Smugglers' Notch thread!!

[MidnightJester]

Tried reading back a bunch of pages and didn't see a solid dedicated smugglers notch thread. So here goes : )
Has anyone been enjoying Smuggs this year? They just past 300" of snow which is more INCHES of SNOW then most mountains have this year! Lets discuss some of the GEMS of this mountain when conditions are right.

 

[thetrailboss]

Nice.

Did I see that the family is taking offers for its purchase? I don’t think that they’re actively marketing it.

 

[BenedictGomez]

The best gems of Smuggler's Notch arent on the map.

 

[4aprice]

I really learned to ski at Smugglers back when it was named Madonna Mountain ski area in the late 60's early 70's. My father was introduced to it by a co worker at the same time they were just starting to build the village at Morse Mountain. We took rental on a couple of condos and then progressed to seasonal rentals a couple of seasons. We would make drive (6 1/2 - 7 hrs in those days) on school vacations (Christmas and spring) and every other weekend.

It was a great set up for me and my parents,, Walk to the Morse Lift, ski till noonish, eat lunch at home and repeat in the afternoon. Being a youth I was bell to bell in those days (have memories of racing for that last Madonna ride up). The ski back to the village was a trail called Meadowlark and it was a PITA but I could ski right to the condo. I got my start in racing there and riding the rope tow you see off the Sterling Chair about 1/3 of way up mountain

One thing about Smuggler's is that change has been slow to come. Much of the infrastructure is still the same. Sure there has been some expansion. It was just 3 mountains, 3 Hall double chairs then and Morse was the only mt with snow making, The Madonna Lodge is still pretty much the same building it was then. Good ? Bad? Charming? Your call.

I hope this thread takes off. I have a lot of great memories of the place and it will always be in my heart. Don't know I will ever get back but I do check in on it by checking out the web cams and seeing how the old stomping grounds are doing.

 

[ceo]

I went to Madonna, as it was then, on a family vacation when I was 5, might have been the first year I was skiing. Went back there with my kids about 10 years ago and, while I knew it hadn't changed much, I was surprised at how much it matched up with my hazy childhood memories. The problem I had was, after dropping the older kid off at ski school and traversing over to the Madonna side, I got in three runs before I had to go back and pick them up, and only one more after a longish lunch at the condo before I had to pick up younger kid from childcare. And that was on a day with zero lines, because it was brutally, horribly cold and windy, and I grew up skiing Cannon so it's not like I'm a wimp in this respect. Older kid refused to ski again after ski school, and I wasn't having much fun either. We bailed and went home the next morning because the weather was even worse; younger kid had gotten sick that evening which conveniently provided an excuse to get the rest of our stay refunded.
So I know this is a seriously minority opinion, but I really hope whoever takes over Smuggs (and I really hope it's not Vail) replaces those slow ancient rattletraps with detachable quads. Space the chairs out, like Castlerock, if you want to limit slope traffic, but at least make it possible to get in a reasonable amount of skiing in a day, particularly if you're a solo parent with kids in ski school.

 

[zyk]

Hiked to the top twice with the wife in the off season. Wanted to hike down routes I skied when I was young. One route her opinion was " who the hl*ll skies all these ledges?" Robin's Run. Highly recommend.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

One time I rode sterling with a Vermont state legislator who then led me thru the bowls 3 times and gave me the confidence I needed to adventure back there on my own. Smuggs is a gem.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

the morse bullwheel is a tower past the offload ramp. my fiance never progressed beyond adult beginner. morse was the first fixed grip she rode. she was scared of the 'steep' off ramp and didnt stand up. im like lady what are you doing. instead of going round the bullwheel she just jumped. her skis were my eye height. really glad she landed laughing and not requiring emergency transport to burlington hospital

 

[4aprice]

the morse bullwheel is a tower past the offload ramp. my fiance never progressed beyond adult beginner. morse was the first fixed grip she rode. she was scared of the 'steep' off ramp and didnt stand up. im like lady what are you doing. instead of going round the bullwheel she just jumped. her skis were my eye height. really glad she landed laughing and not requiring emergency transport to burlington hospital

I think your thinking of Sterling with the small tower beyond the ramp before the bull wheel. Morse's top ramp is pretty high and steep for an off ramp but there is no tower between ramp and bullwheel.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

def morse. there is no way in hell she would have ever skied sterling

the satellite image appears to back up my recollection

green is the liftie shack and ramp, red is the turnaround