Smuggler's Notch
Encyclopedia
Smugglers' Notch is a resort area in the Town of Cambridge
, near Jeffersonville, Vermont
. Its vertical drop of 2610 feet (795.5 m) is the fourth largest in New England
and the third largest in Vermont
. Its namesake
is a narrow notch (mountain pass
) running adjacent to Sterling Mountain, which smugglers used many years ago. Smugglers' Notch is nicknamed Smuggs. It consists of three mountains: Morse Mountain, Madonna and Sterling Mountains. The resort attracts skiiers in the winter and summer vacationers during the warmer months.
s) on Sterling Mountain.
In the early 1960s, Tom Watson, Jr., Chairman of IBM
, became involved with the mountain. The site of the village today was an open field and logging station. Watson envisioned a village patterned after those found in Europe. Soon, he developed the nearby Morse and Madonna mountains. It is said that Watson placed the bottom of the Madonna I chairlift several feet below the lodge to obtain the honor of owning the world's longest bottom-drive chairlift at the time.
After this was done, Watson started on the Village at Morse that he had envisioned. He hired Stanley Snider of Stanmar, a Massachusetts
-based developer and Martha's Vineyard
resort owner, to create that village. After a heart attack, Watson began to divest in some of his business holdings and sold Smuggs to Snider and Stanmar, who operated the resort for years. At that time Terpstra and Morrow constructed a large in-ground pool and 24 four-bedroom, four-bath, pool-front luxury condominiums. Terpstra is still a very active property owner at the entrance of the resort. They hired AT&T's Bill Stritzler, who owned a home at Smuggs, as the Managing Director of the resort. When Snider retired, he sold the resort to Stritzler.
The notch was most likely involved in bootlegging
during the Prohibition
-era of the 1920s, using the same caves as a cache for smuggled Canadian beer, wine, and spirits.
Scenic Smugglers' Notch proper comprises the Sterling Mountain/Spruce Peak ridgeline to the east and Mount Mansfield
to the west. Extremely steep terrain drops down into the notch where Vermont Route 108
winds through switchbacks below, connecting Smuggler's Notch Resort with adjacent Stowe Mountain Resort
a few miles to the south. The road is closed to cars November–April, but open to snowmobilers and winter sports enthusiasts.
In the winter the resort centers around skiing and snowboarding. "Smuggs" claims the second highest snowfall average in Vermont behind Jay Peak. A fleet of Hall
double chairlifts service a variety of terrain, including novice trails at Morse Mountain and The Village area and intermediate and expert terrain on the main mountains, Sterling and Madonna. Smugglers Notch has been rated the number one family ski resort for years.
Cambridge, Vermont
Cambridge is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,186 at the 2000 U.S. Census. Cambridge includes the village of Jeffersonville.-History:...
, near Jeffersonville, Vermont
Jeffersonville, Vermont
Jeffersonville is a village in the town of Cambridge, Vermont, United States. The population was 568 at the 2000 census.-History:The village was originally called Cambridge Center, the name was changed to Jeffersonville in 1827 to honor Thomas Jefferson...
. Its vertical drop of 2610 feet (795.5 m) is the fourth largest in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and the third largest in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Its namesake
Smugglers Notch
Smugglers Notch is a mountain pass in Lamoille County, Vermont.The notch separates Mount Mansfield, the highest peak of the Green Mountains, from Spruce Peak and the Sterling Range....
is a narrow notch (mountain pass
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
) running adjacent to Sterling Mountain, which smugglers used many years ago. Smugglers' Notch is nicknamed Smuggs. It consists of three mountains: Morse Mountain, Madonna and Sterling Mountains. The resort attracts skiiers in the winter and summer vacationers during the warmer months.
History
Smugglers' Notch was founded 1956, by a group of Vermont skiers. The first lifts were two pomas (or platter liftPlatter lift
A platter lift , platter pull or button lift is a surface lift, a mechanized system for pulling skiers and snowboarders uphill, along the surface of the slope. In Europe they are also known as Poma lifts...
s) on Sterling Mountain.
In the early 1960s, Tom Watson, Jr., Chairman of IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, became involved with the mountain. The site of the village today was an open field and logging station. Watson envisioned a village patterned after those found in Europe. Soon, he developed the nearby Morse and Madonna mountains. It is said that Watson placed the bottom of the Madonna I chairlift several feet below the lodge to obtain the honor of owning the world's longest bottom-drive chairlift at the time.
After this was done, Watson started on the Village at Morse that he had envisioned. He hired Stanley Snider of Stanmar, a Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
-based developer and Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
resort owner, to create that village. After a heart attack, Watson began to divest in some of his business holdings and sold Smuggs to Snider and Stanmar, who operated the resort for years. At that time Terpstra and Morrow constructed a large in-ground pool and 24 four-bedroom, four-bath, pool-front luxury condominiums. Terpstra is still a very active property owner at the entrance of the resort. They hired AT&T's Bill Stritzler, who owned a home at Smuggs, as the Managing Director of the resort. When Snider retired, he sold the resort to Stritzler.
Area
Smugglers' Notch namesake comes from the smugglers almost 200 years ago, who used the thick forest on the mountain range and the caves and caverns along the Long Trail to transport illegal or embargoed goods across the Canadian border.The notch was most likely involved in bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
during the Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
-era of the 1920s, using the same caves as a cache for smuggled Canadian beer, wine, and spirits.
Scenic Smugglers' Notch proper comprises the Sterling Mountain/Spruce Peak ridgeline to the east and Mount Mansfield
Mount Mansfield
Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont with a summit that peaks at above sea level. The summit is in Underhill; the ridgeline, including some secondary peaks, extends into the town of Stowe, and the mountain's flanks also reach into the town of Cambridge.When viewed from the east or...
to the west. Extremely steep terrain drops down into the notch where Vermont Route 108
Vermont Route 108
Vermont Route 108 is a north–south state highway in northern Vermont, United States. Its southern terminus is at VT 100 in Stowe, and its northern terminus is at the Canadian border in Franklin, where it continues into Quebec as Route 237. VT 108 is long.-Route...
winds through switchbacks below, connecting Smuggler's Notch Resort with adjacent Stowe Mountain Resort
Stowe Mountain Resort
Stowe Mountain Resort is a ski resort near the town of Stowe in northern Vermont, comprising two separate mountains: Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak. The vertical drop from Mount Mansfield of is the fifth largest in New England and the fourth largest in Vermont. The resort is primarily owned by...
a few miles to the south. The road is closed to cars November–April, but open to snowmobilers and winter sports enthusiasts.
Winter
Hall Ski-Lift
Hall Ski-Lift was a New York based ski lift manufacturing and installation company. Popular because of pricing and durability, Hall's lifts sold by the hundreds between 1955 and 1982, ranging from T-Bars to fixed grip quad chairlifts...
double chairlifts service a variety of terrain, including novice trails at Morse Mountain and The Village area and intermediate and expert terrain on the main mountains, Sterling and Madonna. Smugglers Notch has been rated the number one family ski resort for years.