Clouds linger over Killington. Cold air and snow flurries overtake the mountain.

Clouds linger over Killington. Cold air and snow flurries overtake the mountain.

It was not nice in Killington the last 36 hours. But all in all, the resort weathered the storm quite well.

Torrential r@!n, an occasional clap of thunder, and gusty winds were the order of the day on Monday. By the time the storm subsided, the snow at the snow stake at the inn had been reduced by 5 7/8 inches from 13 7/8 inches on Sunday to 8 inches on Tuesday. While not good, we have seen much worse in the past.

Mary and I did not ski today, but I did have a chance to speak with several unbiased sources who did, including inn guests and our chef, Frizzie. When combined with visual observations from the base areas, it looks like the mountains strategy of making a staggering amount of snow on most trails with snow making has paid off. Our guests and our chef both reported that conditions today were softer than they expected. Temperatures overnight did not head into the deep freeze, allowing accumulated water time to drain away from the surface. While each reported a few icy spots on the mountain, probably in places where the r@!n wore away the snow to the hard base, in general they reported nice ski conditions on soft, creamy, snow.

Of course, the number of trails open today on the mountain was significantly reduced from the weekend. The basic rule appears to be if the trail was not groomed, it was not open. Natural trails and the woods were also set back, as Mondays deluge was more than a match for the small amount of natural snow which had fallen on the resort thus far this winter.

From observations and on mountain reports, limited snow making has resumed. Snow guns have been connected to the snow making system all over the mountain, in anticipation of temperatures continuing to drop as yesterdays storm completes it's exit from the area.

With luck, Mary and I will have a chance to get on the mountain tomorrow for some first hand observations. In the meantime......let it snow!