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Is Smugglers Notch worth the drive?
- Thread starter JohnQ
- Start date
MadMadWorld
Active member
Yep. Madonna II is great for early intermediates. Finding single adults is usually never a problem. Never seen anyone have an issue. Most have kids/grandkids themselves and more than willing to lend a hand.
Ahh that explains it. Northern VT is a whole notha animal from Stratton. When my son was young I spent most of my skiing time with him... plenty of day trips to Mohawk. Once he got the the point where he didn't need any help getting around on skis I learned to snowboard so I wouldn't get bored there.
I would disregard canobie#1s opinion on Smuggs. He has a history of making it his job of ripping the place.......along with Attitash. As you can see in this thread, there is far more support for Smuggs than against. There's a reason why they've been considered the benchmark for kids programs in the east for decades. As long as they get some natural snow and sustained cold temperatures between now and then, I'm sure your family will have a blast.
MadMadWorld
Active member
Yea it seems that is all Canobie posts about. Most people acknowledge the negatives but I think the majority believe the good far outweighs the bad.
lerops
New member
Also thinking of Smuggs some time this winter for the kids ski school. Why are the liftlines long at Smuggs, is it because there are a lot of families with children, etc.? Long lines would put me off.
I personally don't mind slow lifts. I try to make the most of it: talk to my wife (whom I ski with most of the time), take in the scenery, rest my legs, etc. Nice to be away from all the technology too. But liftlines are another story!
I personally don't mind slow lifts. I try to make the most of it: talk to my wife (whom I ski with most of the time), take in the scenery, rest my legs, etc. Nice to be away from all the technology too. But liftlines are another story!
MadMadWorld
Active member
The main reason is that all the lifts are doubles. Lines are bad during holidays and race weekends. Week days are ski on with no waits and most weekends aren't bad.
I know the people here are in it for the skiing, but I was giving him the truth. The place is stuck in the 70's. It's a fun mountain with awesome trails but I was giving him the catch. I was just warning him now so if he was expecting a nicer place he wouldn't be disappointed.
The family center is nice but I personally don't believe it's the best. It does get very busy there and he does have a good chance of getting separated on the chair due to the crowds. He seemed concerned about it so I responded.
The family center is nice but I personally don't believe it's the best. It does get very busy there and he does have a good chance of getting separated on the chair due to the crowds. He seemed concerned about it so I responded.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Hey look!
It's that guy who cares more about the spa and what year the condo was built than the skiing again!
He cracks me up.
Sorry I don't want to drive 41/2 hours for a crappy condo. I am in it for the skiing but I would apreciate a nice place to stay while I am on vacation. Sorry I am not a sucker for crappy things.
MadMadWorld
Active member
Sorry I don't want to drive 41/2 hours for a crappy condo. I am in it for the skiing but I would apreciate a nice place to stay while I am on vacation. Sorry I am not a sucker for crappy things.
Then stay off the mountain. There are some nice places in Jeffersonville.
Sorry I don't want to drive 41/2 hours for a crappy condo. I am in it for the skiing but I would apreciate a nice place to stay while I am on vacation. Sorry I am not a sucker for crappy things.
I would avoid Sugarloaf then........
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
SPOILER ALERT: You think you're "in it for the skiing", but it's extremely transparent that you're not.
If you were really "in it for the skiing", you'd be like most of us here who would rather have a 1988 color TV with basic cable and late-1970s wood paneling on an awesome mountain with A+ terrain, than a 60" flatscreen with 226 channels and plush modern construction with a whirlpool jacuzzi on a subpar or average mountain.
......and not for nothing canobie, aren't you a teenager? When I was a teenager and old enough to start going on ski trips on my own, say my senior year in High School, those trips consisted of visiting ski bum friends in the mountains and crashing on the floor, usually with a car full of other friends. If I was lucky, maybe I got a couch. I certainly didn't care about posh new slopeside accommodations, what kind of restaurants were in the area and all that. Ramen noodles were the cuisine. All I cared about was my car making it to the mountain and whether someone would buy me some beer for after skiing. That's all that really mattered.
Hell today, it's not all that different. All of those old ski bum friends have grown up and have spare bedrooms now. I bring my wife instead of a car full of friends and have a bit more money to enjoy a nice meal out. Occasionally, we treat ourselves to a nice room at a resort, but not often.
Hell today, it's not all that different. All of those old ski bum friends have grown up and have spare bedrooms now. I bring my wife instead of a car full of friends and have a bit more money to enjoy a nice meal out. Occasionally, we treat ourselves to a nice room at a resort, but not often.
Hi JohnQ,
Asking for an opinion of Smugglers on this site tends to provoke very passionate support from many skiers, and complaints about the lack of amenities from others. Do a search here on previous threads about Smugglers and you will see what I am referring to. In the end, you need to weigh the info provided here, and search for additional information before making your decision. We can only provide our opinions, and I dislike seeing posters belittled for giving an honest point of view. I didn't reply earlier for that very reason.
In my opinion, Smuggler's has some amazing terrain from great learning areas to holy crap on a cracker steeps. The lifts are old doubles, and old doubles are not fast, but do keep the trails from being overcrowded and quickly skied off. The weekend lines were long when I was there. The lodge is old school, but we only went in to use the bathrooms, and older lodges don't turn me off. We stayed off mountain as we also skied Jay on that trip, so I can't comment on the lodging. I will probably not make a return visit unless I happen to be in the area, as I can find areas more to my liking a lot closer to where I live.
I am not telling you to go, or not to go there. Just providing my impressions from my visit.
Cheers!
Asking for an opinion of Smugglers on this site tends to provoke very passionate support from many skiers, and complaints about the lack of amenities from others. Do a search here on previous threads about Smugglers and you will see what I am referring to. In the end, you need to weigh the info provided here, and search for additional information before making your decision. We can only provide our opinions, and I dislike seeing posters belittled for giving an honest point of view. I didn't reply earlier for that very reason.
In my opinion, Smuggler's has some amazing terrain from great learning areas to holy crap on a cracker steeps. The lifts are old doubles, and old doubles are not fast, but do keep the trails from being overcrowded and quickly skied off. The weekend lines were long when I was there. The lodge is old school, but we only went in to use the bathrooms, and older lodges don't turn me off. We stayed off mountain as we also skied Jay on that trip, so I can't comment on the lodging. I will probably not make a return visit unless I happen to be in the area, as I can find areas more to my liking a lot closer to where I live.
I am not telling you to go, or not to go there. Just providing my impressions from my visit.
Cheers!
steamboat1
New member
Well it ain't SLC, MT. or CO but it sure as heck beats Mohawk.
Savemeasammy
New member
This might be a bit obvious, but you could also do a google search for images of Smuggs. A picture speaks a thousand words!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
JohnQ
New member
Lodge and condo quality are not critical, they should just be appropriate value. I'm basically getting lodging at no cost so not concerned about that. Fixed grip doubles are a concern but more for the fact that they're doubles than how long it takes to get to the top (I may sing a different tune if it's 4F with 20mph winds). And waiting 5-8 minutes in line for a chair is no big deal. 20-30 minutes is a whole different ball of wax. I'll have to evaluate my girls' maturity to ride alone together (in the chair in front of me since that's what they'll want to do).
I took a look and read a few reviews and trip reports. Most were positive some were not so much. While I've skied some great resorts with high-end amenities (check out the floor-to-ceiling granite bathroom stall dividers at Snowbasin along with the chandeliers if you're ever there), they're a benefit, not a necessity. Nobody but me can answer the "is it worth a 5 hour drive" question (compared to, say 3.5 hours for So VT) so I probably won't know until I go.
Overall, I appreciate the feedback and the arguments about Smugglers. If I didn't want opinions, I wouldn't have posted the question. And everyone wants different things from a ski area. There's insight here, if even it's not explicit in the posts. I'm not skiing chutes and tight trees anymore so the crazy gnar is not vital. Interesting terrain, though, is. Trails that move … that have some rolls, dips and drops … are much more fun. And a place where every trail is not groomed to death.
We're likely going to pull the trigger and go; now it's a matter of ensuring my wife, the non-skier, can stay busy snowshoeing, going into Burlington, or what have you. Thanks guys.
I took a look and read a few reviews and trip reports. Most were positive some were not so much. While I've skied some great resorts with high-end amenities (check out the floor-to-ceiling granite bathroom stall dividers at Snowbasin along with the chandeliers if you're ever there), they're a benefit, not a necessity. Nobody but me can answer the "is it worth a 5 hour drive" question (compared to, say 3.5 hours for So VT) so I probably won't know until I go.
Overall, I appreciate the feedback and the arguments about Smugglers. If I didn't want opinions, I wouldn't have posted the question. And everyone wants different things from a ski area. There's insight here, if even it's not explicit in the posts. I'm not skiing chutes and tight trees anymore so the crazy gnar is not vital. Interesting terrain, though, is. Trails that move … that have some rolls, dips and drops … are much more fun. And a place where every trail is not groomed to death.
We're likely going to pull the trigger and go; now it's a matter of ensuring my wife, the non-skier, can stay busy snowshoeing, going into Burlington, or what have you. Thanks guys.
JohnQ
New member
Yup, but I grew up outside of Detroit so Mohawk isn't too bad :smile:. And it's a hell of a lot more expensive for a family of 4 to got out west twice a year.
Depending on lodging prices we may try and hit the last weekend of the 2015 Worlds in Vail/BC next year with a week of skiing afterward. Never been to a World Cup race. Got to save my pennies for that one.
Tin
Active member
Tons to do in Burlington, we were there Sunday until yesterday. I just posted a trail report from Smuggs in the TR section.
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