Smuggler's Notch; Vermont's alpine playground. 

Due to its elevation and early arrival of the winter season there is good climbing in the notch, November through late March with classics in all grades. 

A lot of the earliest ascents were snatched by a consortium of New England ice climbers including Bob Olsen Chuck Bond, Chet Callahan and Alan Long. Somewhat later in the mid seventies, John Bouchard and Steve Zajchowski blitzed the place, gobbling up many of the harder lines such as Blind Fate, The Grand Illusion, Watership Down and others. Watch out for these modern day "classics," some are rather stout for the grade. Just imagine front pointing up Ragnarock (WI 4+) in strap-on crampons with 60 cm. straight shafted tools equipped with old style alpine picks!! These boys had "the right stuff" for sure! Also active around this time were local legends Frank Gibney and Dave Norton who put up the now famous line that bears their names. Later, in the eighties, Geoff Creighton and Josh Korman climbed the steep column right of the Elephants Head Buttress, the mega classic plum of the notch Creighton-Korman . More recently, folks like Carl Tobin, Mark Wilford, Scott DeCaprio, Alden Pellett, and Dave Furman have put up fantastic lines such as Prenuptial Agreement, Freeze Dried, and Dominatrix.

The Notch road (rte. 108) is closed from the beginning of November through April. Even if the road is passable, we’ve been told by many people that the state police ticket at the rate of $150 per offense, and troopers have been seen waiting at the parking areas on both sides of the notch. Skis make the trip back to the car a lot more enjoyable, but it’s usually packed
enough for easy walking.

The approach from either side is about the same distance depending on the route you’ve chosen to climb. A word of caution, the Notch has frequent
avalanches! Slides large enough to take out a person happen in the notch every year. Avoid avalanche prone areas that have seen significant snow or wind. If you don’t know what to look for, use your head and don’t be a statistic!!! The gullies BELOW many of the routes frequently slide as well as snowfields on routes such as hidden gully.

 Gallery

Some good routes to do (our personal favorites in no particular order) We won’t provide a description unless it’s to change something we think is a mistake from the Wilcox guide—buy the Smugglers Notch Ice Guide!

Blind Fate - WI4

Grand Illusion  WI4 Scramble or pitch it up to a three-pin anchor on the left where the ice proper begins.  One 40m pitch from here to a tree on the right, or you can finish a 40-foot chimney above.  60m rap to walking terrain, or 50m and you can easily down climb one step.)  

Poster Child WI4 M4+

A’s Anguish WI4

Watership Down WI 3+ to 4+ (one pitch, WI 3+, lots of variations possible).

Blue Room  WI3+ to 4- (listed in Wilcox guide as “Have a Cigar”, it’s 500 yards or so to the right of where the Wilcox photo places it.  One 50 meter pitch, WI 4 or 4+)

Dave’s Snotcicle Wi3 to WI4 (The left-hand of two obvious large routes on the South Wall, visible from the Stowe parking area.  WI 4 if pitch 1 is in, one full 60 m pitch of WI 3+ if it’s not as is often the case.  Access huge ledge to begin from the right or on the walk-off from Blue Room)

Creigaton-Korman aka Ragna rock

 Dominatrix 

French Tickler

Hidden Gully

Photo of Easy Gully Climbs

Jeffersonville Chamber of commerce:    www.smugnotch.com (802) 644-2239

Smugglers Notch