Upper East Fall (complete with my shadow is in the foreground)

Upper East Fall (complete with my shadow is in the foreground)

It was not a long day, but I did make it out on the slopes today with skis attached to my feet.

The Killington Resort took the opportunity presented by Veterans Day to open for skiing and riding. 2 lifts were running; the K1 Gondola and the North Ridge Triple. Open Trails included Upper and Middle Great Northern, Rime, Reason, Upper East Fall, and Lower Bunny Buster.

Snow surfaces above 3000 feet (roughly the junction of Great Northern and Bunny Buster) consisted of loose, machine groomed granular over a hard base. Only man made snow is present at the top of the mountain, with sharp changes at the edges of the trails from snow covered to mud and grass. Cover at the top of the mountain and in the North Ridge area was excellent. Rock skis were not required by any stretch of the imagination, however sharp ski edges were a plus given the firmness of the base.

Snow surfaces changed considerably below 3000 feet. Lower Bunny Buster back to the K1 Base Lodge was very soft with considerable melting. Strict adherence to the "Thin Cover" orange bamboo poles is a must as a combination of snow melt, water bars and sunshine were opening up mud patches along the run out to K1. The trail ends 50 to 100 feet before the K1 Gondola requiring skiers and riders to dismount and walk the remaining distance to the lift.

Cold weather looks like it will be returning to the area this evening. Surfaces at the top of the mountain should last for many days given the depth and firmness of the snow pack. Surfaces on the lower mountain will need some additional snow making for the mountain to successfully offer top to bottom skiing and riding this coming weekend.

No word yet on the resorts plans for this weekend. We will have to watch and wait to see if the resort gets the opportunity to make some snow leading back to K1.....Let it snow!