anyone been to smuggler's and bolton recently?

[KustyTheKlown]

just booked a room up in BTV for tomorrow and saturday nights. i'm with the girlfriend so i'm somewhat bound to using my champlain valley card at least one day as we both have the card. we're almost 100% smuggs for saturday. they have most terrain open except for the super hairy stuff. my question for you all is how are the trees holding up, specifically back/birthday bowls? i'm hopeful for some tree skiing

on sunday, we're going to either do bolton on the card, or get a head start on the driving and head down to killington, pico, or stratton. bolton still has an entire lift pod closed, but got a bunch of snow in the past week. killington pico and stratton are all free for me on the max pass, but girlfriend will have to pay. pico is cheap but not so much open yet. killington and stratton are kinda expensive for her for a day pass and lesson. any recent bolton intel to sway my decision?

 

[bdfreetuna]

Saving my Bolton 4 pack for just a little more snow. Do a yearly 2-day there with the wife.

You should have a good time, Preacher just opened. There will be low-angle tree skiing off Wilderness Chair (if its open) that nobody can keep you out of.

My main reason for waiting on BV is they need one more storm to drop all ropes.

This weekend I'm doing Stowe on Sat and MRG on Sunday.. trees will be good to go.

Enjoy Bolton though hopefully some of the woods are open... there's woods all over the place there if you know where to find them, some of them don't have "entry points" that can really be closed. It'll be good from the looks.

As for Smuggs IDK I assume similar situation. Have a great weekend with your girl!

Edit:: instead of Smuggs right now I would go to Sugarbush. Place is lit up with snow 100% open. I'd do the same but I just went there.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

cool. we paid to ski sugarbush on 1/9 with the NE Ski & Ride BOGO. i gotta use my prepaid days now that we're in late january, so its all Max Pass or Champlain Valley Card days for now. since the girl has the card too and is a rising intermediate, Smuggler's seems a natural choice. I'll drop her in ski school and then hopefully there's enough snow around to safely ski the back bowls off Sterling.

I've never been to Bolton and am anxious to check it out, and am not totally sold yet on burning my one freebie day there just yet. May go down to K or Stratton and use the Max Pass, also shaves an hour + off of my sunday drive home.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Back bowls? I'd be shocked if they're safe to ski right now.

 

[deadheadskier]

They don't require a ton of snow. Fairly low angle, not a lot of rocks. Couple of stream beds to look out for. I skied them last year before Xmas on a fairly low base without issue.

 

[watkin]

Posted from a stowe rep in another forum on Weds:

Today was a sobering reminder that the woods and backcountry just aren't ready yet. Historically, the benchmark for the woods and backcountry in this area has been 40-50+" of snow depth at the Mansfield Stake. It was at 25" last evening. Today Stowe Mountain Rescue and MMSP were called into the Notch for a serious accident directly related to the low snow cover. It may be mid-January, but the snowpack is more like early to mid December. Still needs a few more storms.

Remember that at elevation there may be enough snow to cover hazards, but if you go into unmanicured zones lower elevations will have much less coverage. There's no shame in taking off the skis and hiking out. Be careful out there.

 

[BenedictGomez]

They don't require a ton of snow. Fairly low angle, not a lot of rocks. Couple of stream beds to look out for. I skied them last year before Xmas on a fairly low base without issue.

Last year before Christmas snowpack > 01/21/16 snowpack

 

[deadheadskier]

All I'm saying is there was maybe a 12 inch base. There are plenty of spots in the Mansfield range that require a lot of snow to open. The back bowls off Spruce/ Smuggs wouldn't be one of them.

The other article above doesn't give specifics to location and how the skier got hurt.

 

[bdfreetuna]

I would hold off on Bolton until they are 100% rope dropped if I were you. It's one of my top 5 favorite mountains. Perfect mountain for people of all abilities. Some of their woods like Adam's Solitude, Lost Boyz (and the new turn left really quick at the top of Lost Boyz... Lost Boyz II??), stuff off the Wilderness chair. Bolton has some of the most lovely, varied, and a few freakin' steep woods of anywhere I've been.

Oh and of course Devil's Playground which is like a shorter version of Paradise @ MRG.

Mountain is so easy to ski with a GF/wife, even if she can't hang in the double blacks it's very easy to say "you go this way, I'll go that way, meet me at the bottom".

If you've never been to Bolton before and love trees, hang on to that pass for just a bit.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

yeah, the smuggler's side stuff seems more low angle than the stowe side stuff. but i'll be cautious. may stick to the trails and inbounds glades unfortunately. this winter. :uzi:

i'm gonna save bolton for later. will do smuggs saturday and killington or stratton sunday.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

mad river, sugarbush, and smuggler's are all reporting at or near 100%. i gotta think the high elevation trees are skiing fine across northern vt. gonna do two days at smuggs and use gas station bogo on sunday. i think its gonna ski better than k, and i think the back bowls should be ok to ski with caution. girlfriend will appreciate the sunday bogo keeping her spend down. long drive sunday evening. oh well.

 

[deadheadskier]

First one should be fine. The further you head out the traverse towards Stowe the steeper and bonier they get. If you get in there and find it too boney, it's not that far of a walk down to 108 if need be

 

[nkLottery]

Heading to Smuggs tomorrow, can't wait. Through thick and thin it's my favorite place to ski. Very excited to try and get an early run down Doc's. Hoping to hit the bullwheel and birthday bowls tomorrow, at least to give them a try

 

[Tin]

yeah, the smuggler's side stuff seems more low angle than the stowe side stuff. but i'll be cautious. may stick to the trails and inbounds glades unfortunately. this winter. :uzi:

There was more snow at Smuggs when I did this on the side of Sterling. Thought I broke my femur at first. Snowsnakes can get you. Just be safe and wait. Things can go from dreamy to awful in seconds.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

ooof. luckily, nearly all of the inbounds (marked) glades are open.

 

[dlague]

There was more snow at Smuggs when I did this on the side of Sterling. Thought I broke my femur at first. Snowsnakes can get you. Just be safe and wait. Things can go from dreamy to awful in seconds.

Yup wife broke her thumb in early season tree skiing last season. She went after some untracked snow and a branch frozen into the snow swallowed her ski. Lucky for me she did not want to stop skiing - we did tone it down a bit!

 

[Domeskier]

Do a yearly 2-day there with the wife.

Congrats on the marriage, Tuna!

 

[dlague]

Looked at their lift and trail report. Timberline and Wilderness are not running - maybe over the weekend? Many of the best runs, Preacher, Upper Showoff, Spillway are not open yet. Vista Glade is open but appears to be it for glades besides the easier stuff closer to the base. I would check on Saturday. But based on the current trail offering it will be a little boring for you but ok for her. Bolton has a dead spot circled on the image below. if you do not get enough speed you have to pole or skate. Even with speed it fails due to many others being there.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

yea i think wilderness has been running but no timberline yet. we are doing two days at smuggs. champlain valley card saturday and gas station bogo sunday.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Congrats on the marriage, Tuna!

Thanks!

And OP I think you're making the right call to wait on Bolton. Another foot of snow and that place will be golden. Hold off. But then, definitely ski Bolton Valley. Most underrated mountain in all of VT.

Also DLague that's the most overrated "dead spot" in all of VT :-D

I don't know how good your girl is at ski skills but don't take her down Devil's Playground unless she's either up for adventure or won't get mad at you if it's a little to steep .. I took my wife down it last year. Easy does it!

"I'm not doing that trail ever again!" (as she poses for a picture just below the steeps)

We'll see about that