The 2016 Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree

The 2016 Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree

It has been a whirlwind 2 weeks. But also very successful.

2 weeks ago on the Monday before Thanksgiving, a group of us set out with a pickup truck, a trailer and a chain saw. We cut down 5 Christmas trees in Springfield Vermont, about an hour south of Killington. Most laid dormant outside for the rest of week as we all prepared for Thanksgiving and the Audi FIS World Cup which was held at Killington Thanksgiving weekend. Come the Monday after Thanksgiving, "Christmas Tree Monday", things kicked into high gear to begin the preparations to celebrate the Christmas season.

As with tradition "Christmas Tree Monday" began with a few hours of skiing to get some fresh air into our lungs. Conditions were very good with the resort making snow across most of the terrrain open off K Peak and Snowden Mountain.

To fortify ourselves with some protien to strengthen our muscles, we followed skiing with a lunch at Sushi Yoshi. No beers were consumed, after all we needed clear heads to focus on the job at hand for the rest of the afternoon, but General Tso did contribute a few chickens to the effort.

Motley Crew assembled to raise Christmas Trees.

We gathered at the inn to begin the job of raising the Birch Ridge tree. This would be the first of 4 trees we would raise on Christmas Tree Monday, and it was one of the most difficult given its overall size.

The proverbial round Christmas Tree through a square door.

The first problem was getting the tree into the inn itself. The tree had been covered with tarps in the yard in front of the Great Room. Snow from the prior week created a skim coat of white on top of the tree bundle. Laying on the ground, the tree measured a healthy 16 1/2 feet. The top foot or so was just a sprig, so it was easily dispatched with a pair of loppers. A chain saw was used to do the deed at the trunk of the tree. The initial cut was for 15 feet.

Rotating the tree in the Great Room. The tree at this point is ~15 feet. The room is only 20 feet wide.

Now what do we do?

At this point, the great debate always ensues...and this year it was not any different. Upon getting the tree into the Great Room, it was pointed out the the tree was a little "large". Maybe it should be shortened by another foot or so, as the ladders used to trim the tree only stand 12 feet tall. Mary, in her resolute fashion, would have none of that at this point. So the tree needed to go up.

Putting the stand of the tree is actually a multi-person effort.

The crew lifting the Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree into place.

The first lift of the tree, as it usually does, revealed that the tree was standing too tall in the room. As we are lifting the tree in position, we collectively heared Mary gasp at the size of the tree. As the tree was shaking itself into place, Mary began the negotiating process to have us take the tree down and start all over. With the exception of not bringing the tree outside to use the chain saw to remove another foot, we did it in the doorway, we started the process anew to finish the job.

The official measurement. 14 Feet.

This year was not too bad. We only had to take the tree down once, cut it, reposition the stand, and raise it again. For the record, one year we did this 4 times, so only raising the tree twice is kind of normal. With Birch Ridge done, we were off into the neighborhood around the inn to raise 3 of the other trees; each one was between 12 and 14 feet... although if you are reading this Ellen your tree is only 10 feet tall....I swear....

TThe Birch Ridge Inn 2016 Christmas Tree.

For the next week, Mary was on ladders rotating around our tree decorating it for the holidays. This years tree is a traditional, multicolored, family style tree. We expect that it will be gracing the Great Room of the inn through the weekend of January 6th.

Wherever you may be, we hope your holiday plans are progressing. We look forward to a happy holidays at the inn with lots of snow on the montain for people to enjoy. Stop in for a visit if you are in K. We will be happy to take your picture under the tree. Let It Snow!