Hugh's Views - Smugglers' Notch Vermont

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Your Morning Update

Posted January 17, 2023 at 8:43 am

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Snowmaking on Upper Chilcoot and Waterfall is in progress, which could lead to some good news later this week – stay tuned. Meanwhile, Groomers have been putting the tillers to 21 trails. We’ve received 9 inches of snow in the past 6 days.

While heading to the Perk in the Country Store for my usual Maple Latte with oat milk, I saw the Senior VP and head of Mtn. Ops Mark Delaney grooming the Tubing Hill. He shared the latest mountain news with me. I also saw former Snow Sport University snowboard instructors, and now Patrollers, Alissa and Rob. They were getting ready for Milk Run from the Village Lift. Milk Run is the first run down the mountain, and it’s not with oat milk. Speaking of beverages, Labatts is the beer special this weekend for the Apres Sports Parties in Bootleggers’ and the Black Bear Tavern.

Anywho, looks like a sunny day is ahead, with temps from the high teens to the low thirties, and gentle winds. Sounds like a great time to hit the slopes – ski U later.

Mark Delaney is at the wheel grooming the Tubing Hill for tonight’s tubing FUN!

Alissa and Rob – Snowboarding Patrollers – yes, they do exist!

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Family + Friends = Smuggs FUN!

Posted March 30, 2021 at 1:56 pm

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Having been at the Smuggs for 24 years, I’m bound to run into people I know. After a run on Snow Snake, I skied to the Upper Mountains. While heading to MI, I exchanged Snow Report Intel with Duncan and Cathe from Patrol. Around noon, I stepped into the Black Bear for lunch. In walked local skier Dan L who informed me that he’s gotten over 90 days on the Smuggs slopes this season. Outside I spied Snow Sport Instructor (and past Spirit of the Mountain Award recipient) Princess Pam wearing a Hawaiin Lei, which made sense when I saw long-time Smuggs Guest Leila and her sister Ella arrive with their instructors Isaiah and Gillian. Then I met up with another long-time Smuggler, Fire Chief Ed, to take a run on Madonna Mtn. At the top of the lift, we greeted Patroler Arch shooting the breeze with Instructors Gary and Sherm. I dare you to name another Resort where you see that many people you know. Family + Friends = Smuggs FUN!

L to R: Princess Pam, Leila, Isaiah, Ella, Gillian.

Ed takes a moment of reflection on Lower Chilcoot.

The beginning of Snow Snake with a view of Sterling Mountain through the trees. If you look closely, you can even see the top of Mt Mansfield.

As viewed from the MI Lift, the intersection of Upper Chilcoot and Waterfall make a snowy wishbone. Don’t you wish you were here?!

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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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Freshly groomed terrain

Posted January 4, 2020 at 7:19 am

Today 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 32 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 12 to 48 inches. 23 trails have been groomed for today, including Thomke’s and Waterfall for a grand total of 93 acres. The best snow on the mountain today will be any groomed trail. We plan to resume snowmaking tonight on Black Snake and the Practice Slope. Currently it is cloudy and 27 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Today’s forecast is calling for snow mainly in the afternoon 2 to 4 inches of accumulation possible with a high of 31 degrees. We could see a storm total of 13 inches of new snow by Sunday night!

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Beautiful sunny afternoon

Posted December 28, 2019 at 3:06 pm

**Amazing views from the summit of Madonna**

**Upper Chilcoot just above the top of Waterfall**

Today started off with cloudy skies and ended up with bluebird skies! The Madonna I Lift opened for the season today. I rode Madonna I this morning and the summit was in cloud cover. It was great to be skiing from the top of Madonna, but I was missing the great views. The clouds cleared out by lunchtime and I headed back up the Madonna I Lift. Once I got to the summit I did not want to ski down. I just wanted to soak up the sunshine and 360-degree views.

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 7 lifts operating, including Madonna I. We have 22 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. All 22 trails will be groomed for tomorrow for a grand total of 92 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 12 to 48 inches. We are presently making snow on Upper FIS. Currently, it is sunny and 25 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 0 to 5 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies early with increasing clouds and a high of 32 degrees. Happy Holidays!

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Spring conditions

Posted March 28, 2019 at 3:55 pm

Snow Sport University Ski Instructor Justin Falkenburg at the summit of Madonna with his class

Today the temperature got up to 41 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Everything was softening up and was skiing well. The Headwall was open, Freefall was open from the top, and Madonna Liftline was open from Catwalk. I ran into my good friends Lenny and Nikki this afternoon. We took a few runs on Madonna together. We started off with a cruiser run on Upper Chilcoot. Nikki skied Waterfall for the first time and did great!

Lifts and Trails

We are 100 percent open. 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 have all 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are spring conditions and machine-groomed with average base depths of 24 to 54 inches. We plan to groom 28 trails tonight, including Chilcoot, Dixie’s Knoll, and Black Snake for a grand total of 125 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Nikki skiing Upper Chilcoot

Weather

Currently it is cloudy and 38 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 15 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a chance of mix with temperatures between 34 and 49 degrees.

Snow Sport University Ski Instructor Matt McCawley gap jumping from drift to drift on Upper Chilcoot

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Getting the mountains ready for you to ski or ride

Posted December 27, 2018 at 7:57 am

New snow being cleared from the ramp of the Village Lift

More Open Terrain

Full Nelson and Highlander Glades are now open. Rumor has it that the skier’s left side of Full Nelson is pretty nice.

New Snow

We received 1 to 2 inches of light fluffy snow overnight, 10 inches in the past 6 days, and 139 inches this season so far!

Lifts and Trails

Today 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 29 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 27 trails have been groomed for today including Black Snake, Sam’s Run, and Waterfall for a grand total of 109 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 12 to 40 inches.

Groomer Dickie Guyette laying down some fresh corduroy on Meadowlark

Snowmaking

Last night we made snow on Lower Chilcoot and Meadowlark. Snowmaking will continue today on Lower Chilcoot. There are still a few snow guns running on Meadowlark this morning.

Weather

Currently it is partly sunny and 8 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for sunny skies with increasing clouds and temperatures between 12 and 24 degrees.

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Top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains

Posted December 15, 2018 at 3:31 pm

Madonna and Sterling Mountain seen from the Village Lift

Lifts and Trails

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating; Madonna I Lift, Sterling Lift, Mogul Mouse’s Magic Lift, Village Lift, and Sir Henry’s Glider. We have 52 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Trail count will increase in the near future with snow in the forecast for Monday and colder temperatures this week for snowmaking. Surface conditions are variable and machine groomed with average base depths of 18 to 48 inches. 26 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Waterfall, and Wanderer for a grand total of 108 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

Snow cat sighting at the top of Sterling Mountain

Weather

Currently it is cloudy and 26 degrees at the summit of Sterling Mountain with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for sunny skies early with increasing clouds and temperatures between 25 and 33 degrees.

Glow sticks

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Morse Mountain Fun

Posted March 22, 2018 at 2:49 pm

Glade skiing at Morse Highlands

My 6 year old daughter Hayleigh only had a half day of school today. We skied together this afternoon on Morse Mountain. We were trying to get to the Morse Highlands area, but every time I turned around Hayleigh was headed into the woods. Hayleigh has learned all the secret glade runs from taking snowboard and ski lessons with our Snow Sport University. Many of these glade runs are low angle like the one on skiers’ right at the top of Log Jam. The low angle allows the kids to focus on steering instead of speed control. To make our afternoon complete we stopped by the Morse Highlands Day Lodge to say hi to Debbie! The kids love Debbie and Debbie loves the kids!

Way Up High School at the entrance to Sugar Woods

We are 100 percent open with top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 7 lifts operating. Robin’s Run is open from the work road down to Freefall. Freefall is open from the traverse on Upper FIS. 28 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Waterfall, Black Snake, and Curley’s Cutback for a grand total of 120 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly cloudy skies with a chance of flurries and a high of 32 degrees.

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Another beautiful day

Posted March 21, 2018 at 4:26 pm

Skiers on Upper Drifter

Today started off a little cool, but that did not last long with the wonderful sunshine. I ventured on all 3 mountains today exploring the woods and also enjoying the groomed terrain. Upper Drifter was groomed last night and is skiing very nicely. I like to stop at different spots when I’m on Upper Drifter just to take in the fantastic views. As I was skiing by Shuttle I noticed that too had been groomed recently. I took a left and made a few GS turns before letting my skis run. The smooth surface made the dip easy to manage and was able to carry my speed up the other side no problem.

Snow Sport University Ski Instructor Larry Arnold on Lower Morse Liftline

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating. We have 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 Waterfall, Bootlegger, and Curley’s Cutback for a grand total of 127 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Tomorrow’s forecast is mostly cloudy skies with a chance of flurries early and a high of 33 degrees.