Wispy clouds top Killington Peak

Wispy clouds top Killington Peak

With the exception of an hour here, and hour there, it has been almost 3 weeks since Mary and I have been able to get on the slopes for some serious skiing at Killington. Today was the day.

Our expectations were fairly low given the inordinate amount of wet weather we have had the last few weeks. In some ways those expectations were correct, but there were a few surprises along the way.

The light fluff that has fallen the last 30 or so hours served as camouflage for generally very firm surfaces under foot. Trails that were groomed were skiable. If they were groomed only once, hold on because turning was more like aiming. If there had been groomed a couple of times, the surfaces were much more stable and softer. Trails that had been groomed a couple of times and were in the sun were nicer still.

Other than the firmness of the base, what was most unexpected was the overall snow depth. At the Killington Peak, the warming hut just to the right of the Gondola Station is virtually buried in snow. Only it's roof is sticking out. If you want to go inside, you must climb down a snow bank. I saw similar instances where the depth of the base was more than I had expected, given the weather we have experienced at the inn. Of course, the top of the mountain is 2000 feet higher than the inn, so it stands to reason that on a few of the storms we had when the inn was getting liquid, the top of the mountain was getting something solid. It should bode well for some nice spring skiing over the next few weeks.

Let it snow.