Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

0

Winter Wonderland in Spring

Posted March 21, 2024 at 4:05 pm

It was a little windy today, but the conditions were just amazing. We received 6 inches of new snow last night, 2 more inches today, and 34 inches in the past week! Snake Bite was groomed last night, and with 6 inches of new snow on top, it made for some wonderful powder turns this morning. This afternoon I was seeing what I could find off of the Madonna II Lift. Father Bob’s, Goat Path, the top of Bermuda, and the Shire did not disappoint. I was able to get some fresh turns even late in the day. 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 75 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 35 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Drifter, Thomke’s, and Hibernator, for a total of 135 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 14 to 40 inches. Currently, it is cloudy and 9 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies early with increasing clouds throughout the day, breezy, with a high of 24 degrees at the base and 18 degrees at higher elevations. There is a winter storm warning starting tomorrow night and going through till Saturday night, with a foot of new snow possible.

0

Winter wonderland

Posted February 22, 2024 at 11:30 am

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from the top of the Madonna I Lift

0

Great conditions

Posted February 10, 2020 at 5:08 pm

**Snowdrift on Madonna Mountain. The ski poles are 50 inches in length**

The 5 inches of new snow that we received today was nice and dense. It allowed us to open Freefall from the top and the Headwall of Madonna Liftline. My first run of the day was on Smugglers’ Alley. It was groomed early last night, which allowed the snowfall to build up on top of the groomed snow overnight. It was a nice and flat with 4 inches of fresh on top this morning. It was so much fun to float on top of the heavier snow. I had the pleasure of riding the Sterling Lift with a long time Smuggs family member “George of the Jungle.” Thanks George for the great conversation and laughs. This afternoon I ran into my good friend Pat. We had a great time on Thomke’s, Black Snake, Practice Slope, and Snake Bite. We were able to find some great loose powder on the side of the trail to play in. Pat decided to catch some pretty big air on the “neck” of the Practice Slope. His photo is seen above.

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 77 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. We plan to groom 30 trails tonight, including Ruthie’s, Wanderer, and Thomke’s for a grand total of 125 acres of freshly groomed terrain. We received 5 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours and 36 inches in the past 5 days. Currently, it is snowing and 28 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies, flurries and a snow shower with a high of 35 degrees.

0

Winter Wonderland

Posted February 2, 2020 at 4:51 pm

**Tony finds a nice powder stash in the trees**

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 73 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and packed powder with average base depths of 14 to 50 inches. 32 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including McPherson’s, Snow Snake, and Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 127 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Upper FIS will be groomed on skier’s right from Catwalk down to the top of Dan’s Ford. Dan’s Ford down to Times Square will be groomed full width. Currently, it is cloudy and 21 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tonight’s forecast is calling for some snow showers with an inch of accumulation possible. Tomorrow’s forecast is mostly cloudy skies with a chance of snow showers mainly before noon with around an inch of accumulation possible with a high of 33 degrees.

0

Winter Walking Program

Posted February 2, 2020 at 2:26 pm

**2 ice climbers seen through the trees**

With so much beauty surrounding us, we can’t help but come up with new ways for you to experience our Winter wonderland. Skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts have long delighted in the beauty of Smugglers’ in winter with spectacular vistas at every turn. That’s what inspired our Winter Walking program. Not skiing or riding today? Join our skilled guides and discover the Wonder of Winter at Smuggs. No special skills required… just the desire to experience nature, the outdoors, and get some exercise. Learn winter weather walking techniques and enjoy a new way of maintaining fitness in winter. Dress for the outdoors and for light to moderate outdoor exercise. For use during the program, we will provide traction devices to wear over your snow boots for improved traction in winter and trekking poles. Our Winter Walking program is best suited for individuals 18 & older.

0

Snow Snake is open

Posted February 1, 2020 at 3:32 pm

I love Snow Snake. It has always been one my favorite runs. I can remember back when I was a kid learning to ski on Morse Mountain. You would take the skills you learned on Garden Path and test them on Snow Snake. Snow Snake will let you know if you are ready to go to the upper mountains.

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 8 lifts operating. We now have 74 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and packed powder with average base depths of 14 to 50 inches. 30 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Snake Bite, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 124 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Skier’s right on Upper FIS will be groomed tonight from Catwalk down to Dan’s Ford. Dan’s Ford down to Times Square will be groomed full width. Currently, it is cloudy and 20 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with a slight chance of a snow shower late in the day and a high of 30 degrees. Free Family Fun Race tomorrow on Lower Madonna Liftline from 11 am till 2 pm.

0

A sun dog kind of day

Posted January 23, 2020 at 5:07 pm

**Sun dog seen from the summit of Madonna**

**Two people on Upper FIS seen from Midway**

Another beautiful sunny day here at Smuggs with temperatures in the 20’s and 30’s. Our groomers pushed out the snowmaking whales on Lower Chilcoot and that opened today. We also opened McPherson’s, Playground, and Dan’s Ford. Our snowmakers were busy last night on Birch Run and Curley’s Cutback. Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 7 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift and the Sterling T-Bar. We have 49 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 14 to 50 inches. 29 trails will be groomed for tomorrow for a grand total of 126 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently, it is 27 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 35 degrees.

0

Winter Wonderland

Posted January 13, 2020 at 5:26 pm

**Harley having fun on Smugglers’ Alley**

I want to thank our snowmakers for their hard work last night. They made snow top to bottom on Morse and freshened up the trails nicely! Our groomers did a great job of smoothing out all the whales this morning in a timely fashion to get the lifts turning. Speaking of lifts, I also want to mention our lift staff for their hard work of cleaning off all the chairs and getting the lifts ready to operate today. Our snowmakers have now moved to Madonna Mountain. We are presently making snow on Upper Chilcoot. Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating. The Madonna I Lift will have a delayed opening due to snowmaking. We have 24 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 10 to 48 inches. All 24 trails will be groomed for tomorrow for a grand total of 104 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with a high of 27 degrees.

0

Winter Wonderland

Posted December 27, 2018 at 5:26 pm

Dominic taking in the views from the summit of Madonna for the first time. The Presidential Range in New Hampshire is seen in the distance to his left.

New Snow

We received 2 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours, 10 inches in the past 6 days, and 139 inches this season so far.

Snowmaking

We are presently making snow on Meadowlark and Lower Chilcoot. Snowmaking will continue on these two trails tonight.

Lifts and Trails

Weather permitting tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating. We have 30 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 26 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Lower FIS, Curley’s Cutback, and Black Snake for a grand total of 108 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 12 to 40 inches.

Summit of Madonna Mountain

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 a chance of freezing rain from around 7 am till 11 am, then a chance of rain after 11 am with temperatures between 27 and 40 degrees. Temperatures will increase throughout the day tomorrow.