Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

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Top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains

Posted February 11, 2021 at 4:38 pm

3 Mountain ticket sales are closed for Sunday, February 14th. We have reached our comfortable capacity.

Tomorrow we plan to have 5 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 72 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with base depths of 16 to 50 inches. Snowmaking resumes tonight on Sterling Mountain. 29 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including McPherson’s, Snow Snake, and Jolly Rodger for a grand total of 117 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently, it is partly sunny and 4 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with a high of 11 degrees.

Employees are red-flagged for this weekend. They can ski or ride on the all mountains from 8:00 am till 10:00 am.

Uphill travel closed on Sterling Mountain Friday, February 12th due to snowmaking. Uphill travel open on Madonna Mountain is available from 5:30 am till 7:30 am on open trails only and no dogs.

Sterling Mountain seen from the Village Lift

Birch Run Terrain Park is open with 3 jumps, 2 rails, and a spine.

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Making fun of winter

Posted January 7, 2021 at 4:37 pm

Snow just makes you want to play, it could be skiing, snowboarding, sledding, making a snowman, or making a snow angel. It has a magical power that puts a smile on your face.

This weekend we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains! Tomorrow we plan to have the Sterling Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, Madonna II Lift, Village Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider. We have 14 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 13 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 58 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and packed powder with average base depths of 12 to 40 inches. We are presently making snow on Waterfall, Upper Chilcoot, and Practice Slope. Currently, it is cloudy and 14 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 0 to 5 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for sunny skies early with increasing clouds and a high of 20 degrees.

Getting creative with snow at the Village Lift

Lift Operator Anna smiling with her eyes

Snow Sport University lesson on Mulcahy’s Link

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Thank you snowmakers

Posted January 6, 2021 at 11:16 am

A huge shout out to our hard-working snowmakers! The weather has been a little crazy this season, but our snowmakers have been ready every time Mother Nature turns down the thermostat. Their efforts already allow us to ski and ride on all 3 mountains. They are presently working on getting us more terrain open with snowmaking on Upper Chilcoot and the Practice Slope.

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Sunshine and corduroy

Posted March 6, 2020 at 9:26 am

**Ski Patrol Director Eli Moore on Upper Chilcoot**

Today we have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 7 lifts operating. We have 56 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 16 to 56 inches. 39 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper FIS, Bootlegger, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 150 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently, it is sunny and 24 degrees at the summit of Madonna with winds of 5 to 10 mph.

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Freshly groomed terrain

Posted March 3, 2020 at 9:17 am

**Grooming Lower Exhibition this morning**

The temperature last night was above freezing for most of the mountains. It is currently partly cloudy and 36 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. We groomed 23 trails last night. We groomed all of the regular trails on Morse last night. This morning our groomers were busy on Upper Chilcoot, Mulcahy’s Link, Lower Madonna Liftline, Upper Rumrunner, Lower Rumrunner, Crossover, Treasure Run, and Lower Exhibition. I skied Bootlegger this morning and it has nice soft bumps. I then skied Upper Chilcoot with nice fresh soft corduroy. Today we have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 76 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 20 to 60 inches. Today’s forecast is calling for a mix of sun and clouds with some patchy fog early and a high of 46 degrees.

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Doc Dempsey’s Glades

Posted March 2, 2020 at 3:45 pm

**They were having too much fun to stop!**

I started my day off with a nice long run from the summit of Madonna back to the Village. I skied Upper Chilcoot, Catwalk, Upper FIS, Lower Doc Dempsey’s, Ruthie’s, Curley’s Cutback, and then Meadowlark. The wind had moved the snow around a little bit. I had a great time playing in the drifted snow. I was lucky enough to catch up with a few friends and most of my family for a few runs. We had a wonderful time playing on Madonna and Sterling Mountain. We skied Upper FIS, Doc Dempsey’s, Bermuda, Mustache Glades, and Upper Exhibition. The mild temperatures kept the snow nice and soft today.

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I lift. We plan to have 77 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 20 to 60 inches. 23 trails will be groomed for tomorrow for a grand total of 110 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently, it is cloudy and 28 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for fog early then partly sunny skies with a high of 42 degrees.

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Another great day on the slopes

Posted February 13, 2020 at 5:00 pm

Ski Patrol dropped a few ropes this morning like the one at the top of Freefall and the one at the top of the Headwall. I felt like I had to go and ski these trails, so I did! Sally’s Alley was also open, so I skied that. The Black Hole was already open, but I also skied that too. We received 1 to 3 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours, 10 inches in the past 4 days, and 177 inches this season so far. 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 77 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and machine groomed with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. We plan to make snow tonight on Mulcahy’s Link and Lower Madonna Liftline. The Madonna I lift will open tomorrow morning at 9:30 am due to snowmaking and grooming. 34 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Dan’s Ford, Hibernator, and Thomke’s for a grand total of 139 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently it is snowing and 22 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for a chance of an early snow showers then skies becoming mostly sunny with a high of 4 degrees. Bundle up and enjoy the great conditions.

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Fantastic conditions

Posted February 12, 2020 at 4:48 pm

**Snow Sport University Instructor Matt McCawley playing in some fresh snow**

I had a wonderful time today! We received 32 inches of snow in the past week and everything is in great shape. The groomers have a nice deep base and the glades have filled in. I took a run with Matt McCawley and his group today. We skied Upper Chilcoot, Catwalk, Doc Dempsey’s, Ruthie’s, Gary B’s, and Bermuda. Of course, Matt had a few tricks up his sleeve and we were able to find a few powder stashes also. It’s always fun to ski with Matt!

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna 1 lift. We plan to have 77 out of 78 trails open tomorrow with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. We plan to groom 35 trails tonight, including Waterfall, Snow Snake, and Snake Bite for a grand total of 132 acres of freshly groomed terrain. We also plan to groom some natural snow trails like the bottom of Black Bear, Shuttle, Evaporator, and Jolly Rodger. Currently, it is partly cloudy and 22 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tonight’s forecast is calling for 1 to 2 inches of snow. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for snow another 3 to 5 inches of accumulation possible and a high of 30 degrees.

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Snow Sport University

Posted February 12, 2020 at 12:02 pm

**Ski Instructor Matt McCawley with his class on Upper Chilcoot**

**Matt taking his class down Doc Dempsey’s Glades**

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Great conditions

Posted February 10, 2020 at 5:08 pm

**Snowdrift on Madonna Mountain. The ski poles are 50 inches in length**

The 5 inches of new snow that we received today was nice and dense. It allowed us to open Freefall from the top and the Headwall of Madonna Liftline. My first run of the day was on Smugglers’ Alley. It was groomed early last night, which allowed the snowfall to build up on top of the groomed snow overnight. It was a nice and flat with 4 inches of fresh on top this morning. It was so much fun to float on top of the heavier snow. I had the pleasure of riding the Sterling Lift with a long time Smuggs family member “George of the Jungle.” Thanks George for the great conversation and laughs. This afternoon I ran into my good friend Pat. We had a great time on Thomke’s, Black Snake, Practice Slope, and Snake Bite. We were able to find some great loose powder on the side of the trail to play in. Pat decided to catch some pretty big air on the “neck” of the Practice Slope. His photo is seen above.

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I Lift. We have 77 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. We plan to groom 30 trails tonight, including Ruthie’s, Wanderer, and Thomke’s for a grand total of 125 acres of freshly groomed terrain. We received 5 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours and 36 inches in the past 5 days. Currently, it is snowing and 28 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies, flurries and a snow shower with a high of 35 degrees.