Killington Peak open for skiing and riding 

Dear Mother Nature :

Thank you for the wonderful weather you have given us in the North Eastern United States over the last 10 weeks.

Our Fall Foliage season here in Vermont was long and strong. So strong in fact that we got a little behind in doing all of the outside yard work that needs to be get done each year before the onset of winter. But you took care of us...Thank you Ma!

Instead of hitting us with a debilitating hurricane in September or October, you gave us nice comfortable weather. Just great to allow the trees to gracefully change from the summer green canopy to their magnificent pastel hues.

And as the leaves were falling from the trees like they do every year, instead of whacking us with a heavy snow storm burying the leaves till next summer, you gave us a stretch of beautiful weather to allow all of the summer yard debris to be picked up. Thank you also for a few very windy days... It sure is a big help to blow a lot of those pesky leaves off of the lawn directly into the forest... Way to go Ma!

While we are at it, thank you for providing Killington with many warm days and cold nights. The cold nights have been great to allow the Killington Resort to make snow on many of their trails so some of us could go skiing. And the warm days have meant that if we ventured out on the mountain, we did not need to bundle up like Eskimos to stay warm while we were enjoying the resorts snow....Nice Job Ma!

But while you have been giving us generally brilliant weather, we are starting to hear from our friends in the western part of the United States. They have been sending us private emails and posting pictures on Facebook telling about all of the terrible snow storms they have been having the last few weeks. While we understand that they need the snow pack to be able to fill all of there reservoirs in the spring with melt water, you have trained them over the last few years to not expect this much snow so early in the snow season. Their shoulders are just not strong enough to shovel all of that snow off of their sidewalks at their homes (those that don't have heated sidewalks of course... but you have a special place for them anyway.) We are hearing that the ski shops out west are also suffering. Much of their early season business revolves around repairing core shots caused by skiing over rocky terrain. Maybe they have made up some of that lost business selling more equipment, but it is hard to know.

We are also very concerned about our friends. We are hearing rumors of face shots taking place at an accelerated rate. Most of our friends are used to playing golf this time of year at lower elevations. Risking hypoxia so early in the ski season at the higher elevations of the western ski resorts, combined with the burning cold of powder snow covering their faces, limiting visibility, and just plain making it dangerous to their health and safety, has us out east very worried for our friends.

It is just so unfair of you to have all of the brutal snow storms taking place out west, putting our friends at risk. Out east, we are more than happy to "take one for the team" to help protect our western friends from the early onset of winter.

So Mother Nature... think about this. Over the next week, as you prepare to hit our friends out west once again, we are hearing reports from the Weather Channel that you are thinking about sending some of that cold wintery air and snow out east as well. That's ok with us. We are used to snow and cold during December. We thrive on it. Our friends need a break so they can plan for their Christmas and New Years holidays. You have given us good weather for so long, that we are ready for the holidays. We can take a few days of hard work shoveling, snow blowing, and plowing snow so our friends out west can share in the holiday spirit. We are more than happy to suffer through the hardship of finding the ski slopes covered with foot deep freshies, if our friends out west can be spared the horror of it all.

So while you are finishing putting together your naughty and nice lists to text over to St. Nick for his Christmas Eve ride-about, remember that we are nice. We are loving and caring towards our friends out west. Spare them their misery by moving the storms a little east. We are all adults here... we can take it....and you, Mother Nature, can make it so...

Thank you Mother Nature for all that you do.

Your humble servants, the innkeepers at the Birch Ridge Inn at Killington

And to our dedicated readers...Where ever you may be, we hope your holiday preparations are going smoothly. Think Snow!

Holiday season in Killington 

There may not be snow on the ground around the inn, but that does not slow down preparations for the holiday season

The Christmas Tree is fully decorated in the Great Room. Standing 13 1/2 feet, it is decorated in crystals with white bows.

In the kitchen, in addition to our regular menu, we are finalizing both our Christmas and New Years Eve menus. They will be posted online in a day or so after we finish discussions with our purveyors.

This Thursday, and every Thursday this winter, we are celebrating "Small Plate Thursday". This week we are pairing our small plates with either a glass of wine or beer for $15. It is a great way to come out, share a little food with friends, and get into the holiday spirit. "Small Plate Thursday" service begins at 6. But if you came a little earlier, I am sure we could pour something nice for you.

Where ever you may be, we hope your holiday preparations are going smoothly. Start your snow dances! Think Snow!

The Birch Ridge Inn 2015 Christmas Tree awaiting decorations. 

Traditions are important to maintain the stability of life. One of the more important traditions at the Birch Ridge Inn is Christmas Tree Monday. While some people are busy online shopping on the Monday after Thanksgiving, Mary and I, together with some of our friends, spend the day together preparing for the coming holidays. Over the years the tradition has gone through some evolution, but the denouement is always the same....we all come together to raise the Christmas Tree in the Great Room at the Birch Ridge Inn.

This years tree was procured from a farm near Springfield Vermont. It stands 13 feet over the Greatroom. It is hard to tell how much the tree weighs, but the running guess is between 300 and 499 pounds. It took 6 of us to lift the tree and haul it through the door into the Great Room.

Rogues gallery enjoying the traditional Christmas Tree Monday chinese lunch at Sushi Yoshi.

The Christmas tree is now resting comfortably in the front of the Great Room at the inn. It will need to rest in place overnight to allow the branches to acclimate to the warmth of the Great Room. Decorating starts tommorrow when the first strings of lights will be placed on the tree. If all goes well, it will be fully decorated by the end of the week for the first "official showing" over the week end.

If you need a little jump to get you into the holiday season, stop bye the inn during the week as we decorate the tree. And as always this time of year....Think Snow!

Mary at Killington Peak on Great Northern 

Finally... our first day on the slopes for the season is in the can....

While some of our employees are now solidly into double digit ski days, Mary and I finally got our act together and hit the slopes this morning for a few runs. By the time we had found all of the necessary bits and pieces to progress to the mountain, we managed to park the car in Bay 1 at the K1 base lodge at 9:15.

The Killington Resort has taken advantage of the last 5 days to make a tremendous amount of snow. While there has been skiing for several weeks in the North Ridge pod (Rime, Reason, Upper East Falls, Upper Great Northern, Upper Doube Dipper) it has only been in the last several days of cold temperatures that they have been able to make a break out and expand terrain. I know from first hand experience around the inn that last week the ground had not frozen. The cold weather over the weekend took care of that problem with the ground around the inn (and around the K1 Base Lodge) now solidly frozen.

With the cold weather, the resort has been able to make snow the entire length of Great Northern. Today was the first day where they were able to feature top to bottom skiing and riding with out the assistance of the stairway at the top of the North Ridge triple chair. In addition to the previously mentioned North Ridge Pod, the resort also opened Bunny Buster with it's Poma lift, to spread out those attending todays Thankgiving eve session.

Ski condtions were quite good with machine groomed man-made packed powder the length of the mountain. Surface depths are still relatively thin, given the lack of natural snow fall, but at no time did it occcur to us to ski on our rock ski's versus our all winter kit. There was some blowing and drifting snow around operational snow guns. Most were non events, although there was one at the base of Bunny Buster that was putting our slightly wet product. As with all early season skiing and riding, descretion is your friend in the face of variable conditions.

Looking forward to the weekend, the resort has made substaintial amounts of snow on Skylark from top to bottom on Skye Peak. In addition, they were also makeing snow in Snowdon down Chute to compliment Bunny Buster. I would expect that in addition to the K1 Gondola, the North Ridge triple, and the Bunny Buster poma that the resort should also be turning the Superstar and Snowdon quads to spread out Thanksgiving weekend skiers and riders.

At this point, skiing and riding is for intermediates and above. The resort has not had the opportunity yet to make snow on beginner terrain like Rams Head or Snowshed. The have started making snow in the learn to ski area at Snowshed and the Magic Carpet area on Rams Head. That would indicate that they are planning in the near term to have some nominal capability for opening ski school and childrens program, but we have not been privy to any announcements of availability for this weekend. But every indication is that it will be soon.

At the inn, we are back at work readying it for Thankgiving guests. We are not serving dinner to the general public on Thanksgiving day. We will be serving dinner Friday and Saturday evenings starting at 6:00 pm. You can find a copy of our restaurant menu online, as well as make reservations for dinner.

Where every you may be celebrating Thanksgiving, stay safe, and think snow!

Charcuterie Plate at the Birch Ridge Inn 

That was a short break!

Just 3 weeks ago we closed the restaurant to do a little re-tooling for the winter season (and to visit family down south). With that behind us, we are happy to announce that the restaurant at the Birch Ridge Inn has re-opened for the winter season this weekend.

For the next 2 weekends we will be serving dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings starting at 6:00 PM. As we move into December, as the ground around us turns white, we will expand our schedule. By December 15th we will be back to our full schedule with dinner served Tuesday through Saturday night from 6:00 PM. We will be open nightly during the holiday season from Tuesday December 22nd through Saturday January 2nd.

You can find a copy of our restaurant menu online, as well as make reservations for dinner.

We hope ypu can join us.

Reggie Serafin - Executive Chef - Birch Ridge Inn, Killington VT 

Killington, VT, November 13, 2015: The Birch Ridge Inn at Killington is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard "Reggie" Serafin as Executive Chef. Serafin will be responsible for managing the inn's culinary activities, including menu development, staffing, and cuisine preparation.

"We are very excited to have Reggie re-join our team" said Bill Vines, who with his partner Mary Furlong are Innkeepers/Owners of Birch Ridge. "Reggie had worked for us as our sous chef for 4 years from 2000 thru 2004 before moving on to a Chef's position at another establishment. We have stayed very close in the intervening years, with Reggie most recently working for Birch Ridge during the 2010-2011 season with Chef Stephen Byrne. Reggie strengthens the inn's staff with his culinary experience, combined with his knowledge of Killington and our inn. He will be a great team leader for Birch Ridge's culinary operations."

Serafin is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute (Class of 98). He lives in Rutland with his wife, Lori, and their 2 children. When he is not in the kitchen, Reggie is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys foraging for wild mushrooms, deer hunting, and taking a few turns on the slopes at Killington and Pico.

The restaurant at the Birch Ridge Inn will re-open to the public for the 2015-2016 Killington winter season on Friday November 20th.

About the Birch Ridge Inn
The Birch Ridge Inn has provided fine dining and accommodations since it's establishment in 1997. Birch Ridge has 10 individually decorated guest rooms; many feature fireplaces and whirlpool tubs. The inn is also known for it's restaurant, featuring New American cuisine with a Vermont flair served in the inns dining room and Great Room Lounge. The restaurant at Birch Ridge provides dinner service to inn guests and the public from Tuesday thru Saturday evenings starting at 6:00 PM. (Nightly during holiday seasons) Birch Ridge recommends reservations for lodging or evening dinner which can be made via phone at 800.435.8566 or 802.422.4293 or on the web at www.birchridge.com.

The perfect Vermont Fall Watercolor.
Killington Peak last weekend with snow and fall colors. 

As the fall season approaches the last gasp for 2015, and with the 2015-2016 ski season already underway, it is nice to be able to sit at my desk for a few quiet moments to write down my thoughts.

Fall colors this season were late by historical standards. Usually in Killington the peak colors occur sometime between the 3rd and 7th of October. This year, with out a doubt, they occurred almost a week later, peaking on Columbus day weekend. Why the delay...who knows. The climate in Killington this summer was very benign. Not too hot, not too cold, and plenty of rain fall at points across the summer to keep the forest thriving. Combined with a warm early fall with no frost, and the trees just kept pretending summer would never end. I am sure some scientists somewhere are scratching thier collective heads on why foliage was late. But it does not really matter much for this season, as Mother Natures transition from summer to winter at Killington is still one of the greatest shows on earth.

While fall colors were slow to transition, the Killington Resort made a very rapid transition to winter operations. A shot of cold air came thru the region late last week allowing the resort to make snow on the upper reaches of Killington in the North Ridge trail pod. This past Sunday, Killington became the first ski resort in the US to open for the 2015-2016 ski season with lift serviced skiing and riding. While fall colors were a week late in changing, the ski resort opened about a full week early, versus the last several years. I am sure that the resort will need a little bit of luck, and a lot of compressed air, to keep the resort open every day...but the change of seasons is on their side. Each day at Killington right now is a little colder than the last as winter approaches.

At the inn, we are very much attuned to the changing seasons. The restaurant at the inn will be undergoing it's planned seasonal shift closing this Saturday for a few weeks before we resume our winter operations in early November. We have a full list of chores around the inn to complete before winter sets in, as we usually do. And there is some early season skiing we need to do so we are positioned mentally to enjoy the winter (and to help us find all of our ski kit that was hidden away late last spring.)

To all of our guests who visited with us during this fall season, Mary, I and the staff say "Thank You". We hope you enjoyed staying with us as much as we enjoyed meeting you and having you as our guests. Innkeeping is a rewarding profession. People from all over the world come to Killington to stay with us and dine with us at the Birch Ridge Inn. For that we are truly grateful.

Wherever you may be... enjoy the change in seasons. If you are out golfing, hit them straight... keep it in the fairway... and remember the fall leaf rule. Otherwise, dig our your winter skiing and riding kit... and think snow!