Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

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The Village Lift is now open for the season

Posted December 15, 2018 at 8:18 am

Mountain Operations Manager Mike McAdoo and the crew from the Village Lift putting the finishing touches on the loading ramp

Lifts and Trails

Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating, Madonna I Lift, VillageLift, Sterling Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider. 23 trails have been groomed for today, including Garden Path, Black Snake, and Upper Chilcoot for a grand total of 102 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Some trails are closed due to overnight temperature changes. Snow in the forecast will allow more terrain to open in the near future. Today we have 54 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are variable and machine groomed with average base depths of 18 to 48 inches.

Weather

Currently it is foggy and 31 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 10 to 15 mph. Today ‘s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with increasing sunshine later in the day and temperatures between 31 and 39 degrees. There is snow in the forecast for Sunday night into Monday with a couple inches of accumulation possible. The forecast is calling for colder temperatures at the beginning of this week and we plan to resume snowmaking at that time.

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More terrain opens tomorrow

Posted December 14, 2018 at 4:36 pm

Harvey’s Hideaway

Lifts and Trails

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating; Village Lift, Madonna I Lift, Sterling Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider. We plan to have 64 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 20 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Upper Chilcoot, Curley’s Cutback, and Thomke’s for a grand total of 101 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 20 to 50 inches.

Writer Jay Flemma having a blast on Black Snake

Weather

Currently it is 30 degrees at the summit of Sterling with cloudy skies and winds of 15 to 20 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly cloudy skies with temperatures between 30 and 39 degrees.

Mike enjoying the soft snow on Full Nelson

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Smiles for miles

Posted November 29, 2018 at 4:46 pm

Another amazing day here at Smuggs! It has been one of the most snow filled Novembers I can remember. The 4 inches of new snow that we received last night were smaller flakes, which made the snow surface denser. The denser snow skied like it was deeper than it was because it allowed you to float with less snow. I had two fantastic powder runs early this morning with my good friend Matt McCawley ( see the photos in post below). I then got to ski with my good friends Geoff and Tony. Today was special because Tony turned 50 years young. A great way to celebrate, making powder with your good friends! This afternoon I took a couple runs with the Snow Sport University Supervisors. They were having fun training in the wonderful snow.

Snowmaking

The lines are charged and our snowmakers getting ready to make snow on Upper Chilcoot and Waterfall tonight.

Lifts and Trails

Tomorrow we plan to have the Sterling Lift and Sir Henry’s Wonder Carpet operating. We have 32 trails open with base depths of 14 to 40 inches. Sir Henry’s Learning Hill is open for beginners. This weekend we plan to have the Madonna I lift operating which will almost double our trail count. 8 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, for a grand total of 30 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Weather

Tomorrow the forecast is calling for increasing clouds with temperatures between 20 and 34 degrees.

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We still have tons of snow

Posted April 8, 2018 at 2:36 pm

Sterling and Mount Mansfield

Today was very pleasant with partly sunny skies in the morning and a few flurries in the afternoon.

Today was the last day that Mogul Mouse Magic Lift will be operating this season, so I took a few lift rides for good measure. I got off at mid-station on my first run. I thought that I had put my phone in my inside pocket but, I missed the pocket and my phone slid down inside my jacket. When I stood up at mid station and skied away my phone stayed on the chair. My phone stayed on the chair for a little while longer, before falling off above where Snow Snake cuts under the Mogul Mouse Magic Lift. I

Upper Chilcoot

was unaware that my phone was missing and skied down the Magic Learning Trail, before heading back to my office. I then realized that my phone was missing and I headed back to the Mogul Mouse Lift. Lift Attendant Jeff stopped me and told me that Elizabeth who was working mid-station saw my phone fall somewhere near tower 15. I headed back up the lift and was able to find my phone. I want to thank our Lift Attendants and Lift Maintenance staff for their help in finding my phone it is greatly appreciated. What was really cool was when I rode the Mogul Mouse Magic Lift again later in the day every lift attendant asked to make sure that I got my phone back. #smuggslove

Rockin’ Ron and Owen going “around the world.”

The Sterling Lift will be operating this Monday through Friday. We plan to have both the Madonna I Lift and Sterling Lift operating this closing weekend April 14th and 15th.

Tomorrow we will have 20 trails open for intermediates and experts. 16 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, that’s 44 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies early becoming partly sunny later in the day with a high of 32 degrees. Birch Run Terrain Park is open.

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Bluebird

Posted April 5, 2018 at 11:25 am

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from the Madonna I lift

Family fun on Upper Chilcoot

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Snowshoe tour

Posted April 2, 2018 at 2:43 pm

High elevation snowshoe trek

I was at the top of Mogul Mouse Magic Lift this afternoon when I came across a group of people snowshoeing. They were participating in one of the Smugglers’ Notch Snowshoe Adventures. The were headed to the Turkey Creek area and then to the Wire Road. These guided treks are a great way to learn more about the Vermont woods as well as master some more advanced snowshoe techniques It sure was a beautiful afternoon for a nice trek through the woods.

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 4 lifts operating. We have 60 trails with terrain for all ability levels. 27 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Upper Chilcoot, Black Snake, and Garden Path for a grand total of 101 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Tomorrow’s forecast is cloudy skies with a chance of snow in the afternoon and an inch of accumulation possible with a high of 39 degrees.

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Top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains

Posted April 2, 2018 at 7:40 am

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from the summit of Madonna

We have 4 lifts operating with 59 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 38 trails have been groomed for today, including skier’s right side of Upper FIS, Smugglers’ Alley, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 136 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Today’s forecast is calling for skies becoming mostly sunny with a high of 36 degrees.

Upper Chilcoot looking good in corduroy

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Spring conditions

Posted March 29, 2018 at 2:12 pm

Upper FIS

It was another beautiful day here at Smuggs. The clouds were clinging to the summits of Madonna and Sterling, but everywhere else was partly sunny. The warm temperatures made for some great spring conditions. The soft moguls on Upper FIS were a blast! The skier’s right hand side had been groomed the night before last, so the bumps were smaller on that side. The skier’s left hand side is another story with nice good size moguls. A skier commented to me as they skied by, “I am so glad that they left Upper FIS bumped up!”

We are 100 percent open! Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts

Upper FIS with Mount Mansfield in the background

operating and all 78 trails open. Robin’s Run is open from the work road down to Freefall. Freefall is open from the traverse on Upper FIS. 20 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Upper Chilcoot, Crossover, and Garden Path for a grand total of 87 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Bird’s eye view

Snow Sport University Ski Instructor enjoying the soft bumps on Upper FIS

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Quality family time

Posted March 24, 2018 at 4:02 pm

Hayleigh and Harley on Lower Catwalk with Sterling in the background

The forecast called for cloudy skies, but the sun decided to make an appearance. I got to take a couple runs with my wife and all 3 kids this afternoon on Madonna. We had a great time on Upper Chilcoot, Lower Catwalk, Red Fox Glades, and Three Mountain Glades. The snow in the trees was wonderful. We all also enjoyed the Free Family Fun Race on Lower Madonna Liftline. The kids made sure that we always ended our run on Lower Madonna Liftline, so that they could do the race again.

We are 100 percent open with top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 8 lifts operating. We have all 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Robin’s Run is open from the work road down to Freefall. Freefall is open from the traverse on Upper FIS. 37 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Shuttle, Bootlegger, and Curley’s Cutback for a grand total of 140 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly to mostly cloudy skies with a chance of flurries and a high of 34 degrees.

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New snow and more on the way

Posted March 8, 2018 at 8:13 am

Welcome sign

We received 5 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours and 12 inches in the past week. We could see another 11 inches of new snow by Sunday. We are 99% open with top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating. We have 77 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 33 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper Chilcoot, Smugglers’ Alley, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 134 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Today’s forecast is periods of heavy snow with up to 7″ of accumulation and temperatures between 22 and 33 degrees. The snow will continue through the night and into tomorrow! This should be a fantastic weekend!