Killington Peak,
March 16th, 2007 11:00 AM 

It is amazing what a forecast of a major snow storm at a ski resort can do.

All eyes at Killington are looking south as a major winter storm is poised to move into the area early this evening. Weather forecasters are all trying to stake out a claim to predict snow depths, but the general consensus figure bandied about is around 20 inches or so by the time the storm moves through the area on late Saturday. Of course, this is all great news for the ski area. Many of our weekend guests headed north early this morning to beat out the storm and get ready for skiing in the snow on Saturday. Of course, the snow could not come at a better time.

Last night temperatures in the area dipped to the low teens and high single digits. Snow banks around the inn have all frozen solid. On the mountain, most of the terrain has been groomed flat to both smooth out the firm surfaces and get ready for the upcoming storm. However, on some of the trails water bars, since frozen, were clearly visible from the wet weather of the last few days. Of course, with any luck at all, everything will be nice and white and soft again tomorrow as the storm rolls through the area. It should be a great weekend to ski and ride at Killington. Let it snow!

Snow covers the forest floor
behind the Birch Ridge Inn. 

One month ago Killington experienced the Valentines day blizzard of 2007. Is St. Patrick's day the next quasi holiday to get snowed on???

Mother Nature has not been kind to north east skiing these last 2 days. Heavy r@!n and warm temperatures have soaked the mountains resulting in loss of snow pack, flood warnings in some of the river valleys, and the beginning of "Mud Season" on local country dirt roads.

Latest snowfall forecast from Accuweather.com as of Thursday March 15th

Overnight, the snow stake declined 9 additional inches, settling this morning with 9 inches of snow behind the inn. The mountain has seen similar reductions in snow cover, but initial reports indicate that the snow pack is still holding up reasonably well to the first test of spring. But it looks like things will be changing once again in the next 24 hours.

The current forecast indicates Killington will receive significant snowfall coming into the St Patrick's day weekend, just like we saw heading into Valentines day last month. My powder ski's are in the car. I am ready for an epic Saturday. Are you? Erin-go-Bragh! Let it Snow!

Howie holding court in the box
before our run down Double Dipper 

What a difference 50 degree temperatures can make.

Conditions this morning were pure spring skiing with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 50's. We did not take any where near as many runs as we did last Friday, but the legs got a really good workout.

Overnight, the resort had groomed pretty much everything. Since snow surfaces were very soft and wet, the first few runs were punctuated with evasive maneuvers around huge cat track scars carved in the soft snow. But after a little skier traffic, the trails smoothed out nicely. Great conditions for a warm day.

We spent our ski day on the Killington Peak side of the mountain, figuring that it would stay firmer than the trails with souther exposure at Bear. Starting with multiple runs down Rime to loosen up the legs, we did East Fall, Double Dipper and Downdraft in rapid succession(ok... not so rapid succession as we needed to traverse down to the K1 Gondola each time as the Canyon Quad was not running). All of the runs were in beautiful shape with a soft base of heavy wet snow. We did not encounter any firm spots on the runs down thru the Canyon area.

We finished our morning on the mountain with laps on Superstar. The upper Superstar headwall was creamy soft from the new snow the resort had blown onto it last last week. Middle Superstar had a water skiing feel to it due to melting snow. Because it was groomed, there were no bumps in middle Superstar, so wide carving turns were in order. Lower Superstar was very soft with no skid plates in sight. By the time we were in it (11 AM) it was starting to feel the effect of skier traffic with little wet piles of snow building up through the middle of the trail. After a couple of loops we decided to call it a day and head for a late breakfast.

At the inn the snow stake this morning was reading 18 inches. Over the last week, the snow pack in the back of the inn has melted/compacted about 8 inches. Overall there is plenty of cover left for several weeks of skiing if warm temperatures continue. But this is March in New England, and we should expect at least 1 or 2 more snow storms before the season is done. Let it snow!

Stacking the last load of winter firewood. 

Spring is making an appearance at Killington today. Temperatures in the area are in the low 50's. Snow that had accumulated on roof tops is sliding off all over town. Some snow melt is starting to occur, but the snow pack was over 2 feet to start with so it will hold up for a while.

From the reports we are receiving, the warm temperatures have caused yesterdays firm ski conditions on the mountain to softened up. Canadian week crowds have definitely gotten a couple of nice days to start the week. It does look like we will have another shot of moist weather tomorrow before changing to snow on Thursday and Friday. Let it snow!

Mary negotiating the mixing bowl
at the top of the Needles Eye Quad 

The past weekends warm up and subsequent freezing temperatures last night resulted in a significant firming of the trails at Killington this morning. Most trails were frozen packed powder covered with a loose granular surface. Sharp ski edges were required!

Southern facing trails, and trails with the least amount of man made snow were frozen this morning. Northern facing trails, or trails which had minimal sun exposure and hence surface melting, were still nicely soft. Highline, where the resort has blown significant amounts of snow this winter, was the trail of the day. The upper entrance to Highline was a skating rink, but once you were past the merge with Racers Edge, surface conditions were machine groomed packed powder all the way to the K1 base lodge. The Bear Mountain and Needles Eye areas were most affected by the weekend weather. Panic Button off the Needles Eye Quad was extremely slick. Upper Cruise Control was very choppy with granular surfaces approaching beach sand. Lower Cruise Control by comparison, which does not get much sun exposure, was soft snow perfect for carving turns.

It looks like we have a few warm days ahead of us this week before winter returns. Let it snow!

Skiers and Riders on Lower Superstar 

Last night some light r@!n showers passed through the region. The good news is that they were very brief and light, the bad news is that it was not snow. But so it goes.

Lasts nights weather event did result in some snow melt and compression around the inn. The snow stake was at 22 1/2 inches, down 2 inches from yesterdays reading. All in all, not very much surface damage from the first shot of warm weather we have had at Killington in the last 8 weeks.

During the day today we are seeing intermittent snow flakes falling from the sky. Nothing of any consequence what so ever, but it does indicate that the atmosphere has cooled down somewhat from yesterdays warm temperatures.

If the weathermen are to be believed, this should be a great week for early spring skiing at Killington, before winter returns next week. Temps are predicted to be just above freezing during the day and just below freezing at night which should help maintain stable snow surface conditions. Now if we could only have one or two more dumpers! Let it snow!

Killington Peak in a gray overcast 

Since mid week we have been hearing about high temperatures and r@!n in the forecast for today. Well.... It did not happen. Those who came to Killington today for some skiing or riding were greeted with sunny skies and comfortable temperatures this morning with a gray cloud cover developing all afternoon.

Inn guests as they come back to the inn are reporting great snow surface conditions. First time skiers are coming back a little tired as surfaces have softened up with the rising temperatures. Experienced skiers and riders are just saying it is great! A beautiful bonus versus what had been predicted earlier in the week.

If you believe the weathermen, and the track record is questionable, they are predicting light showers this evening, possibly snow in the mountains, clearing out by daybreak. Hopefully, tomorrow is another nice day to be on the mountain. Let it snow!