Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

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Stockpiling

Posted February 28, 2019 at 5:43 pm

Tower Fan Gun next to the pile of snow that it made last night

I want thank our snowmakers for all their hard work last night! They were busy making snow on the upper part of the Zone Terrain Park. We are stockpiling the snow in the Upper Zone! We have many events this season and one of my favorites is the Chillin n’ Grillin Tail Party / Pond Skimming. The snow in the Upper Zone is in reserve for when we need to build the “pond.” Our snowmakers will be busy again tonight in the Upper Zone.

New Snow

We received an inch of new snow last night, 7 inches in the past 5 days, and 313 inches this season so far!

When you’re a Fan Gun, it’s OK to double park in Lot #1

Lifts and Trails

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 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

Weather

Currently it is sunny and 8 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 0 to 5 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies with temperatures between 12 and 28 degrees.

Snowmaking whales in the Upper Zone

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Clean sweep

Posted February 28, 2019 at 5:02 pm

I want to give a shout out to our lift attendants! We received an inch of new snow last night and the Madonna I lift crew had 174 chairs to clean off. It takes multiple sweeps to get each chair clean for riding pleasure. Cleans chairs help keep your buns warm! Thank you for all your hard work it is really appreciated!

Dave compares an old broom and a new broom

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Bluebird skies

Posted February 28, 2019 at 1:33 pm

Sterling Pond with Mount Mansfield in the background

We are 100 percent open! Top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I lift. We have all 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. The Black Hole, Freefall, and Madonna Liftline open from the traverse on Upper FIS.

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Fresh snow and sunshine

Posted February 28, 2019 at 9:24 am

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from Upper Drifter

New Snow

We received an inch of new snow last night, 7 inches in the past 5 days, and 313 inches this season so far!

Lifts and Trails

We are 99 percent open! We 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 machine groomed with average base depths of 24 to 54 inches. 42 trails have been groomed for today, including Shuttle, Ruthie’s, Smugglers’ Alley, and Evaporator for a grand total of 156 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Shadow dancing on Shuttle

Weather

Currently it is sunny and 2 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 0 to 5 mph. Today’s forecast is sunny skies with temperatures between 5 and 17 degrees.

Snowmaking

Last night we made snow on Upper Zone. We plan to make snow on the Upper Zone tonight also.

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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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Top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains

Posted February 27, 2019 at 11:29 am

Snow Sport University Snowboard Lesson on Lower Morse Liftline

Lifts and Trails

We have 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I lift. We have 73 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and packed powder with average base depths of 24 to 54 inches. 47 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper FIS, Snow Snake, and Curley’s Cutback for a grand total of 157 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Weather

Currently it is -5 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for sunny skies early with increasing clouds later in the day with temperatures between 0 and 13 degrees.

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Function and Fashion

Posted February 26, 2019 at 4:28 pm

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Here’s a Smuggs Institution: Steve was once famous for skiing in his furry hat and ankle length coat. Now he’s a proud Liftie (usually at Madonna I) and the hat remains. It keeps him warm and it is fashionable… above the 40th Parallel.

SNOW

6 inches of snow in the past 3 days and 312 inches this season!

GROOMING

For Wednesday – 47 trails / 157 acres to be groomed.

LIFTS & TRAILS

For Wednesday – we plan to have 6 lifts, including Madonna I operating. We also plan to have 77 trails open. Freefall and The Black Hole may be available from the Upper FIS traverse.

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SSU and U

Posted February 26, 2019 at 7:55 am

SSU Instructor Dara teaching parallel turns. Photo by Hugh Johnson.

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Our award winning Snow Sport University teaches all ages and abilities of skiers and snowboarders. It’s never too late to learn or improve.

SNOW

6 inches of new snow in the past 3 days!

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Smuggs Family Members

Posted February 25, 2019 at 11:17 am

Callen and Aaron on Snow Snake

I would like you to meet Callen and his dad Aaron. They are from Toronto and this is their first time visiting Smugglers’ Notch. I was in line to get on Mogul Mouse’s Magic lift this morning when I heard someone say “That run was so much fun!” I turned to ask “Which run did you take?” Aaron told me that they took a right when they got off at the top of Mogul Mouse’s Magic lift. I told them that trail is called Snow Snake and is one of my favorites on Morse Mountain. Aaron told me, “That they really enjoyed the features of the trail and the new snow!” Aaron said that they are having a wonderful time exploring Smuggs and they are definitely coming back! Welcome to the Smuggs Family Callen and Aaron. Enjoy your vacation and we look forward to your next trip back here at Smuggs!

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Morse Mountain Fun

Posted February 25, 2019 at 9:25 am

Lower Morse Liftline

Lifts and Trails

We have 77 skiable trails and 16 lift accessible trails open today. The Madonna I lift, Madonna II lift, Sterling lift, and the Village lift is presently on wind hold. We have 3 lifts operating the Morse Highlands lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 24 to 54 inches. 14 out of the 16 trails have been groomed for today, including Snow Snake and Log Jam.

New Snow

We received 3 to 5 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours and 311 inches this season so far.

Weather

Currently it is 18 degrees at the summit of Morse with light snow and winds of 20 to 30 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for snow showers 2 to 4 inches of accumulation possible with temperatures between 9 and 26 degrees.