Report: Stowe, Smugglers’ Notch in discussions to build connecting lift

A report says that a new lift could one day connect Stowe and Smugglers' Notch. (Ski Vermont Photo)

It’s the sort of headline that makes you wonder if the reporter confused June 1 with April 1. 

Nevertheless, the Morrisville News and Citizen, a Vermont newspaper, is reporting that a “new gondola-style connector lift is being planned for Stowe Mountain Resort’s Spruce Peak and Smugglers’ Notch Resort’s Sterling Mountain,” this according to “documents provided by the resorts to the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.” 

According to the Citizen, the new lift would span approximately 2,600 feet and pass over the valley between the two peaks that contains a portion of the Long Trail, Elephants Head trail, and Sterling Pond. The lift would carry a capacity of 1,200 passengers per hour with the estimated average trip, peak-to-peak, lasting just over five minutes.

Initial reaction online was that this might be a precursor to Vail Resorts purchasing the privately-owned Smugglers’ Notch. Both Vail and Smugglers’ Notch declined to comment to the Citizen, which also reported that Vail, which owns Stowe, and Smugglers’ Notch owner Bill Stritlzer had reportedly been in confidential talks since 2017, the year Vail added Stowe to its flock of 37 ski resorts. 

Since then, lawyers for the State of Vermont have determined that documents could be released under public records law.

Whether or not this is the first step in a sale, a potential lift would change the face of Vermont skiing forever, one where corporate titan and privately-owned gem are mulling a marriage of some sort.