Killington Peak, with full on sunshine.

Killington Peak, with full on sunshine.

Ah spring. It was fun while it lasted...

Winter has returned to Killington over the weekend. The warm reprieve the area enjoyed last week has been replaced by temperatures well below freezing. If that were not cold enough, blustery winds are driving the effective temperature with wind chills well into the single digits.

But all is not lost.

To compensate for the return of winter, the area did receive a light coating of fluff last night, significantly brightening up the multiple feet of snow remaining on the ground throughout the area. In addition, bright sunshine reflecting off of the newly fallen snow is painting an almost angelic tableau across the Green Mountains of Vermont. Like the pure light of heaven described by Dante, the sun shining off the mountain peaks is creating beacons of light, visible for miles around. There are all different points of view on when the Green Mountains look their best. Certainly a pure white snow cap, and bright sunshine is high on the list.

While we have not skied the last couple of days, as the inn has been quite busy, guests and friends are reporting that the mountain is starting to recover from the thaw freeze cycle of late last week. As the number of grooming cycles increases, and as more new snow falls, the surfaces are slowly changing from extremely firm, to soft and granular. If you are out early in the day, most of the mountain is set up as smooth groomers. Later in the day, the centers of many of the trails start to show some wear with soft snow to be found along the sides. Clipper systems along the Canadian Border this week promise to deliver new snow to the area on a regular basis. We still have lots of great skiing and riding left in the season at Killington. And with March just around the corner, the best is yet to come.

......Let it snow!