All eyes are on the thermometer. 

Oh the weather outside is frightful...whoops...not yet...well maybe..I'm so confused...

That just about sums up the weather at Killington the last 12 hours. Overnight, a warm moist storm system rolled through the area with heavy r@!n. At mid morning, the storm has lifted, leaving in it's wake some fairly strong winds, a little drizzle, and a lot of cloud cover. Now the wait begins... When with the temperature fall enough to allow the resort to re-light their snow making system and get on with winter?

I did travel up to the mountain at mid morning. The K1 gondola was turning. There were people skiing and riding, mostly Killington Mountain School and College Ski Team types in training. The cloud cover at the top of the mountain was too thick to take any decent pictures from the base, but it did look like the run out along lower Bunny Buster to the K1 Gondola did survive the weather event.

Dangling crystal ornament on the Christmas Tree. Click to enlarge.

The temperature forecast for the next week looks like it is heading to the basement. That will be great from the standpoint of Killingtons' snowmakers. Killington has laid out an aggressive plan to expand terrain over the next 7 to 10 days. Cold weather is the key. Of course, how it will effect tomorrows surface conditions remains to be seen. I did bring our skis over to the Forerunner Ski Shop this morning to get them tuned up on the chance we hit the mountain tomorrow.

Christmas Tree Update: Most of the ornaments are now hung on the tree. Stop by the inn this weekend for it's first public viewing of the holiday season.

......let it snow!

Killington Peak in the sun. 

The Killington Resort reopened for skiing and riding this morning under a beautiful blue sky. Mother Nature, of course, also left skiers and riders with a little reminder that she is in charge...the sunshine was filtered by a haze most likely caused by humidity entering the area in advance of a weather event predicted for tonight.

The resort has stated that with todays reopening, that they will try to keep open for the duration of the ski season. From my on slope observations, they have made copious amounts of snow on the trails in the North Ridge section of the mountain. They also seemed to have taken a different tact on the lower trails leading to K1. More on that later.

Skiing and riding today were supported by the K1 Gondola and the North Ridge Triple. Full top to bottom skiing was provided with no walking required to reload the gondola. Upper trails including Rime, Reason, Upper East Fall, Upper Double Dipper, Upper Great Northern, and Ridge Run were covered in soft snow with little evidence of the firm base which must be lurking underneath. Other than an occasional Cat track, surfaces were groomed smooth with small bumps forming due to skier and rider traffic. I did hit one Cat track by surprise on Ridge Run leading back to the North Ridge Triple. My legs were in better shape than I thought as I was able to stay upright and ski through it.

Snow on Great Northern stayed relatively soft until the junction with Highline. At that point, in what is probably an effort to maintain the base and shed any non-crystaline precipitation that may be headed out way, the resort created a packed powder candy coating on the trail. The hard pack was maintained through Middle Chute and Lower Bunny Buster. Clearly the resort wants a base on these trails so they can cover them with snow quickly for the coming weekend.

Lights are up on the Christmas Tree. Click to enlarge.

In addition to the open terrain this morning, there was evidence of snow making visible on upper trails of Snowdon. A resort spokesman said last night at a Killington Chamber of Commerce mixer that the resort intends to open the top of Snowdon this weekend, with the Snowdon Quad. Of course this was wrapped in weather caveats, so we will have to wait and see.

The weather Forecast for the area does not look good overnight. After that, it appears that we are due for an extended cold stretch, which should allow the resort to rapidly expand terrain. Mother Nature may also give us some help on Saturday, if the Weather Channel is to be believed. (Usually I don't most of the time, by we need a break here..so shop your forecasts wisely!)

Christmas Tree Update: Mary is making good progress decorating the inns Christmas Tree. White lights have been strung on the tree. (This years motif is the Crystal tree.) The ornaments have been brought down from the attic. They are queued up all over the Great Room waiting to be hung on the tree. With luck it should be all done for public viewing when we open our restaurant this Friday evening.

......let it snow!

Gathering one of the 5 Christmas trees fresh cut on Christmas Tree Monday. 

One of the traditions that Mary and I started when we created the Birch Ridge Inn at Killington was to have a fresh cut Christmas Tree in our Great Room each year. It was a carry over from our lives before being innkeepers that we have been able to hold on to these last 12 years.

Each year on the Monday after Thanksgiving we head out into the country side to cut a Christmas Tree for the Inn. (Hence the designation Christmas Tree Monday.) Over the years, the tradition has been picked up by many of our friends who join us in getting Christmas Trees for their homes. This year we went looking for 5 trees of assorted sizes.

Most of the trees that we cut down for friends homes were plus or minus 8 feet. For the inn, we brought home a 16 footer. After trimming it out, this years tree for the inn stands tall in the Great Room at 12 feet 8 inches.

All week long we will be decorating the tree to get it ready for it's formal "public" unveiling on Friday night. This years tree is a Crystal and white motif. (Each year we alternate tree styles, varying between a traditional multi-colored family style tree, and a crystal tree.) If you find yourself in Killington, stop bye the inn to see it.

Below you will find a video on Youtube with a little vignette following all of us on Christmas Tree Monday...Enjoy!

......Let it snow!

Birch Ridge Inn Thanksgiving Day Accapella Marching Band 

You really can't make this up. The deadline for Snow Dance Videos to be posted on Killingtons Facebook Page was today. Today it started to snow in Killington. Not much mind you. Also very wet and gloppy. But it is trying to snow.

Since we sponsored the contest with the Killington Resort, I though it would only be right that the Birch Ridge Inn got together with a little ditty. We had a good crowd of friends at the inn for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. After a few pre dinner libations, we got together and shot the video below. After a little editing to correct for some bad lighting, I uploaded it to Youtube late this afternoon.

For you pleasure, "The Birch Ridge Inn Thanksgiving Day Accapella Marching Band" and their version of "Let it Snow Killington"

Enjoy......Let it snow!

It's time to break out the snow dance 

Yawnka Tawnka I'm in pain, gotta have snow, don't need no rain. Refrain again and again; with constant tom-tom beat...

So far Mother Nature hasn't been too kind to Killington, and the only dancing going on has been Killington's snowmaking crew dancing up and down the mountain at every possible opportunity to make snow. But we are hoping to change that by asking Killington fans to send the Killington Resort their best snow dance videos.

The Birch Ridge Inn is partnering with the Killington Resort to try to shake things up....and get some white falling from the sky!!!

While the resort continues to make snow at every possible opportunity, it's time for a new strategy ... and tune! Be it a Pagan snow dance, a sacrifice to Ullr - the God of snow and winter - or just a crazy idea to make it snow, we want to see it!

So here's the deal: Show us your best snow dance, Pagan ritual or sacrifice to Ullr, and the best one - as determined by a panel of distinguished judges (really just a bunch of marketing types sitting around surfing the internet) - wins a Killington winter escape for Dec. 4-6, 2009, including the following:

- Two nights lodging for two people at the Birch Ridge Inn
- Dinner for two at the Lookout Bar and Grill
- Two two-day lift tickets for Killington
- Two tickets to the Pickle Barrel Nightclub on Saturday night for the Badfish show

Upload your video titled SNOW DANCE to Killington's Facebook page BY FRIDAY, NOV. 27 at 5 p.m. EST and let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Skiers and riders at the junction of Chute and Mousetrap at Killington. 

Mother nature...please give us a break!

I give Killington/Pico Ski Resort Partners, aka KSRP, a lot of credit. Other resorts have either thrown in the towel or not even tried. Mother Nature has not dealt the ski industry in the Northeast a good hand in trying to jump start the nascent 2009/2010 ski season. But once again this weekend, the Killington Resort is open for top to bottom skiing and riding.

The Killington Resort reopened today at 9:00 for skiing and riding on 7 trails from 2 lifts. While the resort has taken every opportunity to make snow that they have been presented in the last couple of weeks, ski conditions are "rustic" at best.

Full K1 parking lot. Skiers and riders just want to be on the snow! Click to enlarge.

Friends who have been at the mountain this morning, and who have stopped by the inn this afternoon, are reporting that surface conditions on the high mountain slopes in the North Ridge area are holding up, although they did suffer some deterioration with the r@!n storm that hit the area several days ago. The run out down Great Northern, especially below 3000ft, is in tougher shape. Resort employees were seen strategically placed along the run out, shovels in hand, to move snow onto any developing brown spots along the trail.

Due to the limited terrain, and the fact that Killington is the only ski resort currently operating in Vermont, crowds were reported to be bigger than prior weekends. The parking lot at K1 had at least 4 full bays of cars when I was on the mountain around 11:00 AM this morning.

The Killington Resort did announce late Friday that they would not be open for skiing and riding Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday leading into the Thanksgiving holiday. With limited terrain, the resort wants to conserve the slopes for skiers and riders anticipated during the Thanksgiving weekend. They have not yet made a call on being open on Thursday, Thanksgiving day. A lot depends upon what Mother Nature does in the next few days. We will just have to wait and see.......let it snow!

Blue sky covers Killington. 

The good : The Killington Resort has publicly announced that they will re-open for skiing and riding on Saturday November 21st. The resort has been making snow during every available temperature window this week. In addition, the resort is trying to make the open stick this time, and keep open for the season. Of course, that all depends on how Mother Nature treats the area.

The bad: The storm that has been spinning out through the central part of the US looks like it is going to bring some r@!n into the area this evening and in the morning on Friday. On the plus side, while it has been spinning in the mid-west, it has lost a lot of its juice. But WE WANT SNOW not R@!N!

And then there is that bright blue sky. The weather in Killington this last week has been frighteningly beautiful. Cool days in the 40s and 50s, cold nights in the 20s, and a brilliantly clear blue sky. Give me this weather in early April with a completely snow covered mountain and I am in heaven. We can only hope.......Let it snow!