Mary going over first hit on
Upper Bear Claw

Mary going over first hit on
Upper Bear Claw

We are starting to get spoiled. Other than being a little cool, Killington is just in great shape.

When we got to the mountain this morning, it was a beautiful bluebird kind of day. While we were in the K1 base lodge putting on our boots, the situation changed at Killington Peak, with a large grey cloud moving in. We took the box up to the peak anyway, but instead of doing warm up laps off the K1 Gondola, we decided to traverse to Bear Mountain which was still in radiant sunshine. it was a really good move.

The top of the Superpipe on lower Dream Maker at Bear Mountain

Bear Mountain was in beautiful shape this morning. The parks on Bear Claw and Bear Trap and Dream Maker were covered with an inch or two of fresh snow over a nice groomed surface. With very few people on the mountain, and really consistent snow surfaces, we found ourselves just cruising through the parks. We had a lot of fun bouncing up and down the various terrain features. While I did not capture a picture of it, Mary even found herself taking a little air off some of the ramps, particularly on Dream Maker. (And yes, she made all of the landings!)

It is just amazing all of the snow that the resort has blown on the mountain in the last few days. Everywhere you go, you will find huge whales of snow blown onto the trails. With the warm weather we had earlier this season, it almost looks like the resort has created a little protection in case of an early spring. On skiers left on Outer Limits, the resort has blown a huge mound of snow several hundred feet long and 20 or so feet high. Last year, they used this area to build a jump for the aerials competition as part of the Spring Freestyle Championships held at the end of March. I am sure that they will use this whale of snow for that purpose, if they do not have to spread it around the slope before then.

Snow Whale on skiers left on Outer Limits

Before heading back to the Killington Peak side of the resort, we took a run down Great Eastern all the way to the Skyeship station on Route 4. We have been telling our inn guests to take this run over the last couple of days, so we though it would be a good thing to check it our first hand. Snow coverage on Great Eastern was very nice all the way down to Route 4. We did not do side trails, like Home Stretch, so I can not comment on them, but if you are looking to take beginner skiers on a nice ride, Great Eastern would certainly give them a chance to test their ski legs and see more of the resort than just Snowshed and Rams Head.

On the Killington side of the mountain, snow making operations are continuing on High Line. Huge amounts of snow have been blown on to High Line in the last 48 hours. Snowmaking had suspended on Superstar, although it looked like there were a couple of hours of snow making on Bitter Sweet. Bitter Sweet was generally soft from top to bottom. There was a very strong up slope wind on Lower Bitter Sweet. Both Mary and I were able to ski straight down lower Bitter Sweet with no turns because the wind was so strong.

Snow guns covering High Line

I finished up the day, as I often do, with a run down Superstar. The upper headwall, while not as soft as last week, still had a nice covering on it, allowing for some nice turns with little skidding. Middle Super Star was just set up for cruising this morning. Last nights snow put a nice soft layer on top of weeks of man made snow. Lower Superstar was wind blown in spots. I went down skiers left close to the trees. The wind had blown some snow into this area paving the way for a few nice soft turns on my final run before heading back to the inn.

Over the next couple of days, the weather forecast calls for temperatures to moderate (highs in the low 20's) with snow showers and snow flurries occurring every day. It should keep everything nice and white. Let it snow!