Highline set for Race Training, January 20, 2006, 10:00 AM

Highline set for Race Training, January 20, 2006, 10:00 AM

Wow. Skiing at Killington today was surprisingly good....Now before you think I have lost my mind to water torture with the weather we have had up here the last week, let me place a few caveats around my remarks...
1. I am not on the Killington payroll.
2. Good skiing should not be confused with the skiing one experiences in 3 feet of champagne powder.
3. Good is relative. I was expecting very poor. I was surprised.

Mary and I skied all over the mountain this morning including the Canyons, Bear, Needles, Skye Peak, Superstar. Conditions everywhere, except Superstar...I will get to that later... could be characterized as a very solid base with a thin top layer that was soft and spring-like. The base on all of the trails is very firm, which is a good thing. It has been so warm, however, that the firm base is not presenting itself as ice. It is more like carveable styrofoam. The surface layer, which has been worked by grooming machines, was a soft layer of snow. Most surfaces were not wet or sticky, but the top layer definitely was moist. We did not run into any rock or ledge outcroppings in our skiing this morning, but there were more than a few "dark" spots, where from past experience we know ledge exists, which we avoided.

Superstar, on the other hand, was totally different. The upper headwall was firm approaching frozen, which is typical for this time of year as it does not get much sun. Middle Superstar was mounds and mounds of soft snow. The resort had blown a huge amount of snow into Middle Superstar over the last few weeks, and most if it is still there forming mounds with an ice cream texture. Lower Superstar was developing the usual mounds interspersed with "skid plates" of frozen base. Basically, all of the mountain, except Superstar, was set up for cruising. If my ankle were not on the fritz, I would have really enjoyed the soft bumps of Superstar.

It is impossible to deny that the mountain would benefit greatly from a large snow storm. The snow stake at the inn is down to a paltry 3/4's of an inch. That being said, the Operations crew on the mountain has done a fantastic job maintaining conditions that most visitors to the area will enjoy. I don't know how many more days they can work without some help from mother nature, but from what I saw today, unless something happens which requires the building of an Ark, the mountain looks like it is coming thru this January thaw in pretty good shape.