Has Santa's North Pole workshop been found at Killington? 

Between finishing getting the inn ready for the holidays and acting like Santa's helper Christmas shopping, it's been a pretty busy few days. Throw in a very interesting ride to Rutland in the Subaru with no brakes (it's a long story...but the garage completed the repairs for free) and it has been a pretty complete week already.

Mary and I did get out on the mountain earlier this morning for a few runs. Since we were last there, it is amazing how much snow the resort has made on the trails. And with light snow flurries falling the last 12 hours, everything is taking on a nice white patina to welcome Christmas guests visiting Killington over the holidays.

Because our time on the mountain was limited, we decided to explore new terrain the resort has recently opened. We boosted to the top of K1 on the Gondola then traversed over into the Needles Eye area. Great Eastern, Cruise Control, Bittersweet, Skylark and High Road were all nicely covered in soft snow. All, with the exception of Needles Eye, were groomed flat, with a covering of a couple inches of fluff. Needles Eye, while groomed, was rolling bumps...vestiges of the snow making activity that took place to cover the trail no doubt.

In addition to some resurfacing being done at night, snow making operations have now pushed over to Bear Mountain and down to the Route 4 Skyeship base. Bear Mountain is scheduled to open on Friday for holiday skiers and riders. Great Eastern down to Route 4 and the Skyeship base lodge is due to open on Saturday. Once Bear Mountain opens, six of the seven peaks which make up the Killington/Pico Ski Resort will be open for Christmas skiing and riding. An incredible feat by the snow making team of Killington accomplished in 3 short weeks. With mid winter conditions on the mountain, it is hard to remember that the resort was closed and a lush green during last months Thanksgiving holiday.

About the "Santa's Workshop" picture... that was taken today on Cruise Control. About half way down the trail, there was leak in one of the snow making pipes that created an ice sculpture of sorts in the woods on skiers left.

For those of you who may be traveling this over the next couple of days for the holiday, have a safe journey...... let it snow (on the mountain of course, not on the roads)!

Into the Maelstrom. Snow making underway on Superstar at Killington. 

Today was a really nice, rather lazy, ski day at Killington. Temperatures in the early morning were in the high single digits. The sun was shining brightly. There was no wind. And snow surface conditions, while firm, were generally excellent on all of the terrain we skied.

Starting at North Ridge, Rime, Reason, and Upper East Fall were all in great shape. We were skiing with our friend, Ruts, today, so in deference to him as he boards, we did not take Cascade or East Falls. That would have caused us to take the long run out, Spillway, back to the K1 Gondola. With so much open terrain open, that was unnecessary.

From North Ridge, we hit Highline. The bumps from several days ago were groomed flat. The first run down, at about 10:00 AM was a little spooky because of the light. The upper portions were bathed in bright sunshine. The lower third was in complete darkness. Literally, somebody tuned out the lights, the transition was so abrupt. The trail itself was relatively smooth with some residually fluff on the top, so even skiing by braille it was quite nice, even though it was a little disconcerting at the same time.

We hopped the K1 Gondola after Highline and did the traverse across the top of the resort (which is better for boarders than across the bottom) over to Superstar. Upper Skylark was in great shape. You can tell that the snow surface was thin, as groomers overnight are popping up little pebbles as they do their work. They were easy to avoid as long as you paid attention to the track you were taking.

Snow making operations were taking place on Superstar. We avoided the headwall, as it was in complete darkness. After looping around Upper Ovation, we went down under the guns of middle Superstar. A couple of inches of nice soft snow were covering a firm base. In places where the surface was wind blown there was some skidding, but in general it was nice to play under the guns once again. Even in the cold, temps by now had risen to the low teens, some of the guns were a little wet. But that is the price to pay if you want fresh snow.

We took a warm up coffee break at the Snowshed base lodge, then finished with a run down Rams Head over to Snowdon. Caper was nicely groomed. Chute on Snowdon was surprisingly firm, especially skiers right near the trees. We finished with a run down Upper Royal Flush to Highline. Highline was now bathed in beautiful sunshine from top to bottom. It was a really nice run to finish up a lazy morning on the mountain.

Snow making operations were taking place on Superstar. Guns were also pounding the Needles Eye area. That looks like the next part of the mountain to open, probably this weekend..... let it snow!

Rogues on display. From left...Ray, Mary, Howie, Mike, Chad, and Dale on Skylark at Killington. 

Finally, a day on the slopes of Killington this week...

Mary and I took the opportunity to head out to the mountain this morning to "exercise" the ski legs. Overall conditions were very good with cool temperatures and plenty of snow.

The resort was operating lifts today on K Peak, Superstar, and Snowdon. Snow making operations were ongoing the length of Rams Head (which the resort plans to open this coming weekend) and Upper Bittersweet down to High Road. Rumors were circulating around the mountain that snow making was about to commence in the Needles Eye area, but from various viewing spots around the mountain, we could not visually confirm that. Snowmaking guns were set up, with hoses connected, the length of Superstar as well. It would not be a surprise to see snow making begin on Superstar in the next day or so, if not sooner.

Surface conditions were somewhat variable, but overall very good. Upper trails on Killington Peak in the North Ridge Area were well snow covered. 2 to 3 inches of light fluff greeted us on Rime, Reason and Upper East Fall. East Fall proper was still on the slick side, especially at the squeeze point midway down the trail, but the golf balls and death cookies of last week were gone. We did not choose to ski over to Chute today. And we also did not do Highline, as it was closed for the ski bum races, better known locally as "World Cup Wednesday"

We traversed across the top of the resort from Killington Peak thru Blue Heaven and High Traverse to Skylark and Bittersweet. Skylark had really nice snow on the upper and middle portions of the trail. Lower Skylark looked like it had a few "spots". We did not ski it, nor for that matter did we observe anyone on it during our time out this morning. Lower Bittersweet was in decent shape for the run back to the Superstar quad. Some ball bearings in spots, but very skiable.

Temperatures through the morning appeared to be going down. We started the day at about 20 degrees. When we got back we were looking at 16.

Temperatures overnight are forecasted to fall into the single digits, if not lower. It should be a good night for Killingtons snow makers..... let it snow!

Avatar of our chef, Frizzie, skiing the trees in front of the Birch Ridge Inn 

It is currently snowing lightly as I write this at 11:00 PM on Tuesday night.

I have not had an opportunity to get out on the slopes, or do any writing, these last few of days. Other than some minor car trouble requiring multiple trips to Rutland, we have been spending the majority of our time preparing the inn for the arrival of holiday guests over the next few weeks. And that is a good thing. With some luck I'll get on the slopes for a few hours the next couple of mornings.

Until I get a chance to report on the slopes, I will leave you with todays picture of an avatar of our chef, skiing through the trees in front of the inn. One of our restaurant servers, Sharon, is very industrious. She is always crafting items. For example, she has made some interesting candle sticks out of birch logs which we are using as a centerpiece on the credenza in the restaurant over the holidays.

She also had pictures taken of myself, Mary, and Frizzi in the fall. She used the pictures, together with some scrap lumber, old clothes, and pieces of fur, to create avatars of us to promote the inn. Frizzie, pictured above, is an avid back country adventurer, in addition to being a great chef. His avatar has him launching on skis off a cliff at the front of the inn. With a little bit of lighting, it looks like someone is skiing out of the woods at the inn at night.

Sharon used the pictures of myself and Mary to create two Christmas Carolers. They are placed near our sign on Butler Road. But thats a picture, and a story, for another day.

In them mean time...good night ......and let it snow!

Lower Bunny Buster from the Snowdon Triple 

Winter is here....finally!

It was a balmy 4 degrees at 8:55 this morning when I parked the car in the K1 lot. Wind was cruising at a comfortable 10-15. Snow guns were kicking up snow everywhere you looked. And some real white stuff was falling from the sky. If you ignore the fact that there was no sun to be found, it was a perfect day.

The resort was running the K1 Gondola, the Snowdon Triple and the North Ridge Triple this morning. The Superstar quad was spinning in preparation for the weekend. The Canyon quad was being cleaned off. It looked like some work was being done this morning on the Snowdon Quad, but it was hard to tell.

In general, all of the terrain on the Killington Peak side of the resort through Snowdon was accessible. With the exception of an oops, everything was covered with 2-3 inches of nice fluff over a packed powder surface. Where skier traffic was more pronounced, nice soft little piles of snow were developing. Just the right thing to get early season legs working.

The oops of the day was the true East Falls. It is hard to tell exactly what happened, but a combination of the grooming and the wind left it chuncky and devoid of surface snow. It was in marked contrast to Rime, Reason, and Upper East Falls, which were beautifully soft with powder puffs everywhere.

The other interesting trail was Highline. Highline was filled with medium sized soft bumps down the headwall, and ankle deep powder on lower skiers right all the way to the junction with Spillway. The medium bumps will be delightful if they are there in 6 weeks, as my legs will be more receptive to their charms. But this is still pretty early in the season, and my legs let me know about it on Highline.

The run of the day was Chute down to Lower Bunny Buster. It is not often that this would be the run of the day, but Chute was covered in really nice ankle deep fluff the whole way down from the top of Snowdon. Even with the cold and the slow chairs, it was worth a do over.

The resort is poised for a major terrain expansion over the weekend. Look for Snowshed and Superstar to be open this weekend, along with all of the terrain on Killington Peak and Snowdon. And with constant snow flurries predicted, surfaces should continue to stay nicely soft for some great early season skiing and riding.

......let it snow!

Snow fall measurements at the Birch Ridge Inn Snow Stake over the last 24 hours. 

-- 9:00 PM Update --Snow at the inn has ceased for now. Minimal accumulation occured late this afternoon. As of now, the snow stake stands at 10 1/4 inches. Total accumulation at the inn for the storm was just under 7 inches at the inn.. --- Remember, the snow stake at the inn is at 1850 feet, about 800 feet lower in altitude than the K1 Base Lodge, and 2400 feet lower than the top of Killington Peak. Snow totals will vary with altitude. ---

-- 2:00 PM Post --The first major snow storm of the 2009/2010 ski season hit Killington this morning. Starting in the early morning hours, the area has been experiencing very heavy snow, high winds, and cold temperatures.

Overnight, a little more than 2 inches of snow fall was recorded at the snow stake by 8:30 AM. By mid day, over 6 inches of new snow was recorded at the snow stake, roughly accumulating at 1 inch an hour.

I did head to the mountain this morning with the intention of getting a few runs. Due to high winds, the K1 Gondola and the North Ridge Triple were not running. Only the Snowdon Quad was operational. Wind was traveling straight up the lift line. On my ride to the top, the lift stopped 3 times as very heavy wind gusts rocked the chairs back and forth.

White out conditions were present at the top of Snowdon at 10:00 AM. Snow surfaces were wind blown packed powder. Temperatures were probably in the high teens, low 20's. Visibility was near zero in blowing and drifting snow.

I tracked down Mouse Run to Great Northern, Chute, and Lower Bunny Buster. Conditions were pretty nasty, with multiple stops required to find the trails, and clear goggles. In addition, my camera lens froze after shooting the video below at the top of Snowdon. With no camera, white out conditions, end extreme cold, my day on the hill turned into an uncharacteristic 1 and done!

So you get an idea of conditions on the mountain, I shot a short video at the top of Bunny Buster and Mouse Run, looking down Killink towards Killington Peak. Killink is visible between the trees, but Killington Peak is totally invisible in the snow. The wind was howling like a jet engine.

When I took this video, I was sheltered by the trees between Bunny Buster and Mouse Run. Just after shooting this video, I headed left down Mouse Run, directly into the wind driven stream of snow you see in the video. It was an interesting run.

......Let it snow!

Birch Ridge Inn on Facebook 

As part of the "Snow Dance Video" promotion, which Killington ran on Facebook, I thought it would only be appropriate to create a presence for the Birch Ridge Inn there. I have been running it now for about 3 weeks, trying to figure out how it all works.

The Facebook page for the Birch Ridge Inn is at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Killington-VT/Birch-Ridge-Inn/197967789624. I am not sure how the adventure will proceed..but it is fun to learn new things. Look us up on Facebook and become a fan if you like.

Around the inn today it is pretty quiet. Mary is down in Boston helping out her folks. I have been holding fort in Killington, mostly doing routine maintenance around the inn, along with some web site work for some ongoing marketing campaigns. With some luck, I will be able to get out on the mountain later in the week to check out snow conditions.

Outside it is a pretty grey day. Light snow flurries are falling off and on. No accumulation to speak of; just a little reminder that winter has finally arrived to Killington. The resort, on the other hand, is starting to crank up the volume. With the help from Mother Nature over the weekend, they are able to expand beyond limited terrain maintenance and begin their push to open more trails. Snowmaking is reported to be underway on Lower East Fall, Lower Bittersweet, and parts of Highroad. Upper Skyelark cannot be far behind, based upon the resorts announced plans. With a little bit of luck, it looks like the ski season at Killington is here to stay for the winter.

......let it snow!