Smugglers’ Alley

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Clouds in the valley

Posted at 4:00 pm
The view from the top of Smugglers’ Alley

We have one more day of warmer weather before the cold air returns. Currently, it is cloudy and 39 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for a chance of fog and rain with a high of 40 degrees. Rain turns to snow tomorrow night, with 1 to 2 inches of new accumulation possible. There may be some delayed lift openings on Saturday morning due to the late freeze and grooming operations. The falling temperatures will allow us to resume our snowmaking operations this weekend. Tomorrow, we plan to have Sterling Lift, Village Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider all operating. We have 14 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 11 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Sam’s Run, Magic Learning Trail, and Treasure Run, for a total of 48 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine-groomed and variable, with average base depths of 10 to 34 inches.

Uphill Update:

We are tentatively planning to have Morse Mountain open on New Year’s Eve from 9:30 pm to 1:00 am for uphill travel. Please be aware of possible snowmaking operations on Midway. We plan to make a final decision tomorrow afternoon.

Be careful; smiles are contagious!
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Nice soft conditions

Posted at 4:53 pm

I went snowboarding this morning on Morse Mountain. I had a blast doing short radius turns on the fresh corduroy. I switched into my ski gear next and headed up to Sterling. I enjoyed the steep pitch of the Alley and cruiser runs on Rumrunner. Currently, it is foggy and 38 degrees at the summit of Sterling, with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for cloudy skies and a chance of a little rain, with a high of 42 degrees at the base and 40 degrees at higher elevations. Tomorrow, we plan to have Sterling Lift, Village Lift, Sir Henry’s Glider, and Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift all operating. We have 14 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 11 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Garden Path and Treasure Run, for a total of 50 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine-groomed and variable, with average base depths of 12 to 36 inches.

Smugglers’ Alley

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Off to the Races!

Posted at 4:30 pm

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. SNSC, aka the Smugglers’ Notch Ski & Snowboard Club, is practicing for upcoming events. For Wednesday, we plan to have 4 lifts operating and 17 trails open with terrain for all abilities. 13 trails will be groomed, including Smugglers’ Alley. Uphill Access is closed on all 3 mountains.

SNSC gathers for Race Training on Lower Rumrunner.
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Jeezum Crow, we’ve got SNOW!

Posted at 7:36 am

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. 4 inches of new snow overnight and 17 inches in the past 2 days! We have 22 trails open with terrain for all abilities. 9 trails have been groomed, including Smugglers’ Alley. Uphill Access is limited to Madonna Mountain only.

All welcome!
More signs of WELCOME.
View of the Village – it looks like a fairytale town.
An attempt at an artistic shot – looking down Treasures driveway.
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The sun setting on another great day

Posted at 5:05 pm
The view from the summit of Sterling

22 inches of new snow in the past 4 days made for some wonderful skiing and riding today. Tomorrow, we plan to have Sterling Lift operating with 20 trails open. We have intermediate and expert terrain available at this time, but we plan to have beginner terrain open soon. 6 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, for a total of 25 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 12 to 36 inches. Currently, it is partly sunny and 27 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for a chance of mix and snow, with a little accumulation possible, with a high of 39 degrees at the base and 34 degrees at higher elevations.

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Skiing and riding on all 3 mountains

Posted at 4:06 pm
Smugglers’ Alley with a snowmaking cloud in the valley
Carving up Lower Exhibition
Midway with Madonna Mountain in the background

I want to thank our snowmakers, groomers, and patrollers for all their efforts to get more trails open. Today we opened Lower FIS, Father Bob’s off the top, Goat Path, Bootlegger, McPherson’s, Deer Run Glades, Highlander Glades, and Dan’s Ford! Mulcahy’s Link opened from the top of Lower Chilcoot down to Lower FIS. Tomorrow we plan to have Lower Madonna Liftline also open. Our snowmakers are presently busy on Birch Run and Lower Rumrunner. We plan to groom out Lower Rumrunner tonight and have it open for tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan to have the Madonna II Lift, Morse Highlands Lift, Sterling Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, Village Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider all operating. We now have 41 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 21 out of the 41 open trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Lower FIS, and Dixie’s Knoll for a grand total of 98 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine-groomed and variable with average base depths of 6 to 24 inches. Currently, it is cloudy and 10 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies early with increasing clouds and a high of 31 degrees.

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

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

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 more trails are open. Stay tuned for updates

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Snow in the forecast

Posted at 4:13 pm
Picture yourself here
Smugglers’ Alley

Tonight’s forecast is calling for snow showers with 2 to 4 inches of accumulation possible. Currently, it is cloudy and 20 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies becoming sunny in the afternoon, and breezy with a high of 20 degrees at the base and 13 degrees at the summit. Bundle up and enjoy the new snow! Last night we made snow on Dixie’s Knoll, Midway, Meadowlark, Lower Morse Liftline, Sam’s Run, and Magic Learning Trail. Tonight we plan to make snow on Lower Chilcoot, Mulcahy’s Link and the S turn above Waterfall. Tomorrow we plan to have the Sterling Lift, Village Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider all operating. We will have 16 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. All 16 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 72 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine-groomed and variable with average base depths of 8 to 24 inches.

Uphill travel is presently closed on all 3 mountains due to grooming and snowmaking operations. We plan to reopen Morse Mountain to uphill travel at its regular evening hours later this week. Stay tuned for more information.

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

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Snowmaking and corduroy

Posted at 8:23 am

Last night we made snow on Morse Mountain. All 16 trails have been groomed for today, including Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 72 acres of freshly groomed terrain. We received a dusting of new snow overnight and 6 inches in the past 3 days. Currently, it is cloudy and 18 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies early becoming partly sunny with a chance of a snow shower late in the day a high of 31 degrees at the base and 21 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Today we have Sterling Lift, Village Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider all operating. We have terrain open for all ability levels with 16 trails open. Surface conditions are machine-groomed and variable with average base depths of 8 to 24 inches. Tonight’s forecast is calling for snow showers with 1 to 3 inches of accumulation possible.

Uphill travel is presently closed on all 3 mountains due to grooming and snowmaking operations. We plan to reopen Morse Mountain to uphill travel at its regular evening hours later this week. Stay tuned for more information.

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

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Sun dog

Posted at 5:09 pm

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including Madonna I and Morse Highlands. We have 35 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 33 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Upper FIS, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 131 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and loose granular with average base depths of 12 to 48 inches. Birch Run Terrain Park is open and will be groomed for tomorrow. Currently, it is sunny and 29 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a chance of snow late in the day with a high of 38 degrees at the base and 32 degrees at the summit. There is snow in the forecast for Friday night and Saturday with over a foot of new snow expected!

Madonna I Lift