Hot Air Balloon over Killington.

Hot Air Balloon over Killington.

Yesterday's surprise storm and continued aggressive snow making are really making a difference in the ski conditions at Killington. The firm surface created by the New Years Warm-Up is being replaced with soft packed powder surfaces all around the resort. High traffic areas still are firm, but many today were under the snow gun getting resurfaced for the MLK weekend.

Snow making operations were visible today in the Stash, on Skye Burst, on Lower Wildfire, Upper and Lower Dream Maker, Sky Lark, Bitter Sweet, High Road, and Double Dipper. While the mountain is continuing to build snow on Lower Skye Burst to support the Dew Tour, they clearly are taking advantage of the cold temperatures to resurface additional terrain all around the resort.

In addition to snow making, the resort saw some excitement in mid-morning as a hot air balloon traversed the mountain complex. Multiple lifts were shut down as a precaution, as the balloon was perilously close to several lift towers while it floated across the resort. Operations at both the Superstar Quad and the K1 Gondola were temporarily halted for safety reasons for about 15 minutes this morning because of the balloon. (I was stuck at Superstar. Coincidentally, Mary was stuck at the K1 Gondola.) After passing through the resort, the balloon gained altitude and was last seen floating towards Okemo in Ludlow...so it goes.

While our friends in Boston and New York brace for the latest snow storm, we at Killington are also watching the skies with eager anticipation. Snow is forecasted for the next couple of days at Killington, putting a nice frosting on the resort for MLK weekend visitors.....Let it snow!