Great podcast. Mr. Stritzler sounds like a terrific owner who really cares about the customer experience. I think Smuggs is one of the few places in Vermont I've never been to. Moving this to the top of the list for this year.
Love the podcast! It's great to hear about the bigger Indy ski areas, as well as some smaller ones! Any plans to talk to someone from Mt Bohemia soon? Especially since the $99 season pass sale has started I think they'd be a great place to talk about.
What a refreshing podcast to listen to. So nice to find a ski area that prioritizes the skiing experience and sustainability (not using that in an environmental context). Compared to so many other ski areas which seem to prioritize bigger lifts, higher prices, and more people year over year. Which isn't always a bad thing, but as has been clearly pointed out here, is reaching a point of ridiculousness at Steamboat and many other ski areas where the day ticket price is higher than some ski area's season passes.
Yet another point for indie mountains. Listening to these guys just makes you want to go there. Was hoping he'd announce an upcoming partnership with the Indy Pass, or that it was under active consideration, and he threw cold water on that. I do see his point, though - being the outlier probably does add a bit of mystique/cache to Smugglers' Notch, at least for now. I'll probably miss it this year as I explore the Indy Pass offerings - virtually all for the first time - with the family, but Smugg's is on my short list for off-pass trips.
You have been a busy writer/interviewer recently Stuart, keep up the good work! This podcast gave me enough info to start planning for 22/23 winter.
I haven't been to Smuggs since the 90's!. I am ready to return! Next year, the family will have Bash Badges to compliment our Epics! We can spend a week in the area and ski both Stowe and Smuggs from 1 ski on/off spot! What a blast!
Smugglers Notch marches to its own beat. We have a timeshare at Smugglers Notch that provides us with a ski-in, ski-out 2 bedroom condo with room for 10 people for two weeks a year (one week is the week between Christmas and new years). Because of our timeshare Smugglers Notch offered a 10 YEAR benefit package that cost each family member only $1000 - this one time payment of $4000 now provides the entire family free lift tickets, access to all of the resort's amenities, discounts on food and retail, and discounted tickets for any friends staying with us FOR TEN YEARS!!!! Two years ago, with our benefited discount, it cost our friends ONLY $240 to ski at the resort for five days! I ski all over the country, but every year it's becoming harder and harder to justify skiing anywhere other than Smugglers Notch. Northern Vermont is beautiful, the mountains challenge me, Burlington and Montreal are two of my favorite North American cities, the beer is great, and the food fills me. And, the resort's cost is comparable to what we pay to ski at the local 250 foot vertical ski hills around Metro Detroit. I'm not sure I could've provided my two young girls the experience of big mountain skiing (we live in Michigan) without the consumer-friendly benefits and programs available through Smugglers Notch. We have 10 years of ski trips paid for and it cost me as much as it would cost me to buy the family Ikon passes for one season. It's a very generous place especially for those of us interested in sharing our love of skiing with our kids. But, you need to stop telling everyone about it. ;) As always, great job Stewart. Go Blue!
Great podcast. Mr. Stritzler sounds like a terrific owner who really cares about the customer experience. I think Smuggs is one of the few places in Vermont I've never been to. Moving this to the top of the list for this year.
Love the podcast! It's great to hear about the bigger Indy ski areas, as well as some smaller ones! Any plans to talk to someone from Mt Bohemia soon? Especially since the $99 season pass sale has started I think they'd be a great place to talk about.
What a refreshing podcast to listen to. So nice to find a ski area that prioritizes the skiing experience and sustainability (not using that in an environmental context). Compared to so many other ski areas which seem to prioritize bigger lifts, higher prices, and more people year over year. Which isn't always a bad thing, but as has been clearly pointed out here, is reaching a point of ridiculousness at Steamboat and many other ski areas where the day ticket price is higher than some ski area's season passes.
Yet another point for indie mountains. Listening to these guys just makes you want to go there. Was hoping he'd announce an upcoming partnership with the Indy Pass, or that it was under active consideration, and he threw cold water on that. I do see his point, though - being the outlier probably does add a bit of mystique/cache to Smugglers' Notch, at least for now. I'll probably miss it this year as I explore the Indy Pass offerings - virtually all for the first time - with the family, but Smugg's is on my short list for off-pass trips.
You have been a busy writer/interviewer recently Stuart, keep up the good work! This podcast gave me enough info to start planning for 22/23 winter.
I haven't been to Smuggs since the 90's!. I am ready to return! Next year, the family will have Bash Badges to compliment our Epics! We can spend a week in the area and ski both Stowe and Smuggs from 1 ski on/off spot! What a blast!
Smugglers Notch marches to its own beat. We have a timeshare at Smugglers Notch that provides us with a ski-in, ski-out 2 bedroom condo with room for 10 people for two weeks a year (one week is the week between Christmas and new years). Because of our timeshare Smugglers Notch offered a 10 YEAR benefit package that cost each family member only $1000 - this one time payment of $4000 now provides the entire family free lift tickets, access to all of the resort's amenities, discounts on food and retail, and discounted tickets for any friends staying with us FOR TEN YEARS!!!! Two years ago, with our benefited discount, it cost our friends ONLY $240 to ski at the resort for five days! I ski all over the country, but every year it's becoming harder and harder to justify skiing anywhere other than Smugglers Notch. Northern Vermont is beautiful, the mountains challenge me, Burlington and Montreal are two of my favorite North American cities, the beer is great, and the food fills me. And, the resort's cost is comparable to what we pay to ski at the local 250 foot vertical ski hills around Metro Detroit. I'm not sure I could've provided my two young girls the experience of big mountain skiing (we live in Michigan) without the consumer-friendly benefits and programs available through Smugglers Notch. We have 10 years of ski trips paid for and it cost me as much as it would cost me to buy the family Ikon passes for one season. It's a very generous place especially for those of us interested in sharing our love of skiing with our kids. But, you need to stop telling everyone about it. ;) As always, great job Stewart. Go Blue!
Fascinating podcast! Great Mountain! Thanks for the listen. ;)