By Catie Watt
Staff Writer

In fall 2004, St. Michael’s undergraduate students became the first in the nation to have unlimited access to a major winter resort as part of their college experience. Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, Vermont, is just a mere 45 minutes from campus.

The season pass has no blackout dates and is available for a $30 processing fee. What many students don’t realize is that the pass and its privileges can be revoked if they are abused.

Do we really understand?
                
After purchasing and activating a “Smuggs” pass, students must sign an agreement with several rules and standards which they must abide by.

The Wilderness Program director Todd Wright and assistant director Eben Widlund created the rules and regulations for the pass. They are written out on a form, which every student must sign in order to pick up their passes.

These rules are very important and only about 25 percent of the kids that come in to the Wilderness office actually take a look and read the fine print in the agreement, Wright says.

Many of these rules are put in place so that St. Michael’s doesn’t inconvenience Smugglers' Notch, Wright says.

“This is a great value and a great opportunity for all students and Smuggs benefits from having the students there,” Wright says.

College students are a big ski demographic and this pass program is a great investment for Smuggs. By providing college kids with such a great deal and having them get to know the mountain, students will want to come back in the future and ski again as adults, Wright says.

Approximately 1,200 student have the pass this year. The Wilderness Program wants to make sure that all of students know the consequences that they might face if they abuse them, Wright says.

The Wilderness Program has sent out around seven e-mails to the college letting students know the rules. They also give out the season pass owner’s manual during orientation so that first-years know the rules, Widlund says. 

Abusing the pass comes with serious consequences

Last year around 20 students had their passes taken away for various abuses, not including those who had their passes revoked for academic reasons, Wright says. Not all students who sign this agreement follow the rules and many students in the past years have been known to abuse the pass, he says.

Students get their passes taken away for lending the pass out to a friend, using an expired pass on the mountain, being in trouble academically or with Residence Life, and being rude to staff  on the mountain, Wright says.

There is no warning for students who abuse the pass and get caught. Students who do abuse the pass get it taken away for the remainder of that season and the following season, Wright says. The reasons the consequences are so tough are because lending the pass out to a friend or using an expired pass is the same thing as stealing. Students who forget their pass have been asked to buy a regular day lift ticket, he says.

Smugglers' Notch also does not have any of the St. Michael’s students in their season pass database,says Kiri Moore, administrator of mountain operations.

For the past three years, the pass has changed slightly. This year the background is white making it easier for lift attendants to catch people using the wrong pass. (Photo by Megan Davin)

“We have requested it, but haven’t gotten the information yet,” Moore says.

Not having the students in the directory can be difficult especially since the students don’t have pass protection like regular season pass holders have, Moore says. Students who do abuse the pass will have to pay a $50 fine and a full-day lift ticket if caught.

Lift attendants at Smugglers' Notch must go through a four-hour training every season, Moore says. They must go through all of the different types of season’s passes and lift tickets to identify any fraud passes, Moore says.

On cold days, most lift attendants won’t make any skiers and riders take off their masks, but they do check to see if the person looks similar to the picture on the pass or if it is blatantly obvious, Moore says. The only time they have real problems is if someone has a poor attitude about the situation. But lift attendants are also given a $25 incentive fee for each person that they catch with a fraudulent ticket.     

“When wearing the pass, students are representing St. Mike’s and the behavior of them reflects the school,” Wright says.

One mistake= No pass next year

While many students are picking up their $30 passes right here on campus, senior Mark Petersen can not get one. Petersen had to buy a regular season’s pass from Smugglers' Notch after his pass got taken away last March. He lent his pass to a friend who was not a student at St. Michaels for the day and got caught when a lift attendant checked the pass and made his friend take off his goggles.

Petersen was then notified by Todd Wright that he could not get a pass for the next season. Along with getting the lift ticket revoked, he also got a call from Smugglers' Notch asking for $50, Petersen says. His friend also had to sign a written statement and pay the price of a regular lift ticket too.

Riding the chairlift for many is a calming experience before the rush down the mountain. (Photo by Megan Davin)

While he understands that he was stealing and takes full responsibility, he still thinks that Smugglers' Notch was a little too harsh on him, Petersen says.

“I understood that they had to take my pass away, but I didn’t understand why they needed money also,” Petersen says.

Petersen ended up buying full season's pass to Smugglers' Notch this year at regular price which is $319. He is trying to let other kids know that lending your pass out isn’t a good idea.

“I definitely won’t do it again in the future and I tell other kids that if you do get caught, it does suck not having it because it’s such a great deal,” Petersen says.