Back on the mountain again. 

Conditions on the mountain this morning were worthy of a few runs. Temperatures at the peak were in the mid 20's. For the most part, the Killington cloud was blocking the sun, occasionally coughing up a snow flurry or two. All told, not to bad for early December.

Open terrain at Killington this morning included the North Ridge area, most of Snowdon, and parts of Rams Head. East Fall to the Canyon Quad was closed to allow some snow sculpting work to be completed at the junction with North Ridge. Highline looked beautiful, with a pristine layer of newly made snow, but the ropes were blocking it off, (probably) reserving it for weekend use.

The K1 Gondola, the North Ridge Triple, the Snowdon Triple, the Snowdon Poma and the Rams Head Quad were all loading to carry people up to their respective peaks. Snow Guns were active on Bunny Buster, and the Bunny Buster Run out (fairly wet), East Fall, Chute, and over on Skye Peak at the base of the Superstar Quad. I presume they were also making snow on Bittersweet and Sky Lark, but most of the time you could not see those trails from Snowdon because of cloud cover.

The resort has made an impressive amount of snow since the deluge earlier in the week. Overall conditions were mid winter on newly made snow. Most of the trails had not been heavily groomed, so the snow was very soft. it had not been compressed into a packed powder state. In may places, the resort appears to have decided that skier traffic would be enough to do the job today.

It looks like the mountain is in for more of the same conditions over the weekend, with the continued probability of snow squalls dropping some natural snow across the region. Look for ski conditions at the resort to continue to improve, and for the resort to expand terrain as well.

Happy Birthday Mom! Happy Birthday Jay! Let it snow!

Killington's snow making system in operation on Snowdon. 

Yesterday was not a good day at ski resorts all over the Northeast. Enough said... time to move on...

Killington resumed it's aggressive snow making posture late last evening as a very cold air mass descended over the region in the wake of yesterdays storm. While the upper reaches of the mountain were not visible due to heavy natural snow flurries, snow making was clearly taking place on the lower elevations to resurface terrain damaged by yesterdays non-crystalline precipitation, and to continue to expand available terrain.

Cold air is due to stick around at Killington at least thru the weekend, allowing the resort to continue to make snow. In addition, it looks like Mother Nature is going to cooperate with snow showers continuously in the forecast thru Wednesday next week.

We will be on the mountain tomorrow to get a first hand view of conditions heading into the weekend. Until then....Let it snow!

The 2010 Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree waiting to be decorated. 

Below you will find a video on Youtube with a little vignette following all of us on Christmas Tree Monday 2010...Enjoy!

......Let it snow!

How great is this....Thanksgiving Turkey and it's chocolate! 

With the Thanksgiving Weekend coming to a close, the winter season at Killington is kicking into high gear.

The Killington Resort has started a major push to expand skiable terrain. Snow making has been active all day on Expert and Advanced Intermediate terrain. Today in addition to continuing trail resurfacing on currently open trails, the resort was making snow top to bottom on Highline, the run out from the Canyons, Sky Lark, Bitter Sweet and their companion cross connect to Super Star. While Mother Nature is cooperating with cold temperatures and snow flurries, the game is on to make snow across the resort. Assuming the weather stays in their favor, the resort should be rolling out expanded terrain on a regular schedule over the next several weeks.

Snowmaking on going all across the Killington Resort. Click to enlarge..

The next few weeks will see some rapid changes at the inn as we get ready for the Christmas holidays. It all starts tomorrow with Christmas Tree Monday, where we head out into the local forest to find the inn's Christmas Tree.

Mary and I would like to thank all of our friends in Killington, and the nice guests that stayed with us this weekend to help us celebrate Thanksgiving. A special thanks go to Nancy and Steve for the chocolate turkey. So far I have been able to keep Mary at bay from "carving the bird". But it is chocolate after all, so it is only a matter of time.....

Let It SNOW!!!!!!

Mary walking in the snow 

Blizzard it is not, but snow is setting the tone in Killington this Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. A steady, light, snow has been falling most of the day, bringing a festive mood to the area.

A little more than an inch (certainly not significant by mountain standards) has fallen at the inn, covering the ground and buildings in a white patina. More has fallen at the upper elevations. It is just enough to take away the doldrums of twig season, and remind everyone that winter will be quickly upon us, bringing joy to locals and visitors alike. Snow at Killington in late November is one of the many things we can be thankful for....

...Let it snow!

Killington Base Lodge with Killington Peak obscured in a snow squall 

First off, Mary and I hope all of you are having a nice Thanksgiving weekend. We had a great crowd over for the holiday. Based upon the number of belt buckles that got loosened, "The Turkey" was not the only thing that got stuffed yesterday....

Turning back to the resort, Black Friday really started off black. An early morning ice storm laid down a carpet of black ice all across the area causing some minor headaches for people traveling in Killington; and a slight delay in opening the resort. By 10 AM this morning, most things were back to normal and as I write this at 1:00 PM, the sun is shining with blue sky outside my office window at the inn.

Snow squalls are the order of the day on the mountain peaks around Killington. The Killington Peak cloud is doing it best to drop some of the white stuff on the resort. Nothing major, mind you, but it is white versus r@!n or ice...

The resort has some minor expansion of terrain the last couple of days with the addition of Chute, the Snowshed Learn to Ski area, and the Snow Play Park on Rams Head. Snowmaking was continuing yesterday on East Fall, which will probably be the next significant trail to open, once the resort repairs any damage from this morning ice event.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend watching football games or shopping, if you can't make your way up to Killington...Let it snow!

Great day to work on your goggle tan at Killington! 

With all the mess Mother Nature has thrown at the Green Mountains the last few days, it was really nice to get outside, get on skis, and work on the goggle tan. The Killington Resort is open for top to bottom skiing and riding, with major trail expansions queued up for the holiday weekend.

This morning the resort was carrying skiers and riders uphill on the K1 Gondola, the North Ridge Triple, and the Snowdon Poma. In addition, they were turning the Canyon Quad and the Snowdon Quad as they prepare to go into the Thanksgiving Weekend. Skiing and riding today were available off Killington Peak into the North Ridge area, Bunny Buster on Snowdon, and interconnecting trails betweek the two.

Trails on the upper part of the mountain were a machine groomed granular over a firm surface. While there were not ice flows visible, edges on your skis were important. On the upper part of the mountain, the resort was not making snow. Instead they decided to deep groom the area to manipulate the deep cover they had already created on the top of Killington Peak.

Trails on the lower part of the mountain, and interconnecting trails, were much softer. They were primarily covered with packed powder from extensive snow making operations that took place last night. Guns were still set up to resume snow making on lower trails most likely later this evening.

What was really impressive about today's excusion on the mountain was the aggressive amount of snow making taking place on closed trails in preparation for the weekend. The available terrain for skiing and riding at Killington is poised to take a major leap forward in the next day or 2 as the mountain brings online new trails.

Snowmaking was taking place today on East Fall all the way to the Canyon Quad. On Snowdon, Chute was under the snow making guns top to bottom, straight down to the Snowdon Quad. Snow making was also underway on the Vail Trail between Snowdon and Rams Head down to the Rams Head Quad. In addition, the Learn to Ski trails on Snow Shed and the Snow Play Zone on Rams Head were also getting blanked by snow making. With all of the snow making taking place, look to see both the lift count and the trail count to jump substantially during the Thanksgiving Weekend. Killington will have the most skiing and riding open in the east during the holiday.

You will find a gallery of pictures from my couple of hours on the mountain today at the Birch Ridge Inn's Facebook page. The gallery is located under Skiing the day before Thanksgiving at Killington - Nov 24, 2010..

Let it snow!