Think of mountaineering, and you might think of the 14,000-footers in the Rockies, or the high peaks in the Sierra. But there’s a long history of mountaineering in Stowe. The National Ski Patrol was founded here in Stowe in the early 1930s and the U.S. Army’s Mountain Warfare School is located just over the ridge of the Green Mountains in Jericho.
Today, everyone from beginners to elite soldiers come to Stowe to rock climb, ice climb or hone their ski mountaineering skills in one of New England’s most-photographed mountain passes, Smugglers’ Notch. The mountain gap that runs between Stowe’s Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak was used by smugglers during the War of 1812 to ship supplies in from Canada — hence its name. It’s now considered one of the premiere mountaineering destinations in the Northeast.
Indoor Climbing at Spruce Peak
Before heading out into the Notch to climb or ice climb, learn the basics at the indoor climbing gym that’s just steps from Stowe Mountain Resort’s ski slopes. The Stowe Rocks Climbing Center, which was closed the past two seasons due to Covid 19, reopened in summer 2022 and is scheduled to stay open through the 2022/23 ski season.
Inside the stunning Adventure Center at Spruce Peak is the 40-foot Elephant Head Tower (a replica of the Notch’s Elephant Head natural rock formation) and the 30-foot-high Program Wall. The sloped, vertical and overhanging perspectives are geared toward climbers of all skill levels, with options for auto-belays — meaning you don’t need a second person to hold your ropes. Get set up with a harness, climbing shoes and ropes, then take a lesson or climb on your own.
Children 12 and under can scramble up the smaller, 12-foot-high wall where climbing holds are fashioned to look like refrigerator magnets: brightly colored airplanes, boats, trucks and Lego pieces as well as letters and numbers. This makes it easy to tell your kid, “Hey, reach for the boat.”
Bouldering and Climbing in The Notch
In the summer, Route 108 winds up through the Notch, as the locals call it, and you can see climbers testing their skills on the giant boulders that have broken off from the cliffs or scaling the gullies and walls. In winter, the mountainous road is covered in snow and closed to vehicles. Then, it becomes a playground for backcountry skiers, snowshoers and ice climbers.
Alex Sargent, the lead guide of Sunrise Mountain Guides, knows the Notch probably better than anyone. Sargent grew up in nearby Morrisville and has made many of the first ascents in the Notch. For 26 years, he was a leader and instructor at the U.S. Army’s Mountain Warfare School. He has climbed on six continents.
Sargent and his team of elite, certified mountain guides offer several courses. In summer and fall, Rock Climbing 101 is a perfect half-day family-friendly course featuring short, top-roped climbs with all equipment provided. Rock Climbing 201 and 301 courses are geared toward small groups who want to learn more and explore the Notch’s many climbing routes. In winter, Sunrise Mountain Guides also offers ice climbing and mountaineering courses.
The Notch is better known for its ice climbing, says Travis Peckham, author of “Tough Schist,” the definitive guide to climbing in Vermont. “The adventurous few who’ve explored its long scree gullies have found dozens of huge buttresses with some of the wildest and most exposed climbing Vermont has to offer,” he says.
Ice Climbing in Vermont
One of the most beautiful features of the Notch are the frozen cascades that glisten crystalline blue as they tumble 40 feet or more over the cliffs. These icy waterfalls make for some of the region’s top ice climbing. “It’s absolutely beautiful up there,” says Andrea Charest. She and her husband Steve operate Petra Cliffs, the Burlington-based climbing center and mountaineering school.
Their winter training ground is the Notch. A short approach — about a 30-minute walk up Route 108 from the Stowe parking area — puts you beneath the impressive ice falls that offer multiple routes.
The last weekend in January, Petra Cliffs typically puts on Smuggs Ice Bash, an ice climbing festival that draws hundreds. “It’s a great opportunity to try new equipment or take a clinic,” says Charest. Clinics include everything from intro to ice climbing for women to ski mountaineering.
You don’t have to wait for Smuggs’ Ice Bash to try climbing. You can book an ice climbing or ski mountaineering course anytime conditions are right with Petra Cliffs or Sunrise Mountain Guides. “We provide all the equipment — helmet, harnesses and ropes, ice axes, crampons and boots,” says Charest. Thanks to ice axes and specialized boots with spikes, even steep frozen waterfalls become climbable.
Ski Mountaineering
Both Petra Cliffs and Sunrise Mountain Guides offer courses in ski mountaineering and backcountry skiing. “We cover everything you need to travel safely over snow: from avalanche safety and self-arrest to how to use ropes, crampons and ice axes,” she says. They even prepare students to travel in areas where crevasses may exist and how to self-rescue.
These courses complement the AIARE (American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education) avalanche safety classes Petra Cliffs offers each year. While avalanches are rare in New England, five soldiers from the U.S. Army’s Mountain Warfare School were caught in one while training in the Notch in 2018. All five were hospitalized and later released.
The in-bounds ski slopes at Stowe Mountain Resort are safe and patrolled, but for those who want to venture into the sidecountry or backcountry off Mount Mansfield, it’s a smart idea to take one of these courses or hire a guide. You’ll gain skills that will serve you well no matter how big a mountain you head to on your next trip.
Produced in partnership with Vermont Ski + Ride Magazine.
