"The Stash" officially opens today at Killington 

With little fan fare, and less pomp and circumstance, the Killington Resort launched a new detachable High Speed Quad and a redesigned trail system for the Sky Peak area of the resort. All summer, work was ongoing to install the new lift and build/change the trails on Sky Peak. Mary and I had done some extensive hikes through the area, but that was well before snow was on the ground. Today, I had a chance to ski it!

The entrance to the new Sky Peak starts out rather matter of fact at the top of Superstar. A small cut was made in a snow bank on the far side off the Superstar Quad. Over the lip and a sharp left, and you are on the glide path to Sky Peak and the Stash.

Sky Burst is both different and the same all at once. The top of Sky Burst drops over a 15 foot wall to the main trail. The only reason I know a wall is there is because I saw it in the summer. Right now it is throughly covered with snow. The 'New' Thing about Sky Burst is the lack of beginner skiers and riders crossing the trail mid way down slope on the Snowshed Crossover. The Crossover is dead!... Some will like this, some will hate this, but it now makes Sky Burst a nice long uninterrupted trail. And today the snow cover was sweet!

The new Sky Peak quad will also change how people ski Bear Mountain and Sky Peak. It is very fast! I took it 3 times, and other than a little early morning comedy, it averaged about 6 minutes from bottom to top....Very nice!

The one comedy was the first loop on the new Sky Peak Quad.

Who would have thought I would have been out until last chair??? (Click to enlarge.)

We skied right to it with virtually no waiting at 9:10. A nice, uneventful ride to the top. At the top terminal, we get to the safety nets (aka Tuna nets) and the chair unceremoniously stops. We swing in the breeze for 3 or 4 minutes. No big deal... then the lift supervisor comes out of the house....Tells a joke or two... then tells us to hold on and wait till we hear what he is going to do next. He climbs up the ladder with a couple of other people into the top of the lift terminal...hits a starter switch...big belch of smoke...and fires up the auxiliary diesel to evacuate the chair. The lift attendant is a little confused. He puts out the "Last Chair" sign on the chair in front of us. That lasted about 30 seconds until the lift supervisor sees it... looks at us, shakes his head, tells another joke, and we start moving. You just can't make this stuff up...

After skiing the rest of the mountain for a couple of hours, I went down Sky Burst again. The new lift was running just fine, on its primary electric motor not it's auxiliary diesel. Just another day in paradise. With great skiing to boot......let it snow!

Worker reading the new high speed quad on Sky Peak for tomorrows opening day 

In the last 24 hours, a light fluff has continued to blanket the area. Accumulations overall have been minor (about 1/2 inch at the inn), but it is enough to keep everything nice and white. And it also nicely coated some of the trails on Killington overnight as well.

Mary and I went out for a couple of hours this morning. We spent a lot of time in the Superstar, Bittersweet and Sky Lark area. Upper Bittersweet was groomed and nicely coated with new snow. Upper and Middle Sky Lark were the same. Lower Sky Lark was not groomed overnight and took on an "icy bump" appearance. The Upper and Lower Superstar headwalls were not groomed. Lower Superstar looked glacial, with ice flows in evidence. Middle Superstar was groomed flat and fast and also was coated with about an inch of new fluff. It was a pretty sweet cruiser!

If the pitch were not so shallow, the run of the day would probably have been Snowshed. Instead of cutting in front of the K1 base lodge on one of our loops, we went down Snowshed over to Rams Head. The coverage on Snowshed was just superb.

Coming back to the Killington Peak side of the mountain, Caper from Rams Head to Snowdon was nicely covered. The North Ridge area was also skiing well. Cascade looked icy in spots, as well as East Fall. The Killington Peak side of the mountain was noticeably colder that the Superstar area. A low cloud was on top of K Peak, whereas I actually saw my shadow several times while skiing down Sky Lark (I guess that means at least 12 more weeks of winter!)

Snow showers and heavier snow are in the forecast for the next few days. It's a wonderful pre holiday present for the area. If your are driving up this weekend, stay safe.....Let it snow!

Snow still falling mid day on Killington 

Light snow moved through the Killington region overnight. Roughly 3 inches accumulated at the inn. Judging from conditions on the mountain, I would guess that 5 to 8 inches accumulated on Killington Peak with lesser amounts at lower elevations.

Overall, today was a good day to be skiing and riding at Killington. The first hour of the day was nice, mid density, powder skiing. I took the K1 Gondola up to the peak and traversed via Launch Pad to Sky Lark. Nice boot deep powder down the middle of the trail for the first run. When I got to the bottom, the Superstar chair was running, so I looped on it for a run down Bittersweet. A few people had already been down it, but there was plenty of untracked on skiers right. The grooming on lower Bittersweet was a little suspect. There was an upslope wind on lower Bittersweet which made the powder thin, revealing golf ball sized chucks on frozen granular as a base. It was fine to ski on, but quite different from the powder of Upper Bittersweet.

I took a few more loops on the Superstar Chair. The upper headwall and middle Superstar were quite nice. I stayed away from the lower Superstar headwall based on my performance in last weeks powder pileup. Conditions were similar to last week with many wind blown cornices visible over a scratchy base. Many people were doing it, cutting up the snow. But I decided to pass.

By now most of the new snow was pretty tracked up. I took a couple of loops on the K1 Gondola before heading back to the inn for a little late morning snow blowing.

If we are lucky, and the weathermen are correct (like that happens often) then we will be in a nice snow pattern the next week at Killington. Todays event will go a long way to softening up the base, once it gets groomed in. And more snow on top will make things nice.....Let it snow!

Advancing storm clouds cover Killington Peak 

Cold temperatures and clouds overspread the Killington region today as a snowstorm moves into the area from the south. Forecasts for total accumulation are all over the map on this storm. We will know when it is over on Wednesday.

Mary and I did not ski today. I spent most of the day visiting different retailers in the area looking for a new snow blower. My current unit is 11 years old and showing it. It had a hard time with the last several snow storms, which had a high moisture content. 11 years ago, it would have cut through the wet stuff like butter....not now.

I have not settled on a new unit yet. I looked at Ariens, Poulan, Cub Cadet, Husqvarna, Yardman, and Simplicity. The interesting thing is that many units are actually the same, just rebadged by the company selling them. I have a little more research to do before acquiring a new unit. With snow continuously in the forecast for the foreseeable future, getting a new machine is turning into a high priority task.

Assuming we get the snow that the forecast is calling for overnight, I do plan on getting on the mountain on Wednesday. A little powder would be nice! .....Let it snow!

Mary being buffeted by high winds on Killington Peak just off K1 Gondola. Notice the strap on her ski pole being held in the air by the wind. 

In sharp contrast to the weekend, a warm front has overrun the Killington area today, driven by very strong winds aloft. Temperatures in the area are in the high 40's to low 50's. Snow melt similar to spring time is occurring through out the region.

Mary and I went out on the mountain for a few hours this morning. Areas below ~3000 feet were clear. Above that line, low clouds and fog were overhanging the area. The clouds were not terribly dense, as at Killington Peak there was a very strong wind. Visibility was ok for skiing and riding. Taking panoramic pictures of the mountain...not so much.

Snow surfaces on the mountain were soft and spring like. Other than the parking lots, we did not see a hint of ice on the mountain. What we did see in abundance, however, were broken tree limbs and branch parts on many of the trails. The high winds, combined with the ice remaining from last weeks storm were taking a toll on the weaker branches on trees lining the slopes.

We rode the Ram Head Quad, Snowdon Quad, and the K1 Gondola. All lifts had small lines (less than a couple of minutes). The Superstar Quad was not loading this morning, although it was running intermittently. The wind direction was head on into Superstar which does complicate unloading at the top. Even though the Superstar Quad was not running, we did make a traverse across the top of the mountain for a run down Bittersweet. As we were the only ones on it at the time, it was quite easily our run of the day.

Temperatures in the area are predicted to fall back to more seasonable levels overnight. With plenty of cover on the mountain, that will help stabilize conditions for the rest of the week....Let it snow!

Ice glistening in back of the Birch Ridge Inn at Killington. Notice the snow stake in the middle of the frame. 

50 years ago today, the Killington Ski Resort opened for business. At the time, a young "kid" with a vision, a keen ability to evaluate natural resources, and a dynamite sales pitch, convinced the state of Vermont to let him turn Killington Peak into a lift serviced ski resort to satisfy the wander lust of post pubescent baby boomers. The resort that Preston Leete Smith created has been a centerpiece of the economy of central Vermont ever since, and a true innovator in the commercialization of downhill snow sports. While "retiring" from the scene he created 12 years ago, the legacy of Pres Smith still thrives in the center of Vermont's Green Mountains.

It is a direct result of the vision and hard work of Pres Smith and his small team of entrepreneurs that caused Mary and myself to visit Killington to recreate many years ago. I write "recreate" versus "ski" because the resort Pres Smith created means a lot more to us than just a "Ski Resort". With our decision 12 years ago this Christmas to move full time to Killington and found the Birch Ridge Inn, Killington has transcended "skiing" for us and become a way of life.

Since Pres Smith sold the ski resort in the late 90's, much has changed, and much has stayed the same. The mountain, bar none, provides the most complete skiing and riding experience in the eastern United States. That legacy of Pres Smith has not changed.

Unfortunately, the management teams that have taken Pres Smith's place in the intervening years did not have the same drive to perfect commercial recreational skiing and riding. For many of the 10 years following Pres Smith's departure, Killington was viewed as a cash cow to provide debt service for what became a bankrupt ski corporation. While many incremental improvements to the resort were made during the ASC period at Killington, the joie de vivre to provide the best possible ski experience was replaced by the insatiable demands to export cash from a company jewel to prop up a failing empire.

But in a life span of 50 years, there are bound to be ups and downs.

2 years ago, the ownership of the resort changed hands once again. Last season, some very tough love was given to the resort to help stabilize the operation. From that rough start, more than 10 million dollars has been invested in on mountain resources in the last 2 years to restore the ski experience at Killington to its rightful place at the top of the New England ski industry. If the weather cooperates, next weekend will see the opening of a brand new high speed quad servicing Bear Mountain and Sky Peak. It will be the first new lift at the resort in 10 years. In addition to the lift, many of the ski trails at Bear Mountain and on Sky Peak have been totally redesigned to improve the on slope experience of skiers and riders. And at the end of the day, that is what 50 years of the Killington Ski Resort is all about!

The renewal that is underway at Killington is very telling. Ski people are back in charge. It is very clear living at Killington that the legacy of Pres Smith, and his vision for skiing from the top of Mount Killington is as strong today as it was on December 13, 1958.

Happy Fiftieth Anniversary Killington!...Let it snow!

Moving some of the 5 inches of snow that fell at Killington last night 

Mary thinks that using that when I am out using snow thrower that I am "Playing in the Snow". I call it "Work"....so it goes...

it is hard to say anything about today except that the skiing and riding should be good tomorrow. When I got up this morning, the day held a lot of promise. The sun was trying to poke out of the clouds. It had been snowing all night. Unfortunately, the snow ended as a couple of hours of freezing r@!n. But on the positive side it helped lock down the snow so it would not blow away.

About 8:30 AM as I was leaving the Inn to go to the mountain, the power went out. Not just at the inn mind you, but all over Killington and much of Rutland County. Not a good omen....

We called in the power outage, collected a couple of guests who were also heading to the mountain, and trekked off. Less than 5 minutes later, we are in the turn around area of the K1 parking lot, speaking to a Killington Ambassador. You guessed it.... the mountain was closed!

The power failure that had impacted the inn had also shut down the mountain. In addition, the freezing r@!n, which left a delicate coating of ice on the trees around the inn had reigned havoc on the resorts lifts. Icicles were clearly visible on the K1 Gondola Line. The boxes were still in their holding area. It was clear that the K1 Gondola would not be working any time soon.

The Killington ambassador was very nice. He politely told us that he had been told that power would be out for around 3 hours and it was uncertain if the resort would open for the day...so it goes!

We drove around a little bit and showed the resort off to our guests. Then we headed back to the inn, which was still dark. Around 10:45 the power came back on at the inn (which was a good thing as the snowblower was being finicky, refusing to start with the manual draw string). I spent the next couple of hours playing...er... working, moving snow around the inn to get ready for the weekend. No where near as good as skiing, but at least I was outside.

Mary went back up the mountain with our guests around 1:30 this afternoon. The parking lot was empty. The lifts were not turning. The resort was officially closed for the day....so it goes.

But all is not lost. Grooming machines were out working the trails at the resort to prepare for the weekend. Tomorrow is another day...Let it snow!