While it’s all about families at Smuggs (almost suffocating at times, and I’m a parent), the terrain really impressed me. It’s a good-sized mountain — a legitimate 2,600 vert covered by old-school EC terrain with lots of character, some steep shots, and skiable trees everywhere.
Smuggs reminds me of a bigger version of Magic Mountain, including the outdated infrastructure: vintage double chairs and an undersized, out-of-date lodge at the bottom of the main hill. I can deal with slow lifts, but I’m kind of puzzled by how they’ve managed to avoid updating the uphill capacity while courting a demographic that insists on a certain level of amenities.
Conditions were similar to Jay on Saturday: the trees were soft and the on-piste trails were very crunchy (once again, the r**n from two weeks ago did a huge amount of damage). I’d love to go back there when the snow is in better shape.
The best action on days like that is the Sterling woods. Cross the pond at the top bearing right. Bootpack the trail. You can peel off to the right at any time, or follow it up to the Spruce peak chair coming up from Stowe. Ski down onto 108 and back down through the upper Sterling parking lot, where you should be parked so you can grab a quick beer/lunch on any lap. If you ski too far left you will find cliffs.
From Madonna, you can also skin the Long Trail up to the peak above Morse.