Killington Peak, shrouded in snow
squalls at the 3000 foot level.

Killington Peak, shrouded in snow
squalls at the 3000 foot level.

It's cold outside.

Earlier this afternoon, I returned to Killington from the Boston area. I had been in Massachusetts playing in a charity golf tournament to support the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund. The Ouimet group provides college scholarships to people who work at golf courses in Massachusetts. It is named after Massachusetts golfing legend, Francis Ouimet, who won the US Open as an amateur at "The Country Club" in Brookline MA in the early 1900's. I used to caddie at Belmont Country Club, near my childhood home in Arlington MA when I was a teenager. I was fortunate enough to have received a Ouimet Scholarship to attend Northeastern University growing up. For the last few years, about 50 former Belmont caddies get together and play at Belmont, making a donation to the Ouimet Scholarship in the process. My brother from New Jersey and my other brother who lives in Massachusetts, and I teamed up to challenge the course. Needless to say, the course won (it always does). Surprisingly, as we discovered while talking on the course, it was probably the first time in 20 years that my brothers and I have been able to play a round of golf together as a threesome. We definitely need to do better at that in the future, as we are not getting any younger.

While the temperatures were in the Mid 50's in the Boston area, it was very different when I returned to Killington. When I got home, I drove up to the Killington Base Lodge. The temperature was a brisk 34 degrees with light snow in the air. Some pretty nasty snow squalls were plainly visible on the upper reaches of the mountains, probably around the 3000 foot level. While I saw no evidence yet that Killington had begun snow making, it was very obvious that the top of the mountain was taking on some new snow. How much is hard to tell, but everything helps to start the process of chilling the ground and building up an early season base.

The next few days looks like more of the same...dull gray, cold winds, and snow showers in the air. Twig season in Vermont... just beautiful!