Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Mr. Groomer and his cohorts are always hard at work keeping up our supply of corduroy! Thank you for grooming 32 trails/133 acres (including Upper FIS) for today’s skiing and riding pleasure. Today’s forecast is sunny and breezy, with highs of 47 degrees at the base and 43 at the top. 6 lifts will be operating, including Madonna I, and 42 trails will be open (more trails may open as conditions soften). Surfaces are machine-groomed and variable. Ski U soon.
Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. I had a fun morning on Morse Mountain helping shuttle kids on Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift for Snow Sport University. It’s great to see them progress in their on-snow abilities! In between groups, I got to catch up with my friend and co-worker Stacy “Webmaster” Maynard, who was also shuttling. Then, I snuck a run on Snow Snake… YES!
REPORT: Tomorrow’s forecast is sunny and breezy, with highs of 34 degrees at the base and 29 at the summit. We plan to have top-to-bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains, with 7 Lifts operating and 72 trails open. 34 trails will be groomed – that’s 132 acres of freshly groomed terrain. We’ve received 21 inches of new snow in the past 5 days. We’ll be making snow tonight on Sterling Mountain on Bootleggers’ and Thomke’s.
UPHILL ACCESS: Morning uphill on Sterling will be closed on Wednesday, but Madonna will be open. NEW! Evening uphill on Madonna and Sterling will open starting Wednesday night, February 21. The evening uphill schedule is as follows: Madonna on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 6 to 8 pm, closed Sunday. Sterling on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 6 to 8 pm, closed Sunday. Morse is open from 5 to 10 pm daily except Thursday. Remember to check the snow report daily for any changes before you go, as there may be closures at times when weather disrupts grooming schedules. Check here for more specific guidelines on our uphill policy.
It was another day full of sunshine, mild temperatures, and calm winds. I went skiing with Thaddeus from Smuggs TV this morning to record the weekly No Bull Video Snow Report. We started on Morse Mountain and then headed up Madonna Mountain. We hung out at the summit of Madonna for a while, just taking in all the amazing views in every direction. We then did a nice long cruiser run on Chilcoot and Mulcahy’s Link. This afternoon, my daughter and I did some after-school runs on Madonna and Sterling. We had a blast on Drifter, with a sun-soaked trail and wonderful scenery. Tomorrow will be similar to today, with a little warmer temperatures. Tomorrow, we plan to have top-to-bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 60 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 32 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Snow Snake, Upper FIS, Smugglers’ Alley, Thomke’s, Dixie’s Knoll, and Practice Slope, for a total of 130 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable, with average base depths of 12 to 36 inches. Last night, we made snow on Snow Snake, Hibernator, and Lower Morse Liftline. Currently, it is sunny and 32 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 0 to 5 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with a high of 46 degrees at the base and 41 degrees at higher elevations.
Uphill Update
Morse Mountain will reopen to uphill travel tomorrow night from 5 pm to 10 pm.
Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Mostly sunny skies with temps in the 20s are in the forecast! 6 lifts will be operating, including Madonna I, and 59 trails will be open. 30 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper FIS. What are you waiting for? It’s time to hit the slopes at Smuggs!
We are making snow on Lower Morse Liftline and Snow Snake. These trails will be closed today. The way down the bottom half of Morse Mountain is the Magic Learning Trail and Howie’s Wanderer. Today, we have top-to-bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 59 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 28 trails have been groomed for today, including Log Jam, Smugglers’ Alley, and Upper FIS. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable, with average base depths of 12 to 36 inches. Currently, it is sunny and 10 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Today’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with a high of 27 degrees at the base and 22 degrees at higher elevations.
I would like to give our mountain ops. props! Making snow near a lift can cause some issues. You want to make snow on the trail and not on the lift. The wind direction and intensity can change at any time. This can put the snow in places you may not want. Our lift maintenance, groomers, and snowmakers worked together to get Lower Madonna Liftline open for us yesterday! Thank you very much for all your efforts!
I went snowboarding this morning on Morse Mountain. I had a blast doing short radius turns on the fresh corduroy. I switched into my ski gear next and headed up to Sterling. I enjoyed the steep pitch of the Alley and cruiser runs on Rumrunner. Currently, it is foggy and 38 degrees at the summit of Sterling, with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for cloudy skies and a chance of a little rain, with a high of 42 degrees at the base and 40 degrees at higher elevations. Tomorrow, we plan to have Sterling Lift, Village Lift, Sir Henry’s Glider, and Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift all operating. We have 14 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 11 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Garden Path and Treasure Run, for 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.
Today’s forecast is calling for sunny skies early with increasing clouds throughout the day, a high of 39 degrees at the base and 33 degrees at higher elevations. Currently it is 25 degrees at the summit of Sterling with clear skies. The clouds rolling this afternoon will bring us snow showers tonight and tomorrow. 4 to 8 inches of accumulation possible tonight and another 1 to 3 inches tomorrow at higher elevations. The Madonna 1 Lift will open at 9:30am this morning. Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna 1 Lift. We have 73 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 31 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper FIS, Smugglers’ Alley, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 123 acres of freshly groomed terrain.
The Nordic Center is open with 15 km of snowshoeing and 17 km of cross-country trails. The ice rink is presently closed.
This weekend the featured beer for the apres sports parties at Bootlegger’s and the Black Bear Tavern is Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Today we have 6 lifts operating. The Madonna 1 Lift is presently on wind hold. We have 29 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 20 trails have been groomed for today, including Rumrunner, Lower FIS, and Garden Path. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 8 to 30 inches. Currently it is cloudy and 31 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 15 to 30 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for rain becoming snow showers with a high of 37 degrees at the base and 33 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Temperatures will be falling throughout the day.
The Nordic Center is open with 15 km of snowshoeing and 17 km of cross-country trails. The ice rink is presently closed.
This weekend the featured beer for the apres sports parties at Bootlegger’s and the Black Bear Tavern is Bud Light.
I skied all three mountains this morning. I started on Morse Mountain and skied over to Madonna. I took a few cruisers and a scenic run down Drifter. I then headed over to Sterling to check out the U14 GS race on Snake Bite and the Practice Slope. They were starting at the top of Snake Bite, so they had speed as they dove down the steep pitch. It was impressive to watch these athletes! This afternoon I switched my skis for a snowboard. I rode Morse Mountain, so I could work on carving. The bottom of Garden Path has a gentle pitch and is pretty wide. This made it easier to carve and not get too much speed. Tomorrow we plan to have top-to-bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 67 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 31 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Upper FIS, and Hibernator for a grand total of 125 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 8 to 30 inches. Currently, it is partly cloudy and 25 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for a chance of a snow shower early with skies becoming partly sunny, a high of 30 degrees at the base, and 26 degrees at higher elevations. Temperatures will be falling throughout the day.
The Nordic Center is open with 15 km of snowshoeing and 17 km of cross-country trails. The ice rink is also open.
Next weekend the featured beer for the apres sports parties at Bootlegger’s and the Black Bear Tavern is Bud Light.
Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. 3 inches of snow overnight, and can you believe this… 23 inches in the past 6 days! Plus our snowmakers have been busy on Sterling and Madonna mountains. They move to Morse Mountain tomorrow on Curley’s Cutback, Log Jam, and Hibernator – all 3 of those trails will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday.
I got to make some turns today with Seth Crevison (aka Carv-ison) of the activities department. We enjoyed the fresh powder, even if it was a little sticky due to cold temps. He told me he’d never been on Shuttle (the trail that connects Drifter to Crossover and Lower Rumrunner), so we had to hit the bumps on those rolling slopes. We saw Adam Howard aka Howie, Editor of Backcountry Magazine on Upper Drifter. From the Madonna I Lift, Seth and I spotted our Snow Reporter Hugh Johnson dropping into Freefall. To quote Hugh “another beautiful day on the mountain!”
