Killington Peak, Saturday March 13, 2010 at approximately 1:00PM 

Several of us were talking at the bar about the weather last night. The few inn guests that had not cancelled for the weekend were telling me that they had a great day on the mountain on Saturday. They had been dreading coming to Killington because the Weather Channel was hysterically bloviating on a great deluge descending on the North East this weekend. Yet there they sat, having a beverage, reveling in there accomplishments of having a great day on the mountain.

How could the Weather Channel have been so wrong? They had predicted rain for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They then changed the local Sunday forecast to snow.

The actual weather, as you can see from my last blog posts was warm with overcast on Thursday, low clouds on Friday, high clouds on Saturday (see todays picture). Today, Sunday, we are having a wet mix of light precipitation falling off and on. If you give the Weather Channel today, they are batting 25% for the last 4 days in predicting weather at Killington. And that is being generous.

How did things get this way? Why was the forecast so wrong?

Actually, the forecast by the Weather Channel was not technically wrong. They were predicting a deluge this weekend in the North East. Our friends who stayed home this weekend in Southern New England and the Upper Middle Atlantic states seem to be having a deluge of sorts. And there locations certainly qualify as "North East". Unfortunately, in our hyper media driven 21st century existence, where "information" is constantly no more than one click away, the term "North East" takes on a global specificity like the area is one big flat plain. However, nothing could be actually further from the truth as the true "North East" is riddled with hills, valleys, and mountain peaks. Each one, of course, creates its own micro climate, and also impacts the macro climate at large. The one size fits all forecast derived by the Weather Channel could not possibly cope with all the local variability. Hence they don't even try.

One must remember, the Weather Channel is a commercial venture whose goal is to drive the public to purchase the goods and services of their sponsors. The more fantastic the forecast, the longer people watch and the more eyeballs see advertisements. In the process, they provide some level of public service, ie predicting the weather. And when applied to a regional and national scale, they probably get the trends more right than wrong. But regional trends do not translate into accurate local forecasts with the regularity one would assume if all you did was watch the television or click on a web site. Some times you actually have to go outdoors and take a look!

Ski Resorts have attempted to fight the tyranny of the regional "Weather Forecast" by installing web cams on their respective web sites. (The Killington resort is so big, it has 3. And the weather can be different at each one!) The theory is that if you can take a "look outside" you can make your own judgements. The web cams work well, but in the opposite. If they show a heavy snow storm on Wednesday or Thursday, then people will flock to the mountain on the weekend. But if they show nice weather on a weekend...by then it's a little late.

The ski season at Killington has now started the long march into spring. For skiers and riders, there are but a hand full of weekends left before it will be time to put the boards away for next season. With the weather, some times you win, sometimes you lose. But for the guests who traveled to Killington and enjoyed the mountain this weekend, if they did not play the game, they would have been sitting home in the rain.

......let it snow!

Wheres the Bagel?
Yours truly, Gary, and Ruts on Ovation. 

Just like yesterday, soft snow ruled the day at Killington...with a couple of differences.

After skiing this morning, it was obvious that yesterdays snow was genuinely soft; the result of minimal overnight freezing on Wednesday night. Last night, temperatures reached below the freezing point, causing surfaces to at least initially firm up. Early runs saw spring firm conditions under foot. As skier and rider traffic increased through out the morning, surfaces once again took on a buttery softness on popular trails. Trails skied by fewer resort guests maintained there early morning firmness much longer.

And then there was the light...or lack thereof. Yesterdays overcast was replaced with a low cloud cover hanging around 3000 feet. While not dropping any precipitation, the clouds deposited a nice layer of condensation on goggles and other eyewear. But at least the Weather Channels pronouncement from earlier in the week have been proved false, as there was no precipitation to be found around the resort.

Unlike yesterday where we spent most of our time in the Killington Basin area, todays adventure focused on Bear Mountain and Sky Peak. The first runs down Bear Claw, Bear Trap, Wild Fire, Dream Maker, and Skye Burst were for the most part on firm terrain. Lower elevations were slightly softer. Firm in this case is not ice hard, as the temperatures did not get that cold overnight. But there was a definite crunchiness on some of the upper trails for the first hour or so. By 10:30, all trails at Bear Mountain that saw any skier traffic had softened up nicely. We did see one poor soul going down Outer Limits. The resort has left OL bumped up, causing most midweek skiers and riders to bypass it for smoother pastures. As a result, the bumps on OL have solidified, creating an interesting ride for the few brave enough to attempt it.

By 10:30 we switched gears and moved over to Skye Peak. The top of Dream Maker was firm, but that did not stop me from going down it's little bumps. Middle and Lower Dream Maker through the terrain park, featured primarily a wet, mixed granular surface. Very responsive under foot.

Panic Button at Needles Eye was closed to prepare it for race training. You could still enter Needles Eye underneath the Skyeship Gondola, which we did. Needles Eye was surprisingly firm, but still provided some easy cruising to refresh the legs.

Bitter Sweet, Skye Lark and Super Star were all quite soft. Skier traffic had worked its magic by 11, leaving ski surfaces with a nice soft upper texture. The bumps on Lower Skye Lark maintained some hard spots, probably due to a low volume of skiers and riders. In contrast, lower Bitter Sweet and Super Star were like a high fat ice cream, filled with creamy goodness.

We finished up on Ovation and Old Super Star. The cloud deck was right on top of middle Ovation. The group followed a pretty tight course down the middle, one skier on the tails of the person in front. It left for a few comedic moments and near collisions as the distance between us expanded and contracted in response to the bumps we encountered going down the trail. But as you can see from the picture, we all made it down to the connector with Super Star, choosing to bypass Lower Ovation for another day.

Old Super Star was similar to Ovation, only the bumps were bigger and firmer. Far few skiers had ventured down Old Super Star. As a result, the bumps had a crunchy crust which, when combined with the cloud on the deck, toyed with the psyche. But it was fun just the same.

......let it snow!

Bill coming out of the seeded bumps on Upper Royal Flush 

Snow conditions at the Killington Resort today were spring soft, with nice little bumps forming on many of the trails. The sky was overcast; the result of a storm passing to the south of the area. Temperatures were in the mid 40's.

Mary and I headed to the mountain this morning around 10 for a couple of hours of exercise. Starting out at the Snowdon Quad our first run was down Upper Royal Flush through the seeded bump course followed by a soft cruise down Highline. The seeded bump course was just fun. If you are at Killington, and you want to try some easy bumps, give it a try...you might surprise yourself. Highline was creamy soft. It was set up really nicely for sweeping turns for the return run back to the K1 gondola.

From the Gondola, we took advantage of the Canyon Quad and did the trilogy of Cascade, Double Dipper, and East Fall. Upper and middle Cascade tight to the right tree line was like a natural terrain park, with rides up and down the slope back and forth from the trees. Lower Cascade was just like Highline, except for the compound fall line. Broad, cruising turns were in order.

Double Dipper had a strip about 20 feet wide that was groomed up it's middle. When it was groomed is hard to tell, as it was still filled with small spring bumps. But there was a noticeable line with much larger bumps down both skiers right and skiers left. East Fall was flat and relatively fast for soft snow. Lots of intermediate snow boarders were cruising East Fall as it did not have many bumps.

After the trilogy, we headed across the back side of the mountain for a few runs off of the Superstar Quad. I started on Upper Ovations which was filled with small to medium sized bumps all the way to the Superstar cutoff. Lots of fun...really!

Superstar clearly started the day groomed. The upper headwall was still basically flat. The soft snow was doing a good job checking peoples speed, so not a lot of turns were required on this stretch. As a result, there were not many bumps on Upper Superstar this morning. Middle Superstar was your basic groomed cruiser with lines starting to form due to skier traffic. The snow whales from February's snowmaking effort now form a large hump down skiers left. I rode up and down it all the way to the lower headwall. Lower Superstar was creamy. It was being churned up by a combination of good skiers and riders making tight turns, combined with beginner snow boarders and skiers, who should not have been on the trail, side slipping down it's length. Soft conditions made the trail negotiable for most abilities...but I really don't care to use human beings as slalom gates.

After the Superstar run, we decided to take a cruise down Upper Skyelark to Lower Bitter Sweet. As we suspected, both trails had been groomed out. Combined with the soft snow, this route was a nice intermediate cruiser, allowing our quads and other leg muscles a little breathing space to cool down.

Looping up the Superstar quad once more, I decided to try the bumps on Old Superstar. They were really nice and well formed. Skier traffic taking Old Superstar is primarily people who know what they are doing. As a result, the bumps that form naturally on this trail reflect the rhythm of the skiers and riders who bump down it. As this was the last run, I continued bumping down skiers left under and to the left of the Superstar Quad. By the time I reached the bottom, my legs were pretty fried...but as it was the last run of the morning for us, it was a great feeling.

Mary finished up with a run top to bottom on Skyelark. She cruised down the middle section. On lower Skyelark she was greeted by a collection of moguls of various sizes. She was raving about lower Skyelark in the car when we met up, as the bumps were soft and well spaced with no ice in the troughs.

All told this morning we were out on the mountain for just under 2 hours. The soft snow and the bumps got our hearts pumping and our legs moving. Who need a gym when the Killington Resort and the Green Mountains are in your back yard?

......let it snow!

Cascade, Down Draft, Double Dipper, and East Fall junction 

....not that I needed one.....

The Killington Chamber of Commerce held a morning mixer at the Killington Resort this morning, followed by a morning of skiing. A group of us assembled in the Superstar Pub for a light breakfast, provided by the resort (thank you!) before heading out to the slopes.

At the meeting this morning, the resort announced their new Spring Pass for the end of the 2010 season, and season pass prices for passes for the 2010/2011 season. The Spring Pass, priced at $169, is valid for skiing and riding beginning on March 22 through the end of the ski season, currently projected through the first weekend in May. Season passes for the 2010/2011 season are priced at $999 for an unlimited pass, $649 for a black out pass, and $399 for a midweek pass. These prices are available with a payment plan until April 29, 2010. See Killington.com for complete details or follow the link after the second picture.

Enough about the meeting already....what about the skiing!

Today was one of those primo days. Bright blue sky, lots of sunshine, and a good mix of ski surfaces.

The sunshine and the blue sky did do a head fake on the resort however. Looking outside from the meeting, we were thinking that conditions would be soft. But last night, temperatures at the resort dropped into the low 20's, so even at Bear Mountain which had 4 full hours of sunshine before we hit the trails, ski surfaces were firm. But firm is also fun to play on, especially if you have a legitimate excuse to go skiing.

After a warm up run down Superstar, more on that later, we headed to Bear Mountain. The first runs down Bear Mountain at the Stash, Wild Fire, Bear Claw, and Skye Burst were all quick on groomed flat trails. Soft snow was present against the tree lines of each, where the trails were protected from the sun.

Killington 2010/2011Season Pass information released.. Click to enlarge or go to Killington.com for more information..

Heading back to the basin side of the resort, Superstar was groomed side to side, turning this signature trail of Killington spring skiing into a high speed cruiser. Middle Superstar had a little chunk on it, the result of grooming during a thaw/freeze cycle, but skier and rider traffic was quickly breaking it up. Including the warm up run, we did Superstar 3 times before heading to other terrain. Skye Lark and Bitter Sweet were beautifully groomed. The smoothest run of the day was probably Upper Skye Lark to Lower Bitter Sweet. Lower Skye Lark was not groomed. It still had small bumps on it left over from Monday. While a little crunchy, it was very easy to negotiate.

Heading over to the K1 Gondola, Double Dipper and East Falls were flat and fast. The Canyon Quad was spinning today, so these trails deserved a lap or 2.

Under the lets do something different category, Royal Flush looked interesting today. It was a total fake out. The bumps on the upper Flush were hard as rocks, even in full morning sun. The person I was skiing with bailed out, to my great relief, on Racers Edge. I have not skied down Racers Edge in years. It presented some interesting little bumps as it threaded a path over to High Line. Not to be slowed down, we followed Racers Edge over to Mouse Trap before taking a few runs on the Snowdon Quad.

At Snowdon, there were seeded bumps courses set up on Upper Royal Flush and Mouse Trap. Both were set with regular patterns that allowed development of a nice rhythm as you skied down them. The bumps on Upper Flush were on a shallow pitch, which made them quite fun. The ones on Mouse Trap had a steeper pitch, which promoted more concentration as you navigated down them. Both were great ways to get the legs a little exercise after a morning of up and down groomers.

......let it snow!

Killington Peak...soft snow and sunshine! 

Mary and I rarely get a chance to get out to ski on the weekend. But our guests do. Suffice to say there will be a lot of goggle tans at work around the Northeast on Monday morning.

Guests have reported that the mountain is full of nice soft snow and beautiful sunshine. Many were out for 6 hours or more on Saturday, coming back to the inn for a beverage and a short nap before dinner. Today is more of the same. Everyone has big grins on their faces. One said to me that they felt like they were a kid again, playing outside in the snow all day.

......let it snow!

"Blue Sky and Bumps" - Upper Vertigo at Killington 

Today was one of the top 10 ski days for the 2009-2010 season.

Beautiful blue sky. Mounds of soft snow. Moderate temperatures. It is hard to ask for more.

The snow storms of last week and the overcast of earlier this week have cleared to leave the Killington Resort set up for a great weekend of early spring skiing and riding. Wether you choose Bear Mountain and direct south facing sun, or Killington Peak with shaded soft trails, you can not go wrong skiing and riding Killington right now.

We started our day with a very high speed warm up run down Super Star. The trail was both perfectly groomed and bathed in early spring sunshine this morning at 9:00 AM. It was just a great run to start the day.

We followed with runs through Bear Mountain. Skye Burst, Wild Fire, Bear Claw, Bear Trap, and Dream Maker were all skiing great. Snow conditions in the morning had some firmness down the middle of the early runs where snow melted yesterday and refroze over night. But who needs to ski down the middle of the trail when the sides of the trails continued to feature delightfully soft packed powder snow to ski on.

Traversing over to Needles Eye we found soft conditions on groomed surfaces on Needles, Cruise Control, Great Eastern, Bitter Sweet and High Road. Vertigo was bump covered. Bumps on middle Vertigo were generally well spaced and allowed for a good pace. The lower section below the old Snow Shed Crossover were somewhat disorganized and choppy, but skiable just the same.

Skye Lark and Super Star continued to ski well on mid morning return runs. Upper Ovation had some nice soft regular bumps down skiers right which where were fun. We did not ski lower Ovation. It was also bump covered with what looked like Volkswagen sizes bumps.

The final runs of the morning were taken off Killington Peak. The trails off North Ridge were all nicely soft. Upper East Fall was basically groomed flat with lots of soft powder to carve up. Rime and Reason were more of the same.

Highline was closed for race training, so we did not have a chance to try it out. The Chute off of the Snowsdon quad rated a do over. It's snow surface was also quite soft on skiers right, which when added to the trails natural compound fall line made for some very nice runs.

Crowds at the mountain early were hard core skiers and riders. The base lodge was very crowded this morning at 9:00 AM. The crowd quickly dispersed around the resort, however, as all of the resorts terrain is available for play. By mid day there was an influx of weekend visitors starting to head out on the slopes. With the weather forecasted to be sunny and in the low 40's during the day, weekend skiers at Killington should be in for a treat.

......let it snow!

Skye Peak from Bear Mountain 

Today was one of those black and white days on the ski trails at Killington. Another winter storm, this one a little weaker that previous, is passing to the south of the resort. In the storms wake, we have a bright, yet overcast sky. The whiteness of the sky is merging with the snow covered peaks of the Green Mountains. Add in black tree trunks dotting the mountain peaks and the visual is basically devoid of color, creating a black and white background for any activities taking place outside.

The low contrast ratio between the white sky and the white snow created some minor vision problems for my young eyes. But for the most part, seeing the snow was not a requirement. On most trails the snow was soft and pliable. Where there were bumps, the trough between bumps provided just enough contrast to allow you to pick out your line.

There were a few anomalies today to skiing which required some adjustments. At Bear Mountain the middle of groomed trails was decidedly firmer than the trail edges. This was probably due to some surface melting yesterday in the trail centers that froze overnight after the trail was groomed. Once you figured that out, there was at least 10 feet on either side of most trails that was nice and soft to ski on.

On the Killington Peak - Killington Basin side of the resort, surfaces were generally softer. The most likely explanation is that there was less surface melting, and subsequently less re-freezing overnight. What ever the cause, the surfaces on the Killington Peak side of the resort had a more packed powder feel than the hard pack on some trails on Bear Mountain.

Town Meeting Followup Article 10 which would have authorized the town to acquire $1.4M in general obligation bonds to purchase and improve a 37 acre tract of land across from the Grist Mill on the Killington Road, also know as the Fireside Property, went down to defeat yesterday. Killington residents voted 145 YES and 205 NO to defeat the ballot initiative.

......let it snow!