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Why this snow groomer in Vermont works in his socks
"Gotta be in comfort!" he said.
Though his job is working with snow, a Vermont groomer prefers doing it without shoes.
Toby Malandrinos is a groomer at Bromley Mountain in Peru, known as “Vermont’s Sun Mountain” for its south-facing slopes. His tasks include winching, terrain park builds, and opening the trails.
Bromley posted a video on Facebook Tuesday of a brief interview with Toby while he was on the job driving a snowcat.
“And, look at that, you’re grooming in your socks, huh?” said the interviewer as the camera panned to Toby’s feet, clad only in gray and blue socks.
“Gotta be in comfort!” said Toby, who wore sunglasses as he drove the machine with his feet propped up.
The interviewer laughed and then asked Toby what he loves about grooming.
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“I love being in the cats every day,” Toby said. “And taking a whole bunch of large snow making piles and making some really cool trails that flow and make it so that everybody wants to keep coming back to our mountain and enjoying what we put out for perfection on the slopes.”
Here’s what mountain officials wrote in the Facebook post accompanying the video:
Grooming slopes in your socks? Meet Toby! Ever wondered why Bromley’s snow is better than everywhere else in the area? It’s because this veteran team takes great pride in their work, favoring quality over quantity. Toby and our other expert groomers & snowmakers wait to groom our slopes until just the right moment, so the corduroy comes out smooth and pristine.
Wrote someone in the comments, “Thanks Toby you sock groomer. Lol.”
Bromley, which opened for the season on Nov. 28, reported 4-5 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours, with a season snowfall total so far of 53 inches.
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“If you had a powder day on your Christmas list, you’re in luck because 5″ of fresh snow has blanketed the mountain!” wrote mountain officials in Wednesday morning’s snow report. “Groomers refreshed 19 trails last night, so we’ll have a beautiful mix of fluffy powder on top of corduroy.”
Bromley, which has a vertical drop of 1,334 feet, opened 22 of 47 trails and four of nine lifts on Wednesday, as well as one of its two terrain parks.
Bromley Mountain, which first opened in 1936, will celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2026.
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