Killington Peak: resplendent in bright morning sunshine!

Killington Peak: resplendent in bright morning sunshine!

Just a beautiful morning to be on Killington. Bright sunshine, very light winds, lots of snow to ski on, midweek joie de vivre...of course by noon time we were back at the Inn getting ready to work, but it was still a great morning to be outside in Killington.

Ski conditions this morning were a little "crunchy". The precipitation over the last several days, while basically frozen at the peak, still had a huge water content to it. Sub-freezing temperatures overnight completed the task of locking things up, resulting in firm surfaces on the limited open terrain.

I should be careful here to say that we did not run into anything that resembled blue ice, or ice flows, on our time on the mountain. The ski surface was mid winter flat and fast. Quite receptive to edges on turns with minimal skidding. Those expecting soft surfaces like we had last week would probably be happier later in the day. But for the mostly local crowd on the hill this morning, flat and fast cruising is an easy day on the mountain.

Open terrain on the mountain is basically the same as last week. Open Trails include Great Northern, Rime, Reason, Upper East Fall, Upper Double Dipper, and Lower Ridge Run (what used to be called part of West Glade). All trails currently lead to the base of the North Ridge Triple to boost back up the mountain.

Mary hiking back to the K1 Gondola on the Stairway to Heaven Click to enlarge..

To get off the mountain, hiking is still required. We hiked back up the "Stairway to Heaven" to get back from the top of the North Ridge Triple to the top of the K1 Gondola. This was Mary's first time in ski boots doing the hike. We both did it quite comfortably in 6-7 minutes, stopping a couple of places along the way to take in the spectacular views afforded by todays clear sky and bright sunshine.

Overall, a nice way to spend the morning......Let It SNOW!!!!!!