Killington peak is in this picture somewhere. 

I had planned on skiing at Killington today. I really did!.

I did the right thing and set my alarm to wake me up at the right time. I had my bowl of oatmeal. I got dressed in multiple layers. All the while, I was listening to a ticking sound of freezing pellets bouncing off the roof of the owners quarters at the inn.

My first real hint that it might not be a ski day was in the inn's parking lot. My car was nicely coated with a solid layer of ice. Clearly the ticking freezing pellets falling from the sky had started out over night as freezing r@!n. The trees around the inn were also being contorted on every direction by a howling wind barreling down the mountain along the Killington Road. Freezing r@!n and wind cause very bad things to happen to lift operations at a ski resort.

The drive to the Resort, less than a mile from the inn, was uneventful. The roads were slick, but I am used to driving on snow covered roads, so it was no big deal. The parking lot at the K1 lodge should have been a giveaway that skiing was going to be doubtful today. At 8:55 when I arrived, there seemed to be less than 50 cars in the parking lot, when usually on a Monday there would be several hundred. When I got into the base lodge, I found out why.

The ice overnight had taken it's toll. Combined with the wind, the resort was only going to spin 4 lifts in the morning, including Superstar, the Snowdon Quad, Ram Head, and a lift on Snow Shed. Bear Mountain was closed. The Sky Ship, Needles Eye, and Northbrook Quads were closed. The K1 Gondola Cabins were still in their shed. Combined with the continuing bite of wind driven ice pellets falling from the sky, and it was clear that skiing this morning was not going to be in the cards. So it goes.....

The good news from todays weather is that the liquid precipitation that fell from the sky on Killington was held to a very bare minimum. Most of the precipitation this morning has been well frozen and very granular, as temperatures at ground level have been hovering in the high 20's. So I would expect little damage to surface conditions at the resort when the weather clears the area.

Tomorrow in Killington is Town Meeting Day. It is an annual event in free flowing democracy designed to set the tone for the coming year in managing the town of Killington. There are several issues boiling underneath the surface leading up to tomorrows meeting, not the least of which is the trend toward uncivilized behavior in public meetings by some current office holders. What ever the results, it is an opportunity for the citizens of Killington to come together and express their desires on how the town should be run for the coming year. What ever happens, it is always interesting.

Until tomorrow from town meeting ......Let it snow!

Birch Ridge Inn surrounded by snow drifts 

Our guests are just exhausted.. 2 powder days in a row and their legs are jelly. Meanwhile, Mary and I have been dutifully fulfilling our responsibilities as innkeepers... But tomorrow is a ski day!

5 more inches of snow fell around the inn on Saturday night to greet guests heading to the mountain this morning. Unlike Thursday and Friday's snowfall, which was somewhat denser, the snow that fell Saturday night was pure powder as temperatures in the area were well below freezing.

To the slopes on Monday! ......Let it snow!

Pow Day on my B Day - Thank you Mother Nature! 

Presidents week skiers and riders were rewarded on the last day of their ski weeks with an old fashioned Pow Day!

10 inches of new snow have been recorded at the snow stake at the inn, bringing the total on the ground to 30 inches.

It should be a great weekend to ski Killington! ......Let it snow!

Killington Peak, with full on sunshine. 

Ah spring. It was fun while it lasted...

Winter has returned to Killington over the weekend. The warm reprieve the area enjoyed last week has been replaced by temperatures well below freezing. If that were not cold enough, blustery winds are driving the effective temperature with wind chills well into the single digits.

But all is not lost.

To compensate for the return of winter, the area did receive a light coating of fluff last night, significantly brightening up the multiple feet of snow remaining on the ground throughout the area. In addition, bright sunshine reflecting off of the newly fallen snow is painting an almost angelic tableau across the Green Mountains of Vermont. Like the pure light of heaven described by Dante, the sun shining off the mountain peaks is creating beacons of light, visible for miles around. There are all different points of view on when the Green Mountains look their best. Certainly a pure white snow cap, and bright sunshine is high on the list.

While we have not skied the last couple of days, as the inn has been quite busy, guests and friends are reporting that the mountain is starting to recover from the thaw freeze cycle of late last week. As the number of grooming cycles increases, and as more new snow falls, the surfaces are slowly changing from extremely firm, to soft and granular. If you are out early in the day, most of the mountain is set up as smooth groomers. Later in the day, the centers of many of the trails start to show some wear with soft snow to be found along the sides. Clipper systems along the Canadian Border this week promise to deliver new snow to the area on a regular basis. We still have lots of great skiing and riding left in the season at Killington. And with March just around the corner, the best is yet to come.

......Let it snow!

Ice dam remnants. Gravity always wins! 

Last Sunday I posted a picture of the ice dams on the back building of the inn. They had started to creep off the edge of the roof towards there eventual demise. At 9:40 last evening, the tension between the melting ice, the roof, and the pull of gravity was finally resolved with gravity declared the winner once again. A slab of ice 50 feet long and 10 feet wide with thicknesses ranging up to 18 inches finally slid off the roof of the back building of the inn, creating a tsunami of snow when it impacted the ground below after a 30 foot fall. Todays picture gives a perspective of how big the ice blocks were that came off the roof.

The good news is that the roof is designed for the snow and ice load. The standing seam metal roof is also designed to let the ice and snow slide off the roof, which it does every year when temperatures rise. It is quite spectacular when it happens, but it is just part of life in this part of the country.

This week we have had above average temperatures in Killington, breaking the freezing mark most days before sliding back below 32 degrees at night. I had the great fortune of being out on the mountain on Thursday, which was a beautiful bright sunny day with temperatures in the mid 40's. I can say I have never skied in February with just a ski shirt and a vest on at Killington. Usually at this time of year it is full armor. But if Mother Nature throws us a precursor to spring, you got to go with it and enjoy the show.

Depending upon the alignment of a particular trail, ski conditions during the warm up have varied between a sweet ice cream, or a loose granular. Generally, south facing trails (think Wildfire, Outer Limits, Highline) were soft and creamy. North facing trails (think Superstar, Sky Lark, Cascades, Down Draft) were granular, as the magic of the sun was just not reaching the surface of the trail.

Skiing in just a vest in February? Click to enlarge..

Thursday I spent most of my time doing bump runs. Outer Limits, while not really bumped up, was just spectacular. Wildfire, the Stash, Skye Burst, and Bear Claw were all soft with varying levels of bumps being created Thursday morning. Generally speaking these were the cruisers for the main events.

Upper Dream Maker had some serious, but nicely covered, bumps down it's headwall. On Thursday, most of the bumps were 2 to 3 feet down both skiers right and skiers left. Where the headwall crests for the final descent to the mixing area with the Skye Burst offshoot, the bumps were 3 to 4 feet; some with severely cut back sides.

Old Superstar was just a joy to ski. Extremely regular 1 to 2 foot bumps were spread across the whole trail, giving one multiple lines to choose. Being north facing, but with little skier traffic, the bumps were still soft. On Thursday, Old Superstar was set up so well, it was the cruiser of bump runs.

Ridge Run (formerly West Glades) in the North Ridge area was developing 3 to 4 foot bumps in it's midsection. Backside troughs were starting to bottom out on this natural snow trail, with several exposing rocks and many showing grass. All of the bumps were quite skiable. And the grass and rocks were easily avoided as long as one paid attention to the bump line ahead of you.

North Star featured a wide variety of bumps to choose from. At the entrance, the bumps were in the 2 to 3 foot category, with good coverage and nice regularity. In the first and second turns, they grew a little taller and more random, making it difficult to hold a line and establish rhythm. Just as Ridge Run, in the natural snow section of North Star there was some grass showing in the deeper troughs in it's mid section. Lower North Star settled out again, especially the run out after Vagabond to Caper.

Royal Flush, with it's south facing terrain, was much softer. Upper Flush was similar to Old Superstar with 1 to 2 food well spaced bumps suitable for cruising. Bumps on lower Royal Flush were much bigger, with some ground penetration showing through in the deeper troughs.

While not really set up as a bumps run, Highline also deserves some mention. The south facing headwall was developing nice piles of snow with fairly regular patterns on late Thursday. These "bump precursors" were undoubtedly mowed down by the groomers overnight, but they were fun while they lasted.

Temperatures today are very warm, approaching 60, which will assure continued bump formation on ungroomed terrain. Overnight, temperatures are due to go below freezing, with cooler temperatures expected through the weekend. It sounds like we will be heading back to winter as we head into Presidents week. Of course, it is still only February, much to soon to think about chasing any little white balls down an open field, unless of course they were made of snow.

Where every you may be, have a nice Presidents day weekend, and .....Let it snow!

Killington Peak, monochromatic with high overcast. 

When I got up this morning to go skiing, I could not believe the thermometer. The temperature at the inn was 40 degrees. A down right hot day to go skiing in February.

Mountain conditions today held true to the temperatures. Virtually all of the terrain, with the exception of the very top of Superstar, was soft and creamy. With the exception of no sun at all due to high overcast, it would have been a great spring skiing day in April...oops..it's still February...never matter, it is due to go arctic again overnight.

We started today with a loop down Superstar. A little bit of wind blown surface just off the lift had us questioning the choice, but once on the upper headwall, it was obvious we made the right decision. Soft snow with a firm base left Superstar in hero condition. If you did not look good on this groomed cruiser...why are you skiing on Monday?

We followed up with a run to Bear Mountain thru the Stash. We got surprised as on one of the features on the Stash, which usually has a sloped backside, had a cut backside with about an 8 foot drop. As several of us were at speed going over this feature, we took considerable, unexpected air. We all aced the landings, but there was a considerable oh-oh feeling as we saw snow covered earth drop away from our skis.

Bear Mountain was just beautiful with soft snow everywhere. Outer Limits was a definite do over, as was Bear Claw, Wild Fire and Sky Burst. Upper Dream Maker had large bumps, which were difficult to see in the dim light. The features in the park on Lower Dream Maker were all soft, with no unexpected backside cuts.

From Bear we went back over to the Killington Peak side of the resort, bypassing the Needles Eye Area. Being Monday, the Canyon Quad was running, so we decided to take advantage of it with a few loops in the Canyons.

In the Canyons, East Falls and Cascade were firm with soft corduroy groves from grooming. Down Draft was firm with small to medium bumps. We bypassed Double Dipper. From the lift it looked firm and wind blown.

Over on Snowdon, Highline was soft and creamy. Upper Royal Flush had nice, regular, small bumps. Lower Royal Flush featured larger, soft bumps. Chute was groomed with a little slickness in the shadows. Caper to Rams Head was slow with a few wet spots, as was Header to the Rams Head Quad.

Temperatures overnight are due to return to the single digits. This will undoubtedly cause surfaces to firm up overnight, so take appropriate preparations if you are skiing on Tuesday.

I also hope you remembered Valentine's Day (Godiva Chocolates with some jewelry from Swarovski Crystal in Copley Place in Boston with a nice card).

Until the next time.......Let it snow!

Ice dams ready to release from the back building at the Birch Ridge Inn, Killington. 

Public Service Announcement - Did you remember that Monday is Saint Valentine's day? Be a hero! Do something nice for the one you love. - End Public Service Announcement.

Over the last few days, I have done no skiing what so ever. But that does not mean I have not been having any fun.

On Thursday and Friday, I had the opportunity to be down in Boston, my old home town. I was invited to a wine tasting held by a wine importer to introduce the 2009 vintage of fine wines from Burgundy. (One of the fringe benefits of owning an inn with a nice restaurant.) The wines were in general in a word "Awesome". I sipped and spitted about 60 different white and red wines. I have some tough choices to make as my pre-orders are due the end of this coming week.

While in Boston, there were a number of things that peaked my curiosity. One was at the wine tasting. Several hundred people attended, mostly from upscale restaurants in the Boston metro area. I have never seen so many "suits" since moving to Vermont full time 14 years ago. When I got dressed Thursday morning in Vermont before driving to Boston, the though crossed my mind to put on a suit. The tasting was in the Boston Harbor Hotel, a very posh location in Boston. Instead I opted for a simple white button down shirt and a black sweater. My "uniform" was the second most popular outfit at the wine tasting, but it was easily outnumbered by suits 3 to 1. I am not sure what it means, but at least in Boston some people are dressing up for business functions.

I stayed in Boston in the Back Bay at the Lenox Hotel. It is a nice hotel, rated #1 for Boston by Trip Advisor. There are a couple of small inns in the Back Bay where I usually stay, but they were both booked. So I decided to go big, and see what ideas I could steal to apply back to our inn in Killington. What really struck me about the Lenox, and Boston in general, was how "busy" it was. If there is a recession anywhere, it did not seem to be in Boston. Hotel occupancies were up, stores were crowded (remember Valentines day shopping), and the restaurants and bars at night were jammed.

At night, I went over to Newbury Street to check out some restaurants. I first stopped at the Capital Grille. At 8:30, the wait at the bar was probably going to be 2 hours, so I slid down the street (Newbury Street still had huge snow banks from all the snow Boston has gotten this winter) to an old haunt I used to go to regularly years ago, Sonsie. A classic, bistro style, restaurant, Sonsie like the Capital Grille was packed. I signaled a bartender for a drink, and casually stood at the bar for over an hour before finally getting a seat. (again..where is the recession?) The bar was filled with 30-40 somethings. I was definitely on the old end of the age spectrum. I proved this with a brief exchange with a 30 something women beside me at the bar. She had her purse on the bar. I asked her to "move her pocket book", as my appetizer plate was pushed into its side (the bar was packed). She laughed and told me she had not heard anyone call a clutch a pocket book since her grand mother had died several years ago. I laughed and shot right back: "There is a reason the woman who cuts my hair calls my color arctic blonde". She laughed, moved her "clutch" and bought me a glass of wine. Score one for the old guy!

Friday morning, after some Valentine's day shopping, I drove back to Killington and to winter. Starting the drive in Boston the temperature was a balmy 30 degrees. By the time I crossed the Connecticut River in Lebanon New Hampshire, the car read a cool 18. A little light snow on Friday night and Saturday, and my journey back to the frozen north was complete. I dressed with a tie on Saturday night... but I could not bring myself to put back on a suit. I'll probably save that for Valentines day.

We will be getting back onto the slopes this week to report of conditions. In the mean time.......Let it snow!