Lower Morse Liftline

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Clear skies and corduroy

Posted at 7:27 am
Morse Mountain base area
Lower Morse Liftline

Today’s forecast is calling for sunny skies early with increasing clouds throughout the day, a high of 39 degrees at the base and 33 degrees at higher elevations. Currently it is 25 degrees at the summit of Sterling with clear skies. The clouds rolling this afternoon will bring us snow showers tonight and tomorrow. 4 to 8 inches of accumulation possible tonight and another 1 to 3 inches tomorrow at higher elevations. The Madonna 1 Lift will open at 9:30am this morning. Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna 1 Lift. We have 73 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 31 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper FIS, Smugglers’ Alley, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 123 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

The Nordic Center is open with 15 km of snowshoeing and 17 km of cross-country trails. The ice rink is presently closed.

This weekend the featured beer for the apres sports parties at Bootlegger’s and the Black Bear Tavern is Pabst Blue Ribbon.

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Morning Moon making snow

Posted at 7:36 am

Rockin’ Ron for the Legendary Hugh Johnson. Last night and into this morning our trusty Snowmakers were busy on the Lower Morse Liftline and Snow Snake trails. Meanwhile, the ever-popular Grooming Crew was driving and tilling up and down 30 trails to bring us 123 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Hey Expert Skiers and Riders – both Upper FIS and Smugglers’ Alley were groomed! Time to hit the slopes.

Morning Moon over the Village. Snowgun on the right.
Groomer goes zoom.
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Good morning

Posted at 8:12 am
Lower Morse Liftline

We are presently making snow on Curley’s Cutback, Log Jam, and Hibernator. These trails will be closed today. We received a dusting of new snow overnight and 24 inches in the past 8 days. Currently, it is cloudy and 12 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with snow developing late in the day with a high of 27 degrees at the base and 20 degrees at higher elevations. Tonight’s forecast is snow showers with 1 to 3 inches of accumulation possible. Today we have top-to-bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including Madonna I. We have 67 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 28 trails have been groomed for today for a grand total of 119 inches of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 8 to 30 inches. It’s going to be a little chilly Friday and Saturday. Today and Sunday will be more suited for the fair weather skier or rider, just saying.

The Nordic Center is open with 15 km of snowshoeing and 17 km of cross-country trails. The small ice rink is also open.

This weekend the featured beverage for the apres sports parties at Bootlegger’s and the Black Bear Tavern is Woodchuck.

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99 acres of freshly groomed terrain for Thursday

Posted at 4:41 pm
Summit of Sterling Mountain
Lower Morse Liftline

It was pretty foggy today, with mixed precipitation turning to snow. The temperature was slowly falling throughout the day. Tonight we plan to make snow on Upper Chilcoot and Waterfall. We received a dusting to an inch of new snow on the top of Sterling. There is a winter weather advisory starting late tomorrow afternoon and ending late Friday afternoon. We could see a storm total of 6 to 10 inches of accumulation possible! Currently, it is 26 degrees at the summit of Sterling with flurries and winds of 10 to 20 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with a high of 28 degrees at the base and 26 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow we plan to have skiing and riding on all 3 mountains. We plan to have the Madonna II Lift, Sterling Lift, Village Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, Morse Highlands Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider all operating. We have 38 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 22 out of the 38 open trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Magic Learning Trail, and Lower Madonna Liftline for a grand total of 99 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine-groomed and variable with average base depths of 6 to 24 inches.

The Nordic Center is open with 9 km of cross-country skiing and 15 km of snowshoeing.

This coming weekend the featured beer for the apres sports parties at Bootlegger’s and the Black Bear Tavern is Labatts.

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Great day on the mountain

Posted at 4:34 pm
Sterling Pond with Mount Mansfield in the background
Heelside carve on Lower Morse Liftline
Thomke’s Express with clouds in the valley
Sterling summit
View from Midway

The day started with all 3 mountains covered in clouds. It did not take long before the sun burned the clouds off and we had bluebird skies. I skied over to Sterling from the top of the Village Lift this morning and the views were amazing. I spent some time on top of Sterling soaking in the beautiful sunshine and views. The clouds in the valley looked like water and the mountains were islands. Tomorrow we plan to have skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with the Madonna II Lift, Sterling Lift, Village Lift, Morse Highlands Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider. We now have 33 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 18 out of the 33 open trails will be groomed for tomorrow for a grand total of 81 acres of freshly groomed terrain. We are presently making snow on Lower FIS, Lower Madonna Liftline, and Mulcahy’s Link. Tonight and tomorrow we plan to move the snowmaking operations over to Birch Run and Lower Rumrunner. Birch Run and Lower Rumrunner will be closed tomorrow due to snowmaking operations. Surface conditions are machine-groomed and variable with average base depths of 6 to 24 inches. Currently, it is cloudy and 15 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is partly sunny skies with a slight chance of a snow shower. There will be a temperature inversion tomorrow. The high temperature for the summit of Sterling is 31 degrees and the high temperature for the base area is 23 degrees. This is one of the reasons that we will be making snow tomorrow on Birch Run and Lower Rumrunner.

Uphill travel is open on Morse Mountain from 5 pm to 10 pm Friday through Wednesday. Morse Mountain is closed Thursday evenings due to fireworks and Cat Trax Tours.

Madonna and Sterling are presently closed to uphill travel until we have more trails open. Stay tuned for updates.

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Winter makes a come back

Posted at 6:28 am

We received an inch of new snow last night, 4 inches in the past 24 hours, 9 inches in the past 2 days, and 212 inches this season so far. Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 4 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 30 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 16 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper Rumrunner, Practice Slope, Sam’s Run, Garden Path, Lower FIS, and Upper Chilcoot for a grand total of 71 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and variable with average base depths of 12 to 46 inches. Currently, it is 10 degrees at the summit of Sterling with flurries. Today’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a chance of snow showers early, a high of 28 degrees at the base, and a high of 22 degrees at the summits. The forecast looks great for the weekend with sunny skies for Saturday and a high of 41 degrees. Sunday’s forecast is partly sunny skies with a high of 47 degrees.

Lower Morse Liftline
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Attention fair weather skiers and riders

Posted at 2:52 pm

Well, it is hard to find better weather than what we have had the past few days. The streak continues tomorrow with mostly sunny skies and a high of 65 degrees. For tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 49 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are spring conditions and machine groomed with average base depths of 14 to 48 inches. 26 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Snow Snake, and Chilcoot for a grand total of 112 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently, it is sunny and 53 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 0 to 5 mph.

Sterling and Mount Mansfield seen from the Madonna I Lift
Private snowboard lesson on Lower Morse Liftline
Upper Chilcoot
Shadow dancing on Upper FIS
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Lift operation time change this Saturday, March 20

Posted at 2:54 pm

All 8 lifts will be open from 9:00 am till 5:00 pm this Saturday, March 20. This change will occur this Saturday only. The weather is going to be a little cool first thing on Saturday morning, but the temperature is going to rise quickly. This way you can sleep in a bit and still get to enjoy some great skiing and riding till 5:00 pm! Please tell your friends.

Today we had winter conditions at the higher elevations and spring conditions down low with some fog in between. We received a dusting of new snow on the upper mountains. I skied Upper FIS this morning. It was groomed last night and with the new snow on top made for some nice turns. Colder temperatures for tonight and tomorrow. The weekend is looking fantastic with sunny skies, temperatures reaching into the 40’s on Saturday and 50’s on Sunday.

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 48 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are variable and machine groomed with base depths of 14 to 48 inches. 35 trails will be groomed, including Upper FIS, Drifter, Smugglers’ Alley, Ruthie’s, and Thomke’s for a grand total of 135 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Black Snake will be closed from the meadows down tomorrow for a GS race. Snake Bite, Jolly Rodger, and Full Nelson will also be closed during the race. The race should be finished sometime around noon. Currently, it is cloudy and 28 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies with a high of 29 degrees.

Garden Path with Sterling Mountain in the background
Ski Instructor Princess Pam giving a private lesson on Lower Morse Liftline
Do you see it?
It was a little foggy this morning