Ruts, Ben, and Kenny on the mountain last Friday. The Bagel is out of frame to the left for those of you looking for him. 

Sunday night was a bittersweet time in the Great Room of the Birch Ridge Inn.

The new widescreen TV was tuned to WCAX, the local CBS affiliate, to watch the late afternoon post season playoff game between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots. A small crowd of mostly Patriots fans had gathered for beverages and appetizers. After the initial kick-off and the first set of Jet's downs, it looked like it was going to be a great afternoon to be a Patriots fan. And then...the unthinkable happened.... Tom Brady was intercepted, and the Jets nearly score a touchdown on the return. Tom Brady's feeble attempt to tackle Dave Harris as he ran back the pick was but a harbinger of a good afternoon going quickly bad.

While Patriots fans, myself included, would be disappointed by the results Sunday night, as an innkeeper at a ski resort in New England there is a bright side to the whole situation... Patriot fan skiers and riders can now plan weekend getaways in late January and early February without guilt. They are freed from any responsibilities to rush home from their trips to the mountains for the rest of the football playoff season. The ski resorts of New England should pay a commission to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady for the extra business they will receive from the New England states as a result of the one and done playoff performance (again) by the New England Patriots. So it goes....

Of course I jest, but with great snow at Killington, it does become eerily quiet on Sunday afternoons when a marquee game like the Jets/Patriots is being played. This Sunday was no exception as many visitors to the area either departed early, or hunkered down at one of the many Killington watering holes for a libation and some football.

Because of the Patriots loss, many Killington fans are now faced with an interesting dilemma next weekend.... Watch the Dew Tour from Killington Sunday afternoon on NBC, or see the Jets take on the Steelers on CBS; tough call for someone born and bred from Beantown. It will make for an interesting week of conversation at the bar.

.....Let it snow!

Preparations underway for the Dew Tour at Killington 

Yippie yi yo kayah...Soft powder just rules the day!

I have a slight sprain of a ligament in my right leg. The doctor said I could ski, but be careful in the bumps. He did not mention powder:) I tried to be good, I really did.... but there was soft snow everywhere... with nice little bumps, a few big moguls, plus some knee deep shots that...oh too he double sticks with it... they just had to be taken.

Mary and I started from the car today at the Snowdon Quad. The K1 Gondola was running at 9:00 but it did not seem to be loading, so we did the right thing and took the first operating lift we could get close too. Even though the resort got dumped on the last couple of days, they were aggressively making snow on Chute, under the Snowdon Quad lift line. The chair was slower than normal, as people exiting at the top were sticking because of ice buildup on the bottom of their equipment. Mary and I did not suffer that fate, so we quickly exited the lift, boosted up to the peak on the North Ridge Triple, and headed over to Bear Mountain.

As a point of reference, we headed to Bear Mountain because Killington Peak was still covered in a dense cloud; left over from the storm. The wind was picking up as we traversed the peak. The sunshine of Bear Mountain was just too inviting, even though we could clearly see tons of soft powder on the Killington Peak side of the resort.

We took a quick run down Bear Claw. Beautiful calf deep powder down the tree line on skiers left. Even though there was a windblown bump or two, the consistency was so soft that turns were effortless. Lower Wildfire, where everyone is forced to enter because of Dew Tour preparations, was a proverbial mess. But it was a small price to pay after the run down upper Bear Claw.

A quick boost to the top of Skye Peak on the quad and we were off to the Stash. Mary mistakenly read the trail report and thought the Stash was groomed. Why she thought this, I don't know. I was very happy to find more powder and soft bumps. (Dr. Matt, you are not supposed to read this..) It got a little choppy at the junction with Bear Claw and Lower Wildfire, but overall it was a good second run.

Outer Limits was groomed, so we flirted with it by taking the Bear Chair. Turns out the grooming was more like paving, based upon listening to the skiers coming down the slope, so we bypassed OL in favor of Wildfire. Upper Wildfire was again...wait for it...soft bumps and powder. There was a huge windblown cornice/mogul at the entrance to Wildfire, which pushed Mary off to Bear Claw. More soft snow for me. I can't complain.

After a few more loops, we took the Skyeburst/Dream Maker/Cruise Control exit to get to the Skyeship stage 2. Needles Eye was just too nice to pass up. Again it was really soft down skiers left. A really good leg work out. We took a run down Sky Lark and Bitter Sweet to finish up. I also took a detour down Low Road (which was knee deep in places), before calling it a morning and heading back to the car.

If you are heading up to Killington this weekend, in addition to nice soft snow, you will find preparations underway all around the resort for next weekends Dew Tour event. TV Towers are being erected at Bear Mountain to televise the event. Construction of the Pipe and the Freestyle course are well underway. A quarter of the Bear Mountain parking lot has been taken over by a logistics and staging area, which is fenced in. Detailed information on next weeks event has been posted on the resorts web site. It looks like it will be a fun event to attend, or to at least watch from the comfort of your living room to the telecast on NBC TV.

.....Let it snow!

True friends on a powder day at Killington. 

If you like feet of fresh powder, with continuous snow fall all day, cold temperatures, and a little wind...today was your day at Killington.

The snow storm that is dumping on the Northeast is doing it at Killington. Since starting early this morning, snow has been falling at about an inch an hour at the inn. At 3:00 PM, 19 inches of snow have been recorded at the snow stake, up 10 inches from yesterdays reading. And snow is expected through out the night at Killington with additional accumulations predicted by the National Weather Service.

Additional accumulations are evident on the mountain, as you go higher in elevation. While I jokingly took pictures of my 2 best friends on a day like today, all of the other pictures I took were not usable. They all basically showed white out conditions on the mountain in blowing and drifting snow. And putting a totally white picture on the blog, while it may send a message, is not very interesting.

Suffice to say, however, the snow was superb. While Killington always gets chopped up on powder days, during the couple of hours I sampled the slopes, there were plenty of freshies to be found. This storm, and the unforecasted storm of earlier in the week, will solidify conditions on the mountain. I would expect that with the exception of trails being prepped for the Dew Tour, that Killington will be 100% open over the weekend. And the woods should have the goods!

.....Let it snow!

Hot Air Balloon over Killington. 

Yesterday's surprise storm and continued aggressive snow making are really making a difference in the ski conditions at Killington. The firm surface created by the New Years Warm-Up is being replaced with soft packed powder surfaces all around the resort. High traffic areas still are firm, but many today were under the snow gun getting resurfaced for the MLK weekend.

Snow making operations were visible today in the Stash, on Skye Burst, on Lower Wildfire, Upper and Lower Dream Maker, Sky Lark, Bitter Sweet, High Road, and Double Dipper. While the mountain is continuing to build snow on Lower Skye Burst to support the Dew Tour, they clearly are taking advantage of the cold temperatures to resurface additional terrain all around the resort.

In addition to snow making, the resort saw some excitement in mid-morning as a hot air balloon traversed the mountain complex. Multiple lifts were shut down as a precaution, as the balloon was perilously close to several lift towers while it floated across the resort. Operations at both the Superstar Quad and the K1 Gondola were temporarily halted for safety reasons for about 15 minutes this morning because of the balloon. (I was stuck at Superstar. Coincidentally, Mary was stuck at the K1 Gondola.) After passing through the resort, the balloon gained altitude and was last seen floating towards Okemo in Ludlow...so it goes.

While our friends in Boston and New York brace for the latest snow storm, we at Killington are also watching the skies with eager anticipation. Snow is forecasted for the next couple of days at Killington, putting a nice frosting on the resort for MLK weekend visitors.....Let it snow!

The woods behind the Birch Ridge Inn covered in snow. 

An "Unforecasted" snow storm covered the Killington region with 5 inches of snow early Monday morning. Unfortunately, I was not prepared to take advantage of an unplanned powder day, having a full morning of meetings scheduled days ago which I could not cancel....so it goes.

I plan to get out several days this week to give a full report on conditions leading into MLK weekend. I am sure today was "Glorious".

......Let it snow!

"The Bagel", Mary, and Jane on the slopes on Friday. "Ruts" and "Chuckles" are behind. 

Guests to Killington this Saturday woke up to a nice accumulation of soft powder covering the area from the clipper system cruising through the area. At the inn, a little more than 3 inches of snow accumulated overnight, leaving the inn covered in a blanket of white.

Ski conditions at Killington improved everyday this week. A constant light snow fall, combined with continuous snow making operations at the resort, are responsible. Cold temperatures and Lake Effect precipitation promise more of the same for the coming week.

....Let it snow!

Super Pipe at Bear Mountain under construction for Winter Dew Tour 

Talk of the potential for some snow over the weekend only heighten the enthusiasm of skiers and riders today at Killington. Crisp temperatures and bright sunshine ruled most of the day for those partaking to the temptations of the mountain.

We did our warm up this morning on North Ridge, followed by a run back to the K1 Gondola down East Falls. Rime, Reason, and East Falls were all nicely groomed and coated with an inch or 2 of light fluff from an early morning snow squall.

From there, we traversed over to Bear Mountain for a quick 3 and out. Lower Skyeburst and Dream Maker are closed to support snow making operations for the upcoming Dew Tour visit. Snow making has not started on Outer Limits. Devils Fiddle is a proverbial rock garden. As a result, all skier traffic at Bear Mountain was funneled down Lower Wildfire, creating a veritable obstacle course of skiers and riders of all shapes, sizes and abilities. Ice skates on Lower Wildfire were not mandatory, but I thought I saw someone attempting a Triple Lutz while I was skiing down the trail.

On Bear Mountain, Upper Bear Claw and Upper Wildfire were in nice shape. We did not hit the Stash; not wanting to run the gauntlet of Lower Wildfire for a third time. Upper Skyeburst to the old Snowshed Crossover (yes... you read that right, the Snowshed Crossover is open on Skyeburst) was a nice run over to Cruise Control.

Cruise Control could use a little more snow on it. Skiers right is very thin. Needles Eye was closed for race training. Vertigo was also closed, but there was aggressive snow making taking place on it which was quite visible from the Skyeship. I would expect that Vertigo may become available for the weekend.

I finished my morning with a couple of runs down Sky Lark, Bitter Sweet and Superstar. All were flat and fast with a light fluff coating. Normal traffic areas were showing some wear, but all three skied quite nicely for finishing runs for the morning.

The weather forecast looks like it will continue to be cold over the weekend, allowing the resort to continue their snow making operations. Snow from Mother Nature is also in the forecast, but weatherman shopping is advised, as the forecast runs the gamut for accumulations. In any event, it is snow that we will be receiving, and that is all good.

....Let it snow!