Enjoy dinner in the dining room, or break bread with friends in the Great Room Lounge during your visit to the Birch Ridge Inn at Killington. 

Busy..busy..busy.. I am beginning to wonder where all the time is going.

Our restaurant, at the Birch Ridge Inn, reopens tonight for the winter season. For the next couple of weeks we will be serving dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings. We will also be serving dinner on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. We will start our normal winter schedule in Mid-December.

Even though we have been doing this for a while, there was a lot of work to get ready to reopen for the season. One of the new things you will find is that I will be posting our restaurant menu online in near real time. (This required a little computer programming to get our Menu Database talking to our web site, but I think that is all worked out.) If you are looking at this page from a laptop/desktop, you will notice a new menu addition at the top of the screen titled Birch Ridge Restaurant Menu. If you are looking at this on your Iphone, Blackberry, or other smart phone, you will notice a picture of my Great, Great, Grandfathers' mug with a link to the online menu.

Switching gears, the Killington Resort has re-opened for the season, at least temporarily. They have continued to make snow at every opportunity; fighting Mother Nature tooth and nail all the way. Currently they are planning on being open today and Saturday. After that they will continue to look at it day to day. I give the Resort a lot of credit for their persistence. Mother Nature has not been kind these last few weeks. But the temperatures are getting cooler every day, so it won't be long now before the tide turns in the Resorts (and in skiers and riders) favor.

If you make the trek to Vermont this weekend, stop bye......Let it snow!

Upper East Fall (complete with my shadow is in the foreground) 

It was not a long day, but I did make it out on the slopes today with skis attached to my feet.

The Killington Resort took the opportunity presented by Veterans Day to open for skiing and riding. 2 lifts were running; the K1 Gondola and the North Ridge Triple. Open Trails included Upper and Middle Great Northern, Rime, Reason, Upper East Fall, and Lower Bunny Buster.

Snow surfaces above 3000 feet (roughly the junction of Great Northern and Bunny Buster) consisted of loose, machine groomed granular over a hard base. Only man made snow is present at the top of the mountain, with sharp changes at the edges of the trails from snow covered to mud and grass. Cover at the top of the mountain and in the North Ridge area was excellent. Rock skis were not required by any stretch of the imagination, however sharp ski edges were a plus given the firmness of the base.

Snow surfaces changed considerably below 3000 feet. Lower Bunny Buster back to the K1 Base Lodge was very soft with considerable melting. Strict adherence to the "Thin Cover" orange bamboo poles is a must as a combination of snow melt, water bars and sunshine were opening up mud patches along the run out to K1. The trail ends 50 to 100 feet before the K1 Gondola requiring skiers and riders to dismount and walk the remaining distance to the lift.

Cold weather looks like it will be returning to the area this evening. Surfaces at the top of the mountain should last for many days given the depth and firmness of the snow pack. Surfaces on the lower mountain will need some additional snow making for the mountain to successfully offer top to bottom skiing and riding this coming weekend.

No word yet on the resorts plans for this weekend. We will have to watch and wait to see if the resort gets the opportunity to make some snow leading back to K1.....Let it snow!

Killington Peak on Opening Day 

In case you did not notice while you were working, the Killington Resort announced that they would be celebrating Veterans Day on Wednesday by being open for skiing and riding. The lifts will start turning at 9:00 AM.

Weather in the Killington area the last 2 days was down right balmy. Mary and I have spent most of our time outside working around the inn. The trees were very prolific this year, gracing us with a copious amount of leaves which need to be disposed of.

Holiday lights being put on the front of the inn. Click to enlarge.

The warm weather has also allowed us the treat of being able to put up the holiday lights on the outside of the inn without requiring long underwear to fight off the cold. The folks at Christmas Decor have installed new LED lights on the front of the inn. We have ordered Led's for the Carriageway, as they will pay for themselves over the course of the winter with electricity savings. I have also spent a lot of time the last 2 days climbing trees along the Killington Road. Last year we put some lights in some of the trees on the front of our property. We liked the look and decided to do it again this year.

Conceptual Plan for Killington Village. Click to enlarge.

Finally, with all of the celebration about the Resort opening for the season, it should also be noted that the Town of Killington Planning Commission last week granted approval for the "Planned Unit Development Review and Conceptual Master Plan Application: The Village PUD for the Ski Village II District". In english, the planning commission approved the conceptual master plan for the village that is being planned by SP Land for construction at the resort.

SP Land received "Concept" approval for the construction of 1972 residential units, and 124K sq feet of commercial /retail space. While they are a long way off from being able to begin construction, it is an important milestone in the ongoing saga of the development of a ski village at Killington. Before construction can begin, SP Land needs to obtain approval from the State of Vermont under Act 250 land use regulations, and come back to the town planning commission with full details and construction permit requests (and a fairly big check for the permits). SP Land sought conceptual approval so they could begin the engineering process to move forward with the ski village project. Without question, we will be hearing a lot more about this in the future.

With Killington re-opening tomorrow, I might need to take a few runs. The resort has not yet committed to be open over the weekend, taking it on a day to day basis. Hopefully overnight temperatures will be low enough for them to resume snowmaking operations.........let it snow!

Killington Peak, sparsely covered in snow. 

Kudos to the Killington Resort for their efforts to begin the 2009/2010 ski season this weekend. Although weather conditions are forcing them to suspend skiing and riding during the week this week, many people were able to enjoy a nice weekend on the mountain.

Once again, Mary and I did not ski this weekend, but that did not keep us off the mountain. Taking advantage of our seasons passes, we took the K1 to Killington Peak and hiked around the mountain for most of the day.

Mary at the K1 terminal on Killington Peak. Click to enlarge.

On our hike, we saw a lot of interesting things pointing to the changes being made by the resort in it's operating model this year. One of the interesting things we saw was the pre-positioning of Snow Grooming machines around Killington Peak. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense, as the snow cover on lower elevations was thin. But, in many years at Killington, we have not noticed snow machines pre-placed around the mountain before. Usually during the day they are comfortably parked at the base of Snowdon.

Mom - Snow Cat pre-positioned on Killington Peak. Click to enlarge.

Thru out our hike, we also saw repeated evidence of repairs made to the snow making system. Although Killington is reported to have the worlds largest snow making system, some people have joked that it is also the worlds largest sprinkler system. The resort is obviously making a concerted effort to find and fix the leaks so the water being pumped thru the system actually exits snow guns to make snow.

Bill in woods near Anarchy. Click to enlarge.

To avoid skiers and riders, when we hiked down the mountain we traversed the "E" hiking trail. This trail takes you through the woods across Anarchy, Julio, Ovation, Superstar, Skye Lark, and Bittersweet. The hike itself is quite peaceful though the "Forest Primeval" which makes up the Green Mountains. Along the hike, the the thing that stood out most was the complete lack of natural snow in the woods along the trail. Here and there we occasionally ran into an ice patch or two, but in general there was no snow along the entire route.

In our minds, the lack of natural snow just reinforced the change in operating mode of the resort. It impressed upon us the gymnastics the Resort went through to make enough snow to open the resort for skiing and riding this weekend.

Snow gun standing guard at the junction of High Road and Skye Lark. Click to enlarge.

The walk across the ski trails on Skye Peak was pretty straight forward. The Resort had mowed the grass on the trails weeks ago to get ready for the season. Some low lying weeds have grown back, providing a nice green cover. But it was a pretty easy traverse. We did notice that along the edge of the trails that a lot of maintenance has been done to cut back the brush and small trees along the edges of the trails. The net effect is that they may seem a little wider this year, but in reality they are just returning to their normal width.

Killington Base Lodge on a warm November afternnon. Click to enlarge.

All told we spent a little more than 3 hours hiking around the mountain Sunday afternoon. From the trails we could see, and the people we spoke with, snow surfaces held out pretty well through out the day. People were comparing it more to spring skiing, than skiing in November, but we saw a lot of people who were just happy to be out on the mountain.

With a little luck, everyone will be able to do it all again next weekend. The weather forecast for Killington this week looks unseasonably mild early, with cold temperatures returning at the end of the week. Hopefully the resort gets the opportunity to turn on their snow making system again so that the 2009/2010 ski season can restart at Killington again next weekend.........let it snow!

Skiers and riders enjoying opening day at Killington. 

Under a beautiful blue sky, the 2009/2010 ski season at Killington officially began today. While there was minimal terrain open, I saw nothing but smiles when I was on the hill earlier this morning.

In homage to my Orthopedic Surgeon, I did not strap on skis this morning and dive into the crowd. Instead, I got out my ski poles, put on my hiking boots, and did a walk about on the hill.

Fan Gun at base of Mousetrap dominates the scene. Click to enlarge.

My immediate impression was that the Resort was able to take good advantage of the cold window that Mother Nature gave them the last 24 hours. They were able to deposit enough snow on Lower Bunny Buster that the resort was able to groom it out. From my simple ski pole measurement, about 2 feet of machine made packed powder was along the side of the trail. (It made hiking quite the work out.)

Mom - I need a new pair of skis! One of the competitors enjoying the Rail Jam today at Killington. Click to enlarge.

The second thing I noticed is that once you get off a snow covered trail, that the rest of the mountain is just overflowing with water. Grassy surfaces on the trails on Snowdon were all very wet from the precipitation that has been falling the last couple of weeks. We will really need a good solid freeze before we will see a lot of terrain expansion in the early season.

The skiers and riders I spoke with were all happy to be back out on the mountain. There obviously was a lift line on the North Ridge Triple where most of the skiing and riding was taking place. Skiers and Riders were smoothly entering the K1 Gondola for a boost to Killington Peak with minimal waiting. There was a small amount of walking required at the base to enter the queue for the K1. But no one seemed to notice.

When I left this morning, the Back to Shred Rail Jam was just kicking off. Competitors were taking some practice laps over the features. Killington was limiting entries to the first 60 people. Based upon the number of people I saw they had no problem reaching that number.

Killington is scheduled to be open for skiing and riding again tomorrow (Sunday) before closing down for the week. The resort does plan to be open again next weekend. Hopefully Mother Nature will continue to give us a break and bring some cold temperatures at night to allow continued snow making.........let it snow!

Snow Guns still blowing snow on trails at K1 Base Lodge 

(Updated at 10:30 AM)----The Killington Ski Resort will officially open for the 2009/2010 ski season tomorrow, Saturday November 7th. The first lifts are set to begin turning at 10:00 AM. The resort plans to operate on Saturday and Sunday only.

Snow guns continuing their work in front of K1 Base Lodge. Click to enlarge.

The first day of the season is recommended for advanced skiers and riders only as there will be limited terrain. Cold weather has allowed continuous snow making operations in the North Ridge area of Killington. Based upon what I have been told, the North Ridge Triple chair lift will be spinning to support skiers and riders on Rime, Reason, Upper East Fall and Great Northern. The K1 Gondola will be operating from the K1 Base Lodge to provide the initial lift for skiers to Killington Peak.

Killington Peak swathed in clouds. Click to enlarge.

Top to bottom laps of the mountain are not recommended. The resort will ask skiers and riders to minimize top to bottom runs down Great Northern from Killington Peak to the K1 Base Lodge as snow cover on the lower parts of the mountain are still marginal. While snow making operations have been ongoing on Lower Bunny Buster to the K1 Base Lodge, the ground was not frozen when snow making began, impacting the amount of snow cover which has built up on the trails.

To kick off the season, the resort will be holding the "Back to Shred Rail Jam" at the K1 base lodge. The competition is limited to the first 60 registrants. Registration is from 9:30 to 11 at the K1 Lodge on the 3rd floor. The competition begins at 11:00 AM. Those wishing to pre-register can go to Killington.comfor more details.

Mother Nature also provided some assistance last night. Measurable snow was recorded through out the area. At the snow stake at the inn over an inch of heavy wet snow was on the ground at 9:00 AM this morning. I would not expect the snow cover at the inn to last the day, but on the mountain where temperatures are cooler...as they say every bit helps.

If you are planning on visiting Killington to ski or ride tomorrow...Be safe and have a great time!........let it snow!

Snowmaking continues on Killington peak on a grey twig season day. 

The Killington Resort Team is trying really hard to open the resort for limited skiing and riding this weekend. That is the impression I got this morning when I visited the Killington Base Lodge to view the activities taking place to ready the resort to open. That being said, the team is fighting an up hill battle. (no pun intended) Mother Nature is making it difficult at best, and may still put the kibosh on the whole thing.

Snow Guns in front of K1 Base Lodge. Click to enlarge.

The resort posted on their website this morning that they will make the decision to open for skiing and riding for the weekend on Friday morning at 10:00 AM. The hesitancy in the web statement is well placed. They have gotten into a proverbial dammed if you do...dammed if you don't situation. The Killington Resort Team wants to put out a high quality product for their customers. And there is is the rub. If they don't open, they don't have any customers...a rather simple business paradigm. But if they do open, will the product quality be there given the desire for top to bottom skiing and riding? The Resort has pulled out all the stops and they are going for it. So it will be interesting to see how the call comes down tomorrow.

Fan Gun pointed toward the K1 Gondola. Click to enlarge.

I walked around the K1 Base Lodge this morning around 10:30 AM. Snow guns, both the normal air pressure guns and the new fan guns, were surrounding K1 in a blizzard of snow. I ran into one of the senior managers. He told me that they had been making snow continuously thru the night at K1. But the conditions were marginal at best. About 2 inches of wet snow were on the ground in front of the Killington Ski Club. The temperature in my car where I parked was 34 degrees. On the mountain side of the K1 Base Lodge it was noticeably cooler; the water evaporation from the snow guns was creating their own microclimate.

"Snow guns leading down from Lower Bunny Buster near the K1 Triple Chair. Click to enlarge.

Around the building, towards the K1 Gondola, a moveable fan gun is set up to blow snow towards the lift area. If the resort opens, skiing right to the lift probably is out of the cards, as the ground is not frozen. But the resort is trying to set it up so people can get close.

Snow guns were clearly visible all along Great Northern down to the K1 Base. Snow Flurries are in the air, but for how long remains to be seen. The microclimate that snow making operations are creating is probably worth a couple of degrees in temperature near the snow guns. But that effect was in the process of being swamped out as the temperature in the overall Killington Basin area is heading into the mid 30's this afternoon.

Snow guns coating Lower Bunny Buster. Click to enlarge.

At this point, all we can do is watch and wait. The resort team is really trying to get the job done, and they deserve credit for that. They should be able to keep the snow guns running at the top of the mountain all day, which will provide a nice product in the North Ridge area to kick the season off. However, it remains to be seen if they can make enough snow on the lower parts of the mountain to offer top to bottom skiing and riding this weekend.

By this time tomorrow we will know........let it snow!