Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

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Sunshine and corduroy

Posted March 1, 2019 at 9:28 am

Lower Morse Liftline

Lifts and Trails

We are 100 percent open! We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating. We have all 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 24 to 54 inches. 37 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper Pipeline, Playground, and Sam’s Run for a grand total of 145 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Weather

Currently it is 17 degrees at the summit of Sterling with beautiful sunny skies and winds of 0 to 5 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies with temperatures between 12 and 28 degrees.

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Winter Wonderland

Posted February 27, 2019 at 4:53 pm

Upper Drifter

Lifts and Trails

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 plan to have 74 out of 78 trails open tomorrow with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and packed powder with average base depths of 24 to 54 inches. We plan to groom 42 trails tonight, including Ruthie’s, Sam’s Run, and Harvey’s Hideaway for a grand total of 156 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from the Madonna I lift near the summit

New Snow

We received 6 inches of snow in the past 4 days, 12 inches in the past week, and 312 inches this season so far.

Weather

Currently it is 4 degrees at the summit of Sterling with cloudy skies and winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tonight’s forecast is snow 1 to 2 inches of accumulation possible. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies early with gradual clearing and temperatures between 5 and 18 degrees.

Upper Chilcoot

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200 inches of snowfall so far this season!

Posted January 18, 2019 at 5:18 pm

Josh Adams getting ready to blast through a gate in the Harvey Wesson Locals Race Series

We received 1 to 2 inches of new snow today, which brings us to the big 200 inches. The new snow really made a difference making everything a little bit softer. I had a blast this morning with Matt McCawley. We skied both Sterling and Madonna in search of the steep and deep. Luckily we were able to find an abundance of both! Speaking of deep there is a bunch of snow that is going to be arriving here at Smuggs Saturday night and into Sunday. If you are worried about traveling in the snow, you should arrive before the storm. You can then park your car and take a shuttle to where ever you need to go here at Smuggs. Even better you could just ski or ride from the Village to the Upper Mountains and back. You can dig your car out when it is time to leave.

GS training on the Practice Slope

Lifts and Trails

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 8 lifts operating. We have 77 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 24 to 54 inches. 37 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Ruthie’s, Sam’s Run, and Lower Pipeline for a grand total of 145 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Weather

Currently it is snowing and 20 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for snow developing late in the afternoon, an inch of accumulation possible with temperatures between -2 and +6 degrees.

Matt takes flight on Upper Madonna Liftline

Events

Grass Sticks Demo Days

Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20 at the Madonna Sterling Base Lodge from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.

Beautifully handcrafted, high-performing, eco-friendly poles for the outdoor enthusiast. We have used the best bamboo in the world to take ski poles to the next level of performance, while improving durability and strength. All products are hand built with custom options by ski bums and river rats in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

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Freshly groomed terrain

Posted January 13, 2019 at 7:59 am

Lower Morse Liftline

Lifts and Trails

Today we have 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. Upper Madonna Liftline is open from the top, but the Headwall is not open. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 24 to 54 inches. 40 trails have been groomed for today, including Playground, Sam’s Run, and Jolly Rodger for a grand total of 148 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Weather

Currently it is 7 degrees at the summit of Madonna with winds of 1 to 5 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for sunny skies with temperatures between 6 and 15 degrees.

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Beautiful sunny skies with snowmaking clouds

Posted January 7, 2019 at 8:18 am

Morning glow over the Village

Snowmaking

Last night we made snow on Dixie’s Knoll, Sam’s Run, Log Jam, Hibernator, Snow Snake, Sir Henry’s, and the base area of Morse. Snowmaking continues today on Hibernator, Snow Snake, and Log Jam. Snow Snake and Log Jam is closed today due to snowmaking.

Lifts and Trails

Today 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 68 trails open today with terrain for all ability levels. 28 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper Drifter, Wanderer, and Thomke’s for a grand total of 120 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 14 to 44 inches. Birch Run Terrain Park and Lower Knight’ Revenge Terrain Park are open.

Natural Snowfall

We received 4 inches of new snow in the past 36 hours, 16 inches in the past week, and 159 inches this season so far. We have snow in the forecast starting tonight into Thursday with up to a foot of accumulation possible. We could see 2 to 4 inches of accumulation tonight and another inch during the day tomorrow. Tuesday night could bring 1 to 3 inches of snow with another 3 to 5 inches of accumulation during the day on Wednesday.

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Snowmaking has resumed and natural snowfall

Posted January 6, 2019 at 6:19 pm

Brees through the trees

New Snow

We received 3 to 4 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours, 16 inches in the past 6 days, and 159 inches this season so far!

Snowmaking

We are presently making snow on Dixie’s Knoll, Sam’s Run, Hibernator, Log Jam, and Snow Snake. We plan to continue snowmaking on Snow Snake and Log Jam tomorrow, so they will be closed for the day.

Snowmaking on Sam’s Run

Lifts and Trails

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 now have 68 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 14 to 44 inches. 28 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Ruthie’s, Magic Learning Trail, and Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 120 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Tele turns on the Practice Slope

Weather

Currently it is cloudy and 15 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 15 to 25 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for increasing clouds with temperatures between 4 and 18 degrees. The snowfall event comes in multiple parts, light snow on Tuesday, heavier snow on Wednesday, and scattered snow showers into Thursday. We could see a storm total of over 12 inches by Thursday night.

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Partly sunny with snowmaking clouds

Posted December 30, 2018 at 5:39 pm

Mount Mansfield seen from the summit of Madonna Mountain

Snowmaking

We are presently making snow on Garden Path, Lower Morse Liftline, and Snow Snake. Tonight we plan to make snow on Sam’s Run, Snow Snake, Dixie’s Knoll, Log Jam, and Hibernator.

Lifts and Trails

We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 8 lifts operating. We now have 38 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 26 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Lower Chilcoot, Smugglers’ Alley, and Wanderer for a grand total of 116 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 12 to 40 inches.

Snowmaking on Lower Morse Liftline

New Snow

We received an inch of new snow in the past 24 hours, 10 inches in the past week, and 143 inches this season so far.

Weather

Currently it is partly cloudy and 15 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with increasing clouds and temperatures between 20 and 34 degrees. There is snow in the forecast for Monday night with 3 to 5 inches of accumulation possible.

A very snowy Snow Snake

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Getting the mountains ready for you to ski or ride

Posted December 27, 2018 at 7:57 am

New snow being cleared from the ramp of the Village Lift

More Open Terrain

Full Nelson and Highlander Glades are now open. Rumor has it that the skier’s left side of Full Nelson is pretty nice.

New Snow

We received 1 to 2 inches of light fluffy snow overnight, 10 inches in the past 6 days, and 139 inches this season so far!

Lifts and Trails

Today 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 29 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 27 trails have been groomed for today including Black Snake, Sam’s Run, and Waterfall for a grand total of 109 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 12 to 40 inches.

Groomer Dickie Guyette laying down some fresh corduroy on Meadowlark

Snowmaking

Last night we made snow on Lower Chilcoot and Meadowlark. Snowmaking will continue today on Lower Chilcoot. There are still a few snow guns running on Meadowlark this morning.

Weather

Currently it is partly sunny and 8 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for sunny skies with increasing clouds and temperatures between 12 and 24 degrees.

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Sam’s Run and Jammin’ Sam with Goodtime

Posted December 18, 2018 at 4:00 pm

Snowmaking at the intersection of Sam’s Run and Dixie’s Knoll. You can see the snowmaking guns lining the trails.

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. The Snowmaking Crew has recently been busy on Morse Mountain – the Morse Highlands will see trails opening soon! Skiing on Garden Path and Sam’s Run, I saw the snowguns a-blazin’. These efforts, along with the record natural snowfall, sets us up nicely for the holidays.

Here’s an assessment from that ridin’, slidin’ snowboard man Mike Chait: “How much snow fell last night? Well, as the old saying goes, ‘Hard tellin’ not knowin’!’ Winds caused some havoc on the hill. We’re calling it 5 inches. Could be more. Definitely not less.”

Bootleggers’ Lounge hosts nightly events like the Acoustic Trio, which became the Acoustic Quartet last night. Left to Right: Eli – awesome guitarist, Topher – sitting in on mandolin, the incomparable Jammin’ Sam and Downpour & Smuggs legend Goodtime Charlie (49 years at the Resort and still going strong).

But Smuggs is about so much more than skiing and riding. Our Activities department has many offerings like STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) programs, Tubing, Airboarding, Fireworks, Hot Chocolate at the daily Bonfire, Bingo, Karaoke, and the most excellent live music.

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It’s starting to add up

Posted December 17, 2018 at 3:31 pm

Snow falling in the Village

We received an inch of new snow today with more in store for tonight. We’re expecting an up-slope event this evening and into tomorrow morning. We could see from 3 to 8 inches of new snow by morning. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly cloudy skies with a chance of snow showers and temperatures between 6 and 20 degrees.

Up-slope snow event

These are highly localized, possibly high impact events that affect the region. Up-slope precipitation in general is produced by cool moist air being forced up the mountain slopes, and in this study, on northerly to westerly winds. One of the main factors in these events is the terrain of Vermont. The Green Mountains, with peaks as high as 4,395 feet (Mount Mansfield) run primarily north to south through the central portion of the state and are one of the main contributors to up-slope snowfall in the state. Research by: Michael Muccilli, Meteorologist, NWS Burlington, VT

Riding down Ruthie’s with Sterling Mountain in the background

Lifts and Trails

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating. We have 53 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 22 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Thomke’s, and Garden Path for a grand total of 100 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are variable and machine groomed with average base depths of 18 to 48 inches.

Snowmaking

Tonight our snowmakers plan to light up Sam’s Run, Meadowlark, Log Jam, Curley’s Cutback, Midway, and Garden Path.

Snow gauge at the top of Sterling Mountain

Events

Winter Solstice Celebration is Friday, December 21 at begins at 4:00 pm

Kick off the festivities at 4:00 pm with Goodtime Charlie, as he hosts a bonfire with s’mores, hot apple cider, music, glow sticks, and hot cocoa. Next, Jeh Kulu Dance and Drum Theater provides beats to the rhythm of the sunset. Then, Cirque de Fuego wows us with their fire performance, followed by fireworks! Light up the night and start Winter out with a bang! Located in the Village Greeting Area.

Snowman at the top to the top of the Village Lift