Killington. Battle damaged by Mother Nature....but fighting back! 

Of course I am dating myself, but many people still remember an old tv commercial for a margarine (do people still eat margarine?) where the tag line went "It's not nice to fool mother nature!." Well what about declaring open war!

I have been laid low for a couple of days with a nasty bronchial condition. A little gift no doubt from a Christmas guest. The weather the last couple of days I can only say has been awful, so being holed up at the inn was not necessarily a bad thing. But when I went to the mountain this morning, I did not know wether to cry or to cheer.

if you take a look at today's lead picture, a photo of Killington Peak from the Upper Snowshed parking lot, and compare it to the picture I took from the same place on January 3rd you will understand why crying would be in order. The damage done to the ski slopes by 36 hours of temperatures in the high 50's with a warm r@!n that sounded more typical of an August thunderstorm downpour than light spring showers is just incredible to look at.

Snowshed showing damage on skiers right.

Looking across the parking lot to the Showshed slope displays the total carnage suffered due to this weird weather we are having. But then I took a drive up to the main K1 base lodge and my optimism increased. I felt like cheering!

The Killington Resort is expending a huge amount of resources fighting to stay open. In reality, it is a fight for the life of the resort, as the last couple of winters have not been too kind to Killington.

Snow Guns Firing on Killington Peak

But when I got to the K1 Base Lodge, with the temperature in my car reading 38 degrees, I saw Killington firing snow guns all over the top of the mountain. A solid string of snow guns was firing from the K1 Gondola station at the peak, down through the North Ridge Area, building up the ski surface at the peak for the season still ahead of us. Killington was basically re-starting the ski season. I went back to a previous blog entry posted on December 2nd, and found almost the exact same picture (avec dog). Talk about deja vu all over again.

Snow Guns Firing at the junction of East Fall and Rime

I give the Killington team a lot of credit for continuing to fight this weird winter. We all know that there have been bad winters before.... but this one seems exceptional (or is that because we are living it now!). It would be very easy for the resort to throw up their hands and give up. But so far they are not. The resort seems fully engaged to continue to provide the best on snow product they can, even if it means open warfare with Mother Nature.

Mountain on fire at sunset!

One final note on this weird weather. Late yesterday afternoon the atmosphere was highly saturated with water vapor. Just at sunset, the mountains took on a eerie glow. The clouds and the sun and the moisture in the air cast a strange light on the mountain peaks to the east of the inn. The whole mountain ridge line was glowing in a strange orange. It looked like the whole mountain top was on fire, which was highly improbable given the downpours we had experienced all day. It was just another sign of this weird winter.

The good news in all of this is that while a significant snow storm is not anticipated this week, temperatures at Killington should allow for continuous snow making on the mountain. How long Killington's snow making budget will last is any one's guess. So where every you may be this week... think cold thoughts... think snow! We need the help!

Mary at the junction of Cruise Control and Great Eastern 

Conditions are softening up at Killington.

Yesterday we had a chance to take some turns on the hill. Killington has done a great job making snow all over the mountain. Our journey took us to Bear Mountain, Skye Peak, SnowShed, Rams Head, Snowdon, and Kpeak. Everywhere we went, we found nice surfaces of loose machine made snow.

My run of the day was Cascade. Killington had been blowing snow all week on Cascade. It had not been groomed. It was filled with fairly regular, nice soft bumps. My legs are not yet in great ski shape (as we have not been out enough), so Cascade was a work out... but it was also both challenging and fun.

Today, while I have not been out, I would expect that surfaces have softened up quite a bit more. We had some liquid precipitation last night, which reduced the snow around the inn. I would say that the same held true on the mountain. Temperatures are not expected to dip much below freezing the next couple of days, so I would guess that skiing this weekend will be on soft surfaces resembling spring conditions. Assuming the showers stay away, it should be pretty good.

The next snow in the forecast is for early next week. Crank up your snow dances... we could use the help!

Snow making operations continuing in the
Canyons just before sunset. 

Today was one of those quiet days in Killington. The rush of the Christmas holidays is over. Most of the clean up is done. The guests that are still in the area are all on vacation and very happy to be taking time away from work. The resort has life and activity, but the crowd induced mayhem of last week has subsided significantly.

On the hill, the resort is continuing to take advantage of favorable snow making conditions to pump out snow. Operations were visible in the Canyon area when I went up to the hill late this afternoon. A little natural snow would help, but in this weird winter, the fact that it is cold enough to make snow is a wonderful thing.

Mary on the Superstar Chair 

After a 2 week hiatus due to the Christmas Holidays, Mary and I went out on the slopes this morning. What a great way to start out the New Year!

Since we were last on the mountain, Killington has done a massive job blowing snow and expanding terrain. We were able to do a full loop today, starting on the Superstar Quad, going over to Bear Mountain, Needles Eye, Skye Lark and Bittersweet, then up to Kpeak for some runs at North Ridge. Just amazing how much snow Killington has blown to get all of that terrain open.

Conditions this morning were variable. Last night we had a funky little storm which produced freezing rain at some altitudes (like around the Inn at 1870 feet) and light snow at higher elevations. As a result, depending upon which slope you took, you needed to be prepared for conditions ranging from nice soft powder, silky smooth man made snow, or the proverbial "Dust on Crust", especially where the surface was wind blown. It did not really matter that much to us, however, as we were outside, on the mountain, skiing! A great way to spend a sunny winter day!

Snow Making Operations on Downdraft at Killington on December 31st. 

Happy New Year from Killington Vermont!

Mary and I spent the evening tending to guests at the inn. This was our 9th New Years Eve at the inn, and it was thankfully uneventful. We had a nice crowd for dinner at our second seating. (A few no shows for the first seating---shame on you!... but so it goes) From our small sample, people were generally up beat about 2007. Of course, the people we spoke to were on a holiday at a ski resort, so the sample demographic was definitely skewed in one direction.

We met a lot of nice people over the holiday week. From past guests that have visited with us many times, to new guests enjoying the inn for the first time. Many of them are headed home as I write this, although we do have a solid week ahead of us.

Mary and I are both looking forward to getting out on the mountain. With the holidays it has been 2 weeks since we have had an opportunity to go skiing. A lot has changed on the mountain in since we were last on the hill, so we intend to partake of the slopes when we can this week.

I would like to thank everyone who has been doing snow dances. The ground around the inn is solidly white.... but Keep Dancing... we still need more snow!

Birch Ridge Inn with falling snow,
December 30, 2006 

We have had a very busy week at the inn. Along the way, there have been a series of minor "miracles" which have helped us get through the week. That is just the nature of owning a business at a ski resort during the holiday weeks. Whether it's the butter knives from Bert, Mary's sister driving in from New York to help out around the inn, new inn staff really stepping up and helping out, or just the great guests we have had this last week, we have truly been blessed with a great holiday this year.

So imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to see the ground covered with 3 inches of light snow with snow still falling! Beautiful, light, white and fluffy snow. You can not image how this will lift the spirits of all of the locals and guests in the area! The next 2 days at Killington will probably rank in the top 5 busiest days of this weird 2006/2007 ski season. The snow could not come at a better time...even if I need to get my snow blower out this afternoon for a few laps around the parking lot.

Let it snow... Let it snow.... Let it snow!!!!

Killington Base Lodge, busy with holiday visitors. 

Words have trouble describing how great the mountain looks. After a few inches of snow, and a ton of snow making, the Killington Resort looks like the great ski resort it is for holiday visitors. Traffic in the area today is very high, with all of the mountains parking lots filled with skiers and riders enjoying the mountain. Snow making temperatures have persisted the last couple of days, allowing the resort to continue to open more terrain to spread out the holiday crowds. From my trip to the mountain today, it look like the Rams Head area was open top to bottom after yesterdays snow making. The resort is also pushing towards Bear Mountain, opening the return trail "Brearly" to be able to take advantage of the Bear Mountain parking lot.

Bread and Butter knives from Park City UT Thank You Bert!

Like the resort, this week at the inn is very busy. In the latest in a collection of "Christmas Miracles" to occur this week, this morning a care package arrived from Park City Utah. Our friends, Peter and Bert, live in Park City in the winter. In our restaurant, we use some eclectic bread and butter knives. Bert is always on watch for them when she travels cross country. Well today, 9 boxes of them arrived at our door. Not too soon either, as they will be put into service very quickly over this holiday week. Bert...Thank you..thank you..thank you..