Killington Peak set against a brilliant sky from Superstar

Killington Peak set against a brilliant sky from Superstar

I am really not sure where to start...The combination of bright sunshine, blue sky, deep snow, and warm temperatures just made for a fantastic day on the mountain. It was just the perfect combination for a great day of spring skiing at Killington.

We started the day with a couple of laps on Superstar at the crack of 9. Superstar was groomed flat and it was still firm as skiers and riders had not yet cut it up. The basic method down the trail was put your legs together and go as fast as you dared. With virtually no one on the trail, the first 2 runs were exhilarating.

We next climbed over the top of the mound on the upper Superstar headwall for a visit to the "far reaches" of the resort. As is usual this time of year, there are only a few lifts running, but many of the normal ropes and road blocks directing skiers and riders down certain pieces of terrain have been removed.

We crossed under the wind screen and the Skyship Gondola for a peek at Sky Burst. Oh the creamy goodness! I believe we were the first ones to visit Sky Burst this morning, other than a Ski Patroller taking a reserve run. We were greatly rewarded.

Upper Sky Burst for the taking. Click to enlarge..

Even at this early part of the ski day, being south facing Sky Burst had been sitting in the sun for several hours. Being totally flat, the surface churned up like soft butter with every turn. And unlike Superstar, which begged you to go fast, Sky Burst gave each turn its own special kind of love. I am sure that later in the day, Sky Burst will be whipped into a frenzy of bumps by skier traffic, but catching it first this morning was one of the highlights of the day.

Of course, the mountain giveth, and the mountain taketh away! Because there are no lifts running on Bear Mountain, our run down Sky Burst was terminated at the Snowshed Crossover. On the current resort trail map, you will not find this trail anywhere as during mid winter it is blocked by tuna nets. But instead of pretending it does not exist, in the spring the nets are dropped allowing access to upper mountain terrain, followed by a long traverse back to the Superstar Quad. In addition to Sky Burst, the Snowshed Crossover allows the resort to keep open Upper Cruise Control, Panic Button and Upper Needles Eye, plus the Vertigo Headwall. And they were all worth doing today.

By about 11, we had done enough laps on the Sky Peak side of the resort so we headed to the K1 Gondola for some runs off the Canyon Quad. By now, East Falls had been whipped into a runny ice cream state, requiring attention to turns down its fall line. Double Dipper, still in partial shadow, was still firm but very edgeable. Cascade was generally soft, with a few slick spots on its lower headwall.

We took Ridge Run (formerly West Glade) down Great Northern to the Snowshed quad. Chute had nice snow cover. Great Bear was still a little chunky (I would bet that by 2:00 PM this afternoon it would have been great!). Upper Royal Flush had some gooey softness to its small bumps. Mousetrap offer you a choice of cruising of bumping. I found the seeded bumps course to be nicely soft around noon, while Mary just cruised down to meet me before heading down for another ride on the quad.

We finished up on Highline. By mid day it had been totally churned up with soft wet bumps developing on the lower sections. After a ski season on the slopes, our legs were more than up to the task presented by the suns work on Highline. It just sealed the deal on a beautiful spring day to ski Killington.