Archives: January 2024

We received 2 to 3 inches of new snow overnight. It’s a little wind-blown, but skiing and riding very nicely! We have top-to-bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating, including Madonna I Lift. We now have 73 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. All trails on Madonna and Sterling are open. Freefall is open from the traverse on Upper FIS. Madonna Liftline is open top to bottom, a.k.a. shack to shack. 25 trails have been groomed for today, including Smugglers’ Alley, Garden Path, and Chilcoot, for a total of 107 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 16 to 40 inches. Last night, we made snow on Log Jam, Hibernator, and Dixie’s Knoll. Currently, it is 19 degrees at the summit of Sterling, with flurries and winds of 10 to 20 mph. Today’s forecast calls for snow showers early, 1 to 2 inches of accumulation possible, and a wintry mix in the afternoon with a high of 32 degrees. Enjoy the amazing conditions!

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Top-to-bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with terrain for all abilities! 5 lifts operating (including Madonna I), 67 trails open, and 26 trails groomed (including Smugglers’ Alley and Goat Path). There is a Winter Weather Advisory tonight through Wednesday night that includes snow (3″ possible), a wintry mix, and high winds. Due to that weather, all Uphill Access will be closed from Wednesday night through Saturday morning. Tonight there is Uphill Access on Morse from 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm and Wednesday on Sterling from 5:30 am – 7:30 am.

This morning, I met Adam. Adam is from New Jersey and has been coming to Smuggs for the past 12 years straight. His family and his friend’s family have been vacationing here at Smuggs together all those years. It was very nice to meet you, Adam, and I hope you have a wonderful vacation!

Uphill travel will be closed on all 3 mountains Wednesday night through Saturday morning due to a combination of weather factors that will cause us to change our normal grooming schedules. We expect the evenings on Morse Mountain to resume Saturday night and mornings on Sterling Mountain to resume Sunday. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Uphill travel is when people climb the mountain before or after regular lift operations. This update is for those people who climb the mountain and is not about scheduled lift operations.

I had some family ski and ride time this morning. My wife, Harley, and two daughters, Hannah and Hayleigh, met me in the Village. We all headed up Morse Mountain and took Midway over to Madonna Mountain. We had a blast on Chilcoot, Doc Dempsey’s Glades, Upper FIS, and McPherson’s. I enjoyed the small soft bumps on skier’s left of Upper FIS. I traded my ski boots for snowboard boots and did some riding on Morse Mountain in the afternoon. It was great to see snow guns running over at Morse Highlands. This will allow us to open more terrain and another lift in the near future. Tomorrow, we plan to have top-to-bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating, including Madonna I Lift. We have 66 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 27 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including McPherson’s, Midway, Ruthie’s, Magic Learning Trail, and Black Snake for a total of 112 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 16 to 40 inches. Currently, it is partly sunny and 1 degree at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high of 29 degrees at the base and 26 degrees at higher elevations.

We are presently making snow on Log Jam, Dixie’s Knoll, and Hibernator.