Killington Peak from the top of Snowdon

Killington Peak from the top of Snowdon

A constant light snow fall, combined with round the clock snow making operations, has left Killington Resort in great shape for early season skiing and riding. While light conditions this morning were flat with a snow falling continuously, all of the trails we skied this morning were fairly soft and covered with several inches of freshly fallen fluff.

Today was not a crazy day on the mountain... just an early season tune up. We started in the Vail parking lot, skiing down to the Rams Head lift. Snow making was taking place all over Rams Head as the resort is clearly making a push to open more beginner terrain. From Rams Head we cruised down Caper to the Snowdon Quad. Caper had nice coverage. Fresh snow was to be found on every turn down the right side of the trail. While not a "powda day" by any stretch of the imagination, the nor-incher that has been blanketing Killington left several inches of nice snow to practice graceful turns while making the traverse to get to steeper terrain.

Boosting up the Snowdon Quad, Chute seemed nicely covered but eerily empty. We did not see a rope, but as I was trying out a knee brace for the first time on the slopes today, we decided to head to easier terrain. At the top of the quad we hung a left to make tracks down Bunny Buster to get to the K1 Gondola. Bunny Buster was well covered, however there were a few spots on Upper Bunny where the grooming machines tilled a little deep. It is early season, so this is to be expected, but it is just a reminder that one needs to pay attention out on the slopes and not get captivated by all of the beautiful snow falling down all around the mountains.

New exoskeleton for the left knee

On the K1 Gondola ride to Killington Peak the scope of the resorts snow making operations was on display. Just like at Rams Head, snow guns were pounding on Highline, clearly getting the trail covered to allow it to open soon. East Fall was well covered. From the gondola cabin, it looked quite skiable; but without the Canyon Quad spinning, the run out back to the K1 Base Lodge still needs some work. You can tell it will be soon!.

From Killington Peak we skied down into North Ridge. Rime, Reason, Upper East Fall, and Upper Double Dipper were all in great shape. We did multiple laps on the North Ridge Triple, picking up the pace and pushing the knee a little harder each time. I found that my leg muscles seemed like they were in Mid-March condition (thank you Brie at Vermont Sports Medicine!), allowing me to push off pretty hard on each turn if the mood fit. While the first few laps with the knee brace took a little getting used to, overall it seemed to be doing a good job in keeping the knee joint pain free. Of course, this is just the early season. It will be interesting to see how it reacts in mid winter when cruising through some bumps on the back side of the resort.

Overall, it was a really nice morning on the slopes. It's good to be skiing again!

Where ever you may be, keep doing your snow dances aimed at Killington. Let it snow!