K1 Gondola station in the falling snow.

K1 Gondola station in the falling snow.

Here is a question to ponder... as we get older... does a loop down Bunny Buster with a pull up on the Poma count as one run or two?

I got to the K1 base lodge this morning around 8:50. A good collection of the local Killington crew were already there, assembling their bits and pieces to go out and assault the hill. It was a good mix of people today. Some had already been out several times. For some, it was their first day. But with a light snow falling, there was a sense of anticipation about being able to get out doors onto the mountain to begin skiing.

Weather conditions this morning were less than ideal. A light, moist, snow was falling...Temperatures were in the high 20's.. the cloud deck was just above the K1 base lodge at no more than 3000 feet. At least it was not cold and it was snowing!

We took the K1 to the peak and did some laps in the North Ridge area. Snow surface conditions were good. By our 4th lap, the center of Rime was getting a little slick, but on skiers right near the woods, and skiers left under the lift, conditions were great. There were some nice, soft, little bumps on the right and left, just spaced every so often that you needed to pay attention, but no so often that you would work up a sweat.

We then did the previously mentioned loops off of the Poma lift on Bunny Buster. Bunny Buster itself was closed for race training, but Mouse Run to Great Northern was in good shape. Worth doing over on early season legs.

The comical part of the day occurred on the Poma lift. The lifty was a nice foreign gentleman, probably new to the job. He had a problem on his timing releasing the lift grips which attach to the lift cable. On both loops through the lift, when I got on the lift the launching was like a fighter plane off a carrier flight deck. Instead of timing the lift release with my entrance to the lift, the lifty waited for me to ski out, grab the lift pole, and come to a complete stop before engaging the lift gip. Both times the lift engaged I went airborne, getting about 3 feet into the air with about a 10-12 foot flight before landing. It was actually quiet amusing. I stuck the landing both times. (And the second time I was ready for it!) One young lady snow boarder, who was obviously many pounds lighter than I, was in front of me the second time through. She was launched about 25 feet in the air, carrying quite a way up slope before landing. She was not expecting it and landed in a heap. But she quickly regained her composure, slid back down to the starting gate, and got launched for a second time. Of course she knew what was coming so she was able to hit the landing and hold on the the lift at the same time.

We then took a run over the the Superstar chair for a run down Skye Lark and Bitter Sweet. Snow surfaces were ok if not a little choppy, but visibility was still pretty sketchy. We only did one run here. This week is Pro-Jam week at Killington. Ski Instructors from all over the North East are at Killington for on snow training. By the time we go to Skye Lark, the trails were starting to get crowded with the visiting instructors. It seemed like a good time to go.

Killington is continuing to blow snow. We saw guns going on Powerline at North Ridge and Bitter Sweet off Skye Peak. Even with the poor visibility, it was a pretty good day to be out on the slopes.