Dark and Gloomy on the mountain 

Last night was very interesting at Killington. The local weather stations were all saying it was supposed to be snowing...Unfortunately, that was not the case.... so it goes.

Over the course of the evening we saw sleet, freezing r@*n and just pure NCP (non crystalized precipitation). Ice was crashing off the roofs of the inn all night. Just a wonderful thing at a ski resort.

This morning, when I got up, the good news was that the damage to snow surfaces did not seem too bad. I did not ski today, as Mary is in Boston for a pre-holiday visit with family, so I can not comment on ski conditions. But after I was done preparing breakfast, (we had 2 nice couples stay at the inn last night - apple crepes with warm Vermont maple syrup for breakfast) I did take a drive up to the mountain for a peek. We had only lost about 1 inch of snow pack at the inn, so I did not expect bad things on the mountain. Other than being grey and gloomy, the mountain looked like it came through the storm pretty well. Possibly even a little snow fell on the peak. With luck, tomorrow I will get out on the hill, so I can give a first hand report.

Christmas caroling under the tree.

Monday evening, Mary and I had the pleasure of attending a Christmas party hosted by Dick and Noel Gluck. You may remember Dick and Noel as the local couple who organize "Team Killington" to participate in the Vermont - New Hampshire "Race for the Cure" in support of the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Dick and Noel do parties right. Great people, great food, great beverages, and great music. Local legend, Dr. Lyons, lead the group in song on the piano, accompanied by "Mr. Rzasa" on guitar. Caroling started with a traditional version of "Silent Night" sung in German, followed by a collection of festive tunes through out the evening. Mary and I really enjoyed the evening. A nice way to kick off the holiday season in Killington.

Let it snow!

Howie at the junction of Cruise Control
and Panic Button, fresh from a battle
with a snow snake. 

I am actually not sure what to say today. Ski conditions at Killington were so good, it is an embarrassment of riches. When you add in the fact that it is still early December and other than locals, virtually nobody else was on the mountain this morning....well you get the picture.

Snow fell continuously overnight. It did not amount to a whole lot, but every run had a couple of inches of fresh powder from 9:00 till Noon (yes Virginia, I wrote the word Powder..it seems like Santa is dropping a little gift on Killington every night in preparation for Christmas). Even at 11:00 AM on, when each run was supposed to be the last, every trail seemed better than the previous one. But work does call, after all there is an inn to run. So around noon I did head home.

We started as we usually do with a trip on the Box for a few warm up runs on North Ridge. Rime and Upper East Fall were beautifully soft with nice snow cover edge to edge. East Fall proper, and Cascade were next on the agenda. East Fall was perfect. We were pretty much all able to do broad sweeping GS turns on East Fall as it was groomed flat with a soft fluff covering. Upper and middle Cascade were also in great shape. I thought lower Cascade had a slight granular feeling....but you need to put it in perspective.... we were skiing on fluff so anything else just doesn't cut it.

Sufficiently warmed up, we then proceeded to do multiple laps on Superstar. At this point, after 3 or 4 runs down Superstar, it was probably the run of the day, but there was more to come. Bitter Sweet and Skyelark were very nice. We did an expedition over to Panic Button at the entryway to Needles Eye. Again, beautiful snow, but our run was terminated at the Snow Shed Crossover as the Skye Ship at Needles Eye is not yet running for the season.

After another run down Superstar, we crossed back to the K1 Gondola for a final run down Snowdon. Wrong!...Too Nice... Thank you for playing... your punishment is you must ride the Snowdon Quad and try that again! So down Chute we come for what is supposed to be our last run of the day. Again, crazy fluff everywhere. Once again the snow gods banished us to the Snowdon quad. For some reason, at the Snowdon quad, my pass was not scanning properly. But, even that was ok... for there was a cute ticket checker at the quad to entertain us. Every time thru, she made imitation beeping noises to compensate for the defective scanner. It was all in good fun.

By this time, it was getting quite late, so one more run down Chute and out on Lower Bunny Buster we went. Work is definitely getting in the way of great skiing this December. Oh well... so it goes!

Let it snow!

Mary with the Christmas tree donated
by the Birch Ridge Inn
to the Vermont Holiday Festival.
The theme of the tree is 'Just Heavenly". 

So much to do... so little time....

This coming weekend at Killington will offer a wide range of activities for visitors to the area. At the Killington Grand Hotel, the Killington Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 4th annual Vermont Holiday Festival. The centerpiece of this event is the "Festival of Trees". This year, 115 trees were decorated by local businesses and residents of Killington. The trees are on display in the Grand Ballroom of the Killington Grand Hotel all weekend. Further information can be found at vermontholidayfestival.com.

And then of course, there is the skiing and riding. The mountain today was once again in great shape. Intermediate and Advanced skiing and riding was being offered off both Killington and Skye Peaks.

Howie on Cascade. Not bad for his second day out! (Click to enlarge.)

Snow surfaces are all machine groomed packed powder with a continuous fluff falling from the sky keeping everything white. it is hard to pick a "run of the day". Superstar was very nice. Cascade had some nice small mounds (not big enough to call bumps) at the top. Highline was groomed to perfection. For an advanced skier, it was all good!.

If you make it to Killington this weekend, stop by the inn and say hello. We are serving dinner Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 6:00. and I am sure we will have a roaring fire going in the fireplace to keep everything nice and toasty.

Let it snow!

The ropes were down on the back of the mountain, so I had to follow the trails to see where they would lead. There are times when Killington will challenge your body. There are other times when it gets into your soul. Enjoy!

Rogues gallery at Killington Peak.
(l-r) Billy B., Ray, Mary 

Without a doubt, skiers and riders at Killington are experiencing the best early season in years. Depending upon altitude, the resort is reporting total snow fall of between 12 and 24 inches. And the new snow has made a huge difference in the look and feel of the mountain. The resort has been blowing snow on the upper elevation trails for weeks to build up the base. The storm earlier this week is great "frosting on the cake".

Where do we begin... This morning it was all good. North Ridge including Rime, Reason, East Fall and Double Dipper were all generally soft and edge-able. Great Northern, Mousetrap and Chute all had excellent coverage. Although we did not ski it, from the Snowdon Quad Great Bear looked in nice shape all draped in natural snow.

On the other side of the mountain, the Superstar Headwall and middle Superstar were great groomed cruisers. Lower Superstar had huge snowmaking and windblown bumps on it. They did not look particularly fun, so we avoided it. Aggressive snow making was taking place on middle Ovation. The resort appeared to be using the new Low Energy guns, as in addition to a lot of snow, they were also blanketing middle Superstar in a low, cold, fog like cloud. But it did not matter as middle Superstar was groomed flat. If you could link a turn, you could have cruised down it today.

Later in the day, I took a run down Blue Heaven. Blue Heaven brings you out to South Ridge. None of the South Ridge trails were open when I was there, but Blue Heaven also connects into Launch Pad which bring one back to Skye Peak, Ovation and Superstar. Tons of snow on the ridge between Kpeak and Sky Peak. Definitely mid winter conditions. Not to shabby for early December.

All in all, a very nice morning and early afternoon to ski....Let it snow!

10 Inches of snow at the snow stake at Birch Ridge 

The first major winter storm of the 2007/2008 season has just about cleared out of Killington this morning. Snow showers are expected for most of the day with minimal additional accumulation expected.

On the ground at the Birch Ridge Inn, 10 inches of new snow have been recorded at the snow stake (elevation ~1870 feet). I would expect higher accumulations to have been recorded on Killington peak.

Snow flurries are predicted by local weather services for the remainder of the week.They should keep snow surfaces nice and fresh as we head into Mid December and the 'Official" start of winter.

Let it snow!

Killington Peak obscured by heavy snow at the K1 Base Lodge 

As predicted, the Killington region is experiencing a heavy snow storm today. New snow on the mountain at 9:00 AM was in the 6 to 9 inch category with heavy snow falling. The snow is not champagne powder, but it is also not east coast cement. It should be great snow to provide base coverage on unopened terrain, and also build depth in the woods around Killington.

When I got to the mountain just before 9:00 AM, there was a large line queued at the K1 gondola. I decided to bypass that and skied right onto the Superstar Chair. The first 3 runs I took were all solid "freshies" down Skyelark, Superstar, and Bittersweet. Conditions were really nice, although my old man legs were telling me that I did not walk enough this past summer. I don't believe that the resort had groomed these trails overnight, as every so often I hit a very solid bump as I was skiing down the trail. I seemed to manage them OK, but I did see a few spectacular launches which turned into yard sale cart wheels by several other skiers and riders on the slopes.

Heavy snow was falling up on Killington Peak. The standard trails by this time were all cut up down the middle, but the usual spots along the trail edges still offered some untracked snow. I finished the morning with a run down Highline. It was pretty scraped off down the middle, but skiers right along the tree line was respectable. It was good to end the ski morning with a run with a nice rhythm to it.

Empty Superstar Chair on a snow day??? (Click to enlarge.)

Looking down to the junction of Skyelark and Bittersweet. A lone boarder in front of me. (Click to enlarge.)

Superstar Headwall. Snowing a lot harder than the picture looks. (click to enlarge.)

Snow covered trees at Killington Peak. A little art shot to remind people of the beauty of the mountains. (Click to enlarge.)

A boarder linking turns on Rime. (Click to enlarge.)

K1 parking lot at 10:30 from Snowdon quad. 2/3rds full. (Click to enlarge.)

Instructor with class on Bunny Buster. There were some people on the slopes this morning. (Click to enlarge.)

Getting ready for the last run of the day down Highline. (Click to enlarge.)

Snow is forecasted to continue overnight. Thank you for your snow dances. Happy birthday Jay and Mom! Let it snow!