Fall colors nearing peak. Photo down Lower Vertigo from old Snowshed Crossover

Fall colors nearing peak. Photo down Lower Vertigo from old Snowshed Crossover

Yesterday, Mary and I were able to take a 4 hour hike from the base to Killington Peak. Unlike today, which is wet and dreary, yesterday was a beautiful temperate day. Under partly cloudy skies with temps ranging from mid 60's at the base to high 40's at the peak, it was a great day to look at fall foliage.

For those of you who are interested, our route yesterday was a mostly direct route on the ascent, with a meandering walk on the way down.

Going up, we started at the K1 Base lodge. Our route brought us up Mouse Run to Mouse Trap to Racers Edge. On Racers Edge we traversed Conclusion, Highline, Chop Chop, Royal Flush, and "The Throne" before coming out at the base of Rime. From there we hiked up Ridge Run to the North Ridge Pump House, coming out in the middle of Rime. On Rime, we climbed to Great Northern. We then took a small right turn and headed up Powerline, exiting just below the North Ridge upper lift terminal.

At North Ridge, we walked up Heavenly Traverse (more on that later) over to Catwalk for an ascent straight up to Killington Peak. Catwalk is fairly steep with a few areas requiring hand holds to maintain upward momentum. There is a memorial at the top of Catwalk. We stopped to pay our respects, then headed over to the K1 Gondola Station to eat the lunch we had carried in my back pack.

Going down the mountain we followed Great Northern to Bear Trax to Launch Pad in the process traversing beside Anarchy, Julio, Ovation, Old Superstar, Superstar, Skyhawk, Skylark, and Bittersweet before arriving at the upper terminal of the Needles Eye Quad. From there, it was a simple walk down Great Northern to the old Snowshed Crossover with spectacular views on Needles Eye, Vertigo, High Road, Low Road, and Highlander before returning to the K1 Base lodge.

A complete photogallery of the hike and the spectacular fall scenes can be found on the Birch Ridge Inn page on Facebook under 2010 Colors of Fall - Killington Peak.

Stairway to Heaven under construction at Killington Peak. Click to enlarge..

One of the goals of the hike, in addtion to seeing the fall colors and getting some ski conditioning excercise done, was to take a look at the "Stariway to Heaven" that is being constructed at Killington Peak from the top of Rime to the K1 Gondola along "Heavenly Traverse" (and yes...that is the actual name of the trail that the walkway is being constructed on). Construction is well underway, with most of the decking in place. Workers on the lower half of the walkway were building stringers to construct stairs to the multiple platforms making up the walkway. Decking work was being completed on the upper end of the walkway near the top of Downdraft. This reqired us to back track and make our ascent to Killington Peak up Catwalk. All along the walkway, posts were cut to be installed to support a railing. We spoke with some of the carpenters working on the project. They were hoping to complete the job before Columbus Day weekend, assuming the weather at Killington Peak did not get in the way too much.

Overall, the hike along the walkway was not that bad. There will be a few tricky spots along it, but it is meant to support hard core skiers and riders who want to take advantage of mountain conditions before full top to bottom skiing and riding is available. I don't think I would choose to hike it in ski boots, preferring instead to leave some hiking boots at the top of Rime for the travese back to the K1 Gondola, but only time will tell. Mary's initial observation that some kid could make a lot of money acting as a shepa still holds, if you are a budding entrepenuer interested in hustling for a few bucks. But overall, it will be a welcomed, if not interesting, addition to the quiver to support early season skiing and riding at Killington.

A photogallery of the "Stairway to Heaven" being constructed can be found on the Birch Ridge Inn page on Facebook under 2010 Stairway to Heaven Construction - Killington Peak.

Where ever you may be, enjoy the fall scenery. And if you are on the east coast of the United State...stay dry!