Flowers in full bloom in the gardens at the Birch Ridge Inn

Flowers in full bloom in the gardens at the Birch Ridge Inn

That was a quick summer.......

It seems like summer was unusually short this year at Killington. In late October, we will have owned the property we call the Birch Ridge Inn for 22 years. Each summer over that time has been unique... This one for some reason has seemed short.

Our summer activities have been taking place at regular intervals. Mary has been able to take her Mustang out for rides pretty much every week. We have been golfing, mostly at the Killington Resort Golf Course, at least once a week. Hiking the mountain has taken a back seat this far, but even that we have done a couple of times.

Golfing with the Bagel on the 16th tee at the Killington Resort Golf Course.

The Killington Resort itself is going crazy with construction. The new lift at North Ridge is nearing completion. New Tunnels are being built based upon the plan outlined last year. And the big news is what's happening at the K1 Base Lodge.

Parking at K1 is a challenge. But the Resort has made sure that the signage is clear to help guests maneuver through the construction.

Construction began in July, after permits were awarded by the State of Vermont, on a new K1 Base Lodge. The overalll project will take about 2 years, with outside construction taking place this and next summer. This summers work is to create a new entrance building in front of the existing K1 base lodge, and to organize all of the infrastructure around the facility.

Concrete foundation work underway at K1.

In very short order after the permits were awarded, excavation work began at K1. The area in front of the existing base lodge is loaded with infrastructure ranging from simple drainage culverts to power, sewer, water and the like. The area in front of the existing lodge has been excavated out to lay the footers for the new front building. Over the last week, re-bar has been woven and covered with concrete to build the basement floor of the new building. Forms were being erected on Friday to begin pouiring concrete for the new foundation walls. And excavators are still moving every which way at the construction site digging out and filling in spots in an impressive ballet of heavy machinery.

Currently the resort is being coy about the extent of the work to be completed this summer. From the plan, it is thought that the structure of the front building will be closed in before winter, to allow finish work to take place protected from the elements. The FIS Women's World Cup is returning again to Killington this year over Thanksgiving weekend. The resort is openly saying to the public that parking may not be available at K1 for the event. But that is still several months away and a lot of dirt can be moved between now and then.

The next big event to come to Killington in two weeks is this years edition of the Spartan Beast Race. It will be enlightening to see how the resort handles the 15000 people who usually turn up for that event with the construction going on at K1. But, after 22 years full time in Killington, the one thing I can say with some clarity is that the resort does know how to handle large amounts of people, so I am very confident that the events planned while the new K1 base lodge is being built will go off just fine.

To our friends in the south east looking at Hurricane Dorian spinning of the coast, stay safe. To everyone else, have a great Labor Day weekend. Enjoy the last weeks of summer while we witness Mother Nature cycle through the seasons once more at Killington.