10 Inches of snow at the snow stake at Birch Ridge 

The first major winter storm of the 2007/2008 season has just about cleared out of Killington this morning. Snow showers are expected for most of the day with minimal additional accumulation expected.

On the ground at the Birch Ridge Inn, 10 inches of new snow have been recorded at the snow stake (elevation ~1870 feet). I would expect higher accumulations to have been recorded on Killington peak.

Snow flurries are predicted by local weather services for the remainder of the week.They should keep snow surfaces nice and fresh as we head into Mid December and the 'Official" start of winter.

Let it snow!

Killington Peak obscured by heavy snow at the K1 Base Lodge 

As predicted, the Killington region is experiencing a heavy snow storm today. New snow on the mountain at 9:00 AM was in the 6 to 9 inch category with heavy snow falling. The snow is not champagne powder, but it is also not east coast cement. It should be great snow to provide base coverage on unopened terrain, and also build depth in the woods around Killington.

When I got to the mountain just before 9:00 AM, there was a large line queued at the K1 gondola. I decided to bypass that and skied right onto the Superstar Chair. The first 3 runs I took were all solid "freshies" down Skyelark, Superstar, and Bittersweet. Conditions were really nice, although my old man legs were telling me that I did not walk enough this past summer. I don't believe that the resort had groomed these trails overnight, as every so often I hit a very solid bump as I was skiing down the trail. I seemed to manage them OK, but I did see a few spectacular launches which turned into yard sale cart wheels by several other skiers and riders on the slopes.

Heavy snow was falling up on Killington Peak. The standard trails by this time were all cut up down the middle, but the usual spots along the trail edges still offered some untracked snow. I finished the morning with a run down Highline. It was pretty scraped off down the middle, but skiers right along the tree line was respectable. It was good to end the ski morning with a run with a nice rhythm to it.

Empty Superstar Chair on a snow day??? (Click to enlarge.)

Looking down to the junction of Skyelark and Bittersweet. A lone boarder in front of me. (Click to enlarge.)

Superstar Headwall. Snowing a lot harder than the picture looks. (click to enlarge.)

Snow covered trees at Killington Peak. A little art shot to remind people of the beauty of the mountains. (Click to enlarge.)

A boarder linking turns on Rime. (Click to enlarge.)

K1 parking lot at 10:30 from Snowdon quad. 2/3rds full. (Click to enlarge.)

Instructor with class on Bunny Buster. There were some people on the slopes this morning. (Click to enlarge.)

Getting ready for the last run of the day down Highline. (Click to enlarge.)

Snow is forecasted to continue overnight. Thank you for your snow dances. Happy birthday Jay and Mom! Let it snow!

Snow Fall Total Map
from accuweather.com 

Forget about this past weekend. (The skiing was great according to inn guests. The resort is making snow all over the place!)

Forget about the nightlife. Virtually all of the night clubs and restaurants at the resort were open this weekend for the season. (Everyone has begun their ramp towards their full winter operating schedules)

Forget about the cold. It was only 5 degrees for most of the day yesterday. But you have to have cold if you want snow....and it's all about the snow. And it looks like a big one is coming!

All of the major weather forecasting services are predicting heavy snow across the Green Mountains starting later this evening through at least Tuesday. Forecasts are calling for 12 inches of snow at Killington. (I would expect a little less at the inn given our lower elevation.)

Ski conditions on basically 100% man made snow have been great this last week based upon personal experiences and guest comments. A foot of snow from Mother Nature will only make it better!

A little dancing music please (snow dance that is!) Let it snow!

Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree 2007 

Presenting the Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree for 2007. Standing at 13 feet 6 inches, the Fraiser Fir is located in the Great Room of the inn. This years decorating motif is the "White" tree. In addition to 1500 white lights (it is a very big tree), all of the ornaments are either crystal, or clear glass with white or silver accents.

The tree was completely decorated by my partner Mary. She has been working on it all week to get it ready for public display this weekend. The Christmas tree will be on display through the new year.

At the resort, it looks like winter will be arriving a few weeks before the calendar officially calls it. Temperatures this weekend are predicted to be around 0 (F) during the evening hours, allowing the resort to continue their impressive snow making operations. In addition, the weathermen are starting to talk about a winter storm in the area early next week. Please help them out by performing your favorite snow dance.

Have a great weekend. Let it snow!

Snow guns operating on Middle Superstar 

With all of the weather we had the last couple of days, our expectations were not set very high this morning when we headed out to the slopes. Overnight, temperatures dipped into the low teens with a fairly strong wind. Around the inn, things were frozen fairly tightly this morning. I needed to chop away more than a little ice to get the back hatch of the Subaru open before heading out to the hill.

When we arrived at the mountain, we were greeted with the site of snow guns operating all over the place. 4 lifts were operating this morning including the K1 gondola,aka "the box", the Snowdon Quad and Poma, and the Superstar Quad. The North Ridge Triple was scheduled to run, but when we skied down it's lift line there were maintenance crew working on the top of one of the lift towers. God love them..it looked like one cold job. So it goes.

We did a couple of loops off the box. Great Northern had snow guns going in strategic locations. Lower Rime saw snow making last night. The new snow was fairly deep.

Mary traversing Great Northern (Click to enlarge.)

Totally unexpected given the weather we had yesterday. East Fall and High Line were in great shape. Perfect for nice sweeping turns. Cascades was monster icey bumps. Many of the people on it were not pretty to be polite.

Before calling it a day we did several runs of the Superstar Quad. Upper Skyelark was in nice shape. Lower Bittersweet and Lower Skyelark were a little funky. Plenty of snow cover. Them mountain may have even blown snow snow on them overnight. But the base had a granular feel. Probably still a little damp.

Superstar was really interesting. The guns were going from the headwall all the way to the High Road cut toff for Skyelark. Totally sweet. I just took a line about 15 feet away from the guns. Beautiful fresh snow. Really nice. Of course, I was also like the abominable snow man when I joined up with Mary on Skye Lark (Lower Superstar was not open.)

All in all a morning on the hill.

Let it snow!

Mary putting lights on the Christmas Tree. 

Downright strange weather day at Killington.

When eating dinner last night, Mary and I had every intention of getting up in the morning and heading to the mountain to go skiing. With the Thanksgiving holiday past, it is important to begin to develop a rhythm about going up on the hill to ski several days a week. But by the time I hit the sack at 2 AM (I am the night owl), the beautiful snow covering that was around the inn was starting to make it's return trip to the Atlantic Ocean via the Roaring Brook, and the Ottaquechee and Connecticut rivers. Suffice to say that it was r@*ning very hard.

During the day we saw every kind of weather possible at Killington. We had r@*n, wind, sun, sleet, snow, ice... you name it we had it. As I write this about 10 PM, the wind outside my office is howling, the temperature has fallen well below freezing, and everything that was wet during the day outside is now frozen solid.

Overnight we are expecting some snow flurries. Killington is also supposed to be turning on their snow making system again. We can hope. The plan is to get up in the morning and head to the slopes to go skiing. Deja vu all over again.

Let it snow!

Over the river and through the woods, Mary leads the way as we hunt down Christmas Trees. 

Some people call this Cyber Monday as people flock to the internet to shop but at the Birch Ridge Inn we call this "Christmas Tree Monday". 5 of us this morning left the inn about 9:00 AM in 2 trucks and headed to Danby Vermont to cut this years Christmas Tree for the inn. In the process, we also got 3 other trees for other families in Killington.

This years tree stood roughly 19 feet in the wild. After cutting it to size to fit into the inn, it now stands at approximately 14 feet. The tree has been raised in the Great Room of the inn, where it is "resting" before being decorated. Throughout the remainder of the week, Mary will be decorating the tree to have it ready for the guests to the inn this coming weekend. This year tree will be decorated in a Crystal theme.

The first cut is the deepest! (Click to enlarge.)

Hauling the tree back to the truck for the ride to Killington. From Left to Right - Howie, Peter Smith (owner of the Forerunner Ski Shop), Billy B, and yours truly. (click to enlarge.)

Raising the tree in the Great Room. (Click to enlarge.)

The Birch Ridge Inn 2007 Christmas Tree waiting to be decorated. (Click to enlarge.)

Let it snow!