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Cochran's Ski Area, Vermont: a Richmond backyard rope tow that raised Olympians

Richmond, VT

Part of Skiing and Snowboarding in the United States

Part of Skiing New England

In 1961, Mickey and Ginny Cochran began operating a backyard rope-tow ski area on their hillside property in Richmond, Vermont, with support from the community, per Cochran's Ski Area's own mission page. The area's stated mission is that "no child will be denied the opportunity to ski or ride," providing area youth and families with affordable skiing, snowboarding, lessons, and race training "in the Cochran tradition." Cochran's Ski Area is located at 910 Cochran Road, Richmond, Vermont 05477.

  1. A volunteer-run, non-profit rope-tow and T-bar ski area founded by the Cochran family in 1961.

  2. A sixteen-sided 1812-1813 meetinghouse, a National Historic Landmark open in summer and early fall.

  3. A town-owned community forest conserved in 2018, open dawn-to-dusk for hiking and biking.

From rope tow to non-profit

The 1961 start was a roughly 500-foot rope tow serving two slopes, per the New England Lost Ski Areas Project's Cochran's Ski Area page. By 1966 an 1,100-foot rope tow had been added; a handle tow for beginners was built above the lodge in 1975; and a Hall T-bar relocated from Bristol Mountain in western New York was installed in 1979. In 1998 Cochran's Ski Area became a non-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt ski area, according to its own mission page.

The after-school program

Cochran's after-school ski program is a 10-week program of weekly instruction run in partnership with four area elementary and middle schools — Richmond Elementary School, Hinesburg Community School, Robinson Elementary in Starksboro, and Beeman Elementary in New Haven — staffed largely by community volunteers, with scholarships stated to be always available for anyone in need, per the program's own page.

The Skiing Cochrans

Barbara Ann Cochran, of Richmond's "Skiing Cochrans" family, won the gold medal in slalom at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, by 0.02 seconds, per Wikipedia's Barbara Ann Cochran article, and now works at Cochran's Ski Area, situated in the backyard of her childhood home. Her son, Ryan Cochran-Siegle, won silver medals in the super-G at both the 2022 Beijing and 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, continuing the Cochran family's ski-racing legacy tied to Richmond, according to Wikipedia's Ryan Cochran-Siegle article.

In Richmond

The Round Church, a sixteen-sided former meetinghouse built in 1812-1813 by William Rhodes, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 20, 1974, and designated a National Historic Landmark on June 19, 1996, per Wikipedia's Round Church article; the town gave the building to the Richmond Historical Society in 1976, and it remains open to the public in summer and early fall. Andrews Community Forest is owned by the Town of Richmond, which conserved the property in 2018 with support from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Vermont Land Trust, and the Andrews family; it is managed by a nine-member town committee and is open dawn-to-dusk, according to the town's own Andrews Community Forest page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cochran's Ski Area still run by the Cochran family?
Cochran's Ski Area was founded in 1961 by Mickey and Ginny Cochran on their own Richmond hillside. Barbara Ann Cochran, their daughter and the 1972 Olympic slalom gold medalist, still works at the area today, in the backyard of her childhood home, per Wikipedia's Barbara Ann Cochran article.
Does Cochran's offer a program for local kids?
Yes. Cochran's after-school ski program is a 10-week program run in partnership with four area elementary and middle schools, staffed largely by community volunteers, with scholarships stated to be always available for anyone in need, per the program's own page.