash course of learning. We usually have new hires just watch and shadow for their first couple shifts just to observe and see how all of the pieces turn. Our regularly returning staff are amazing trainers and LOVE getting to teach new folks every year the job they love. Snowmaking is definitely not a spectator sport, so be prepared to be fully hands on and learn by doing, which includes making mistakes, too.”