Skiing at Smuggs Year 3!

The day after the storm with the most snow ever we left for our ski trip at Smugglers Notch Vermont. It was like a different world all around us and I could not help take some photos of the roadway. This happens to be the same stretch of road J photographed whilst we were driving to the New Canaan Nature classes back in the Autumn.









hehehe!!! this is an 'Iced vovo'....hehehe!!!!
Well, we thought it was pretty funny.



I think I put a photo of this tunnel in last time, but it is impressive, not really long but looks so cool.


On our first night in smuggs our friends K and J and parents joined us for curries for dinner. We shared our condo with E and her boys again this year which was great and worked out fabulously for us all once again. On Monday night our group had a pot luck get together and we were able to catch up with some of the folks we met at Smuggs before, some others we had not seen for a while and met some new ones. It was so different to our first year where we really did not know any one, now we know lots. I almost wish for a 5th year here just for another week at Smuggs.





Mother Nature comes to Smugs on Wednesdays. She has a teepee and sets a fire, warms apple cider and gives the children marshmellows to roast. She tells stories about nature and animals and how they survivie in the winter. We stopped in for a few minutes to see her and she had a bear paw which was pretty cool to see. It was not from a really big bear but still impressive.




















Here we all are in various poses and places. It was such fabulous weather this year - so much warmer (about 15C warmer) than last year. We skiied on the day we arrived (Sunday) and every day after than including the day we left (Friday) it was excellent. I had some trouble with my knee this year. I think it was a combination of not skiing at all before the trip (last year we skiied every week in Dec/Jan) and also taking on a few more challenging runs (the first year I did only the beginner slope and greens). I was very sore by the end of the second day and that stayed with me all week. It was the first time I thought that my skiing days might actually be numbered a little smaller than I first thought, ah well, I hope to get at least one season in at home before my knees give in all together.



























Our boys had an intro to snow boarding lesson at night time, they really enjoyed it. Although it is harder than skiing at first those in the know tell me it is easier to master than skiing. The boys were well prepared for a difficult first lesson with many stories about spending time on your bum and falling over alot. They did well, I think W may do a little more in the future, but not sure about M. Of course having a lesson at the end of the day after a full day of skiing is a little tiring. I was impressed that they had a go and had big smiles at the end.







Here are some mountain views without us interfering with the lovely scenery. It was very beautiful at the Top of Madonna. We skiied a few runs from here, took us about 20 minutes to get down which is pretty good since Morse takes us about 5 minutes. Always on the blue slopes (although W and D did a few blacks from time to time!!) but plenty of challenges along the way - always a bit scary approaching the 'edge' of the slope and not being about to see what is below until you get right there.



From the top of Madonna mountain - highest at Smuggs is a view of Stowe Mountain, apparently a little more up market than smuggs, of course wtih corresponding prices!!




























This funny view greated us about two thirds up the Madonna lift - I guess March is mardigras month and in New Orleans it is all about beads and boobs.











On our last night the 5 of us and E and her youngest son D, went for a 'Family Snow Shoe Adventure' it was too dark to take photos and the flash would have destroyed our night vision. It was very fun and we actually learned a few things too. I have an idea for you all to try with your children. Buy some Wintergreen lifesavers. At night, when it is very dark give them a life saver each - tell them to watch each other (they can take turns but they can't tell the other what they see) they need to chew fast with their mouth wide open (kids have to love that in itself since we are always reminding them to keep their mouth closed when they eat). You'll probably guess what is going to happen but I won't tell you just in case. It is a reaction between the nitrogen in the air, sugar and wintergreen oil in the life saver....very cool.




As we got closer to home (still about an hour away) the traffic began to increase - those heading out of New York perhpaps for a weekend skiing had it worse than we did but we were also held up and took about 40 minutes extra to get home.