Upper Superstar Headwall...yes the glacier is that tall.

Upper Superstar Headwall...yes the glacier is that tall.

I have done my best to maintain a positive attitude in the face of this fickle El Nino winter. But today even surprised me.... And that is a great thing for people visiting Killington this weekend.

We have been out a couple of times this week. Early in the week the resort was the typical flat and fast conditions we have gotten accustomed to this winter. I am a firm believer in the expression "It ain't ice if there are no fish underneath it". Let it be said for the record... on Monday and Tuesday on the mountain there was a lot of ice.

But just like a caterpillars chrysalis opening up to reveal a beautiful butterfly, the mountain has been transformed over the last several days into a delightful ski experience.

Yes... there was still some ice to be found. Ice is a byproduct of the weather we have had this winter. But the majority of the mountain was a firm surface covered with a several inch deep soft layer of snow. While skiing was decidely low energy, as the base depths were not large enough to bump up, it was also quite fun. With the exception of a couple of interesting trails, you could generally relax and just ski. This is in sharp contrast to the beginning of the week where each lip could turn into a ice field of immiment doom.

I spent my morning skiing off of Sky Peak. We did several laps on the Outer Limits chair to access the terrain. Starting in the stash, we skied Bear Claw, Sky Burst and Lower Wildfire. Upper Wildfire was closed. Several in our group skied the newly groomed Outer Limits. I am still nursing my left knee so I passed on OL. Conditions on all of the aformentioned trails was very consistent. The initial runs were on well groomed packed powder corduroy. After several runs, the corduroy broke up to reveal a couple of inches of packed snow on top of a very firm base. In both cases, the trails were skiing much easier than their ratings although the boys mentioned that Outer Limits lived up to its reputation a being one of the steepest in the east.

Off the Sky Burst quad we headed towards Needles Eye. Bittersweet to High Road were in good shape. Stay away from the well marked right side of Lower Highroad as it is nothing but ice coated thin cover. Panic Button and Needles Eye were fantastic (for this season). A soft, powdery, top layer covered a firm base. The trail was very receptive to wide sweeping carving turns. Again be cautions on skiers right, as the cover beyond the reach of the snow guns is thin.

Sky Lark and Bittersweet were quite nice. Lower Sky Lark was ice covered down skiers right and in the middle of the trail. Soft snow had been pushed down skiers left, which made the Sky Lark mush easier to manage.

Superstar....hmmmm....interesting. The Upper Superstar Headwall was heinous. This purpously built ice covered mess is designed to withstand weeks long warm spells over the next few weeks, allowing the resort to keep Superstar open well into the spring. As the days get warmer, and the suface gets softer, it will be a fun place to be. But today it could only be characterized as a slide for life...and that is being generous.

Middle Superstar has towering mounds of manmade snow dominating skiers left. Easily 20 feet deep in places, this snow has been allowed to freeze solid for its own self preservation, instead of being groomed across the trail. it was fun riding up and down the snow whales, but unlike the other well groomed trails at Killington you had to pay attention otherwise the snow snakes would rise up and bite you in the you know where. Of course the icy whales of Superstar today will become the soft bumps of the spring. So it is nice to see the amount of effort the resort has taken to create them.

All told... a nice day to ski. If you can get to Killington this weekend, you won't be disappointed.

Where ever you may be.... think snow!