Sling et al 

I don't want to remember Day 1.

Thursday at 10:45am I underwent arthroscopic surgery under the skilled hands of Dr Mel Boynton of the Vermont Orthopedic Clinic in Rutlnd VT. Surgery lasted approximately 1 hour. I addition to repairing severed rotator cuff tendons, Dr. Boynton also repaired a "shredded" biceps muscle and some minor bone damage.

Since the surgery, Mary and I have learned quite a lot in a short time. For instance...
- all my pants have buttons at the waist... Think about that for a minute as you try to learn how to do everything one handed over night.
- who knew touch typing was an essential skill?
- how come every time you get marginally comfortable, the bathroom calls? and it's corollary
- if there is a flat surface around the inn, try putting a sheet on it and let me know if it is comfortable,
- tell me again what the difference is between "IT F@#%ING HURTS!" and Pain Management?
- how come they put on childproof caps on you pain prescription bottle, even though they know you only can use one hand?

All in all, it has not been too bad. Mary might have a different opinion as I have been in and out of a narcotic haze caused by the pain medication for the last 3 days. But she seems to be holding up ok.

It is going to be an interesting week as I learn how to temporarily live with one hand. I should be in the sling 4-6 weeks with physical therapy lasting right thru to the fall. I'll try to hunt and peck out a few updates as we go along. So it goes...

A little patch of snow is still visible at Killington 

It is definitely between seasons at Killington...but that does not mean it is quiet. Multiple events came together on Wednesday highlighting both the old and new Killington.

On a somber note, Wednesday was Jeff Hadley day at the Green Mountain National Golf Course. Club members, local residents, and guests all came together to raise money in Jeff's memory to support research into finding a cure for ALS. The weather did not cooperate, raining out the golf tournament. But Jeff's spirit still watches over Green Mountain National.

On the new side of the aisle, PUD wars returned. PUD of course for anyone fallowing development at Killington stands for Planned Unit Development. SP Land brought a permit request for a PUD to the Killington Town Planning Commission on Wednesday evening to construct a village at Killington. There are 28 different criteria to evaluate PUD requests. In addition, there was some controversy over what the Planning Commission was reviewing... Was it a Conceptual Master Plan or a Planned Unit Development. The hearing lasted for almost 3 hours before it was recessed. It will resume again in 2 weeks, after the Town Planner and a Land Use Consultant for SP Land have a chance to put there heads together on the project. Of course this is but a baby step along the way to actually beginning construction. There are quite literally hundreds of permit documents that will need to be filed before any construction would be approved. And that does not even begin to contemplate the Act 250 process that the project must go through with the State of Vermont.

But a baby step is still a step. And as they say... you need to learn how to walk before you can run.

Shoulder Update....by the time you probably read this, I will have undergone surgery to repair the rotator cuff on my left shoulder. While my arm will be immobilized for a while, and golf is out for the summer, I know things will work out. The medical care for these sort of things in Killington is world class. In the last couple of months, I have spoken with dozens of people who have had the same injury. They all say that the recovery period is no picnic...but the physical therapy people in the area really know their stuff.

Sometimes I have felt like a one armed paper hanger in the past. Running your own small business can be like that. Of course, this summer I really could be a one armed paper hanger. How is that for a paradox. So it goes....

Where ever you may be...keep it in the fairway... and don't forget your sun screen.

Memorial Day thanks 

Memorial day weekend, if not the "official" start of summer, generally gets people in the mood to think about the warm months ahead. But the weekend should also be a time of reflection, to pay respects to all of those who have given everything to allow the rest of us to live our lives in relative tranquility in the United States. To those I say "Thank you".

Where ever you may be this weekend, may your fairways be short, and your putts roll true.

Enjoying birthday cards from family and friends 

Family and friends from around the country joined many locals at the Birch Ridge Inn on Friday evening to wish George Lyons a happy 85th birthday.

George is well known within the Killington community as a role model for many of us. George is an avid skier, golfer, master gardener, and benefactor of many local charities, in particular the Sherburne Memorial Library. He is one of the good guys that make Killington a great place to live.

Happy Birthday George!

The Pony is coming out to play! 

By no stretch of the imagination am I complaining, but summer seems to have arrived a little early this year at Killington.

All around town the trees are bursting with green leaves, something which in recent memory did not usually happen till the end of May. While it is still a little early for planting, gardeners around town are all out preparing their gardens for summer plants. Mary has all kinds of flowers started in cold frames behind the inn, waiting for the right moment to plant them for the summer.

And in a sure sign of confidence, Mary "rescued" her Mustang from winter storage yesterday. Before we drove away from the garage, she put to top down for the ride back to the inn. Unfortunately, a little spring shower interrupted the joy ride, requiring the top to be hastily put back up... but so it goes...There are plenty of beautiful summer days ahead.

Where ever you are, keep it in the fairway...and don't forget your sun screen.

Snow melting off Killington Peak 

Over the weekend, the 2008/2009 ski season came quietly to an end at Killington.

Overall, in my opinion, the ski season was fairly average. On the plus side, we had great early season snow. That was a good thing, of course, as we had very little snow once again this year in March and April.

The Killington Resort re-routed ski trails on Skye Peak with the addition of the new high speed Skye Peak Express Quad. Terrain that was under utilized at Skye Peak and Bear Mountain saw a huge increase in skier traffic, as the public responded very favorably to the new lift.

The introduction of "The Stash" in conjunction with Burton snow boards also looks like a winner. It was a fun park to play in mid-week, when there was very little skier or rider traffic. Guests at the inn for the most part had fun in the Stash on weekends, as long as they were paying attention and staying clear of the landing zones of the various features.

On the down side, the economy clearly impacted the skiing community. At Killington, pre-holiday and early winter skier traffic seemed on par with prior years. Many skiers and riders who would normally trek out west for a ski week decided to visit Killington instead to conserve their cash. By March, however, a confluence of no snow storms along the Eastern Seaboard of the US, a poor US Economy, and a strengthening dollar all contributed to a poor finish to the season.

But just when you think a break is in order, work continues at Killington to move the area forward. The Town of Killington, with the aid of a 1% tax, has formed an Economic Development and Tourism Commission. Operational details of the Commission are a "work in process". The response by towns people to the "EDT" are decidedly mixed, but there is a glimmer of progress starting to be made. Wether or not the EDT works as planed is still to be seen, but initial events are being organized. You have to start somewhere.

The Killington Village efforts are also in the news. The town planning commission will be taking up the plan at a meeting on May 13th. Today's Rutland Herald had a nice article on what to look forward too.

We have a few things going on at the Inn as well to keep us busy. I'll write about those in subsequent posts in the next few days.

Keep it in the fairway...and don't forget your sun screen.

Mary applying poly to the bar top. 

After working well into the night, Mary finished putting on 2 coats of polyurethane on the bar top to re-open the Great Room for the weekend. As of 4:00 PM the top was dry and the bar was being restocked. Next week, Mary will probably put a couple more coats of poly on the bar to finish the job, but the inn is ready to receive weekend guests as planned.

I posted the last snow stake picture of the 2008/2009 winter season, barring a multi-foot freak snow storm. While the ground around the inn has been bare of snow for several weeks, the Killington Ski Resort is still going strong. Just yesterday, while the inn was experiencing a cold rain, the mountain got around 3 inches of new snow. Chef Frizzie was on the hill this morning taking his runs. He described conditions as "Great spring skiing".

This weekend, the resort plans on having 3 lifts running, including the K1 Gondola, Superstar Quad, and the Canyon Quad. Temps are forecasted to be quite warm. If it weren't for my shoulder, I would probably be taking a few turns on the snow. I will probably be hunting for shorts in the summer clothes pile instead.

If you are out on the hill this weekend, or chasing a little white ball somewhere, don't forget your sun screen.