Skiing is one of those unique sports that can only be done under very specific environmental conditions. That’s why there is such a big disparity between schools with great ski teams and schools without. Many schools simply do not exist in a climate where skiing is possible at any point of the year. Below we’ve listed the five best elite colleges for skiing. You may notice that every one of them resides in a colder climate, and some of them even boast their own slopes!

Top Elite Collegiate Ski Programs

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth is known to have one of the best collegiate ski programs in the world. Not only does the Big Green have its own mountain to host events — the Dartmouth Skiway — but its skiers have been competitively ranked in many major sporting events. As a purveyor of both Alpine and Nordic skiing in the Ivy League conference, Dartmouth has taken home an NCAA Skiing championship three different times, and lays claim to a variety of wins in individual events. In the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Dartmouth student Hannah Kearney took home the gold for Team USA. As the university proudly states in a 2022 summary of Dartmouths’ Olympic history, “the Big Green’s medal count of 28 is higher than that of Poland at 22, Hungary at 7, and is just shy of Great Britain at 31.”

University of Rochester

The University of Rochester’s Alpine Ski Team loves walk-ons! In fact, this team, which competes in the Empire Team Division in the Mid-east conference of the USCSA, “welcomes members of all skiing abilities, from beginner skier to veteran race.” Compared with the competitive atmosphere of some of the other teams on this list, Rochester’s skiing culture places great value on the recreational aspects of the sport, reviving the old elite university spirit of amateurism. With the scenic vista of Bristol Mountain in Canandaigua, NY as their training ground, skiers at Rochester leave their alma mater with fond memories of their time shredding down the slopes.

Colby College

Colby News put it best in 2023 when they said “Colby’s Alpine and Nordic ski teams tackle dramatically different terrain, but they have one thing in common: a culture of success.” Colby College’s Alpine and Nordic ski teams compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference in Division III. The Alpine team trains at Sugarloaf Mountain in Carrabassett Valley, ME, while the Nordic team trains at Quarry Road trails in Waterville, ME. In the 2024 NCAA Skiing Championship, the women’s and men’s Nordic teams both placed 15th, while four skiers from the Alpine team individually qualified for the Championship.

Middlebury College

Much like their Colby College counterparts, Middlebury skiers compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, and much like their Dartmouth College counterparts, Middlebury skiers boast an entire mountain all to themselves for their training exercises. Both Nordic and Alpine teams train at the Snowbowl in Hancock, VT, which is one of the oldest ski areas in the state and contains the oldest continuously-operated ski lodge in the nation. Ski teams at Middlebury typically place within the top ten in the NCAA Skiing Championship each year, a legacy that stretches back for decades.

Cornell University

According to Cornell’s ski team website, “The Cornell Alpine Ski Team is a co-ed, student run, club team that races in the United States Collegiate Ski Association (USCSA). We race and train at Greek Peak Mountain and compete all around New York state.” This league of skiers at Cornell keeps the Ivy League tradition of amateur athleticism alive and well, but make no mistake: these skiers are talented! “Our team competes at the USCSA level and has qualified for the National Championships for 10 consecutive seasons and counting,” they write with pride. Not to be outdone, the Nordic Ski Team at Cornell takes a team trip to Quebec, Canada, to compete on the snow for the first time each year at the end of winter break. However, their training season is year round, punctuated by sessions of “running, strength training, biking, rollerskiing, and ultimate frisbee.”