Layers of snow on the roof of the front portico at the Birch Ridge Inn, Killington 

Killington has had its fair share of "Nor'inchers" this winter. While shovelling snow around the inn, or on the roof, the layers of snow created by each storm are fairly obvious. But no where is it more obvious than on the portico covering the front entrance to the inn.

The portico is un-heated and east facing. The snow on its roof is untouched by human hands and free of any mechanical manipulation. The only force acting on the snow on the portico, other than atmospheric conditions, is gravity which causes the snow to gradually compress as air is being foreced out of each layer.

Each storm is represented by a unique layer in the snow. Just like tree rings, each layer represents a unique event. By definition, some of the layers are thicker than others, the result of more snow accumulating during an individual snow event.

Counting the snow layers, it looks like there have been on the order of 30 significant snow events this far this year. With any luck, we will have a few more before the ski season is over.

The front portico of the Birch Ridge Inn with layers of snow in it's roof.

Let it snow!

Fresh Baked Frizzie Rolls at back! 

And just so you are not confused, we are not talking about Johnny Moseley in todays blog.

Operating a small, high quality, restaurant is a tough job. Our dinner guests reap tons of advantages. Because we buy in small quantities, everything is always fresh. Everything is cooked a la minute (ie to order). That composed dish that you see on your plate when it is presented by our servers was cooked just for you... and only you, based upon what you ordered.

On the flip side, as a small restaurant operator, we are fighting battles every day to put out a high quality product. Because we DO NOT purhase tractor trailer loads of of food each week from our suppliers, we are constantly vying for their attention to get the best product. We work with a lot of little suppliers to acquire special ingredients. Acquiring product to turn into finished meals to present to our guests is a veritable ballet that needs to be choreographed every day.

Then there is staffing. Owning a small restaurant means managing a small staff. Each staff member plays an important role. The loss of any one staff member can throw the whole rhythm of the restaurant out of wack and negatively impact product quality.

And unfortunately, that is exactly what happened just before Christmas when we lost our chef for the past 9 years and our dear friend, "Frizzy" Stephen Byrne, resulting in the restaurant at Birch Ridge being closed for 6 weeks while we regrouped.

But the restaurant is now back. Somehow Mary and I, with our core front of the house restaurant staff of Merisa and Aja, were able to keep together during the dark time. With some selective hiring, most notably our new chef, Leo Scotti, we were able to pull off a nearly impossible feat... doing a restaurant start up in Killington during the month of February.

Our dear friend, Frizzy, is sorely missed. One of his enduring legacies was his passion for making dinner rolls for the restaurant. For almost his full time working as our chef, he made dinner rolls every day to serve to our dinner guests. If you look at some of our restaurant reviews, you will see many guests comments about them. Most are very positive. Some are down right comical talking about problems getting a second (or third) serving of rolls. But "Frizzy Rolls" became synonymous with the dinner experience at Birch Ridge. So the search for a new roll to serve our guests became an urgent task these last couple of months.

We have tried a lot of rolls from many different bakers. Some have been good; some have been downright dreadfull. But nothing was right. Then we got lucky.

One of our dinner guests knew a little french baker. (And yes, the dinner rolls were that important to some of our dinner guests that they participated in the search for weeks as well!)

We contacted the baker and gave him our recipe for "Frizzy Rolls". We went through a trial run to see if they could be made to the standards created by Chef Frizzy. Working with our new baker, we tweeked it a little. This week, the first batch to be served to dinner guests arrived.

Nothing, of course, will be exactly the same as what was made by Frizzy. But the new rolls we are proud to serve, in his honor, are a big step to declaring that the restaurant at the Birch Ridge Inn is truely back!

To all of our great guests and friends, thank you for the support and love you have shown all of us these last few weeks as we worked to re-open the restaurant at the Birch Ridge Inn. It really makes a difference.

Let it snow!

I Voted! 

I went skiing. I went to vote. Now I am at work.... What is your excuse! It's town meeting day in Vermont. Get out and vote!

Vermont is characterized by small towns. Killington is more the rule, with less than 1000 voters, than the exception. And in a small town, every vote counts.

With the change to an Australian Ballot format several years ago, voters in Killington now go to the polls at the Killington Town Hall to cast their ballots on town meeting issues. The town holds an informational meeting to review the articles up for vote. It occurred last night at the Killington Elementary School. Today is the day to cast ballots. The polling place at the Killington Town Hall is open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

This years Town Meeting in Killington is not very controversial. In addition to the election of local office holders, the only other item of consequence on the ballot is the town budget. This year the town budget will stretch for 18 months as Killington makes the switch to a fiscal period of July to June, versus the current annual budget period. There are many reasons for the switch, the most cogent being the advantages of coming in sync with the overal State of Vermont budgetting process. The switch is not on the ballot, as it was approved by Killington voters at last years town meeting. Only the budget for the transation period is on the ballot this year.

For local office holders, the only contentious election is for the 3 year term for Selectman. Chris Bianchi, the incumbent, is seeking election to his third term. Jim Haff, who was a selectman previously defeated by current selectboard member Patty McGrath, is seeking to recapture his seat. Jim has run a campaign of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) calling into question the selectboards handling of the town budget, while Chris has tried to take the high road and present his case calmly and positively to the voters. It will be interesting later this evening to see which approach prevails with the voters of Killington, as each candidate has their group of supporters.

Highline bathed in sunshine.

Before going to vote, I did take a couple of hours and "throw myself down the mountain". This morning started with brillant sunshine. After sauntering over to the K1 Gondola from putting my boots on in the car, there was only 1 run to start on....Highline. Gleaming brightly in the morning sunshine; groomed edge to edge with soft corduroy; there was just no doubt which run to start on. And it was glorious.

From Highline, I sped over to the Superstar Quad for a trip off the backside to Bear Mountain. I hit a few features in the Stash before crusing down lower Wildfire. The trails were empty at the early hour I was out this morning, so edge to edge radius turns at high speed were the easy choice as I cruised towards the Skye Peak Express quad. The next run was pretty simple....Skyeburst to Lower Dream Maker beside the Bear Mountain Half pipe. Lower Dream Maker was soft snow left over from last nights nor-incher. Just the right thing to get the legs firing for a few bumps to come.

Next on the docket was Wildfire from top to bottom. Upper Wildfire was filled with wind blown snow over soft bumps. Skier traffic by this time was increasing, with some herbage hogging the line down skiers left. But not to matter... Skiers right was untracked. Score one for the good guy after all.

With the legs warmed up, I headed off to the Superstar pod. Upper Ovation on skiers left was just beautiful with loads of soft snow. The middle of the trail was fairly scraped off... but why would you ski there if you have all this soft snow off to the side? Old Superstar was a study in contrasts. I hit the entrance really hard. Based upon earlier trails, I was travelling at warp speed for the first dozen or so bumps before a big slowdown was in order. Windblown snow clogged the bumps just as the trail makes a slight left turn. The slowdown was probably a very good thing, as a little further down, the top of the exit towards Superstar was polished smooth. So much so that a little bush wacking was in order to make a safe entrance to the Superstar exit trail.

Superstar, Skye Lark and Bittersweet were all good. The resort has made so much snow on these trails that it would be hard for them to be bad. There was a few polished spots on the lower sections of Skye Lark. But in comparison to Old Superstar they were nothing. And since you could still make carving turns into them, I guess they were really not that polished after all.

I finished with a boost up the Snowdon Quad (boy is it slow after a morning riding high speed lifts) which saw me taking a run down Upper Royal Flush to Highline. Upper Royal Flush was beautiful soft snow. Highline had not changed a bit since I had seen it 2 hours previously.

My legs were still in great shape, so I hopped the single's line a couple of times at the K1 Gondola for final runs down Cascade and Highline before heading to the Killington Town Hall to vote. Both still had groomed corduroy on them at 11:30. It was that kind of ski day.

If you are a Killington or Vermont resident... go out and vote today at Town Meeting. If not, get outside and enjoy a beautiful winter day.

Let it snow!

Snow Volcano at top of Superstar 

It has to be seen to be believed. A virtual volcano has been created at the top of Skye Peak at the head of the Superstar Trail. Instead of hot lava, the volcano is thrusting snow into the atmosphere; creating in its wake a huge mound of white goodness which will assure a very long ski season at Killington.

In what has become a weekly occurance, the Killington Resort has once again fired up the snow making system to continue to blanket the Superstar ski pod with more snow. Snow making operations were being conducted today on Lower Superstar, at the top of Skye Peak (including the Snow Volcano) and through middle Skye Lark. Snow making had clearly taken place over the last couple of evenings on Bittersweet from top to bottom, as snow whales are starting to appear along the lenght of the trail. All this snow making activity this late in the season, on top of all of the snow that Mother Nature has provided, is truly impressive. There should be no doubt that the Killington Resort is planning to operate long into the spring with the amount of snow that has been stockpiled around the resort.

Today was a relatively long day on the resort, with many high speed top to bottom runs. "Googlers" were in abundance at the resort. (Killington is playing host to a large group of people from Google as they take a break from virtual space to play a day (or 2) in the outside.) But even with the extra crowds(for a mid-week day), we really did not wait in any lift lines.

We started with our usual route off of KPeak to Bear Mountain. Bear Claw was firm with a soft 2 inch layer of powder to receive the edges of our skiis. Lower Skye Burst and Lower Dream Maker were soft and pliable, the result of temperatures slightly rising into the lower 20's causing the surface to loosen up slightly. (It is funny to think that the lower 20's is warm, but in comparison to the minus numbers of last week it really is. It is all relative.)

How to make a snow volcano. Snow guns operating from all directions at the head of Superstar.

The Killington Resort from Killington Peak to Skye Peak dressed in winter white.

Skye Burst, Wild Fire and the Stash were all skiing beautifully. There was a collection of snow making guns operating on Stash Way which created some very interesting terrain features (read 3 foot vertical drops) The drops were actually quite fun leading into the Stash, but since less experienced skiers and riders also take that trail, I am not sure that the new "features" would be appreciated by everyone.

Coming back around the mountain, Cruise Control was a high speed run down a wide open groomer. Needles Eye was closed for racing, unfortunately, so we did not hang around to loop the Skye Ship, heading instead to do loops off the Superstar Quad. Bittersweet was soft and wonderful. Recent snow making left it covered with small to medium sized soft whales of snow, which were great to turn over. Superstar was great. Upper and Middle Superstar were firm with a couple of inch coating of soft snow. Lower Superstar was a solid do-over. The snow guns have left lower Superstar covered in deep creamy powder, similar in consistency to talcum powder. Lots of fun riding the snow making whales and the small bumps being created by skiers and riders enjoying the trail.

Moveing further north, we made multiple loops off of the K1 Gondola. FIS off the peak was loaded with nice well spaced bumps which I raced right through. Rime and Reason were in beautiful shape with loose machine packed powder. Ridge Run (formerly West Glade) was filled with soft 2 to 3 foot bumps. I just pounded my first run down it non-stop. I found a great line and just kept going. Mary saw me do it looking back from Great Northern so she decided to join me on my second run through. She held her own through the bumps, but did not enjoy them quite as much as I did.

We finished the day quite unexpectently with 2 beautiful runs down Highline. A mogul competition was taking place on the mogul field set up by the Killington Mountain School on skiers right. But the trail itself was wide open for skiers and riders to enjoy. Because it is usually closed for race training, there was virtually no skier traffic on it when we hit it at 1 PM. We had 2 very high speed, wide turn, edge to edge runs on what was virtually untracked groomed corduroy. We would expect to find that at 9:00 AM... but to find it at 1 PM after hitting bumps for the last 45 minutes was a real gift for our last runs of the day.

Like a little kid, I can't wait to get out on the slopes again tomorrow!

Let it snow!

Mary on Cruise Control 

Snow...cold...cold...snow...repeat...

With only a few more days in February, the Killington resort is set up for a great period of spring skiing and riding.

Total snowfall this year so far is being reported at 171 inches; well on the way to make this an average (250 inches) or better snow year. And March is usually the snowiest month of the year. After normal snow compresion, Killington is reporting average base depths around 30 inches, which coincides nicely with the base depth at the snow stake at the inn, standing today at 29 inches. And more is in the forecast.

Conditions on the mountain the last couple of days were slightly firmer than they were last week. The bitter cold of this past weekend and early week have locked up groomed surfaces a little tighter than all of the powder that has fallen from the sky would indicate. But while the groomed surfaces have gotten firm due to the compression of the snow by skiers, riders, and grooming machines, naked snow in the woods is till full of lightness. I know from working outside the inn that snow is powdery and at the mid-chest level (having fallen out of a pair of snow shoes while pulling snow off a roof).

Now is the time to finish your prep work for some warm days of spring skiing and riding. Any turn you make now will help strenghten your legs and your core to be ready for the creamy goodness that is spring skiing at Killington. With a few more weeks of winter left, you still have time to get ready. So get out on the mountain and enjoy the snow.

Wherever life has you at this moment, stay warm and....

Let it snow!

The Snowdon Quad with a very cold Pico Peak in the background 

Did somebody forget to tell Mother Nature that it is February?

Last night, temperatures at Killington dipped to -20F. Add in wind gusts in the 30 MPH range with blowing and drifting snow...it may be winter but if you were outside it was no wonderland!

Snow in February is very normal. Killington is having a slightly above average snow fall, but not a record amount like our friends in Boston. We did need to bring a bucket loader to clear the parking lots at the Inn at the start of the month. We will probably need another visit in a few days if things keep going. But on balance, that is a wonderful thing because snow is the engine of Killington in the winter months.

We are now entering "Presidents Week"; the annual celebration of the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Also, with the exception of Christmas to New Years, one of the busiest weeks on the slopes of Killington. We have a nice collection of inn guests from around the world. As luck would have it, in addition to schools in the Northeast US being closed, many schools in the UK also have a break this week.

Later in the week and next weekend will see Jack Daniels make the annual visit to Killington. Chef Craig is cooking up a nice dish to celebrate Old Number 7. Merisa behind the bar has her best recipes available if you would like a wee taste of Tennessee. It is all in good fun (and a great way to feel warm inside as well).

Wherever life has you at this moment, stay warm and....

Let it snow!

Mary on Caper 

And the skiing was glorious!

This winter is heading towards the record books. The last time we had snow like this in Killington was 5 years ago in 2010 when the 10 year snow stake record of 35 7/8 inches was set on February 27th. We are closing in on that record.

Technically, we have had much more snow than 35 inches, or the 30 inches of snow recorded at the snow stake... The snow stake is recording the actual snow that is on the ground... not the snow that is falling. The snow depth on the ground gets modified in 2 directions. From the bottom of the snow pack, residual heat in the ground continiously melts the base, forming a layer of glacial ice on the bottom of the pack as the winter goes forward. Obviously this melts each year and we do not wind up with a glacier... but if we did, the melted snow at the base of the snow pack would be the origin.

From above, snow is also constantly compressing. When snow falls, air is trapped between the snow crystals. As more snow falls, the weight of the new snow compresses the air out of the snow that has previously fell, resulting in the appearance that the snow pack is "shrinking".

You will see the impacts of both bottom melting and compression on cold days when no new snow is falling. Because of the cold, the snow is not melting, but it's depth is changing none the less. A good example of this is what happened recently between February 5th and 6th. On the 5th the snow stake was measuring 25 3/8 inches. On the 6th, even though temperatures never got out of the mid-20's, the snow stake measured 24 1/2. The 7/8 inch reduction in snow pack was the combination of bottom melting and surface compression.

For you physics and chemistry geeks, there is also some sublimation taking place, where the snow goes from a solid to a vapor without transitioning to a fluid. In the low humidity winter air, certainly some sublimation is taking place. However, in recent days where we have had constantly falling snow and low temperatures, sublimation is not the major factor changing the depth of the snow that has fallen on the ground.

On the mountain today... well.... if you did the right thing and figured that work or school or your flight would be cancelled down south today, you scored. Skiing is just crazy good with powder (yes to my friends in Park City - Real waist deep in the woods powder) everywhere. What chop there was on the ski trails due to skier and rider traffic was soft and beautiful. Each run was a choice between (relatively) untracked by the woods on the side of the trail or soft little bumps down the middle. It did not matter which trail you travelled. They were all the same way, the result of continious snowfall at Killington over the last 72 hours.

And there is another storm predicted for Thursday night with the weather forecasters already whispering the magic foot word. If I were you, I would grab my skis and get to Killington.... oh wait... I am already here!

Let it snow!