Great color in the mountains around Killington. 

Over 2 weeks ago I predicted that fall color would peak in Killington on October 5th at 12:27 PM. At the time it was said in jest. It may have been prescient. We will know tomorrow.

In the mean time, weekend fall foliage visitors to Killington are being treated today by Mother Nature to a beautiful day to travel thru the mountains. Temperatures are in the mid 60's. The sky is blue with big, puffy clouds. It is just perfect weather to enjoy the fall season in Vermont.

Maple trees band Killington in red glow. Click for a panorama of Killington. 

Visitors to Killington, even though they were facing overcast skies, were treated to brilliant fall colors across the region. At roughly the 2000 foot level in the Killington Basin area, the maple trees are glowing red. Oak trees are well on their way as they change from from green to orange. Birch and Poplar trees are taking on yellow hues.

There is a lot going on in Killington this weekend. In addition to the beautiful fall colors, the Killington Brewfest was on tap today at the Snowshed Base Lodge. Official counts are not in, but mountain contacts were telling us that they were expecting 1500 to 2000 people to taste beers from breweries through out Vermont.

In addition to the Brewfest, many local ski shops have re-opened for the season with their traditional early season sales. This weekend and next weekends Columbus Day Holiday are traditionally the time to visit the local shops and capture the best deals of the year, as they get ready to crank up their seasons.

It won't be long now before falling leaves are replaced with falling flakes. Have a good weekend!

Fall colors behind the Birch Ridge Inn at Killington 

In the immediate Killington region, along the upper parts of the Killington Road and on the mountain, fall colors are nearing their peak.

Sometime in the next 4 to 5 days, there will be a collective realization among the local population that peak color has arrived.

The local micro-climate at Killington is pushing the fall season along. This is a common event each year. The immediate area in the shadow of Killington Peak always experiences a color change in the foliage a week or so before the surrounding area. Of course, drive 10 minutes in any direction and the colors will be spectacular the week after they peak on top of Killington.

Where ever you may be, get outside and enjoy the show.

First snow of the season on Skye Peak at Killington 

It's not much, but you have to start somewhere.

Mother Nature is continuing to remind us that the seasons are changing. Last night she reminded us that winter will be here soon by dusting the mountain tops of Killington with a coating of light snow.

You can't ski or ride on it...so fans of winter control yourselves for a few more weeks. But be prepared.

Leaf Peepers should rejoice. The snow was at the extreme upper elevations, so roadways around the state are unaffected. A nice tableau has been set for fall foliage pictures with peak color at the base of the mountains and a candy coating frosting the top. A little sun would create the perfect shot. Maybe Mother Nature can cooperate a little on that.

Where ever you are... stay warm. And remember, yesterday I did not write...let it s... It's still too early.

Cutting ground cover at front of inn on Killington Road 

If you have not noticed, the National Weather Service is predicting that there may be snow on top of Killington this evening. If it occurs, and it is just an outside chance, it is just one more reminder that the winter season at Killington is fast approaching.

Around the inn, in addition to helping our Fall Foliage guests get the most out of their visit to Vermont, preparations are well underway for the winter season. Mary has her work schedule in place to tear apart every room in the inn to make sure they are in great shape. My list of marketing tasks has kicked into high gear. Yesterday I finished all of the software changes to quote Ski and Stay packages to Killington on our website. If you are inclined, you can visit our Ski Package Calculator on birchridge.com and price out a ski vacation at the Birch Ridge Inn for this winters season. Killington has not yet released the price of a single day lift ticket, but they have provided us with information on all of their multiday products, which is coded into the calculator.

birchridge.com is still flying its summer colors. Once we get past Columbus day, the site will change to more winter oriented. But we don't need to push the season that much.

Outside the inn, we also have a number of projects started to get the grounds ready for winter. The snow stake is in place to catch the first snow. Mary has started to cut back all of her gardens. Most of the gardens we try to bring down to ground, so that the first snow covers the beds evenly for the long winter nap. I have been working, with the help of our chef, to cut down all of the other ground cover around the inn. Being in a wet environment in the Green Mountain National Forest, the property around the inn would be quickly over grown if we did not trim it back each year.

If you see me on the Killington Road with brush cutter in hand, just give a beep. I might not hear you above the noise of the cutters engine, but I appreciate the thought.

Dare I write...let it s... no it's too early.

Superstar at Killington. Ready for the first snow. 

Change is in the air at Killington. With all the fall colors around town, the pace of preparations for the ski season is quickening at the Killington Resort.

Intermixed with the fall foliage, the ski resort has been manicuring the ski trails. "Manicuring" might be too strong a word, but I was actually surprised over the weekend when I went up to the mountain and saw how closely cropped the grass was on some of the ski trails. Clearly the resort has set up many of their trails to be very receptive to early season snow. (With the grass cut short on a trail, it does not take a lot of snow cover to support skiing.)

Work is also continuing on getting lifts and snow making systems ready. Workers were turning the Superstar Chair today. Portable compressors are scattered around the mountain running pressure tests on snow making pipes. And the footings are being dug for the new fan guns the mountain received over the summer. If the weather cooperates, I was told that concrete would be poured later this week for them.

Fall foliage colors in the immediate Killington area are quite pronounced. Weekend guests commented that the color in the mountains around Killington was more brilliant than along Route 100 north. Why is anyones guess(probably due to the local microclimate). But with peak foliage colors yet to come, the mountains around Killington will only get prettier over the next few days.

Pico Mountain from Kent Pond in Killington 

Fall foliage visitors to Killington this weekend are being treated to some very pretty color in the mountains around town. Beautiful scenes are to be viewed virtually everywhere you look.

This morning I took a ride down to Kent Pond. Yes...Killington actually has some water to go with the mountains. From Kent Pond, the views of the mountains, especially Pico, are beautiful. Today the sky is a deep blue, perfectly clear with bright sunshine. And Pico was just shining in the background behind the pond.

Last night we had our second hard freeze of the fall season. Temperatures overnight fell into the high 20's (27 at the inn at 3:00 AM when I called it a night). Mary covered the flowers once again along the front walkway entering the inn to see if they would survive a little longer. But their days are numbered.

If you have a chance to get to Vermont in the next couple of weeks... Do It! Now is the time to be here as the fall colors reach their peak.