Credit: Sean Metcalf

In the age of online sports betting and prediction markets, there’s not much you can’t gamble on these days — including the weather. Kalshi, the morally challenged platform where users can wager on everything from the New York Jets to the deaths of world leaders, recently introduced a new game of chance to its virtual casino-of-the-damned: How much snow will Stowe Mountain Resort get before Christmas?

The gimmick is marketed as a way for ski-town businesses to hedge their bets against paltry early-season snowfall by recouping revenue should snow be scarce in December — provided they guess correctly, of course. It’s one of many ski-industry wagers offered on resorts across the country.

Snowfall concerns are top of mind this year amid gloomy predictions for a wet but warm winter — thanks a lot, El Niño. Which means the University of Vermont’s new high-tech snow-monitoring equipment might have less to do than expected. Then again, a rainy winter could be a boon to artist Gabriel Tempesta’s stick-season musings.

But here’s a hot take: If your business plan includes online gambling, maybe you should consider a different career path? We’ve yet to hear of any businesses in Stowe or elsewhere in the state taking Kalshi up on its devil’s bargain. And we really hope we don’t.

Instead, perhaps anxious business owners could look to places like Ludlow’s Homestyle Restaurant and Waitsfield’s Mad River Barn for inspiration. The two ski-town restaurants share much in common — including putting Vermont on the menu.

Another option: Tap into trends that succeed no matter the forecast. Throughout the state, social dancing is taking off as Vermonters rediscover the joy of gettin’ down, communally, to everything from honky-tonk to swing to global rhythms. Bonus: Vigorous movement is a great way to stay warm, which seems relevant given the skyrocketing cost of home heating fuel.

Human connection is extra important during Vermont’s coldest months, whether you’re hitting the slopes, the dance floor or the ice. In Montpelier, players on the Central Vermont Pioneers sled hockey team, many of whom are disabled, bond over a thrilling and inclusive adaptive sport.

Good company is also important should you venture off-trail and into Vermont’s spectacular but dangerous backcountry. Always adventure with a buddy (or two or three), and let someone know where you’re going. Otherwise, you might just get to meet the backcountry rescuers who brave life-threatening conditions to retrieve skiers and riders stranded in the mountains.

A safer bet is to stay snug and warm in a nice lodge — like the Hubbard Cabin at the Middlebury Snowbowl in Hancock. Believed to be the oldest ski area base lodge in the country, the log cabin was recently moved and restored and will be returned to full use this season.

Now all it needs is some snow.

The original print version of this article was headlined “A Chance of Snow | Discouraging seasonal forecast aside, the Winter Preview will keep you safe and warm”

This article appears in Winter Preview • 2026.

Dan Bolles is a culture coeditor at Seven Days. He joined the paper in 2007 as its music editor, covering Vermont's robust music, comedy and nightlife scenes for a decade before deciding he was too old to be going to the Monkey House on weeknights to see rock shows for a living. He became assistant arts editor in 2017 and culture coeditor in 2021. Bolles has received numerous local and national awards for his writing on Vermont arts, sports and the occasional celebrity canine murder mystery. He loves...