Beautiful Sunday out on the mountain. 

Very rarely do we go out on the mountain on weekends. We used to be weekenders on the mountain all the time, but since starting the inn 14 years ago, we spend most weekends at the inn meeting and greeting inn guests. But when I got up this morning to bright blue skies and temperatures cracking the 40 degree mark, there was no doubt that instead of taking a walk around the block, we needed to take a few runs on the mountain.

With temperatures above freezing, most trails on the mountain were developing a nice spring cream. South facing trails were corning up slightly in the warm sun. North facing trails had skid patches where firm surfaces were exposed between little moguls of soft snow. No matter where we were, however, it was all good. With sun on our faces, and strategic lift decisions taken to have the wind at our back, it was just a nice day to be skiing at Killington.

And with feet of snow for base depth, and being only April 3rd, hopefully we will get quite a few more sunny spring days to enjoy playing on the mountain in the snow.

Gary, Chuckles, Ruts and the Bagel on Killington Peak in the snow. 

While not quite living up to the hype broadcasted by the Weather Channel and local TV weathercasters, Killington was blanketed today in a solid covering of heavy, dense, snow. With temperatures hovering around freezing, the snow coming out of the sky is perfect to continue skiing and riding at Killington well into the spring.

We started our excursion today with a K1 Gondola ride followed by a traverse across the top of the resort to Bear Mountain. Some problem kept the Superstar Chair from operating at 9:00. Taking advantage of the situation, we found ourselves staring at Wildfire with not a ski track on the trail to be found. Such tough luck...

Snow on the trails was heavy. The perfect consistency for making snow men or throwing snow balls. The proverbial phrase "Keep your tips pointed down hill you chicken s#!t" was the order of the day, as any time you strayed from that mantra your skis were pulled fiercely to the side by the newly fallen snow.

We got several runs down trails at Bear Mountain before other skiers and riders figured out to cross the top of the mountain. Even then, the terrain got chopped up very quickly, as the stickiness of the snow promoted the development of moguls at every turn.

Most trails had been groomed overnight, so they were very receptive to the newly fallen snow. Trails that were groomed early displayed a tendency to have a frozen surface below the new snow, making it important to pay attention to your turns and avoid skidding and sliding.

At Bear Mountain, we skied Wildfire, the Stash, Bear Claw, and Dream Maker. We stayed away from Outer Limits, letting the bumpers getting ready for this weekends Mogul Challenge have a clear slope to play on.

From Bear Mountain, we then did Needles Eye, Bitter Sweet, Sky Lark, Superstar and High Road off of Sky Peak. Superstar was solidly encased in cloud cover till the lower headwall. All of the other trails skied well, although the further we went north on the resort to the Killington Basin area, the worse the visibility became.

Off of Killington Peak we did Cascade, East Fall, Rime, Reason, Great Northern, and Highline. Snow coverage on all of the trails was pretty good, although the low cloud made for some interesting runs, most notably down Cascade.

Snow has continued to accumulate at Killington all day with about 4 inches of new snow recorded at the snow stake at the inn this afternoon. While it is not the foot predicted by various weather outlets, it is white. It should make for a great weekend of skiing and riding at Killington....Let it snow!

Oxymoron-Walter and a "Slow Sign" with Killington Peak in the background. 

Finally....spring arrived at Killington.

Beautiful sunny skies complimented temperatures in the low to mid 30's to bring spring skiing to the Killington resort. From Bear Mountain to the Canyons below Killington Peak, bright sunshine bathed the region; softening up snow surfaces in the process.

High speed cruising was once again the methode du jour with few bumps to be found around the resort early this morning. The situation should change later in the day, but with minimal skier traffic it is unlikely that big spring bumps will form before the weekend.

Superstar, Outer Limits, the Stash, Bear Claw, Wild Fire, and Skyburst were all groomed flat. All were rated do overs. Outer Limits was developing a soft cream in the full on early morning sun.

Upper Dream Maker and Needles Eye were flat and fast with small skier created bumplets. Neither trail had been groomed overnight, yielding a crisp finish common to spring skiing on trails with little skier traffic.

At Killington Peak the Canyon Trilogy was in all it's spring glory. East Fall with it's southern exposure was creaming up nicely. Double Dipper was softening up with some light corn. Cascade, in the shadows due to it's north face, was firm with a machine groomed granular surface down it's double fall line. Rime, Reason, and Ridge Run were skiing nice. Ridge Run had firm bumps in the shadows down skiers left, but due to the slight pitch they were easily navigable.

Winter Storm Watch issued for Killington Vermont
KILLINGTON ... 306 PM EDT WED MAR 30 2011

...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BURLINGTON CONTINUES THE WINTER STORM WATCH...FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH LATE FRIDAY NIGHT.

* LOCATIONS...ALL OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VERMONT...AND THE NORTHERN ADIRONDACKS OF NEW YORK...INCLUDING THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY

* HAZARD TYPES...MODERATE TO HEAVY WET SNOWFALL.

* ACCUMULATIONS...6 TO 12 INCHES OF SNOW...WITH LOCALIZED HIGHER AMOUNTS ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN VERMONT.

* TIMING...SNOW WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION THURSDAY NIGHT AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES ON FRIDAY BEFORE TAPERING TO SNOW SHOWERS FRIDAY NIGHT.

* IMPACTS...HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED...ESPECIALLY DURING THE FRIDAY MORNING COMMUTE. IN ADDITION...SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES WILL BE POSSIBLE DUE TO THE HEAVY WET SNOW...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

* WINDS...NORTH 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

* TEMPERATURES...IN THE UPPER 20S TO MID 30S DURING THE STORM.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.

With fresh snow on the way, and the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge this weekend, it is time to get to Killington for some late season skiing and riding. Let it Snow!

Killington Peak - bright sun - cold temperatures. 

The calendar reads March 28th. The thermometer reads January 28th. So it goes....

The combination of a low pressure system in the gulf of St Lawrence and a high pressure system to the west of the Laurentians is streaming arctic air down the Green Mountains of Vermont putting Killington into a relative deep freeze for late March. Temperatures are struggling to get into the mid 20's in the face of a brisk 20-30 mph northwest wind. The beautiful sunshine of this morning thru a sucker punch at those who were not paying attention and did not dress in the proper armor for the cold temperatures.

Once again the mountain was set up flat and fast. Most trails started this morning with groomed corduroy, giving way to several inches of machine groomed loose granular as skier traffic broke up the surface.

With so many trails set up as groomed cruisers, it is hard to pick the run of the day. I would give the edge to Outer Limits with the caution that it is not the Outer Limits of old. The constant grooming has left a beautifully flat surface, which purists who want OL to be the premier bump trail in all of skiing would find abhorrent. But when all you have to choose from is groomed cruisers, OL when it is groomed flat can be very good indeed, and today it rated multiple do overs. But bumpers take note: the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge is this coming weekend so the bumps on OL by definition need to return, or somebody at the resort will have a lot of explaining to do!

Once again Vertigo was the most technical run of the loop we pursued today. It was not groomed. The upper headwall was the proverbial slide for life which was to be avoided at all costs, unless out of control down hill rocket rides are your thing. Middle and lower Vertigo were very firm with irregular residual little bumplets (not really bumps but hard piles of snow) left over from weekend skier traffic. I enjoyed it as it was a distinct change from the high speed runs on the groomed cruisers, but then again some people might think I am crazy as well.

With the inevitable decline in midweek skiers and riders brought on by the arrival of the cherry blossoms down south, the resort has started it's spring contraction. Today both Rams Head and Sky Ship Stage 1 to Route 4 were closed, along with the trails that they service. It begins a long process which happens every spring, as the mountain starts to change gears. But there is so much terrain with feet of snow cover open around the resort, that few, if any, of the skiers and riders on the mountain today really noticed.

As we head into spring, don't forget your sunscreen.

Mary, Chuckles, Gary and the Bagel on Upper Dream Maker in the snow. 

Go Speed Racer.....Go Speed Racer....Go Speed Racer Goooooooo.

For some reason I could not get that cartoon song out of my head this morning. In plus or minus 2 hours and 30 minutes we did 15 top to bottom runs; comfortably landing in the K1 base lodge before noon to call it a day on the hill. We did more skiing this morning than we did on whole weekends in the early 1990's, courtesy of all the high speed lifts the resort now operates (even though we think some of them are sloow).

At Bear Mountain we did runs through the Stash, Outer Limits (a do over with 2 very quick laps) Bear Claw, Wild Fire and Sky Burst. At Sky Peak our excursion took us down Dream Maker (another do over), Cruise Control, Needles Eye, Vertigo, Bitter Sweet, Sky Lark and Super Star. We finished up on Killington Peak on Cascade, Double Dipper, East Fall, Rime, Reason, Ridge Run, Great Northern, and High Line.

Conditions today were faaaaaaasssssstttt. Most trails featured a 2-3 inch layer of machine groomed loose granular over a firm base. With light crowds, the mountain was totally set up for speed.

Hard to pick a run of the day. Outer Limits and Upper Dream Maker and Super Star were very good. All allowed edge to edge carving turns, with few hints of skidding or ice.

Vertigo was the most technical run. It has not been groomed in several days. The surface was developing nice 12-18 inch bumps. With light snow falling all morning, any slick spots on Vertigo were covered up, yielding a trail where if you paid attention to your lines you were rewarded with an exhilarating run.

The worst run of the day was Cascade. At 10:30 AM the trail was basically dark with very poor visibility due to low clouds and light snow. Compounded with a rock hard surface full of skids down the lower compound fall line...well suffice to say we did not do that over again. It was interesting, as Double Dipper and East Fall also in the Canyon area of Killington Peak were both very good... But Cascade...not so much.

The weather forecast for Killington this weekend is calling for unseasonably cool temperatures (20's) with on and off snow flurries. If you plan on winter conditions, the beast will reward you with a great weekend of skiing or riding....Let it snow!

News Flash: While we were out skiing this morning, the inn received a call from the Resort notifying us that the resort plans to continue operating for Skiing and Riding through Sunday May 1st, assuming weather conditions permit. Based upon this weeks observations, and the amount of snow pack on the mountain, unless something abnormal takes place, weather conditions should permit another full month of skiing and riding at Killington. Enjoy!

Mary on East Fall (taken 3/23) 

Mid winter conditions persist at the Killington Resort. Bright sunshine today is giving the appearance of spring, but the storm that went south of the area, blanketing New York with snow, has also dragged down some cool air from the north keeping temperatures in check.

Today was a work day around the inn (I know...it happens). Yesterday we did have a chance to get out around the resort. With light skier volume, and most lifts operating on their normal Wednesday schedule, it was a delightful day to be out on the snow. Everything at the resort was set up flat and fast, with a nice coating of machine groomed granular over most trails. Employees coming into work this afternoon are reporting that conditions were the same today; which one would expect given that todays cool temperatures are minimizing snow melt.

It should be a great weekend at Killington. On Saturday afternoon, the band moe. and special guest Ryan Montbeau Band will perform on the Swany Stage outdoors at the base of the resorts Bear Mountain lodge as part of Snoe.Down. moe will also be performing at the Spartan Arena in Rutland on Friday and Saturday night.

On Sunday, the New Haven, CT based funk rock band, Frank Viele and the Manahattan Project, will perform at the K-1 base lodge rounding out musical performances put on by the resort this weekend.

Spring is here at Killington....Don't forget your sun screen!

Mary on headwall of Vertigo. 

Cold temperatures and light snow continue to rule Killington as winter tries to keep a grip on the region. A couple of inches of moderately dense snow fell late in the day on Monday and overnight on Tuesday, providing a nice refresh to Killingtons' ample snow base.

Except for the Killington cloud hanging over Killington Peak, today was a very nice ski day at the resort. Snow surfaces were nicely soft. Combined with light crowds, it was a nice day for some cruising.

Because of the Killington cloud, we split our ski day between Bear Mountain and Sky Peak. Being slightly lower in elevation, both mountains were below the clouds, providing decent visibility.

The run of the day was definitely Vertigo. The upper headwall was groomed, providing a steep pitch suitable for sweeping, carving, turns. The mid section was covered with a couple if inches of new snow; building some small bumps with skier traffic. The lower section was pinched by the freestyle training course, providing some terrain where tight turns through small bumps was required. It was so exhilarating that it rated a strong "do-over", even for Mary.

Birch Ridge Inn - still looks like winter. Click to enlarge..

Winter is still maintaining its grip on Killington. Todays temperatures just barely touched the freezing mark. Skiers and riders did well with an extra layer of clothes on. There was no residual sun heating on lifts, and minimal opportunities for goggle tans, as the sky was basically cloud covered most of the day.

The forecast is calling for light snow in the area the next couple of days. It should help keep conditions nice as we head into spring skiing season......Let it snow!