Killington Peak bathed in sunshine

Killington Peak bathed in sunshine

It sure looked nice this morning when we headed out the door to ski. The sun was out. The temperatures were in the low 20's. A light dusting of snow painted a patina of white on the frozen surfaces. Optimisim run rampant.

Mother Nature had other plans.

Arriving at the mountain, groomers were still out trying to work their magic on Bear Mountain. A wierd little "Tidy Bowl" had developed on the mountain side of the K1 Base lodge. From best we could tell it was some left over blue snow marking compound mixed in with some of the run-off from Cascade from this weeks weather. It was an interesting sight. Never matter... off to the K1 Gondola we skated.

Our first several runs were in the North Ridge Area. Rime and Reason were well covered. Grooming operations left them covered in frozen corduroy. Plenty of stuff to turn on, but the foot massage was set to high. Great Northern was slightly softer as we did a left hook back to the North Ridge Triple. East Fall would have skied better on the second run if we had done one instead of running out to Superstar. East Fall was set up perfectly flat. If one follwed th sage advice of an old friend ("Point em down hill you chicken s@!t") then East Fall would have been nothing but a fast cruiser. But instinct said to turn to check speed, so it took some care to keep skiing versus skiding.

Lifting to the top of Superstar, we headed off the back to Bear Mountain. Bear Claw was a crusty mess of death cookies. Lower Wildfire was flat and fast with a few trail features that required evasive action. Upper Skyburst was a combination of flat and fast and death cookies. Take you pick. Lower Skyburst was in the process od developing a beach sand consistency, the result of groomers continiously working the surface.

The Needles Eye quad required multiple do-overs. Cruise Control on skiers left was quite passable. Midde Cruise Control was covered with ejecta which the tails of people skis were launching airborne. Needles Eye was totally flat and fast. It was your basic ice corduroy rocket ride. Bittersweet was a study on contrasts. Upper Bittersweet was both horrible and great. The first time through we skied in a crowd. With a mixed up surface, it was not fun. The second time around, everyone had disapeared. Upper Bitter skied quiet nicely with no one on it. Lower Bittersweet was another story, which once again included copious death cookies.

The outlook for the weekend should improve. With temperatures falling and surfaces firming up, the resort's grooming fleet will be out in full tonight working the mountain. In addition, snow making operations were resuming across the mountain today as temperatures fell. it will be chilly this weekend, so dress accordingly. But above all... have fun on the mountain.

Where ever you may be, get out and enjoy the winter season. And remember...Let It Snow!