Upper Bear Claw.
(I took the line down the right up against the trees.)

Upper Bear Claw.
(I took the line down the right up against the trees.)

The weathermen got this one right! Last night, a late winter storm moved through the region blanketing Killington in snow. Accumulation at the inn was close to 8 inches. At Killington Peak, it is possible that accumulation approached double that amount. Certainly Killington Peak received over a foot of new snow.

If you notice, I am not calling the precipitation from last nights storm "Powder". I am also not calling it "Wet Cement". It was some where in between. Snow on the mountain and around the inn was certainly heavy and high in water content, but it was not wet or slushy. While skiing today, you could definitely feel the bumps of snow being pushed around by other skiers and riders, but you were also able to push thru them if you had enough momentum.

I took several runs off Killington Peak. Cascade was very sweet with knee to thigh deep shots down skiers right on Middle Cascade. Highline was "interesting" to "ugly" depending upon the line you took. Highline had not been groomed in several days so the middle of the trail was filled with icy bumps. Skiers right, near the starting gate for the Ski Bum races, aka "World Cup Wednesday", was better, but even with over a foot of cover you still hit a bump crest or two.

Bear Mountain was also in nice shape overall. I entered the region on Upper Bear Claw, figuring most people coming off the Outer Limits Chair would be taking Bear Trap. I was rewarded with a nice, lightly tracked, line down skiers right up against the woods. You can see from todays picture that a few boarders had been down this trail before me. On skis, I was knee to thigh deep most of the way down to the junction with Bear Trap. It was just a great run.

Passport Update Last nights and todays snow fall has interrupted mail service at Killington. We did receive a call from the Postmaster telling us that an "Overnight Express Mail Envelop" had arrived that will be delivered tomorrow because of the storm. New passport possibly? So it goes....

Snow has continued to fall all day at Killington. Air temperatures are just at the freezing level, so snow is not accumulating on roadways or cars that have been cleared of snow, but it is still piling up on uncleared surfaces. From what I saw on the mountain today, after the trails are groomed, I expect that this coming Easter Weekend will feature several days of great cruising. But as it is still snowing...who knows? Let it snow!