Skiing Smugglers Notch - Smugglers Notch had me worried. All of the advertising you see for it proclaims, “Number One resort for Families”. Not being a fan of kids, naturally I was less than enthused to be going there this past weekend for a second anniversary trip. Was I wrong!

There weren’t many kids on the challenging terrain off the Sterling and Madonna lifts. I found the views among the best in Vermont, the trails Interesting (something rare for New England), and I had Extreme Fun, even when it rained solidly for over an hour and we got saturated before lunch. After lunch the sun came out a little, and we skied till we were wiped out. The snow was EXCELLENT for this time of year, this year, and it was never an issue. Had it been a little colder, it would have been icy, but there wasn’t a whole lot of bad snow to be found. The lodge is a little small for the crowds I imagine would be there on a good weekend, but on this Super Bowl Sunday, it was fairly empty. Good timing on our part.

There is a separate mountain down the road where the kids ski school is, and a shuttle bus runs between the two. From what I hear, the instruction for kids is unparalleled. I rather liked the idea of kids on one hill. It decreases the chances for accidents and kids would learn faster if their parents didn’t take them onto steeper terrain before they’re ready. I’ll go back next year when there’s good snow, because I’m betting Smuggs will be a BLAST to ski. Bonni