US Freestyle Championship at Killington
March 23rd thru March 26th 

The mountain is ready; the competitors have started their practice runs; even the weather has cooperated by giving us some light snow. The US Freestyle Championship, sponsored by Sprint, is set to kick of this evening with opening ceremonies in downtown Rutland.

Competition is planned to begin on Thursday at the Superpipe on Lower Dream Maker. While this is taking place, competitors will be training on Outer Limits for both Aerials and Moguls. The set up at Bear Mountain has taken spectators into consideration. With the Aerials Jumps and Moguls course side by side, you can spend time on the deck at Bear Mountain and watch all the action. In addition to the Superpipe competition on Thursday, the Singles Mogul competition will take place on Friday. Aerials are scheduled for Saturday. Sunday will feature a Dual Moguls competition with head to head bumpers squaring off against one another. It should make for an entertaining weekend at Killington.

East Fall from from K1 Gondola
March 21, 2006, 10:00 AM 

Almost Spring!

A beautiful ski day on the mountain, with temperatures somewhat moderated from yesterday. Temperatures were in the upper 20's with almost 100% sunshine. There was still an up slope wind on a few trails which created a chill, but other than that it was a near perfect day to ski at Killington.

Today we did well over 20K vertical. In the early morning, it looked like East Fall would be the run of the day. East Fall has a firm but carveable base with a nice dusting of fluff on top when we skied it early this morning. In the parlance, it was a do over!. But, after we got done playing in the canyon, we headed over to Bear Mountain for a big surprise.

Our first run down Bear Trap/Bear Claw was pretty routine. Lots of snow, great carving, with the snow becoming a little sandy as you neared the base lodge. Up the OL Lift we went. We were entertained by people practicing for the Freestyle competition. (It is unbelievable the amount of work the resort has put into Bear Mountain to make sure that everything is just right for this coming weekend.) When then decided to go down Wild Fire. Wow! The resort had blown snow top to bottom last night on upper Wildfire. A beautiful 2-3 inches of pure velvet. Absolutely great! If you are up this weekend, make sure you hit this trail early for the full effect.

The rest of the day was spent looping through the Needles Eye and Superstar areas. Lower Superstar was really nice on skier's left, as a lot of snow has been pushed across the compound fall line under the lift. All in all, a really nice day on the hill.

Killington Peak from KBL
March 20, 2006, 12:15 PM 

Welcome to spring!

Today was a nice ski day on the mountain, although conditions were anything but spring like. Temperatures on the mountain this morning were in the teens, with a brisk up slope wind. Light snow flurries were occurring randomly on the different peaks, with light dimmed by a partly clouded sky.

Snow surfaces were consistent all over the mountain, with a hard based topped by loose granular combined with fresh snow. Snow guns were going at the top of Bear Mountain in the high traffic area just off the Outer Limits Lift. Outer Limits was partially opened, as work continues on the construction of the freestyle course for this weeks competition. Skiers on OL were being diverted to the cross over trail to Devils Fiddle about 2/3rd's of the way down Outer Limits.

In addition to our usual routes, we did take a side trip today down to the Route 4 gondola stations via Great Eastern. The resort has blown a substantial amount of snow along this route in an attempt to keep the Sky Ship Stage 1 operating. I would guess that they have done this probably so they can divert people to Route 4 for parking for this weeks Freestyle event, and next weeks Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge.

Still Snowing at Killington
March 19, 2006, 1:15 PM 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..everywhere you go.... Oh! Sorry... wrong season... spring is coming!... how quick we forget.

Last weekend we were looking wet and dreary. This weekend, we have had significantly colder temperatures; we have seen Killington fire up their snow making system all over the mountain; and we have experienced an almost constant light snow drifting down from the sky. Killington peak early this afternoon was completely encased in a snow squall, with snow falling from Snowdon all across the spine of the Green Mountains through Skye Peak, Killington Peak, Snowdon and Rams Head. I know it's not much of a picture, but it totally tells the story about what is happening on the mountain. We are looking forward to having a great week to skiing at Killington.

Pico Peak
from Ovation at Killington
March 17, 2006, 12:15 PM 

Our weird and wacky winter is slowly starting to claim ski resorts for the season. It was officially announced this week that this coming Sunday with be the last day of operation for the 2005/2006 ski season for Killington's companion mountain, Pico.

Pico is a great mountain complex in normal snow seasons. Many locals, myself included, trek over to Pico on powder days to ski the many winding trails and glade runs Pico has to offer. However, this has not been a normal year. While many will be sad to see Pico close for the season, the good news is that with Killington still in great shape due to it's extensive snow making system, that the 2005/2006 ski season will continue for a few more weeks in central Vermont.

Got Snow!
Killink between top of Snowdon Triple
and Great Northern
March 17, 2006, 12:30 PM 

Great ski day on the mountain!

Kudos to Allen Wilson, President of the Killington Resort, and the team of Operations people responsible for making and grooming snow on the mountain. During a week which saw much of the mountain wash down the Roaring Brook with an unseasonably warm rain; the same week that the American Ski Company, parent of the Killington Resort, announced that they had lost $11.3 Million in the 2nd quarter of their fiscal year(which is not as bad as it seems because they lost $22.1 Million in the same period last year), it would have been easy to just give up and close shop for the season. But the management team at Killington has stood by their marketing claims to have the most extensive snow making system in the Eastern United States, and they have fired it up to the great benefit of all those who enjoy skiing and riding at Killington. I personally saw what seemed like several hundred snow guns firing away all over the mountain. And it was clear from conditions that the snow making system has been operating continuously for the last couple of days and nights. Great Job!

We started our day promptly at 9:00 AM, as we were meeting friends from Boston who took the day off to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We boosted over the top of Skye Peak to Bear Mountain. Upper Wild Fire was groomed flat. A touch scratchy at the top, as the surface was somewhat granular, but by the time we hit the middle, we were on velvet which could only have come from snow guns laying down a fresh surface. Snow guns were going on Bear Trap and all along Skye Burst. After last Tuesday, we entered the park on Lower Wild Fire somewhat cautiously. But surfaces in the park had also been completely repaired and resurfaced. Both Outer Limits and the Super Pipe on Lower Dream Maker were closed. Groomers were busy working on both to get them ready for next weeks Sprint US Freestyle competition.

Being a Friday, the Needles Eye quad was running, so we did some laps over there. Cruise Control, Needles Eye, Bitter Sweet, and High Road were all firm but had nice surfaces for carving turns. Some of the low spots on these trails where water had pooled from the r@#n had iced over, but they were small, visible, and easily avoided. We then headed over to Killington peak to ski in the canyons.

The Ki Gondola was very crowded (remember from prior posts - Canadian week), so we went down to the Snowdon Quad. Killington had clearly blown snow on Chute, but skiers right was still in rough shape. It looked and felt like snow making was also done on Mouse Trap, as the surface was very consistent. The trifecta of East Falls, Double Dipper, and Cascades were all in good shape. Surfaces were machine groomed granular over a hard base. Lots of snow was flying around when carving turns, as the top inch or two of the surfaces was pretty loose. All three trails were set up pretty well for cruising.

I finished up the day with a couple of laps on Superstar. From the Canyons, I took Great Eastern to Launch Pad. Killington had blown a fair amount of snow on these cross over trails, but they were still slick in a number of spots. In the sunshine of this morning, Superstar was nice. Again, the surface had been worked over revealing an inch or 2 of granular snow over a hard base. No problem anywhere on Superstar setting edges and just letting it rip.

As I have said earlier, the resort has done a fantastic job rebuilding the mountain once again this weird winter. If you plan on visiting the area over the weekend, unless the temperatures rise substantially, be prepared for firm mid-winter conditions. There are not a lot of bumps out there, if that is your thing; but if you like cruising, you will have a great time.

Skiers passing Snow Gun
on the way to Snowdon
March 16, 2006, 10:30 AM 

Snow squalls continued last night to spread new snow across the area. Temperatures have warmed up this morning, resulting in some snow compression. From bare ground yesterday morning, the snow stake at the inn now is about 3 inches. Not a huge amount, but everything is white again.

On the mountain, the resort is making good on their promise to fire up their snow making system, at least on cross over trails. Grooming operations are continuing to mix the fresh snow into the base. Conditions should steadily improve as we head into the St. Patrick's day weekend.