Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from the Madonna Lift I

Today started out a little cool but, the sun warmed things up nicely. This morning I had a great time on a powder stash hunt. I was able to find plenty of fresh snow in the trees. This afternoon this I took a few cruiser runs to take in all the amazing views. The 360 degree views from the summit of Madonna Mountain are pretty hard to beat. You can see the White Mountains in New Hampshire off the backside of Madonna and looking in the opposite direction you have Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks of New York.

We are 100 percent open with top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating. We have

Upper Chilcoot

all 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Robin’s Run is open from the work road down to Freefall. Freefall is open from the traverse on Upper FIS. 33 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Upper Drifter, Thomke’s Express, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 132 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Tomorrow is going to be another gorgeous day with mostly sunny skies and a high of 30 degrees.

Lower Catwalk

Do you like black diamonds?

Winter Wonderland

Shoveling the snow off the roofs in the Village

Black and Blues

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. I remember my first day skiing on the Black Snake trail. I marveled at its roller coaster hills and unexpected turns. Most of all I remember Harley, Jodi, and Sarah speeding down it on their snowboards and whooping with pure joy. But I always wondered why Black Snake was designated a blue intermediate. I asked around but nobody seemed to know. What I did find out is that Black Snake was the name of a smuggling ship on Lake Champlain in the early 1800s (when the Notch became known as Smugglers’ Notch). This of course fits with Smugglers/Bootleggers/Rumrunners theme. I was inspired to write a song about this notorious vessel and it is on my third Friendly Pirate album The Flying Pirate Circus. If you like history, take a listen to Black Snake Tale.

Sarah Thomas of Marketing/Sales caught me traversing between the Madonna and Sterling Lifts. She called me a Bluebird.