Killington Peak from High Ridge
March 5, 2006, 12:30 PM
Double click to enlarge image 

Skiers and riders at Killington today were rewarded with warmer temperatures, soft snow, and brilliant sunshine.

Yesterdays light fluff is compressing under the weight of 100% sunshine and mild temperatures. Weekend crowds are enjoying late winter conditions. From the looks of the resorts parking lots, many are slow to leave the mountain this afternoon because of the nice conditions.

Skye Peak shrouded in Snow
March 4, 2006, 2:30 PM 

A clipper system is dropping multiple inches of snow on the western Green Mountains. Snow depths are very altitude dependent. We have received almost 3 inches of very light, fluffy, snow at the inn at the 1900 foot level. Our chef, who lives in Mendon, reported 8 inches of fluff in his driveway at the 2200 foot level.

Skiers at the resort today experienced light snow with medium visibility all day. Crowds at the resort were fairly heavy, as is usually the case for the first weekend in March. For those of you with local knowledge, cars were parked on both sides of the access road from the Killington Base Lodge down to the Snow Shed Base Lodge at 2:00 PM this afternoon. Guests returning to the inn are reporting good ski conditions with knee deep powder in places, although they are also reporting that some trails with high traffic are skied off to hard pack and ice.

I'm Flying!
Practicing for the Freestyle Competition
Lower Wildfire Terrain Park
March 3, 2006, 1:30 PM 

Looking outside, you would never imagine the chill that is in the air. While there is 100% sunshine at Killington today, there is also a bone chilling breeze. It is quite a paradox for the senses.

Over the last couple of days, the mountain was groomed totally flat. Skiers and riders were observed all over the mountain with large rooster tails trailing behind them; a sure sign that the surface layer has been machine groomed to a fine dust, over a firm base.

Work is continuing over at Bear Mountain to prepare for the Freestyle Championships later this month. Building of the large ramp on Outer Limits is almost complete. Many organized groups were observed training on both the Superpipe and in the terrain park on Lower Wildfire. Today's picture was taken from the Bear Mountain Base Lodge looking up Lower Wildfire at a ramp mid way down the slope. A group was doing jump training on the ramp. Just out of the frame to the top, there was a group of about 20 skiers and riders waiting their turn to take the hit. The group was well organized, with a spotter on the ramp for safety purposes.

Cover to Killington Town Report 

The snow storm that might have been has gone south of Killington. Unlike the last couple of very sunny days, today Killington is bathed in overcast. It appears that the snow storm threatened by the local weathermen has missed us again; dropping it's load of snow on the south coast of New England, instead of in the mountains.

The Killington Town Report arrived in mail boxes earlier this week. Town Meeting Day is set for Next Tuesday, March 7th. The meetings are held at the Sherburne Elementary School located on School House Road. The festivities begin at 9:00 AM with a School District Meeting, followed at 10:00 AM with the general Town Meeting.

Act 60/68 is assured to continue to drive controversy at the meetings. According to the town report, the total K thru 12 spending will increase 5.2% ($111,439) from a budget of $2,122,013 in 2005/06 to $2,223,452 in 2006/07. Almost all of the spending increase is associated with increased spending in the Middle and High Schools, which are under the control of the "Woodstock Union High School" According to the state formula, Killington will have "134.34 Equalized Pupils" enrolled in K-12 in 2007, down from "139.21", a 3.5% reduction.

The "Education Tax Rate" paid by Killington residents will increase from $1.726 to $2.104, a 21.9% increase. Businesses and second home owners will see an education tax rate increase from $1.6639 to $1.8651, a 12% increase. As you can see from these numbers, the "Education Tax Rate" is basically decoupled from the school budget, even though state officials proclaim that there is "local control". How a 5% spending increase begets a 12% to 21% tax increase is not something that can be easily explained or defended. I know that I follow this stuff pretty closely, as it has a major impact on my business, and I can't figure it out. (For completeness, it should be noted that the municipal Town Tax Rate will also increase from $0.2936 to $0.2944, a 0.27% increase.)

Killington Peak
March 1, 2006, 1:00 PM 

A gorgeous sunny mid winter day at Killington. Temperatures are in the mid 20's with near 100 percent sunshine.

Mary reports that crowds were slightly smaller today than yesterday. Surfaces have soften slightly with the temperatures raising to the 20's. Also, the inch or so of light fluff we received last night also has helped maintain snow surfaces. We are currently watching a storm to the west of us. Again, you can shop your weatherman to pick the forecast you like. We will know some time tomorrow night.

This week is "Jack Daniel's" week at Killington. Chef Steven has prepared "Lamb Shanks Braised in Jack Daniel's" to serve in our dining room this week to mark the festivities. Maybe a shot of 'Old Number 7" will help speed my recovery from the flu?

Building the Freestyle Ramp on Outer Limits
February 28, 2006, 1:00 PM 

Conditions on the mountain could be characterized as firm with cool temperatures, a stiff breeze, and brilliant sunshine.

I am still under the weather with the flu, but Mary ventured out today to check the mountain. She thought conditions were firm but edgeable, with ice in a few areas reflecting the cold temperatures we have experienced the last few nights. In fairness, however, Mary is not sure if the conditions reflected that fact that she was on the mountain from Noon till 2:00 PM, instead of her usual first chair at 9:00 AM run. She did note that the mountain was blowing snow on Lower Superstar near the exit areas. She also reports that work has begun on Outer Limits to get ready for the US Freestyle Championships scheduled from March 22 thru the 26th. The resort is in the process of building a large ramp at the bottom of Outer Limits, probably to be used during the Freestyle event.

I also spoke to my friend Howie on conditions on the mountain. He reports that the Canyon area was in very good shape. Upper Cascade, East Fall, and High Line were in excellent condition. Double Dipper, however, "took any edge I had left on my skis off" according to Howie. A veritable "Slide for Life" event.

I did not get out on the hill today, opting instead to visit with my doctor down at Dartmouth Hitchcock in Hanover NH. The flu, or cold, that I picked up has morphed into a nasty sinus infection. I am now loaded up on antibiotics. Hopefully it will provide a cure. I want to go skiing.

Reports from multiple sources indicated that conditions on the mountain this morning, while quite cold, were very good. Our Chef, Steve, went to Pico. He was still able to find some powder stashes left over from the weekend. However, he reports that the woods were a little thin. Up on Killington, multiple people reported nice groomed packed powder conditions, with a significant wind chill. But with 100 percent sunshine, it was just a matter of skiing the right trails, out of the wind, to moderate the temperature.