After Saturday's conditions at Jay Peak I nearly headed home Saturday night instead of sticking around northern Vermont for Smuggs on Sunday. I'm glad that I decided to stay. <BR> <BR>Although Smuggs had less snow on the ground than Jay -- decidedly less -- the consistency was remarkably better. At first I was a bit concerned heading up 108 from Jeffersonville and seeing Morse Mountain with only traces of snow left in the steady drizzle, but my concerns turned out to be unfounded. A couple of hundred verts above the Madonna base lodge the rain turned to wet snow. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3724.jpg" ALT="Snow falling on Madonna's Upper Liftline"> <BR> <BR>The snow falling at the summit was legitimate, but midway down the flakes got wetter and wetter until they'd stick in clumps to your goggle lens. The moments spent in the rain at the base were fleeting as we quickly boarded the lift to return to frozen precipitation. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3725.jpg" ALT="Base of the Madonna I chair"> <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3726.jpg" ALT="Lower Liftline"> <BR> <BR>Unlike the grey refrozen crap lying underneath the dusting of new glue at Jay, the stuff at Smuggs was noticably different. Runs like Upper FIS felt like mid-winter snowmaking form. Cover was decidedly thinner over on Sterling, and the snow there much more spring-like. Many runs were closed for lack of cover, but this stretch of Lower Exhibition was actually open: <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3727.jpg" ALT="Lower Exhibition"> <BR> <BR>We had to laugh after skiing Pipeline Escape, which had only an orange disc marking "Thin Cover". Upon reaching the intersection with Jolly Rodger there are three possible choices down -- more of Pipeline Escape, Deer Run Glades, or Jolly Rodger -- but inexplicably all were roped off and closed. We had arrived at that intersection legitimately, yet every route down from there was off-limits! Somebody hadn't quite figured that one out correctly... <BR> <BR>Other runs on Sterling, such as this stretch of Birch Run, had nearly perfect cover: <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3728.jpg" ALT="Birch Run"> <BR> <BR>We went in for lunch around noon to dry out our clothes by the fireplace as we ate, but soon the rain became steadier. Content in the knowledge that we had some great runs given the recent weather events, we opted to remain dry and call it a day. <BR> <BR>Now, of course the past 24 hours have probably changed things dramatically with copious new snowfall and a return to winter temps. I'm off to Jay Peak tomorrow to witness for myself the difference since Saturday.