Smuggs Joins Indy

A Letter From Jon Schaefer

Smuggs is Joining the Indy Pass (with good news for you!)

Dear Smuggs Family,

Well, the internet detectives were right. For the 2026–27 winter season, Smugglers’ Notch is joining the Indy Pass.

I know this announcement will generate different reactions. Some will see it as great news. Others may wonder whether it means more people, longer lines, and a step toward turning Smuggs into something it has never been.

That concern is fair.

Since we became involved at Smuggs, one message has come through clearly: please don’t turn this place into something it isn’t.

We agree.

My family has spent nearly 50 years owning and operating Berkshire East, and we understand what makes independent mountains special. For most of those years, being an independent ski area operator was not a cushy gig. It was about surviving difficult winters, solving problems and continuing to adapt. 

Great ski areas are not interchangeable, nor frozen in time. Their personalities, traditions, employees, terrain, quirks, and communities are what people come for. Preserving those qualities requires thoughtful evolution, improving the operation and investing in the mountain without losing what made it special in the first place.

Smuggs is one of the best examples of a unique, independent resort with a strong identity and one that also needs meaningful investment and attention. 

The terrain is exceptional. The woods are incredible. Families have been coming here for generations. Employees know this mountain in ways no training manual could reproduce. Yes, there are things about Smuggs that might make a consultant immediately want to create a PowerPoint presentation, but many of those things are exactly what people love about this place. 

That is also why the Indy Pass has always meant something to me. It was built around the idea that independent mountains are not simply smaller, less evolved versions of larger resorts. Their differences are part of their value. Berkshire East and Catamount joined Indy early, and Burke was already part of the network before we acquired the resort.

So why bring Indy Pass to Smuggs?

Because we believe Indy can work here—if we manage it intelligently. 

The biggest multi-resort passes have changed skiing by making it easier for guests to move from mountain to mountain. But more people are not automatically better. There are only so many people that lifts, trails, glades, roads, and parking areas can comfortably accommodate.

Capacity is math, not wizardry.

At Smuggs, Indy Pass guests will be required to make advanced reservations. That will allow us to control Indy visitation based on demand and protect the experience people have come to value. As always, Smuggs core season passholders are always guaranteed access. 

We want to use Indy to fill empty chairs and midweek beds, not add more people to already-busy lift lines and peak weekends.

This has value for our staff as well. Our full-time seasonal and year-round staff have more opportunities to ski, ride, travel, and explore through the $25 Indy Pass Employee Add-On.

We want to make Smuggs an even more attractive place to work by offering one of the best employee ski and ride benefits in the industry, helping us recruit great people and keep the resort running at full capacity.

We want someone from Maine, Pennsylvania, Michigan, or somewhere else who has always wondered about Smuggs to come visit. We want them to stay overnight in mountain lodging, eat in the village and around Jeffersonville, bring their families, and maybe fall in love with the place. A rising tide lifts all boats. And yes, we want the additional revenue those visits can generate when the mountain has room for them.

Snowmaking is our first major focus, and you’ll begin seeing improvements this winter. We also know that some lifts will eventually need to be replaced. But replacing infrastructure does not automatically mean maximizing capacity or putting more people on the mountain than it can comfortably handle.

We will be thoughtful about those decisions.

If we shorten a lift line but overwhelm the terrain, we have not made Smuggs better. Our responsibility is to build a stronger, more resilient mountain while protecting the character and experience that make it unique. 

That brings me to Bear Den.

We are not trying to build a collection of resorts that all look and feel the same. The idea behind Bear Den Partners: use scale where it helps, so each mountain can remain different.

There are many things our resorts can do together—sharing expertise, buying equipment more efficiently, managing fleets, and improving operations. Those behind-the-scenes efficiencies allow us to invest more in the things that matter most: employees, infrastructure, snowmaking, lifts, and the mountain itself.

The guest-facing experience should always remain local.

Smuggs should not look, sound, or feel like Berkshire East, Catamount or Burke. Its local partnerships, traditions, personality, and quirks should remain distinctly Smuggs. That is what independence means to Bear Den Partners.

It does not mean nothing changes. We will fix the pipes, improve snowmaking, replace infrastructure when necessary, care for the buildings, invest in employees, and strengthen the resort.

And we will try to have enough humility to leave alone the things that were already right.

Joining Indy gives more people an opportunity to discover a remarkable mountain while creating additional business to help support the work ahead. By managing capacity locally, we can do that without abandoning our responsibility to the employees, homeowners, guests, and community members who already love this place.

Our goal is simple: make Smuggs stronger, give it a great run at another 70 years, and leave it recognizable to the people who love it today. To us, that is stewardship and our responsibility. 

Executing that will not always be easy—but it is exciting work, and we are grateful for the opportunity.

See you on the mountain,

Jon Schaefer
CEO
Bear Den Partners

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A Letter From Jon Schaefer Smuggs is Joining the Indy Pass (with good news for you!) Dear Smuggs Family, Well, the internet detectives were right. For the 2026–27 winter season, Smugglers’ Notch is joining the Indy Pass. I know this announcement will generate different reactions. Some will see it as great news. Others may wonder…