Smugglers' Notch Resort

Smugglers' Notch was founded in 1956 by a group of Vermont skiers. The first lifts were two Pomas (or platter lifts) on Sterling Mountain.

In the early 1960s, Tom Watson Jr., Chairman of IBM, became involved with the mountain. The site of the village today was an open field and logging station. Watson envisioned a village patterned after those found in Europe. Soon, he developed the nearby Morse and Madonna mountains. It is said that Watson placed the bottom of the Madonna I chairlift several feet below the lodge to obtain the honor of owning the world's longest bottom-drive chairlift at the time.

After this was done, Watson started on the village at Morse that he had envisioned. He hired Stanley Snider of Stanmar, a Massachusetts-based developer and Martha's Vineyard resort owner, to create that village. After a heart attack, Watson began to divest in some of his business holdings and sold Smuggs to Snider and Stanmar, who operated the resort for years. At that time Terpstra and Morrow constructed a large in-ground pool and 24 four-bedroom, four-bath, pool-front luxury condominiums. Terpstra is still a very active property owner at the entrance of the resort. They hired AT&T's Bill Stritzler, who owned a home at Smuggs, as the managing director of the resort. When Snider retired, he sold the resort to Stritzler.{{Cite news|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418204432/https://vtdigger.org/obituary/stanley-snider-one-of-vermonts-largest-employers-developer-of-smugglers-notch-resort-great-grandfather/|title=STANLEY SNIDER, ONE OF VERMONT’S LARGEST EMPLOYERS, DEVELOPER OF SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH RESORT, GREAT-GRANDFATHER|work=VTDigger|access-date=2022-04-18|language=en-US}}

Smugglers' Notch namesake comes from the smugglers of the early nineteenth century, who used the thick forest on the mountain range, and the caves and caverns along the Long Trail to transport illegal or embargoed goods across the Canada–US border. The notch was most likely involved in bootlegging during the Prohibition-era of the 1920s, using the same caves as a cache for smuggled Canadian beer, wine, and spirits. Scenic Smugglers' Notch proper comprises Sterling Mountain/Spruce Peak ridgeline to the east and Mount Mansfield to the west. Extremely steep terrain drops down into the notch where Vermont Route 108 winds through switchbacks below, connecting Smuggler's Notch Resort with adjacent Stowe Mountain Resort a few miles to the south. The road is closed to cars November–April, but open to snowmobilers and winter sports enthusiasts.

Image:Doc Dempsey's Glades-Smuggler's Notch.jpg

In the winter, the resort centers around skiing and snowboarding. A fleet of Hall double chairlifts service a variety of terrain, including novice trails at Morse Mountain and The Village area, and intermediate and expert terrain on the main mountains, Sterling and Madonna. Smugglers Notch is the only resort in Vermont with a triple black diamond.

Smugglers' Notch Resort is owned by William Stritzler.

Smugglers Notch has numerous heated pools and organized kids camps during the summer as well as a canopy tour that involves both scenic hikes and zip lines.

{{Weather box

|location = Smugglers Notch Resort 44.5890 N, 72.7869 W, Elevation: {{cvt|1163|ft}} (1991–2020 normals)

|single line = y

|Jan high F = 24.7

|Feb high F = 27.9

|Mar high F = 36.8

|Apr high F = 50.3

|May high F = 64.0

|Jun high F = 72.2

|Jul high F = 76.7

|Aug high F = 75.2

|Sep high F = 68.2

|Oct high F = 54.7

|Nov high F = 41.9

|Dec high F = 30.4

|Jan mean F = 15.9

|Feb mean F = 18.2

|Mar mean F = 27.4

|Apr mean F = 40.7

|May mean F = 53.8

|Jun mean F = 62.4

|Jul mean F = 66.9

|Aug mean F = 65.4

|Sep mean F = 58.1

|Oct mean F = 45.9

|Nov mean F = 34.3

|Dec mean F = 23.0

|Jan low F = 7.1

|Feb low F = 8.4

|Mar low F = 17.9

|Apr low F = 31.2

|May low F = 43.5

|Jun low F = 52.5

|Jul low F = 57.2

|Aug low F = 55.6

|Sep low F = 47.9

|Oct low F = 37.2

|Nov low F = 26.8

|Dec low F = 15.6

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.83

|Feb precipitation inch = 3.03

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.96

|Apr precipitation inch = 4.67

|May precipitation inch = 4.83

|Jun precipitation inch = 5.61

|Jul precipitation inch = 5.33

|Aug precipitation inch = 5.04

|Sep precipitation inch = 5.17

|Oct precipitation inch = 6.11

|Nov precipitation inch = 4.91

|Dec precipitation inch = 4.42

|Jan snow inch = 30.1

|Feb snow inch = 31.0

|Mar snow inch = 25.6

|Apr snow inch = 7.7

|May snow inch = 0.6

|Jun snow inch = 0.0

|Jul snow inch = 0.0

|Aug snow inch = 0.0

|Sep snow inch = 0.0

|Oct snow inch = 1.9

|Nov snow inch = 11.2

|Dec snow inch = 31.2

|year snow inch =

|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web

|url= http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/

|title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University

|publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University

|access-date= October 22, 2023

|quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Interpolate grid cell values; click Retrieve Time Series button.}}

|source 2 = NOAA (Jeffersonville snowfall)

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00434261&format=pdf

|title= Jeffersonville, Vermont 1991-2020 Monthly Normals

|access-date = October 22, 2023

}}

}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.smuggs.com Official website]
• [http://www.smuggs.com/pages/winter/snowReport/ Smuggs snow report]
• [http://www.smuggs.com/pages/winter/skiride/trail-map.php Ski map]

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Category:Buildings and structures in Cambridge, Vermont

Category:Ski areas and resorts in Vermont

Category:Timeshare

Category:Tourist attractions in Lamoille County, Vermont

Category:Buildings and structures in Lamoille County, Vermont