Morse Mountain daily 5 pm to 10 pm
Sterling Mountain daily 5:30 am to 7:30 am
Madonna Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Sterling Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Uphill Travel
Archives: February 2022
IFSA Junior Freeski Comp
The new snow came just in time for today’s competition! The visibility was a little low due to heavy snowfall and the talent level was high. Today’s event was a qualifier for tomorrow’s junior competition. On Sunday it’s the IFSA Adult Freeski Competition.
Here it comes
There is a winter storm warning until 10 pm tonight. Today’s forecast is calling for periods of snow with 7 to 11 inches of accumulation possible, a high of 20 degrees at the base, and 13 degrees at higher elevations. The Village Lift will open at 8:30 am this morning due to snowmaking and grooming operations. Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift and Morse Highlands Lift will open at 9 am. Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 7 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 35 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and loose granular with average base depths of 12 to 46 inches. Surface conditions will be changing throughout the day with all the new snow. Last night we made snow on Midway, Meadowlark, Magic Learning Trail, and Sir Henry’s Learning Hill.
Uphill Travel
Sterling Mountain is open from 5:30 am till 7:30 am
Morse Mountain open 5 pm till 10 pm
Sun today and snow tomorrow
We’re super excited about the arrival of some snow. It looks like we might receive 7 to 11 inches of dry powder! However, a note of caution is in order. This snowfall is coming after we lost considerable natural snow from the recent thaws and what will lie under it can range from bare ground to hard and icy surfaces. It will not likely be enough snow to get us back to 100% open. So, if you see a closed rope up, please don’t take that as an invitation for some first tracks and consider that there’s a reason the trail is not open. That reason is for your safety!
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 have 34 have trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 35 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Upper FIS, Smugglers’ Alley, Snow Snake, Thomke’s, Curley’s Cutback, and Hibernator for a grand total of 134 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and loose granular with average base depths of 12 to 46 inches. Last night we made snow on Garden Path, Midway, Meadowlark, and Lower Morse Liftline. Tonight we are making snow on Magic Learning Trail, Midway, Meadowlark, and Sir Henry’s Learning Hill. Currently, it is sunny and 4 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for periods of snow 7 to 11 inches of accumulation possible with a high of 19 degrees at the base and 12 degrees at higher elevations. I want to give a shout-out to our snowmakers and groomers! Our snowmakers made some beautiful snow on Garden Path and Lower Morse Liftline. This morning I rode with Smuggs Groomer Richard Guyette on Lower Morse Liftline and Garden Path. The sugary snow was rolling off the blade of the snowcat very nicely. If the snow was wet it would stick to the blade. It was impressive to watch all the groomers work in unison.
Uphill Travel
Sterling Mountain is open from 5:30 am till 7:30 am
Snowmaking and grooming
Last night we made snow on Meadowlark, Midway, Garden Path, and Lower Morse Liftline. Today we plan to have 6 lifts operating; Sterling, Village, Madonna II, Mogul Mouse’s Magic, Morse Highlands, and Sir Henry’s Glider. We have 28 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 27 trails have been groomed for today that’s a grand total of 120 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently, it is partly sunny and -4 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 15 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies with a high of 16 degrees at the base and 9 degrees at higher elevations.
Partly sunny to dumping in no time
It went from spring back to winter today. The thermometer hit 50 degrees at the base earlier today. The temperature fell throughout the day. The temperature at the base is now 21 degrees. We had partly sunny skies most of the day. It clouded up quickly after 3 pm and that’s when it started to snow. We could see an inch of accumulation by tomorrow morning. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies with a high of 15 degrees at the base and 9 degrees at higher elevations. Friday’s forecast is periods of snow with up to 11 inches of accumulation possible. If you were out on the slopes today make sure to get all your gear dry for tomorrow. Damp gloves or boots will not be much fun tomorrow. Our grooming staff will be busy tonight getting the slopes looking their best for tomorrow. They will concentrate their efforts on Sterling, Morse, and trails accessed from the Madonna II Lift. The Madonna I Lift will be closed tomorrow and we plan to reopen it on Friday. We need extra time to groom Upper FIS and Upper Chilcoot. Tomorrow we plan to have 6 lifts operating; Village, Sterling, Mogul Mouse’s Magic, Morse Highlands, Sir Henry’s Glider, and Madonna II. The Village Lift and Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift will open at 8:30 am tomorrow and Friday morning. We have 29 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. More trails will be open this weekend. All 29 trails will be groomed for tomorrow for a grand total of 120 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and loose granular with average base depths of 12 to 46 inches.
Snowmaking resumes tonight on Garden Path, Midway, Meadowlark, and Lower Morse Liftline.
Uphill Travel: All 3 mountains are close to uphill traffic due to snowmaking and grooming operations.
Here we go
The weekend is looking good! Today we have 6 lifts operating; Madonna II, Sterling, Village, Mogul Mouse’s Magic, Morse Highlands, and Sir Henry’s Glider. The Madonna I Lift is closed today. We have 27 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 24 trails have been groomed for today. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 12 to 46 inches. Be aware of changing conditions throughout the day. Currently, it is partly sunny and 40 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 10 to 15 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies with a chance of rain showers becoming snow showers, a high of 52 degrees at the base falling to 24 degrees by 4 pm.
Uphill Travel
All 3 mountains are closed to uphill travel tonight and tomorrow.
Grooming operations
Due to warm overnight temperatures, lifts will have a delayed opening for grooming. We plan to have the Morse Mountain Lifts open at 9 am. Sterling Lift opens at 10 am. The Madonna I Lift is presently on wind hold. We are checking the Madonna II Lift. Ski Patrol is presently checking trail conditions and this report will be updated as soon as possible.
All SSU camps and 9 am privates will meet at Morse this morning due to the delayed opening on Sterling.
Happy B’day/Bro-hemian Rhapsody
Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Marie Luneau celebrated her 12th Birthday skiing with Grandad Dan and Dad Scott. Dan started skiing here in 1962 with the St. Albans Rotary Program. Her Uncle Paul is the Director of Village Services at the Resort. Then I chanced upon Noah Hall (longtime Smuggler and first-year Groomer) and Kyle Paya. They have been friends since 3rd Grade – the year I started to mentor Noah. We skied the groomed terrain of Upper FIS (aka Fizz) and Smugglers’ Alley (aka Alley). When you’re warping down those trails in those conditions it feels like a combination of skiing/floating/flying! While getting on the Madonna I Lift I spotted Steve Goodkind – a Smuggs fashion icon for many years. It was photo op time for the Best or Worst Dressed on the mountain.
Snow Report Info:
LIFTS – possible delayed starts on Wednesday morning, especially on the Upper Mountains. On Thursday and Friday, the Village and Mogul Mouse Lifts will each have a delayed start of 8:30 am, due to grooming and snowmaking.
SNOWMAKING – Wednesday and Thursday night on Morse Mountain.
GROOMING – no grooming tonight, it will commence on Wednesday morning.
UPHILL TRAFFIC – Morse Mountain closed on Wednesday and Thursday nights, All mountains closed on Thursday morning and night, Sterling Mountain reopens for Uphill on Friday morning. Got all that? There’ll be a quiz later.
Good Morning Riders and Skiers
Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Good Morning Riders and Skiers! Today’s forecast is partly sunny and breezy, with freezing rain after 2 pm, and a high near 34 degrees. We plan to have 8 lifts operating and 47 trails open. 31 trails totaling 128 acres, have been or are about to be groomed. See you on the slopes.
