Skye Peak from Bear Mountain

Skye Peak from Bear Mountain

Today was one of those black and white days on the ski trails at Killington. Another winter storm, this one a little weaker that previous, is passing to the south of the resort. In the storms wake, we have a bright, yet overcast sky. The whiteness of the sky is merging with the snow covered peaks of the Green Mountains. Add in black tree trunks dotting the mountain peaks and the visual is basically devoid of color, creating a black and white background for any activities taking place outside.

The low contrast ratio between the white sky and the white snow created some minor vision problems for my young eyes. But for the most part, seeing the snow was not a requirement. On most trails the snow was soft and pliable. Where there were bumps, the trough between bumps provided just enough contrast to allow you to pick out your line.

There were a few anomalies today to skiing which required some adjustments. At Bear Mountain the middle of groomed trails was decidedly firmer than the trail edges. This was probably due to some surface melting yesterday in the trail centers that froze overnight after the trail was groomed. Once you figured that out, there was at least 10 feet on either side of most trails that was nice and soft to ski on.

On the Killington Peak - Killington Basin side of the resort, surfaces were generally softer. The most likely explanation is that there was less surface melting, and subsequently less re-freezing overnight. What ever the cause, the surfaces on the Killington Peak side of the resort had a more packed powder feel than the hard pack on some trails on Bear Mountain.

Town Meeting Followup Article 10 which would have authorized the town to acquire $1.4M in general obligation bonds to purchase and improve a 37 acre tract of land across from the Grist Mill on the Killington Road, also know as the Fireside Property, went down to defeat yesterday. Killington residents voted 145 YES and 205 NO to defeat the ballot initiative.

......let it snow!