Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

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Flurries in the forecast

Posted January 28, 2022 at 7:53 am

We received a dusting to an inch of new snow this morning and 10 inches in the past 5 days. Currently, it is 15 degrees at the summit of Sterling with light snow and winds of 5 to 10 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a chance of snow showers early with half an inch of accumulation possible and a high of 20 degrees. The temperature will be falling throughout the day. Bundle up and enjoy the wonderful conditions. Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains. We have 5 lifts operating; Sir Henry’s Glider, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, Village Lift, Sterling Lift, and Madonna I Lift. We have 66 trails open today with terrain for all ability levels. 24 trails have been groomed for today, including Smugglers’ Alley, Garden Path, and Playground for a grand total of 116 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Birch Run Terrain Park is open with 3 jumps and 3 rails. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 12 to 42 inches. Snowmaking continues around the clock on Upper FIS and we plan to have it open this weekend.

Uphill Travel

Sterling Mountain is open 5:30 am till 7:30 am

Morse Mountain open 5:00 pm till 10:00 pm

Madonna Mountain is presently closed to uphill travel but will open soon.

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Dusting of new snow

Posted January 13, 2022 at 8:16 am

We have skiing and riding on all 3 mountains. Today we plan to have 5 lifts operating; Madonna II, Sterling, Mogul Mouse’s Magic, Village, and Sir Henry’s Glider. The Madonna II Lift will have a delayed opening until 10:00 am today. We have 29 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 19 out of the 29 trails have been groomed for today, including Sam’s Run, Lower FIS, and Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 86 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 6 to 32 inches. Currently, it is 22 degrees at the summit of Sterling with light snow and winds of 5 to 10 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a chance of snow and patchy freezing fog early, a high of 32 degrees. We are presently making snow on Lower Madonna Liftline, McPherson’s, and Playground.

Uphill travel

Morse Mountain opens from 5:00 pm till 10:00 pm.

Sterling Mountain is open from 5:30 am till 7:30 am.

Madonna Mountain is presently closed.

Employees will be red-flagged this Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am till 2:00 pm.

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Chilly Willy

Posted January 11, 2022 at 7:11 am

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. It’s the Big Chill out there, and I don’t mean “chill” in the smooth or mellow sense. Currently, it’s 21 below at the summit of Sterling. Due to the cold temps, the Sterling, Village, and Mogul Mouse Magic Lifts will have delayed openings of 11:00 am. However, Sir Henry’s Glider will open at 9:00 am. This afternoon the Sterling and Mogul Mouse Magic Lifts will close early at 3:30 pm. The good news… temps return to the mid-20’s tomorrow.

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Get Ready for Smuggs!

Posted November 16, 2021 at 3:32 pm

Stacy in for Hugh. Don’t worry, he’ll be back soon.

The arrival of snow on the mountain has gotten all of us psyched to see skiing & riding arriving soon to the slopes of Smuggs. It is early season and our snowmakers are on point to make snow when temperatures permit. Temperatures moving forward are variable through Thanksgiving, which may make it difficult to have man-made snow opportunities. We are projecting opening on Friday, November 26, weather-dependent.

Please stay informed by checking the Snow Report, signing up for our Snow Report emails, texting SNOW to 855-421-2279 for all on-mountain updates, and of course right here on Hugh’s Views.

Plan ahead and buy your tickets online, in advance & SAVE.

See you on the slopes.

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Only 3 more days of skiing and riding

Posted April 8, 2021 at 6:08 am

The last day of the 2020 / 2021 Winter season is this Saturday, April 10th. We plan to have Sterling Lift and/or Madonna I Lift operating depending on snow coverage. Today we have the Sterling Lift operating with 12 trails open. We only have intermediate and expert terrain available at this time. Surface conditions are machine groomed and spring conditions with average base depths of 0 to 38 inches. 8 trails have been groomed for today, including Smugglers’ Alley, Black Snake, Practice Slope, and Birch Run for a grand total of 39 acres of freshly groomed terrain. It is currently sunny and 41 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Today’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies with a high of 67 degrees at the base and 59 degrees in the upper elevations.

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Calm before the storm

Posted March 31, 2021 at 3:49 pm

Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for periods of snow 5 to 9 inches of accumulation possible with a high of 34 degrees and falling throughout the day. Tomorrow night’s forecast is also calling for snow with another 1 to 3 inches possible. Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 4 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We plan to have 25 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions will be variable and machine groomed with average base depths of 10 to 44 inches. 7 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Garden Path and Lower Morse Liftline for a grand total of 31 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from the Madonna I Lift

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Spring conditions today fresh snow tomorrow

Posted March 31, 2021 at 8:59 am

I ran into Ski Instructor Justin Falkenburg at the summit of Sterling this morning. He asked me if we are really supposed to get a snowstorm with a good bit of accumulation. I told him that there is a winter weather advisory starting tonight until Friday morning with up to 14 inches of snowfall total. He told me of course there is because I just took the plow off of my truck. I then thanked him for his sacrifice.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Posted March 17, 2021 at 3:34 pm

It was a great day to be out on the slopes! I skied most of the day and then I decided to take a couple of runs on my snowboard. We had spring conditions on Morse Mountain. The Upper Mountains were not as warm this afternoon and only a few spots in the sun became spring conditions. Tomorrow will not be as warm as today. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mixed precipitation in the Village with a high of 43 degrees and a high of 35 degrees in the upper elevations with snow a half an inch of accumulation. Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 45 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are variable and machine groomed with average base depths of 16 to 50 inches. 28 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Upper FIS, Smugglers’ Alley, Shuttle, Snow Snake, Howie’s Wanderer, and Practice Slope for a grand total of 120 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Private snowboard lesson at the summit of Sterling

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Predicted snowfall increases

Posted March 4, 2021 at 5:15 pm

The forecast now says that we could see 3 to 7 inches of new snow tonight. Tomorrow’s forecast is also snow with another 3 to 7 inches of accumulation possible and a high of 14 degrees. We could see an additional 1 to 3 inches of new snow on Friday night. Tomorrow we plan to have 5 lifts operating, Madonna I, Madonna II, Village, Mogul Mouse’s Magic, and Sir Henry’s Glider. The Sterling Lift will be closed tomorrow March 5th for a mechanical repair. We have 54 skiable trails and 38 lift accessible trails open tomorrow. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 16 to 50 inches. 31 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Ruthie’s, Drifter, Upper FIS, Snow Snake, and Lower Rumrunner for a grand total of 121 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently it is partly sunny and 5 degrees at the summit of Sterling.

Ski Patroller Robert Stuart wonders how much snow will we get?

Private snowboard lesson on Lower Morse Liftline

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Good morning

Posted February 25, 2021 at 7:41 am

Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We received 3 to 4 inches of new snow overnight and 18 inches in the past 6 days. Currently it is cloudy and 16 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 10 to 20 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for snow showers with 1 to 2 inches of accumulation possible and a high of 24 degrees. Temperatures will be falling throughout the day. We have 72 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are powder and packed powder with base depths of 16 to 50 inches.