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!
I don't know man, even as someone on the West Coast with our big mountains and big snowfalls, more and more of my time reading & listening to The Storm makes me want to fly out East one of the years! Hah!
Although Killington and its sibling resort Pico have been on my ski resort bucket list since I was a kid.
Hit Northern Vermont in a storm cycle and it’s as good as anything man. Especially Jay. It’s just sooooo hard to time it and freeze-thaws/rain kill the buzz so fast after 70% of the storms. But there are tons of ski areas out here and they have a ton of personality. It’s worth it from that perspective alone.
One of these future years if I was to fly out to the East Coast, would you recommend an Ikon, Indy or Epic Pass? Or pairing two mega-passes? Like this year, I've paired the Epic and Indy passes... Which is an entertaining contradiction.
You could have a really good two weeks in the East with just the Indy Pass. Two days each at Jay and Saddleback and Cannon, then one day each at the rest, and you're having a good time.
If you have a bit more time, and Ikon Base gets you the best overall collection of terrain. Loon and Stratton are a bit tamer (though Stratton has great glades), but Killington, Sugarbush, Sugarloaf, and Sunday River are some of the best we've got. Pico basically has the same types of terrain as Killington (it's right next door), but a lot fewer people.
Snag at least one Epic Day Ticket for Stowe. Or get the Midweek Epic and explore.
Cheapest way to do it is probably Indy combined with Midweek Epic if you want to do two passes. That's ~$500 for a lot of mountains.
I knew you were the right dude (not Bro) to ask about that!
What's cool about the East Coast, especially over the past few years is how condensed the resorts on the mega-passes are. Regardless if someone chooses an Ikon Pass, Epic Pass or Indy Pass (or multiple), a convenient itinerary is always available.
If I were to make a guess from how many times you've referenced it in comments and articles, Jay Peak must be one of your personal favorites?
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.
100% agree and Bohemia is at the top of my list. I'll see if I can make it happen.
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!
I’m stoked to hear that. Both ski areas are terrific, and together they’re even more amazing.
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!
Wow - that's is some really awesome info. So glad to hear that. Don't worry - the old lifts and no Epic Pass will keep people away all on their own!
Go Blue!
I don't know man, even as someone on the West Coast with our big mountains and big snowfalls, more and more of my time reading & listening to The Storm makes me want to fly out East one of the years! Hah!
Although Killington and its sibling resort Pico have been on my ski resort bucket list since I was a kid.
Hit Northern Vermont in a storm cycle and it’s as good as anything man. Especially Jay. It’s just sooooo hard to time it and freeze-thaws/rain kill the buzz so fast after 70% of the storms. But there are tons of ski areas out here and they have a ton of personality. It’s worth it from that perspective alone.
One of these future years if I was to fly out to the East Coast, would you recommend an Ikon, Indy or Epic Pass? Or pairing two mega-passes? Like this year, I've paired the Epic and Indy passes... Which is an entertaining contradiction.
You could have a really good two weeks in the East with just the Indy Pass. Two days each at Jay and Saddleback and Cannon, then one day each at the rest, and you're having a good time.
If you have a bit more time, and Ikon Base gets you the best overall collection of terrain. Loon and Stratton are a bit tamer (though Stratton has great glades), but Killington, Sugarbush, Sugarloaf, and Sunday River are some of the best we've got. Pico basically has the same types of terrain as Killington (it's right next door), but a lot fewer people.
Snag at least one Epic Day Ticket for Stowe. Or get the Midweek Epic and explore.
Cheapest way to do it is probably Indy combined with Midweek Epic if you want to do two passes. That's ~$500 for a lot of mountains.
I knew you were the right dude (not Bro) to ask about that!
What's cool about the East Coast, especially over the past few years is how condensed the resorts on the mega-passes are. Regardless if someone chooses an Ikon Pass, Epic Pass or Indy Pass (or multiple), a convenient itinerary is always available.
If I were to make a guess from how many times you've referenced it in comments and articles, Jay Peak must be one of your personal favorites?
Fascinating podcast! Great Mountain! Thanks for the listen. ;)