Soft, sweet, bumps on Needles Eye. 

Deja vu all over again!

This weeks storms have reset the snow cover clock back to mid December. The last time we had more than 10 inches of natural snow around the inn was on December 20th. It looks great, and it skis pretty nice too!

Mary and I took some time away from the inn this morning to get out on the mountain. Brilliant sunshine, great snow, a little cold...but 2 out of 3 is not bad. Because of the temperature (high single digits when we left the inn), we skied today on the Bear Mountain, Sky Peak, Superstar side of the mountain. It's closer to the equator and as a result warmer. Actually it's all urban legend. But the southern exposure to Bear Mountain and Sky Peak mean that if the sun is out, the lights are on. And on a cold day a little sunshine warming the back on a chair lift can make all the difference.

Snow surfaces were all generally soft and devoid of ice patches. I am sure it is lurking there 6 inches under the surface, but the limited skier traffic on the mountain this morning did not reveal any of it. Skye Burst, the Stash, Bear Claw and lower Wild Fire were all groomed flat. Even with the cold temperatures, there was so much snow that the surfaces were generally soft. Snow making was taking place on Outer Limits and Bear Claw. The ruptured pipe on Bear Claw was obviously repaired. The resort was taking advantage of the cold temperatures to blow a large amount of snow over the ice flow created when the pipe broke.

Upper Wildfire was filled with large bumps. Upper Dream Maker had a combination of large and small bumps. Lower Dream Maker was closed. The resort is in the process of sculpting some kind of terrain park on lower Dream Maker. The trail was closed to allow grooming machines free access.

Cruise Control had more soft snow cover. It must have been groomed earlier than some of the other trails we skied. Needles Eye was not groomed. It was covered with soft, sweet bumps. While that pattern was a little irregular, negotiating them was no big deal. (I did need to take my gator down off my face to get more air into my lungs. A little work out is a good thing!) With the exception of a little wind blown spot on Panic Button, the trip down Needles Eye was a delight.

Skye Lark, Bitter Sweet and Superstar were all in similar shape; groomed with some soft snow pack on top. Lower Skye Lark was a little strange. Some ice and rock has been exposed on skiers right. I am not sure if the area was wind blown, of if a groomer moved to much cover to other spots. The middle of the trail was soft bumps similar to Needles Eye, except the pitch was revealing some slick spots in the bump troughs. If you want to cruise, stick to Bitter Sweet.

Cold temperatures are forecasted through the weekend with more snow predicted for Sunday. With any luck, we have already had the January thaw.....Let it snow.

Birch Ridge Inn buried in snow. 

8 plus inches of snow later! Yesterdays little ice pellet storm continued all night dropping 8 inches of moderately heavy snow around the inn. I would anticipate higher precipitation totals on the mountain.

As I write this (2:30 PM), heavy snow is still falling outside. The forecast calls for negligible additional accumulation, but you would never know it from looking outside.

Today was a work day scheduled at the inn, so I did not make it to the mountain. Little did I know that I would be outside this morning about 4 hours using the snow blower. But tomorrow is another day, and I should be able to make it to the hill to report on conditions....Let it snow.

The woods behind the Birch Ridge Inn. 

Miserable, yet frozen. That best describes today's weather at Killington.

Thus far today, the Killington area has been blanketed with 2 to 4 inches of snow and not quite sleet. The snow pack in the last couple of hours has been covered with a dense blanket of little ice balls intermixed with the snow flakes. As of noon time, all of the precipitation has been of the frozen variety with little ice accumulation on exposed surfaces.

Temperatures for this afternoon and evening are predicted to fall with precipitation changing back to all snow. If it does, Killington will have dodged a weather bullet and come out of this storm with improved base conditions. The way the weather has gone the last 4 weeks, probability says we should get lucky once and a while....Let it snow.

Sky Peak and the Stash under brilliant blue skies a seen from top of Bear Mountain. 

Beautiful blue skies, crisp - not frigid - temperatures, no wind.... a perfect day to head back out on the mountain.

For my first day back since the holidays (and a concussion), I focused on Bear Mountain and Skye Peak. Everything I skied on today, except the trails with active snow making, were groomed flat and fast. Some were decidedly groomed better than others, but I suspect it was a function of snow depths on the trails versus the snow groomers proficiency.

After taking the Superstar Quad from the K1 Base Lodge, I started with a run through the Stash. Ropes were set up to keep people out of the gladed areas and trees. I would guess that they are left over from yesterday's ice storm, as even on groomed trails there was ice to be found very easily. The Stash was groomed flat. At 9:15 I did not see anyone hitting any of the features. Given the firmness of the slope, I don't blame riders for bypassing bone crushing landing sites in favor of a little cruising. My exit from the Stash was a fairly routine run down lower Bear Claw/Skye Burst over to the Bear Mountain Quad.

The Bear Mountain Quad.... how quaint... how slow! With the advent of the new Skye Peal Express Quad the age of the Bear Mountain Quad really shows. What for the last forever years was the must take lift on Bear Mountain now seems like a relic of a bygone era. How quick peoples attitudes change.

Taking the Bear Mountain Quad was interesting. Snow Making hoses are all laid out on Outer Limits, getting ready for a snow making assault. I was the only one on the chair...no the ONLY ONE ON THE LIFT... which was a little weird. The top of the quad, which used to resemble a mini Grand Central in the morning was obviously empty. That's progress for you.

I went down Bear Claw to Wild Fire. A snow making pipe had blown out on Bear Claw just before the pitch down to Wild Fire. Heavy equipment was being used to dig the pipe out. When the pipe blew, it was obviously charged with water, as a mammoth patch of brown ice was all down the left side of the trail. Lower Wild Fire was groomed beautifully. A few marbles on the steeper pitches, but they were easily negotiated.

A ride up the Skye Peak Express followed by a top to bottom run on Skye Burst made for a quick lap of the mountain. For the next loop I wandered over to Dream Maker. Upper Dream Maker was roped off and looked nasty. Snow making was in progress on Lower Dream Maker. By the time I had hit it, about 4 inches of soft powder had been blown over the groomed hard pack. It was a very nice run down through the guns.

I did the Skye Burst - Dream Maker laps a couple of times. My ski legs were coming back from my hiatus so alternating between high speed cruising and soft powder cruising was a nice contrast for the first day back.

I continued to work my way back to the K1 Base Lodge with runs down Cruise Control, Needles Eye, Bitter Sweet, Skye Lark, and Superstar. All were firm, flat, and fast except middle Bitter Sweet which was also getting some new snow made on it. Of this set of runs, Needles Eye was a little sketchy. After Panic Button, it became pretty clear that Needles Eye was basically ice on skiers right and left with a pile of marbles and small death cookies in the middle. Death cookies can be your friend as you can turn on them, versus trying to do skid turns on ice...so it goes.

On tap for tomorrow, it appears that some kind of snow storm is headed our way. Local news at lunch time was taking about 4 to 8 inches of snow in Rutland County, with some sleet and freezing r@!n mixed in. It sounds like this storm will be primarily cold, so hopefully we will miss the "wintery mix" stuff and stay all snow at the mountain. We can hope...let it snow!

The outside world seen from my car this morning. 

The picture I posted for today is not some tricked out photoshop manipulation. The outside world this morning was draped in ice, the result of an ice storm which struck the area overnight. The good news is that it was not a lot of ice...just a half inch or so. The bad news is that it slowed the Killington Resort to a crawl this morning.

When I saw the scene outside the inn this morning, I rolled over and went back to bed. Our Chef made the trek to the K1 base lodge this morning to discover only the Snowdon Quad running. Grooming machines were lined up in a neat row on Snowdon, awaiting drivers to head out to regroom the slopes. Steve took a run from the Snowdon Quad over to the North Ridge Triple. The Triple was closed. East Fall was roped off. So he skated back to Great Northern and out...

Oh Well... there is always tomorrow....Let it snow! (Editors note: As I write this the resort is reporting that lifts are beginning to spin and trails are being opened. Our inn guests have departed the inn to give it a go this afternoon. So it goes!)

Last hurrah for the Birch Ridge Inn 2008 Christmas Tree 

Today feels like a Frank Sinatra song....."and now..the end is near...and so I face..the final curtain..."

After a good 2 week run, Christmas/New Years holiday guests are departing Killington for home. With any luck, most will be heading off to work on Monday morning with a brace of crisp air to remind them of their holiday in the mountains.

Of course, at Killington, work begins anew to greet winter visitors coming to the mountains. All over town this week Christmas decorations will be coming down, being replaced by winter finery. Mary already has the tasks laid out to take down the inn's Christmas tree. By Tuesday or Wednesday it will be just a memory, captured in digital images stored on computers at the inn and with guests around the world.

I, like many local residents, am looking forward to catching up on some sleep and going out on the mountain for a few runs. With a little luck, I will be out on the hill on Monday. I could have skied over the holidays, Doctors orders not withstanding, but we were very fortunate to be busy over the holiday weeks. Sometimes I give up sleep for skiing, but I can't do that over a full 2 week stretch.

To all of our guests who visited Mary and I at Birch Ridge these last two weeks - thank you! We look forward to seeing you again the next time you return to Killington. Good luck, safe journey, and happy New Year!

...Let it snow!

Snow guns in operation on Superstar 

As 2008 fades into memory, and 2009 comes into view, I have been thinking about how life is changing at Killington. Living in a town that is dominated by one large business brings its challenges. When that town also happens to be a resort, "the locals" also find their lives influenced by outside events over which they have little or no control. 2008 of course, like most years, was filled with many surprises.

In random order, here is my short list of pluses and minuses for 2008 and some hopes for 2009:

2008 Minuses :
- The overall economy: I don't need to write too much on this as we are all experiencing this collectively. The bright spot I take on this is that the economy runs in cycles. This too shall pass.
- The hang over effect from the demise of the American Skiing Company (ASC). 2008 was the first full operating year for new owners at Killington after ASC went belly up. Operating procedures at the mountain changed, as they should have. The new owners, Killington Pico Ski Resort Partner, funded in part by Powdr Corp, made some tough calls when they took the resort over. Some of their decisions have turned out well. Others turned out to be mistakes, many of which they are working to correct in the 2009 season.
- Continued delay in beginning work on a village at the base of Killington. "Work" here of course means filing permits, putting in infrastructure, building buldings, etc. Much background work to construct a village at Killington did take place in 2008. But at some point, beautiful computer renderings need to transition to earth moving equipment digging some holes in the ground.

2008 Pluses :
- The resort is being run as a business. During the last years of operation of the resort by ASC, the information we received from the resort on their policies and procedures was not always accurate. Our experience with the new owners is very different. So far their communications have been direct, accurate, and they have stood by them. As a small business owner, this gives me confidence going forward. I may not like everything that I am told, but I will be able to communicate to my guests with confidence.
- The new lift at Sky Peak. For the first time in 10 years the Killington Resort has installed a new lift. A high speed detachable quad was installed during the summer and fall, replacing a slow fixed grip quad. Lift time have gone from 13 minutes to 5 with the new lift. Trails from the lift have been redesigned as well to modify traffic patterns. While it is too early to tell if the trail redesign will accomplish everything it intended, the new lift is a home run!
- The Killington community coming together with the Vermont Council on Rural Development. In early 2008 a series of community wide meetings were held to help the citizens identify a future direction for the town of Killington. The activities were coordinated by the Vermont Council on Rural Development(VCRD). While I do not, like most citizens, agree with every finding from the process, I was pleased at the outpouring of citizen interest in the future of Killington.

Hopes for 2009:
Certainly a wish list not based on any insider knowledge...but here it goes:
- A positive change in the economy. The administration in Washington has not done much in the last several years to stimulate optimism for the vast majority of people. The inauguration of Barack Obama in a couple of weeks has the potential to lift spirits and mobilize people to think positively about the future. Of course there will be pluses and minuses here. But the good old days turned out to be bankrupt. There must be a better way.
- Permits filed to begin construction of a village at Killington. Permits are just the formal beginning. But they would be a strong signal concerning the vitality of the resort and the community.
- A new lift on the Killington Peak side of the resort replacing either the Snowdon Quad or Snowdon Triple. This of course is dependent upon the resort having a successful 2009 winter season to generate enough cash to pay for a new lift.
- A short, cogent, plan from the new Killington Economic Development and Tourism Commission on how the town plans to move the community forward. (The commission was founded as an outgrowth of the VCRD process. The commission has been in existence for a short time. I know all of the volunteers on the committee and I know they are working hard to pull a plan together.)
- Resolution of the "Lifetime pass" controversy. Mary and I don't have any skin in this game, but settling this dispute between the new (now 2 years) owners of the Killington resort and bond holders from the former owner would be one more positive step moving the resort forward. I have heard snippets of arguments from all sides on this. It seems like the adults in the room need to settle this issue left over from the demise of ASC. A Pyrrhic victory by one side or the other will just pour salt in the wounds of the vanquished, causing unnecessary pain for years to come.

My list is somewhat short. Mary and I enjoy living in Killington, interacting with the Killington Community and greeting guests who visit the area. And continuing to do that is what we want most for 2009.

...Let it snow!