Mary's "Golfing buddy" Nina at Killington Peak. 

While I manned the inn, today was a day of skiing firsts for my partner Mary. It was the first time she had skied with her golfing buddy Nina. It was the first time she has skied top to bottom from Killington Peak to the Route 4 Sky Ship Base this season. It was the first time for Mary to try out the new Bakery at the Snow Shed Base Lodge for a little warm up coffee break.

Mary's friend, Nina, a retired Inn keeper from the Killington area, used her $24.00 pay as you go season pass for the first time today. Finding people to ski with on a regular basis if often a challenge for Mary. Simply put, the boys ski hard and fast, and many of the ladies are drifting away from skiing every day. It does present a challenge to Mary as she has a but few hours most days to get in her skiing quota. While she loves to chase after the boys (we do push her) skiing today with Nina turned out to be a good match up.

Mary reports today that conditions were not quite as good as yesterday. Bear Mountain was not groomed, so yesterdays soft bumps took on a lot choppiness. The Glades area, which we did not ski yesterday, was a little scratchy. The runs off of Snowdon were in good shape. And the run down to Route 4 on Great Eastern was excellent, with the one possible negative that they could not stop for their planned warm up at the Route 4 base lodge because there is no coffee or hot chocolate service there on Thursday.

After the run down Route 4, Mary reports that she and Nina took a brief warm up stop to visit the newly done over Snow Shed Base Lodge. Mary wanted to see if anything was different from last year. The furniture in the main restaurant area had been upgraded. Friends had mentioned the bakery was nice, so Mary and Nina headed there to scope it out. They report that pastries looked interesting but, properly watching their waistlines, they were good and just headed to the hot beverage section. Six dollars later, they had a cup of coffee and a hot chocolate. Mary thought the price seemed steep, but hey...it is a ski resort in mid winter. All in all, the environment at the Snow Shed base lodge was nice and, being mid week, it certainly wasn't crowded.

One final first for Mary this season....she was on the mountain until 2:00... a full four hours of skiing, that's a good thing as she deserved some time on the hill.

Let it snow!

Killington Peak from top of Bear Mountain 

It is hard to complain when you can get 15 runs in between 9 and noon under brilliant sunshine in the middle of January.

When the group I was with today left the K1 base lodge, we decided to head towards Bear Mountain. The temperature at K1 was in the low teens. Although the sky was a brilliant blue, the Killington Peak side of the mountain in mid January tends to stay in the shadows most of the day. By heading south, we would be warmer (Bear Mountain is a little closer to the equator after all) and we would be in the sunshine, as the slopes at Bear generally face to the south east into the morning sun.

Bear Claw/Bear Trap were groomed nicely. Snow guns were laying down a velvet surface on Wildfire. Upper Wildfire had it's bumps groomed out. As the temperature was barely 20, the snow from the guns was light and dry. Very nice.

Outer Limits was the run of the day. Snow making operations have been taking place on OL over the last several days. Today, the snow cloud was lifted to reveal a combination of big snowmaking whales, and little soft bumps. The snow surface on OL was really good. Nice, quiet powder turns all the way down the trail. For most on the mountain today, it was a do over.

Skye Burst to Cruise Control was "interesting". Skye Burst was a mix of loose groomed granular with a slippery mix between ball bearings and death cookies. In comparison to the rest of the trails at Bear, it was a surprise. But I am sure a day or 2 more grooming will make Skye Burst nice as well, as there is plenty of cover on the trail. Cruise Control was groomed out. Skiers right had more than a few bamboo poles in place to block out some nasty thin cover, but skiers left was fine. On the way to Cruise Control we passed through Dream Maker. Lower Dream Maker was still closed. Grooming machines were working it over to build a new terrain park, which should be opening soon.

The Killington Mountain School was training this morning on Needles Eye. By 11:00 they were done and we had a chance to loop it. It was soft from new snow, plus flat and fast. An unusual combination for Killington. We happened to hit it at a time when no one else was on the trail. Suffice to say, as the conditions were ideal, it was a very high speed cruise from top to bottom.

We never did make it back to the Killington Peak side of the mountain. Playing in the sunshine was just to much fun.

Let it snow!

Unsung heros of Killington
Snow makers working on Outer Limits 

Yesterdays storm, while providing a nice 6 or so inches of fluff on the mountain, was but a whimper compared to what the weathermen had forecasted. Still, when combined with the continuing snow making operations taking place at Killington, the mountain presented a credible ski day today.

Overall, conditions were powder and packed powder over a loose granular base. The remnants of last weeks ice storm have been ground up over the last couple of days. Snow making, new snow, and grooming operations have mixed it all together providing a consistent ski surface. Except for a few high traffic areas, there was very little "slip slide" icy patches around the mountain.

Today was a fairly typical ski day with loops through North Ridge, Bear Mountain, K Peak, and Snowdon. Rime and Reason were in nice shape, leading into East Falls. East Falls was groomed flat with a fairly soft surface. There was a slight amount of scratchiness at the pinch point in the middle of the trail, but other than that, East Falls was very nice. Double Dipper was groomed as well. The surface was firm with a covering of loose granular. I have skied it many times when it was a lot worse. But, suffice to say, it was not on our do over list today. Cascade looked ugly from the K1. It was covered with icy bumps, so we bypassed it for another day.

At Bear Mountain, Bear Claw, Bear Trap, and Lower Wildfire were all groomed. Upper Wildfire was small icy bumps with a coating of powder. Aggressive snow making operations were taking place on Outer Limits, Lower Dream Maker, and in the soon to be constructed half pipe. Outer Limits was very bumped with large snow making whales. Skiers and riders were able to maneuver down the slope, picking their way through the mounds with care. Lower Dream Maker, on the other hand, was closed to skiers and riders.

Cruise Control and Bitter Sweet were also in nice shape. Lower Skyelark, as well as Highline, was closed today for race training. Snow making was continuing on Superstar.

On Snowdon, Chute was very firm but setting and holding an edge was not a problem. Bunny Buster, Upper Royal Flush and the Training Slope were all covered with nice soft powder. The only anomaly was Mouse Trap which was heavily covered with not very friendly bumps.

When you add in the sunshine and temps in the mid 20's with no wind, all in all it was a pretty nice day on the mountain.

Let it snow!

Snow guns blasting Superstar
Sunday January 13, 2008, 12:45 PM 

The great news is that we had a very busy weekend. We had a really nice group of people at our inn who were in Killington to hold a surprise 40th birthday party for one of our restaurant guests. That, and a DSL service outage kept me away from my normal posting routine.

Currently at Killington, we are experiencing fairly heavy snowfall. Surface conditions on the mountain, as reported by our Chef Frizzie from his morning tour, range from firm and slick to heavy and slow. If you are on a trail where the wind is scouring the trail, you are down to the hard pack. If you are in an area of windblown drifts, you are hitting heavy bumps. We are expecting almost a foot of snow at Killington today. I would presume as accumulations continue to build up, that the surface conditions should get more consistent and improve. I plan on getting out tomorrow for some first hand observations. As of 12 noon today, about 3 inches of new snow has accumulated at the snow stake at the inn.

Over the last couple of days, the January Thaw appears to have broken. Saturday and Sunday saw Killington resume snow making operations to resurface terrain impacted by last weeks r@*n and unseasonably warm temperatures. Yesterday, snow guns were very visible blowing snow on many trails on the Killington Peak side of the mountain. The picture of the guns on Superstar give an indication of the quantity of snow that the resort was trying to make.

Birch Ridge Inn under orange glow near sunset January 11, 2008 4:30 PM (Click to enlarge)

Last weeks weather finally broke late Friday with an incredible orange glow on the mountain. Just before sunset, I captured a really nice picture of our inn bathed in orange light. The remnants of the days ice storm are clearly visible in the parking lot in front of the inn. The inn, although the web picture might not clearly reveal it, was covered in about an inch of ice. The whole inn just glowed orange with the setting sun behind it.

Today, of course, the scene is changing by the hour. The inn is back to snow covered. Winter is back at Killington.

Let it snow!

Highline with ice covered trees 

if your other choice is a hot r@*n at a ski resort in Vermont in January.

Call me crazy, but with the weather that Killington has endured this week, the 1 inch coating of ice which we have outside the inn right now is at least frozen. The trees look pretty; although I have gone out a couple of times to knock the ice off of straining Birch trees around the inn. The inn looks nice, all bathed in an icy coating with icicles everywhere. The snow melt has stopped around the inn with a 5 inch base left. The candy coating of ice on the ground is catching the r@*n and preventing it from penetrating the surface.

The mountain today is dealing with a variety of problems. When I took the picture of Highline this morning, none of the detachable lifts (K1, Superstar, Snowshed Quad) were running. A few fixed grip chair lifts were turning to bring the handful of skiers and riders upslope for their runs. Yesterday the mountain fired up the worlds largest snow making system and started resurfacing terrain. I would presume that they would do the same later this evening, in addition to having their grooming fleet on the mountain chopping up the ice falling from the sky.

Ah... life at a ski resort in January. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. (But breakfast late this morning at Johnny Boys with my ski buddies, while not the ski day we had planned, was still pretty good.)

Let it snow!

Steve Selbo, from SP Land LLC, answering public questions about new Killington Village plans. 

The writing of the next chapter in the history of the town of Killington may have begun last evening at the Sherburne Memorial Library. Before an overflow crowd in excess of 100 people, Steve Selbo, president of SP Land LLC, unveiled preliminary plans for the construction of a village at the base of the Killington Resort to the Killington Planning Commission. Assisting Steve in the presentation was Paul Rowsey from E2MPartners, the principle investors in the project. In addition to Steve and Paul, assistance in the presentation was provided by Carl Spangler, who presented an overview of the checkered history of Killington Village proposals, Dwight Demay, lead planner for Hart Howerton, a land planning firm hired by SP Land to design the village concept, and Doug Wright, an architect for Hart Howerton.

The purpose of the meeting was to begin the formal process of requesting approval from the Town of Killington and the State of Vermont to begin development of the Killington Village. This was an informational meeting only, meant to educate the Planning Commission and the general public on the concepts for the village being proposed for development by SP Land.

The overall village development falls under a town plan concept called a "Planned Unit Development", often referred to by it's acronym "PUD". "PUD's" allow a developer to seek permission from the town to develop a land parcel, usually containing a variety of compatible land uses, as a cohesive development with zoneing regulations specific to the "PUD". Within the town of Killington, "PUD"s are generally granted for a 4 year period. If a developer needs additional time to complete development of the PUD, generally 2 extensions of up to 4 years each are granted.

In the case of the Killington Village development, an existing PUD is in place which expires in September. With the informational meeting completed, SP Land intends to file a PUD renewal request with the Killington Planning Commission to extend the authorization of the current PUD. This is the first step in a long process which, after the PUD is renewed or a new PUD issued, will see SP Land filing for ACT 250 approval from the State of Vermont, and various site specific permits from the Town of Killington to begin construction of the various elements of the proposed village.

Act 250 governs land use in Vermont, establishing specific criteria which a developer must meet before going forward with a commercial project. SP Land estimated that the Act 250 process would cost several millions of dollars in expense and at least 9 to 12 months on the calendar. SP Land seeks renewal of the PUD from the Town of Killington before beginning the Act 250 process. Support by a town for a commercial development is one of the criteria used by the applicable Vermont District Environmental Commission, in this case Rutland County, to determine if an Act 250 application can be approved. SP Land committed to provide the renewal request paperwork to the Killington Planning Commission "within 2 to 4 weeks". The Town Planning Commission will then hold a public hearing on the request prior to accepting or rejecting it. Based upon the overflow crowd at the meeting, one of the the planning commissioners suggested that the public hearing take place at the Sherburne Elementary School, as that has an auditorium suitable for a large public gathering. No date has been set for that hearing.

The village proposal that was outlined encompasses many phases. According to Mr. Selbo and other presenters, Phase 1 of the development is well into the planning process. Phase 2 and beyond have undergone various levels of conceptual testing to evaluate their feasibility, but as the overall development effort will last many years, later phases of the project are not yet in a state for permit application. Selbo and Rowsey did tell the assembled crowd that they expected that future phases of the development would go forward. Because of the infrastructure work required to complete Phase 1, follow on phases would be required for E2MPartners to make a return on their investment.

Killington Village plan presented by SP Land Current Snowshed and Rams Head base lodges outlined in red. (Click to enlarge.)

Phase 1 of the Killington Village development encompasses 6 mixed use buildings (building 1A through 1G on the Village Land Plan), the creation of a new Skier Services Center/Base Lodge (building 1X) to replace the current Snowshed and Rams Head base lodges, construction of a transportation center, construction of a tunnel to divert the Killington Road under the Skier Service Center, and creation of a new ski area concept called "Ski Beach". "Ski Beach" will regrade the Snowshed and Rams Head base areas to provide a contiguous surface to allow skiers and riders to link between mountain areas. Today, skiers and riders must transit through a tunnel under the Killington Road to connect between base areas. In the new "Ski Beach" concept, both base areas would be at the same elevation, with the Killington Road transiting under the area in a tunnel.

The architecture of the new village will be modeled along traditional New England village lines with a central village green. Around the green, the 6 buildings in the central village of phase 1 will be mixed use including residential and commercial space. Street Level areas will be primarily dedicated to commercial space. 157 units of residential space are included in the initial village plan around the green.

The new Skier Services Center would reflect the "New England" style of architecture. Doug Wright, the lead architect for Hart Howerton, stated that this building should be "substantial and significant" in nature, befitting it's place in the overall village development, and in the level of services it will provide to skiers visiting the Killington Resort.

New Skier Services Center to replace current Snowshed and Rams Head base lodges. (Click to enlarge.)

In addition to the central village, SP Land also intends to develop 42 residential units in an area it calls "Rams Head Brook". "Rams Head Brook" is located approximately to the right of the entrance to the current Rams Head parking lot, which will disappear according the the plan discussed. Additional residential units would be built over time as commercial viability and market conditions warrant.

After the presentation, a brief question and answer session was held. A variety of people asked questions that revolved around the theme "How will this project affect me?". These were politely answered by Mr. Selbo and his associates. The most telling question, in my estimation, was one of the simplest: "When will the development start?" Mr. Selbo, aware of the vacuity of the Act 250 process politely responded that he was not sure. "It depends on how we progress through the approval process". Mr. Rowsey was much more direct. "As soon as we get approvals from the state, and permits issued by the town, we will start building the village". I suspect that the number and quality of questions will increase substantially as people have an opportunity to review the provided plan in preparation for the to be scheduled Planning Commission hearing on the pending PUD renewal application. Interested parties desiring to inspect the material provided by SP Land can contact Dick Horner, Killington Town Planning and Zoning Administrator, at the Killington Town Offices at (802)422-3242.

Only time will tell on whether or not the development of a Village at Killington will be a success. The level of detail presented at yesterdays meeting exceeds the complexity one can reasonably write about in a single blog posting. The development plan must first, properly, go through a long and complex process of evaluation at both the local and state levels. Millions of dollars, the local economy, the ability of the area to continue to attract visitors, and the character of both the town and resort of Killington are at stake. The Chinese did get it right...we live in interesting times.

Let it snow!

Killington sign at town hall. 

The Town of Killington Planning Commission will convene their regular bi-weekly meeting tonight 7:30 PM at the Sherburne Memorial Library on River Road in Killington, instead of the normal venue at Town Hall. On the agenda for this evening is a presentation by Mr. Steve Selbo, of SP Land, on the plan for the new Killington Village being proposed for the Snowshed/Rams Head areas of the Killington Resort. If you are in Killington this evening and interested in the future plans for development at the resort, this would be a good meeting to attend. I plan on attending the meeting and will provide a full update on it in tomorrows blog.

The beautiful blue sunshine outside my office window this afternoon is some consolation for the heavy r@*n storms which passed through the area early this morning. The warm temperatures of the last couple of days have seriously degraded the snow pack in the area. While we have lost considerable snow cover, however, the ground around the inn is still covered with about 5 inches of snow at the inn's snow stake. With a return to more seasonable temperatures this evening, there should be little further degradation of snow cover. On the mountain, I would expect snow making operations to commence as soon as conditions allow. Hopefully, the worst of the January thaw is over.

Let it snow!