Birch Ridge Inn Snow Stake 

Last week, during the unseasonably warm weather, I took some time to construct a rudimentary snow stake to display the snow on the ground around the inn. I was able to find a reasonably sheltered location, within camera range of our Great Room. I will try to take pictures of it on a regular basis to give a sense of the natural snow cover in the area.

As a disclaimer, please remember that the inn is at approximately 1900 feet. For those of you who know Killington, this translates to roughly the elevation of the Needles Eye Skyship terminal. The K1 base lodge is at approx 2200 feet. Also keep in mind that Killington has the worlds largest snow making system, so the natural snow does not represent the snow cover that you would find on many of the trails at Killington. However, it will give a good approximation of the snow cover that occurs at Killington during the many winter storms we usually experience.

The snow stake itself is just a 2 by 4 with 2 yardsticks attached, marked with 3 inch graduations. The snow at the stake for todays post is at the 3 inch mark.

Killington Peak, December 3rd, 2005 , 11:30 AM 

I am actually posting this entry quite late for Saturday. It has been pretty busy around the inn, which is a good thing...

More and more of our winter friends are returning to open their ski houses and take in some December skiing and riding at Killington. From speaking with many of them, today offered a melange of conditions. The day started with brilliant blue skies and some puffy clouds. The mountain was pouring it on with snow guns blasting away. But there was this little thing called wind which made things interesting. Temps were in the low to mid 20's, but the combination of blowing snow and 30MPH winds caused an early exit for many today. The reports that we received indicated that the mountain had moderate crowds, but because of all of the weather "problems" earlier in the week, the terrain when the resort opened was somewhat limited. Later in the day, trails like Cascade, where they were blowing snow all day, were opened which helped spread out some of the people.

Todays picture was taken from the parking lot of the Grand Hotel, shooting over the Snow Shed Base Lodge to Killington peak. It was taken at approximately 11:30 AM on Saturday from the corner of the hotel, in the hotel's shadow to eliminate lens flare.

Killington turns white on December 2nd, versus the mud of December 1st. 

One need to remember that the official start to winter is still a couple of weeks away. The cycle of snow/no snow inevitably repeats itself each year. This year is no exception. Today, Killington is experiencing temperatures in the mid 20's with light, blowing snow. For today's picture, I tried to take the same basic mountain shot as yesterday. I superimposed yesterdays picture, corrected for perspective, and created a small animation to show you the changes that have taken place overnight. As you can see, a little snow can go a long way at a ski resort.

From what I could see at the mountain, the resort has been concentrating it's snowmaking efforts on Killington peak. Snow making appeared to be taking place in the Glades, Rime, Bunny Buster, etc. At 10:00 AM this morning, snow making had not resumed at Rams Head, Snow Shed, or lower Bittersweet.

Back at the inn, we are preparing for the "Meet the Artist" night with Vermont Sculptor, John Tidd. The inns Christmas tree is completely decorated for it's maiden public viewing this evening. We took pictures of the tree from late last night while the inn was quiet. I don't know how Mary does it, but somehow she was able to completely decorate a 13 foot tree, and the inn, in under 3 days.

Christmas Bear Ornament on Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree 

Mary is continuing to make great progress with the inn's Christmas tree. Many of the ornaments were placed on the tree last night and this morning... each one has it's own story.

The one that is perhaps most challenging to deal with is the little bear. It was given to Mary by her nephew Scott. When life was simpler and he was deployed in Germany, he acquired the ornament and sent it to her. This Christmas, Scot is deployed in Iraq. Scot.. just remember we are thinking of you...

The weather at Killington today, while is it definitely colder, is not yet to snowmaking temperatures as of noon time. Heavy cloud cover blanketed the mountain when I went up to get some pictures. The picture to the right is a distance shot taken from the Killington Road of the junction on Mouse Trap and Lower Bunny Buster. The damage by the NCP of the last several days is clearly visible, however, you can also see that the terrain is still quite passable for skiers and riders.

From the K1 base area, snow guns were set up and ready to fire on Bunny Buster and Chute. I presume from what I saw that they are also out and ready to go on the upper elevations. If the resort sticks to their normal modus operandi, they will begin to blow snow on open trails to resurface them, prior to attempting any trail expansion. A weather system is due to move in from the mid-west later this evening with the promise of some natural snow. That will certainly help improve conditions on the mountain.

Snow Shed Base Lodge, November 30, 2005, 11:00 AM 

When I woke up this morning, there was a very strange green glow coming through the bedroom window. No.. UFO'a had not landed in the back yard of the inn....However, all of the beautiful snow we had received last week just before Thanksgiving was now coursing through the Roaring Brook headed for the Connecticut River. In it's place, was a beautiful emerald green lawn, enriched with the nitrogen that had been fixed in last weeks snow. Twig season has returned.

It does not look like the lawn will stay green for very long. The weather channel is predicting that winter will return late this evening with snow fall predicted for the next 3 days. We can only hope, because, as you can see from todays picture, the ski resort needs a good white dump.

Back at the inn, Mary continues making progress decorating the Christmas tree. Late yesterday she had completed stringing all of the white lights that will adorn this years tree. She has started putting up the ornaments today; aiming to complete the process by early Friday where the tree will be shown in public for the first time at the "Meet the Artist" night with Vermont Sculptor John Tidd.

Christmas Tree raising in Great Room at Birch Ridge Inn 

It is very hard to find anything good about the weather outside today at Killington. Temps are in the 50's. Strong Winds, Driving NCP... Not a great day to be at a ski resort. However, this too will pass. Winter is slowly establishing itself in the east. By the end of the week, the local weather is once again predicting multiple days of snow to cover the mountains.

This week, however, we are probably lucky that the snow is not on the hill to tempt us.... for this week is the week the Christmas Tree gets put up and decorated for the holiday season at the inn. The Monday after Thanksgiving is traditionally "Christmas Tree Monday". I head out into the woods with some friends and cut down a tree for the inn. This year was no exception, except the friend with the truck, and you know who you are, choose to stay in Florida to tend to hurricane damage to his property... of all things.. Never matter, we got the keys to his truck and "borrowed" it anyway.

The tree for the inn stood 23 feet in the forest. By the time we cut it down and trimmed it, it was about 17 feet on top of the truck. We also cut down a tree that trimmed out to 11 feet for the friend in Florida.

Once we got the tree to the inn, after a lunch appropriate for the mighty woodsman we were pretending to be (hum the lumberjack song here), the process began to "fit" it into the Great Room. After 3 attempts and much use of the chain saw, the tree was whittled down to it's final standing height of 13 Feet 9 Inches.

It will take Mary most of the week to decorate the tree. The official first event where the tree will be shown in public is the "Meet the Artist" night we have planned at the inn this coming Friday.

Robert Haas, Tablas Creek Vineyards 

On Friday Evening December 9th, Birch Ridge is pleased to announce that the renowned Robert Hass will be at the Birch Ridge Inn to present wines from his winery, Tablas Creek of Paso Robles California. As founder of Vineyard Brands, and Managing Partner of Tablas Creek since its formation in 1989, Haas has consistently spoken in favor of organic viticulture, minimum-intervention winemaking and wines of terroir and sophistication. Chef Stephen Byrne will pair the wines presented by Robert to create a festive dinner in advance of the holidays.

The menu for the evening includes Filet of Sole Roulade, stuffed with Maine Crab laced in sauce Maltaise, paired with a Roussanne; Roasted Red Pepper and spinach påté wrapped in sliced carrot with red onion rosette, served with a Tablas Creek Rosé; and Noisettes of Lamb, herb rubbed, topping a Yukon gold potato cake and Rosemary demi glaze accompanying an Esprit de Beaucastle Red. The evening will begin in the Great Room of the Birch Ridge Inn with appetizers and a Cote de Tablas Blanc. To finish the evening, a Tablas Creek Syrah will be paired with Parmesan cheese cups filled with fresh fruit, a rich pastry cream, Danish blue cheese and a cassis reduction.

The first wine will be presented at 7:00 PM in the Great Room Lounge at Birch Ridge, followed by dinner in the Inn's restaurant starting at 7:30 PM. Mr. Haas will present each wine with a brief discussion.

The price per person for the evening is $79.00, not including tax or gratuity. This price is inclusive of the evening's wine and dinner. Reservations are required, and can be made by calling the Birch Ridge Inn at 802.422.4293, or 800.435.8566. Lodging packages are also available.

Also, don't forget... The Birch Ridge Inn will be host local artist John Tidd in conjunction with the Killington Arts Guild, at a "Meet the Artist Night", on Friday, December 2.