The Sterling lift comes very close to Stowe Mountain Resort even though it is an hour drive between the two mountains in winter.View up at tower 6.The first few towers.Unload ramp up top.The famous Long Trail which cuts across Vermont also travels right through the top terminal.Top operator house.View down from the summit.Another angle down the line.Top bullwheel and long tension carriage.And a big counterweight.There is a rare additional tower after where skiers get off.Bottom station overview.The lift line seen from T4.
Hardest-working double in the Northeast. And yes, you used to be able to fairly easy go back and forth to Spruce Peak at Stowe using the traverse over the Sterling Pond. The lifties would let you do a couple runs and then send you back. Those days of cooperation are long gone due to the frostiness of Stowe management.
Way back when the area was called Madonna you could buy a single trip ride for Big Spruce, ski over to Madonna and buy a discount ticket for IBMers there. Just don’t miss the last ride up
You are absolutely right about the proximity to Spruce Peak at Stowe. There are two trails connecting the two areas (one to Spruce Peak, and one back to Sterling), and assuming you’ve got a pass for both areas, you can ride Sterling, cut across to Stowe, and ski, and then come back at the end.
Also on a separate note, this is an awesome lift. In summer, you can enter the lift shack, and climb the return cage for views and a overview of the terminal. The Long Trail does indeed pass below it and several feet below there are massive anchors for tension and support cables.
An interesting thing about this lift is that it exclusively uses 4-sheave assemblies on all the towers. This also means that this is a rare example of a lift in which every tower has the same amount of sheaves on both the uphill and downhill sides.
The Gondola at Winter Park also has the same number of sheaves on each side. Towers 1 and 2 recently got catwalks to make it easier to access those large sheave assembly’s.
Vortex at Pat’s Peak is another Hall with the same number of sheaves on both sides of each tower. It has 100% downhill capacity, as it used to serve mountaintop weddings. There are still footprints painted on the wooden planks of the bottom loading/unloading area to show riders where to go once they unload. However, once they installed Peak Triple, they just use that, even if it takes longer to get the guests back to the lodge.
Hiked up or skied over to Stowe many times used to get a few rides a day on the old big pig at spruce peak stowe and runs back down the birthday bowls to smuggs. Snuffys the stowe trail to Smugs was abanded in the early 80s? when a groomer went trough Sterling pond ice. Since then its a boot pack trail with brush.
I skied Madonna mountain for the first time when Big Poma and little poma were the lifts .No Chairs .I was 8 or 9 years old.The next year Sterling was built and Madonna followed.my father joined the National Ski Patrol so his eight kids could
ski.we skied Madonna usually because it was close to Essex Junction where we lived My father lived in Jeffersonville when he was a kid and skied the hills around the area.So this was where we skied the most .Through high school I skied mostly at the area some at Stowe and some at Glenn Allen.I continue to ski there through the 70s .Madonna was rarely open because of wind which they would use the excuse to keep the lift closed on days that were not windy.
The mountain refused to put in snowmaking and they fell behind every other major areas
I left for sugarbush they were making tons of snow in December when they opened .295.00 for vt residents.stayed there for 6 years skied 30 to 60 days each year.Then someone from out of state sued because sugarbush is national forest and the tickets went to 495.00 still cheaper and way more skiing
Next year 695.00 . I left for jay peak driving from colchester over an hour drive to ski stateside because they made a ton of snow in December and opened the whole mountain.I bought season passes for 5 or 6 years .we bought a house in Cambridge in 1989 .
A new mountain ops manager was hired
He found out I was going to jay and living 10 minutes from Smuggs.Through a mutual friend he offered me a free ticket to check out the changes he had made
Snowmaking on FiS.He continued through his career to make smuggs a mountain for skiers.many trails were cut and the lift was lowered on top .He personally took pride in keeping M1 open
I was really impressed and since 1993 I’ve been pretty happy.Unfortunately Steve retired and things have been deteriorating badly .This year we’re still waiting for snowmaking on FiS .M1 hasn’t been opened until the last week in January that’s 2 months after it opens for the season.
Here’s my Point Mark Delaney does not know how to manage this mountain Hire someone who knows the ski end of the business . Give mountains op manager the room he needs and the support to run this area properly I know the people who are actually doing the work are doing so with there hands tied There a talented group of people who are stretched thin .
The lift chairs and most of the towers are original.they are made of mild steel which lifespan has passed.Everything around them has been replaced.Bull wheel,cable ,sheaves ,transmission ,motor grips ,are updated.
Stitzler knows the chairs are a liability and at this point need to be replaced .
They’re Mad River Retro theory doesn’t work here especially on outdated chairs.
I’ve heard every bull story they put out there.Downhill capacity would be too much for a high speed quad .fact is HSQ would make no difference in downhill or up hill capacity.
Great mountain .been 30 straight years of season passes .This could be the last can’t wait 2 months to ski on the main mountain.February is a couple days away
They’re just getting to snowmaking on FIS and they Shut M1 down for three days . What’s the reason.you got one last bull$&@! Story for me
Lift Blog 
from the day I visited/filmed
speed: 510 fpm
ride time: 10:50
towers: 29
chairs: 190
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I really dislike Smuggs, its not my cup of tea, but of all the lifts, this is my favorite.
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Hardest-working double in the Northeast. And yes, you used to be able to fairly easy go back and forth to Spruce Peak at Stowe using the traverse over the Sterling Pond. The lifties would let you do a couple runs and then send you back. Those days of cooperation are long gone due to the frostiness of Stowe management.
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Way back when the area was called Madonna you could buy a single trip ride for Big Spruce, ski over to Madonna and buy a discount ticket for IBMers there. Just don’t miss the last ride up
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The cliff is kinda scary (The pic isn’t here)
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You are absolutely right about the proximity to Spruce Peak at Stowe. There are two trails connecting the two areas (one to Spruce Peak, and one back to Sterling), and assuming you’ve got a pass for both areas, you can ride Sterling, cut across to Stowe, and ski, and then come back at the end.
Also on a separate note, this is an awesome lift. In summer, you can enter the lift shack, and climb the return cage for views and a overview of the terminal. The Long Trail does indeed pass below it and several feet below there are massive anchors for tension and support cables.
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A awsome vault drive hall
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In a straight line, it’s about 2,900 feet from the top of Sensation (Stowe) to the top of Sterling.
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This lift has 29 towers, not 19 as listed on the spreadsheet.
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Whats with all the bricks on the counterweight? –
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They might have added more chairs so naturally had to add extra weight to the counterweight to balance it.
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An interesting thing about this lift is that it exclusively uses 4-sheave assemblies on all the towers. This also means that this is a rare example of a lift in which every tower has the same amount of sheaves on both the uphill and downhill sides.
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The Gondola at Winter Park also has the same number of sheaves on each side. Towers 1 and 2 recently got catwalks to make it easier to access those large sheave assembly’s.
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Vortex at Pat’s Peak is another Hall with the same number of sheaves on both sides of each tower. It has 100% downhill capacity, as it used to serve mountaintop weddings. There are still footprints painted on the wooden planks of the bottom loading/unloading area to show riders where to go once they unload. However, once they installed Peak Triple, they just use that, even if it takes longer to get the guests back to the lodge.
LikeLike
Hiked up or skied over to Stowe many times used to get a few rides a day on the old big pig at spruce peak stowe and runs back down the birthday bowls to smuggs. Snuffys the stowe trail to Smugs was abanded in the early 80s? when a groomer went trough Sterling pond ice. Since then its a boot pack trail with brush.
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I skied Madonna mountain for the first time when Big Poma and little poma were the lifts .No Chairs .I was 8 or 9 years old.The next year Sterling was built and Madonna followed.my father joined the National Ski Patrol so his eight kids could
ski.we skied Madonna usually because it was close to Essex Junction where we lived My father lived in Jeffersonville when he was a kid and skied the hills around the area.So this was where we skied the most .Through high school I skied mostly at the area some at Stowe and some at Glenn Allen.I continue to ski there through the 70s .Madonna was rarely open because of wind which they would use the excuse to keep the lift closed on days that were not windy.
The mountain refused to put in snowmaking and they fell behind every other major areas
I left for sugarbush they were making tons of snow in December when they opened .295.00 for vt residents.stayed there for 6 years skied 30 to 60 days each year.Then someone from out of state sued because sugarbush is national forest and the tickets went to 495.00 still cheaper and way more skiing
Next year 695.00 . I left for jay peak driving from colchester over an hour drive to ski stateside because they made a ton of snow in December and opened the whole mountain.I bought season passes for 5 or 6 years .we bought a house in Cambridge in 1989 .
A new mountain ops manager was hired
He found out I was going to jay and living 10 minutes from Smuggs.Through a mutual friend he offered me a free ticket to check out the changes he had made
Snowmaking on FiS.He continued through his career to make smuggs a mountain for skiers.many trails were cut and the lift was lowered on top .He personally took pride in keeping M1 open
I was really impressed and since 1993 I’ve been pretty happy.Unfortunately Steve retired and things have been deteriorating badly .This year we’re still waiting for snowmaking on FiS .M1 hasn’t been opened until the last week in January that’s 2 months after it opens for the season.
Here’s my Point Mark Delaney does not know how to manage this mountain Hire someone who knows the ski end of the business . Give mountains op manager the room he needs and the support to run this area properly I know the people who are actually doing the work are doing so with there hands tied There a talented group of people who are stretched thin .
The lift chairs and most of the towers are original.they are made of mild steel which lifespan has passed.Everything around them has been replaced.Bull wheel,cable ,sheaves ,transmission ,motor grips ,are updated.
Stitzler knows the chairs are a liability and at this point need to be replaced .
They’re Mad River Retro theory doesn’t work here especially on outdated chairs.
I’ve heard every bull story they put out there.Downhill capacity would be too much for a high speed quad .fact is HSQ would make no difference in downhill or up hill capacity.
Great mountain .been 30 straight years of season passes .This could be the last can’t wait 2 months to ski on the main mountain.February is a couple days away
They’re just getting to snowmaking on FIS and they Shut M1 down for three days . What’s the reason.you got one last bull$&@! Story for me
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