Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

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Natural snow and snowmaking

Posted January 4, 2024 at 4:41 pm

We received 2 inches of new snow today and 80 inches this season so far! We are presently making snow on Practice Slope, Midway, Black Snake, Meadowlark, and Snake Bite. The Practice Slope, Snake Bite, and Black Snake will be closed tomorrow due to snowmaking operations. We plan to have these trails open this weekend. The new snow made a big difference today and will groom in the existing snow nicely. Tomorrow, we plan to have Sterling Lift, Village Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider operating. We will have 12 trails open for Friday, with terrain for all ability levels. All 12 trails will be groomed for tomorrow; that’s a total of 50 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable, with average base depths of 12 to 36 inches. Currently, it is 6 degrees at the summit of Sterling, with flurries and winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies with a high of 23 degrees at the base and 17 degrees at higher elevations.

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Snowmaking and Grooming

Posted January 2, 2024 at 8:48 am

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. We’re making SNOW on the Meadowlark and Midway trails on Morse Mountain. All 15 of the 15 open trails have been groomed for today, offering terrain for ALL ABILITIES. Tuesday’s forecast is mostly sunny skies with a high of 31 at the Base and 27 at higher elevations. Ski you soon!

Snowmaking on the Meadowlark trail, with the Notch in the background.

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Sunday fun day

Posted February 19, 2023 at 4:36 pm

Sundog seen from the base of Madonna Mountain

Upper FIS with Midway and the Village in the background

I want to give a shout-out to our grooming staff. They have been grooming many trails for our skiing and riding pleasure. Some natural snow trails like Thomke’s, Jolly Rodger, Upper Drifter, Lower Drifter, and Goat Path were done last night. Tonight they will attack more natural snow trails like Lower Pipeline and Thomke’s. Tonight they will also groom 33 snowmaking trails, like Upper FIS, Snow Snake, and Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 133 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Tomorrow we plan to have top-to-bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 7 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 43 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine-groomed and variable with average base depths of 8 to 30 inches. Currently, it is cloudy and 26 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for a mix at the base, with snow on top and 1 to 3 inches of accumulation possible with a high of 39 degrees at the base and 33 degrees at the summit.

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On top of Madonna – all covered in SNOW!

Posted January 24, 2023 at 3:18 pm

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Got my first turns of the season on Upper Chilcoot. It’s easy to forget that there is almost always more snow, usually a lot more, at the top of the mountain. It may not be snowing in your backyard, but we’ve got our share up here and more is on the way. We received 1-2 inches today. The forecast for Wednesday into Thursday is 8-15 inches of SNOW! Can you say woo-hoo?

We plan to be making snow on Upper FIS tomorrow during the day. This may cause visibility issues and Upper FIS may have to close. Just wanted to give you a heads up, but we will have to wait until tomorrow to see. No pun intended.

The mighty Madonna Mtn as viewed from the Midway trail, just below Rum Runners’ Hideaway.

On top of Madonna getting ready to ride down Upper Chilcoot.

The double black trail Liftline on Madonna Mtn.

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Skiing and riding on all 3 mountains

Posted January 16, 2023 at 4:06 pm

Smugglers’ Alley with a snowmaking cloud in the valley

Midway with Madonna Mountain in the background

I want to thank our snowmakers, groomers, and patrollers for all their efforts to get more trails open. Today we opened Lower FIS, Father Bob’s off the top, Goat Path, Bootlegger, McPherson’s, Deer Run Glades, Highlander Glades, and Dan’s Ford! Mulcahy’s Link opened from the top of Lower Chilcoot down to Lower FIS. Tomorrow we plan to have Lower Madonna Liftline also open. Our snowmakers are presently busy on Birch Run and Lower Rumrunner. We plan to groom out Lower Rumrunner tonight and have it open for tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan to have the Madonna II Lift, Morse Highlands Lift, Sterling Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, Village Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider all operating. We now have 41 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 21 out of the 41 open trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Lower FIS, and Dixie’s Knoll for a grand total of 98 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine-groomed and variable with average base depths of 6 to 24 inches. Currently, it is cloudy and 10 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies early with increasing clouds and a high of 31 degrees.

The Nordic Center is open with 9 km of cross-country skiing, 15 km of snowshoeing, and the ice rink.

This coming weekend the featured beer for the apres sports parties at Bootlegger’s and the Black Bear Tavern is Labatts.

Uphill travel is open on Morse Mountain from 5 pm to 10 pm Friday through Wednesday. Morse Mountain is closed Thursday evenings due to fireworks and Cat Trax Tours.

Madonna and Sterling are presently closed to uphill travel until more trails are open. Stay tuned for updates

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Opening Presents & Family Presence

Posted December 20, 2022 at 4:27 pm

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. There will be snowmaking on Garden Path, Midway, and Meadowlark through Thursday night and we hope to open them like presents on Christmas Day! For tomorrow we plan to have 4 lifts operating, and 23 trails open with 11 of those trails being groomed.

Hugh and I talked about how we are featuring Smuggs Families on the blog this winter. Well, as if by magic, I ran into the Jurnak Family in the Black Bear. Mom Colette, in addition to working here, has been skiing at Smuggs for 33 years. Daughter Megan Jurnak was in Mitey Mites 22 years ago and has been skiing here ever since. Megan worked with our mascots so much, she was known as Megan Mouse! Megan’s fiance, Grant Smith was initiated into the Jurnak Family, and then Smuggs Family, 4 years ago. Dad Mike skis here too but wasn’t here today. It was wonderful to be in this Smuggs family’s presence!

Grant, Megan, and Colette in the Black Bear.

Learn to turn from our award-winning *Snow Sport Univerity* Instructors

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Snowmaking on Morse Mountain

Posted December 19, 2022 at 8:50 am

We are presently making snow on Midway, Garden Path, and Meadowlark. Currently, it is 20 degrees at the summit of Sterling with flurries and winds of 0 to 5 mph. Today’s forecast calls for cloudy skies with a chance of snow showers an inch of accumulation possible and a high of 25 degrees. Today we have the Sterling Lift and Sir Henry’s Glider operating. We also have the Village Lift and Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift open to mid-station. We have 22 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 6 to 36 inches.

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3 inches of new snow

Posted January 2, 2022 at 4:54 pm

We received an inch of new snow last night and another 2 inches today. The new snow is making a big difference. I went snowboarding on Snow Snake first thing this morning and the one inch of new snow on top of the groomed snow was fun. The new snow groomed in with the existing snow will be nice for tomorrow. We have skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating. We have 21 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 18 out of the 21 trails will be groomed for tomorrow including Howie’s Wanderer, Midway, and Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 76 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 6 to 32 inches. We are presently making snow on Black Snake, Snake Bite, Practice Slope, and Meadowlark. Currently, it is snowing and 7 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies and a high of 11 degrees. Bundle up and enjoy the nice conditions!

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Snowmaking around the clock

Posted December 19, 2021 at 3:00 pm

We are presently making snow on Midway, Meadowlark, and Garden Path. Tonight looks like some great snowmaking weather with temperatures dropping into the single digits. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with a high of 27 degrees at the base and 22 degrees at the summit. Tomorrow we plan to have 4 lifts operating. The Village Lift and Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift are open to mid-station. Sterling Lift and Sir Henry’s Glider are also open. We now have 12 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and packed powder with average base depths of 6 to 32 inches. 11 out of the 12 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, that’s a grand total of 40 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Uphill travel is closed on Sterling Mountain. Madonna Mountain is open for uphill travel but is not recommended.

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Cooler temps and snow in the forecast for tomorrow

Posted March 28, 2021 at 3:01 pm

Tonight’s forecast is calling for snow developing late with 1 to 2 inches of accumulation possible at higher elevations. Tomorrow’s forecast is snow showers and another 1 to 2 inches of accumulation possible on top with a high of 35 degrees at the base and a high of 27 degrees on top. The Madonna I Lift will be on wind hold tomorrow Monday, March 29th. Tomorrow we plan to have 3 lifts operating, Sterling, Mogul Mouse’s Magic, and Sir Henry’s Glider. We plan to have 20 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 10 to 44 inches. 17 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Black Snake, Practice Slope, Curley’s Cutback, and Midway for a grand total of 73 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Some trails may have a delayed opening due to grooming.