Day 2 - Stranger Things Have Happened…

The sleep was sound for the exception of a 4am visitor into Cody and Nikki’s room. A younger kid, maybe the age of 18, came in to the unlocked condo and wandered into their room. Most definitely intoxicated, he quickly realized he was in a very wrong place. Recounted the next morning, he said “You’ll be glad to know that I’m leaving,” stumbled over to Cody and said “Give me five” to which Cody obliged, and our stranger ran out of the room, house, and lives forever. It made for some interesting talk to start the day.

After posing as ski club patrons and copping a free breakfast, we made it on to the mountain by a little after 9am. Another day of sunshine, mild temperatures and wind, and great snow pack. Cody’s younger cousins Little Thorn, Cole, and Rylee all joined us on the mountain for a day of riding and skiing. We began by dumping in to some tight and quick glades. Northern tree skiing is exhilarating, unlike anywhere else I have ever skied. You are constantly playing dodgeball with tree branches and stumps or ollieing over exposed rock, always100% engaged. Later in the day Nikki and the rest of the crew departed and Cody and I took to some gnarly runs under the Madonna lift. Tons of exposed rock, ice and tree, some very nice 5-6 footer drops within the bumps, and very steep. It was some of the more technical stuff I have ever had the pleasure of skiing on the East Coast. Cody and I both made two solid runs at it and called time out for Gatorade and beer (separately of course). After our break we made two more runs and ended the day around 3:45.

Smugglers’ has solid terrain that would please both the intermediate and experts in a group. The facilities for families are top notch and I see why it is considered one of best for that demographic. A word to the wise, the lift system is slow as mud. Nothing is high speed and all is two person. I cannot imagine this place on a truly crowded weekend. You may, as I did on this particular occasion, find this attribute somewhat endearing due to the old school nature, a bit of a throwback to the roots of North American skiing.

At the end of the day we headed back to the now vacated condo where we stayed last night. We entered well after the designated check out and decided we could sneak some showers (since there won’t be any for another couple of days). Nikki and I were in, out, and in the clear. Cody took the last shower and was getting dressed as the cleaning crew arrived. He attempted to bolt out of the backdoor, some other events occurred of which I have a poor understanding, and he eventually made it back to the van without much confrontation. We closed the doors and hit it to the top of the Smuggs’ Pass to cook up some dogs and throw back a few Premiums. This essentially gets me to where I am now, slightly buzzed in the back of the van, listening to Phish while Cody and Nikki snack on Ben and Jerry’s, and a beautifully hued sunset graces the mountains of Vermont. Tonight we explore Mad River Glen and shack up in the Roadtrek. See you all soon.

Enjoy,
Chris