Every time I ski Smuggs, I wonder if it will be the day that the honeymoon will end. Eventually, I am going to have a bad day at Smuggs. One of these days, the warm and fuzzy emotional reaction I get isn’t going to happen. But after half a dozen days at Smuggs, that day has not yet come. And It may be a while yet before it happens. If it ever happens.
Most of New England was forced to rely on human-groomin’ to alleviate a freeze event which followed mixed precip and/or wet snow. Smuggs was lined up for a few inches daily resulting in exceptional powder and packed powder conditions. Untracked was less than my half foot standard for powder day status but a few inches was all it took to ensure exceptional turns.
My slight disappointment with the low new snow totals was significantly offset by the exceptional quality of what little powder Smuggs did get. Everything was skiing exceptionally well despite occasional base depth issues in tight and steep quarters. There were still places in which a hockey stop in a tight chute would strip snow down to a grassy, rooty, or rocky base. But for the most part, snow conditions were primo.
After a mind numbing 5am alarm, I made it to Smuggs for first chair. While I drove 2.5 hours to get to Smuggs in time for first chair, most resort goers were still lounging in their rooms and condos. I managed four nearly ski-on runs before lines picked up. But lines never got excessively long by Smuggs weekend standards.
I began on Sterling and cycled that lift twice finding great lines in the trees. Those two runs were followed by more trees on Madonna. One great aspect of Smuggs is that you can ski trees almost top to bottom from both peaks. But when you do decide to ski a trial, grooming is minimal and the trails are mostly narrow and flowing with the terrain.
Freefall was an awesome ride on skier’s left. The occasional mounds made for exquisite airs with powdery landings. Many skiers were having difficulty teeing up at the cliffs. This steep and rocky section always makes for great jump turns and technical skiing. Before Freefall begins to mellow, I cut into Black Hole.
Much as I enjoy ribbing resorts for their marketing department driven difficulty classifications, I may have to give Smuggs a pass on the triple diamond rating for Black Hole. They would have done better to simply not put it on the map. But if it is on the map, a top skills only warning may be merited.
On the flip side, some less skilled skiers may take the rating as a dare, which would be rather ill advised. Under normal circumstances, Black Hole may actually be less challenging than Liftline. But things can occasionally get a little wild, which is par for the course at Smuggs in the trees.
Twice I got funneled into a deadfall gully with two massive blow downs and a bare rock slab covering a steep pitch. Dropping the tree was not a safe option due to space constraints and a bad landing area. The ladies tee was a rock slab requiring a mandatory five foot drop paired with a 180 degree jump turn. A spicy and interesting technical challenge for those with the right tool kit. An impassible disaster for those without.
Elsewhere on Madonna, I dropped into one of its many rabbit holes to find another spicy line. This one featured extremely thin coverage with potential hazards covered by the few inches of powder. Options included a dubious threading of the needle between two trees with what looked like a snow snake, skiing over poorly covered rock slab, or a six foot drop onto a suspect landing. None of the options were good but I decided to air it out. Smuggs constantly dishes up these aggro options; steep and narrow chutes with mandatories and sketchy coverage abound. Don’t go down a rabbit hole at Smuggs unless you’ve got the skills to deal.
And then there is the Smuggs sidecountry. Gullies reminiscent of Cannon’s best lines in pitch, narrowness, and wildness. Mean lines that beg to be charged hard. Turn em’ hard, point em’ true, and hold on tight. Hitting these lines just right unifies the mind and body. But it taxes the legs and lungs. Hitting them with less than your best is beyond a work out. Good stuff.
For me, Smuggs has it all. It is the total package of what I love in a ski area. And the aesthetics can’t be beat. The trails are on the narrow side, winding and flowing with the mountain. The main mountain has one small base lodge and no other buildings aside from those housing its fixed grip double chairs. The trees are so pretty, especially when covered in snow. And of course, the skiing is incredible with awesome steeps, trees, and chutes.
Smuggs is a mountain full of challenge and way more options than I have been able to explore in my limited time there. It is entirely possible that Smuggs could have replaced Cannon as my favorite mountain if the driving distances were reversed. Smuggs is what Cannon would have been with almost twice as much natural snow, less grooming, less up hill capacity, and without the widening of its trails. But the culture of Smuggs will never compete with Cannon. And as mean as Smuggs can be, it is just a hair shy of Cannon at its ugliest.
The honeymoon will continue indefinitely.
