Rime at Killington from the North Ridge Triple earlier this week

Rime at Killington from the North Ridge Triple earlier this week

Tall order of subjects in the title.... I will devote blogs in the near future to more detailed posts on each subject... but for today just a synopsis.

Skiing....

Mary and I had the good fortune of being able to get our first ski day in last week. The first ski day of the season is actually a ritual to find all of the ski stuff that was put away at the end of last season. After several hours of hunting down equipment..."Where are my ski socks..." we both headed off to the mountain to enjoy a few runs. As is usually the case early season, up until the snowstorm which is going through the area today, Killington has been offering skiing and riding at North Ridge off of Killington Peak. Pretty simple really. Take the K1 Gondola to the top...ski down Great Northern to Rime or Reason...head to the North Rridge Triple.... loop the area until you call it quits. When you are done, a hike back up to the K1 gondola on Killington's "Stairway to Heaven" is required.

Overall conditions have been mam-made machine groomed snow. Suface conditions have ranged from packed powder to beach sand depending upon the weather conditions, snow makeing schedule, and grooming techniques applied to the terrain. Your milage may vary..... but hopefully with some snow, Killington will be upping the trail count substaintially, thereby eliminating the Northeasts early season spin cycle off of Killington peak. No complaints... it's great to be skiings...Mother Nature let it snow!

Thanksgiving....

The traditional celebration of the pilgrims successfulling having their first harvest in the new world in Plymouth Massachusetts in 1621 is upon us once again. This year we will be celebrating Thanksgiving at the inn with dinner service starting at 5:00 PM. Dinner is open to the public. The menu can be found at the Birch Ridge Inn website Reservations are suggested.

World Cup....

If you do not know it already, the Audi FIS Woman's World Cup will he held at Killington over the Thanksgiving weekend. Top rated women from around the world will be competing in both Giant Slalom and Slalom races on Killington's Superstar Trail. VIP and Grandstand tickets are at a premium. But general admission is Free. Snow makers have been hard at work for the last month making snow on Superstar to support the race. Grandstands and other buildings have been constructed at the base of Superstar to support the event. Media is traveling in from around the world to broadcast the event from Killington. And you can still be part of it with the free admission spectator area set up just off the race course on the side of lower Superstar. The Audi FIS World Cup will make Killington much more memorable this Thanksgiving weekend.

Politics....

Ugh....

After the election 12 days ago, I received a number of messages from friends around the country (and the world) asking for me to comment. Many people know that, having been brought up in Massachusetts by a politically active mother, that I enjoy the "Sport". I am a firm believer that one of the most patriotic things we as citizens of the United States can do is talk politics in a bar... because if politics were not talked about in bars in the late 1700's, the United States would not exist. That being said, I am somewhat non-plussed by the election results. I loath the public personna depicted in the media for President-Elect Trump (most of which has been created by Mr. Trump himself). I have promised myself that I will refuse to stay silent, no matter the consequences, if his administration devolves into hatred, bigotry, and misogyny, as I hope all patriotic Americans will do. However, I also refuse to be as dispicably un-American as now Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) was in 2008 when he pledged to work against the then incoming administrion to keep Barack Obama a one term president. We are all in this together. We have to figure out a way to make this work. Or the union, I am afraid, will break apart.

As do many of the people I have spoken with, I have some grave concerns. And the tweets put out by Mr. Trump on simple subjects like Mike Pence's night out at "Hamilton" and his criticism of Alex Baldwin's caricature of him on "Saturday Night Live" cut immediately to the core of our American democracy with their not so subtle hits at the First Amendment. Today Mr. Trump, President Elect Trump, is still a private citizen. My support of the First Amendment, quite frankly, allows him as a private citizen to speak for himself. On January 20th however, when he is inaugurated, he is no longer a private citizen. As president, he is OUR EMPLOYEE. He no longer speaks for himself. He will be speaking for all of us. I wonder if he understands what that means? We are in for an interesing ride... more later....

Where ever you may be, I hope your Thanksgiving plans are progresssing nicely. And remember...Let It Snow!