Sunday, March 16, 2014

On the Road: Smugglers' Notch

via Smugglers' Notch Vermont
My Wife's employer has a well-established relationship with Smugglers' Notch, one of the most popular ski resorts in northern Vermont.  As part of that relationship, Smuggs donates several vacation packages a year for the company to use for VIPs and the like.  Every once in a while, though, the company throws a few of the packages to their employees and we were among the lucky ones this time!

We have lived in Vermont for twelve years and have somehow managed to avoid the ski culture almost entirely.  As I have a fear of heights, downhill skiing has never held much appeal.  My feeling is that while mountains are pretty, they are best appreciated from a distance.  But there's no denying that skiing is a major source of tourist revenue here.  When one moves to Vermont from out of state, the locals reflexively make the assumption that skiing was the draw.  Why else, they wonder, would anyone willingly endure the long, brutal winters?  Smuggs is one of the more affordable ski areas in the area and the most popular with the locals as a result.  So I wasn't surprised to run into a few familiar faces over the weekend.

While we haven't done it much, I am open to the idea of cross-country skiing.  So, rather than jumping at the free lift tickets, we opted for a cross-country lesson as our outdoor activity for the weekend.  Our lesson was excellent, our instructor Kara knowledgeable, patient and encouraging.  Cross-country skiing is hard work, though.  While a significantly cheaper hobby than downhill, it's more taxing than snowshoeing which is near idiot-proof.  Going down even a modest incline in skis is still anxious for a wimp like me.  I recommend the instruction highly but long term, it's not a hobby I'm likely to pursue.  Of the three of us, Our Girl was easily the most confident.  She gets to ski in PE, the lucky kid

A ski resort is like a tiny, self-contained city.  In addition to the numerous lodging options, there's a central area with a general store, restaurants, outfitters, an indoor pool and so forth.  Our condo was a decent distance from the village center, which was fine by me.  In fact, my favorite part of the vacation was the free shuttle service.  I have found that, in general, my ideal holiday involves as little driving as possible and Smuggs was most accommodating.  We had plenty of space - probably more square footage than we have on the main floor of our house.  We could almost live there if not for the troubling lack of bookshelves.

The low-light of the experience was the resort's mid-range restaurant, the Morse Mountain Grille.  We went the first night with a big group and it was disastrous.  Our order took forever, even the drinks.  We all stared at an empty table for nearly an hour.  The numerous children with us, including our daughter, were amazingly patient but the adults got restless, then irritated, then angry.  The food itself, once it came, was fine.  But the piss-poor service ruined the meal.

The weekend was very nice, though I'm not sure there's much point in spending a weekend at a ski resort if one doesn't ski.  If we should be offered the opportunity again, I'd vote for bringing our snowshoes and exploring the numerous trails on offer.  It was fun to observe the skiers bustling about, an entire subculture that runs parallel to our everyday experience living nearby.  Other resorts - namely Stowe - cater to the international crowd but I saw license plates from as far away as Ontario and Maryland.  It's certainly tough to complain about a vacation when someone else is paying!

22 comments:

  1. Snow skiing is one of the most fun things I've ever done.
    Downhill, that is. I've never done cross-country.
    Of course, it has been more than 20 years since I've skied.

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    1. Part of me feels I should try it sometime, just because everyone I know who does it loves it. But I have no idea how I'd react once I got up there...

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  2. I used to cross-country ski in Yosemite every winter. You've made me want to get back into it.

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  3. My own downhill experience was conducted from a toboggan, well-padded by people in front and rear. You can't get that degree of protection and intimacy upon skis --nor do I imagine I could long remain upon them. Cross-country sounds like a prudent compromise

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    1. Sledding feels safer to me. It probably isn't at all - but that's phobia for you.

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  4. We use to ski Badger Pass at Yosemite for many years. Laguna Beach School all took a week off for February Ski Week.
    Then some crazy lady who shouldn't have been on skis hit me and my knees have never been the same. No more skiing for me.
    Glad you had a nice time.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. I'm pretty sure the only time my father ever went skiing, he broke his leg. So, there went any parental encouragement I was ever likely to get.

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  5. I like how you said "near" idiot proof re: snow shoeing - I've done that, and did fall over a few times. :) But it was quite fun "falling" down a hill, I more slid down than anything.

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    1. Going downhill, whether it be in skis, snowshoes or hiking boots, is always more stressful for me than uphill.

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  6. Awesome vacation. I always find snow relaxing to look at even if I don't ski.

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    1. It was fun. I prefer the beach or the woods but it was fun.

      Snow relaxing? I think I'm well past the too much of a good thing point for this year.

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  7. Your daughter skis in PE? Wow! How cool is that?
    I gave up x-country for awhile, and only did snowshoeing, but the past few years I've done a bit more x-c again. I'm extremely inelegant going down slopes on x-c skis though.
    Considering your trip was a freebie it sounds kinda fun, minus the restaurant. Ski resorts have a hard time keeping kitchen help through the whole season; they were probably not staffed properly. :(

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    1. She does get to ski. I sure never got that growing up!

      I think staffing may well have been the issue at the restaurant. The wait staff could have presented a better face but I don't think they were the ones holding things up.

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  8. This was a really nice post. Sorry about the service at the restaurant. That stinks. :(

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  9. I loved your post. But about that service...:(

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  10. I miss downhill skiing so very much! I loathe cross country...my last school was so small we took all of the kids up the mountain to a cross country range once a month during the winter....ugh....

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    1. Heheheh...

      How does cross country skiing compare to a whale watch?

      Coming at me from the other screen name, sir!

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  11. "In fact, my favorite part of the vacation was the free shuttle service."

    This would probably be my daughter's favorite part of the trip too. You just can't beat great, free shuttle service.

    We used to live in Colorado with all those majestic mountains, but, much like you, I never had any interest in skiing or snowboarding. My husband was born to ride the slopes, but has since given it up over an old knee injury. I understand your need not to give into ski peer pressure. I had no interest in it either. What a fun trip though!

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