Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

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Sunny skies Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Posted April 5, 2023 at 3:11 pm

Tomorrow we plan to have the Madonna I Lift and Sterling Lift operating. We plan to have 23 trails open with terrain for intermediates and experts only. We plan to groom 20 trails for tomorrow, including Upper FIS, Drifter, Smugglers’ Alley, and Thomke’s for a grand total of 77 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and spring conditions with average base depths of 12 to 50 inches. Currently, it is 30 degrees at the summit of Sterling with light rain and winds of 20 to 30 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for cloudy skies with a chance of showers, and wind, a high of 55 degrees at the base, and 51 degrees at higher elevations. The closing day of the 2022/2023 Season is Sunday, April 9th.

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55+, plus more…

Posted March 29, 2023 at 1:43 pm

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. To paraphrase Mr. Rogers, “It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” With 71 trails open it was hard to decide what to ski first, but I really enjoyed my “double compression” run of Upper Drifter to Shuttle – that put the wind in me sails. I got to hang out with the 55+ Club, a group of 90 members who are “on the hill, not over the hill.” Club President Liam Kearney invited me to their regular Wednesday breakfast get-together, and to their season-ending lunch and awards ceremony. They’re just like kids with a few wrinkles and gray hair – age is just a number. Then I saw the usual assortment of characters in my travels. I hope your day was on the plus side!

The Legendary Peter Ingvoldstad, former Director of SSU, former Lamoille Union School Board Member, sometime Hulk Hogan Impersonator, Current President of Cambridge Area Rotary, AND… recently-elected Town of Cambridge Select Board Member. He’s a Mensch.

Rusty – one of three Snowboarding Patrollers. He works at our Disc Golf Courses for the rest of the year.

Deborah Pomeroy with 55+ Club President Liam Kearney handing out awards and prizes at the season-end lunch soiree.

Charles – Madonna I mainstay and Reggae Musician, gets ’em loaded.

55+ Club Members Dottie, Charlie, and Bill – ON THE HILL! This is their silly pose.

A Groomer is being winched, to get the pond built for Saturday’s Pond Skimming. Thanks for the photo, Mark Delaney.

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Calm before storm

Posted February 13, 2023 at 5:00 pm

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from Madonna

Upper Chilcoot and Mount Mansfield seen at the top of Catwalk

It was absolutely beautiful today with sunshine and comfortable temperatures. Upper FIS, Smugglers’ Alley, and Snow Snake were all groomed last night. I skied Upper FIS and Smugglers’ Alley this morning. I snowboarded Snow Snake this afternoon. The conditions are great and they are going to get even better. Tonight’s forecast is calling for snow showers of 3 to 5 inches. Tomorrow’s forecast is more snow another 1 to 3 inches of accumulation is possible with a high of 37 degrees at the base and 30 degrees at higher elevations. 34 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Chilcoot, Rumrunner, and Garden Path for a grand total of 141 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 8 to 32 inches. Currently, it is partly sunny and 32 degrees at the summit of Sterling.

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.

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Mountains of adventure mountains of fun

Posted March 9, 2021 at 4:58 pm

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 for a few days for a mechanical repair. We have 67 skiable trails and 44 lift-accessible trails open tomorrow. 35 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper FIS, Shuttle, Ruthie’s, Goat Path, Snow Snake, Howie’s Wanderer, and Lower Rumrunner for a grand total of 123 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 16 to 50 inches. Currently, it is cloudy and 24 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 15 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies a high of 52 degrees. If you park in Parking Lot 1 you can ski or ride back to your vehicle by taking Shuttle, Crossover, Treasure Run, Lower Exhibition, and the Practice Slope.

Sterling Mountain is open during the day to uphill traffic. Please use Parking Lot 1, Practice Slope, old rope tow line, and Black Snake to ascend. There will be downhill traffic on Lower Rumrunner, Treasure Run, and Lower Exhibition.

Employees can ski or ride today.

Madonna Mountain and Sterling Mountain seen from Midway

Patroller John Fontanilles on Upper Drifter

Hayleigh copying Quinn’s move at the Nordic Center

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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?

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from the Madonna I Lift

Private snowboard lesson on Lower Morse Liftline

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Welcome to 2’s day

Posted February 23, 2021 at 6:59 am

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Close to 2 inches of new snow overnight and we could get another 2 this afternoon. We have 5 lifts (including Madonna I) accessing 72 trails for your skiing and riding pleasure. When the Groomers finish Morse Mountain this morning, there’ll be 114 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Upper Drifter and Smugglers’ Alley are 2 of the groomed trails. Welcome to Tuesday!

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Snowmaking, sunshine, and great conditions

Posted January 31, 2021 at 5:08 pm

We are presently making snow on Log Jam, Sam’s Run, and Dixie’s Knoll. Sam’s Run will be closed on Monday for snowmaking operations. 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 now have 71 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with base depths of 14 to 46 inches. 25 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Curley’s Cutback, and McPherson’s for a grand total of 101 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently it is sunny and 20 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 1 to 5 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is mostly sunny skies with a high of 26 degrees.

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from Robin’s Run

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More open terrain

Posted March 5, 2020 at 4:40 pm

**Cruising down Lower Madonna Liftline**

I would like to give a shout out to our groomers! They have been pretty busy the past couple of nights. They have been getting more terrain open for your skiing and riding pleasure. Tonight they will be winching Upper FIS. They will also be grooming Ruthie’s, McPherson’s, Bootlegger, Snow Snake, and Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 150 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 plan to have 51 trails open for tomorrow with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 16 to 56 inches. Currently, it is partly sunny and 28 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a chance of snow showers a half an inch of accumulation possible and a high of 37 degrees.

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Drift away

Posted February 24, 2020 at 5:37 pm

It was a fantastic day to be out on the slopes! I want to thank our groomers for doing a great job on Upper FIS last night! Upper FIS was my favorite run of the day. I skied it early today with the fresh with corduroy and then I skied it in the afternoon with the nice soft snow. I also had a blast snowboarding on Morse earlier today. I am getting my riding legs back!

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 76 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. 31 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Playground, Lower Pipeline, and Dixie’s Knoll for a grand total of 127 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently, it is sunny and 38 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly cloudy skies with a high of 36 degrees.

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Another beautiful day on the slopes

Posted February 9, 2020 at 3:44 pm

Today started off a little cool, but by this afternoon it was perfect! I had a great time searching for powder stashes and enjoying the wonderful views. The conditions are fantastic! We are 100 percent open. 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 all 78 trails open tomorrow with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. 34 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Hibernator, Drifter, and Snake Bite for a grand total of 134 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Last night we made snow in the Zone Terrain Park. Currently, it is partly cloudy and 17 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tonight’s forecast is calling for periods of snow – 2 to 4 inches. Tomorrow’ s forecast is calling for periods of snow with another 2 to 4 inches of accumulation possible and a high of 31 degrees.