Got Snow!
South Ridge Triple Chair encased in Snow.
January 24, 2006, 1:00 PM 

Mary and I got one of the first boxes at the K1 this morning at 9:00 AM. At 1:00 PM, when we are usually safely ensconced in a booth at Charity's for lunch, I am still out doing top to bottom runs. What a beautiful day!

Yesterdays little storm dropped about 4 inches of moderately heavy snow all over the mountain. It turns out, it was the perfect consistency for the grooming machines to work with last night, for this morning the mountain was set up perfectly. Everywhere we went, the snow was beautifully soft and carve-able. We did a half a dozen runs in the Glades, on East Falls, and Cascade to start the morning. There is another storm blowing in tonight from the north, which created some cloud at the peak. The changing light made it a little spooky the first couple of runs, but when you realized how good the surface conditions were, you could just rip it between the light and the shadows with little fear of finding a surprise hiding in the darkness.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the resort at Bear Mountain, there was brilliant sunshine with bright blue skies. I did tweak my ankle on a wet spot at the base of Viper Pit on Bear Claw, but other than that event, Bear was great. Upper Wildfire was once again my favorite. We did 4 passes through the park on Lower Wildfire which was busy with boarders partaking of the various features.

The snow storm last night left some interesting artifacts around the mountain. Todays picture was taken of one of the chairs on the South Ridge Triple, which was still magically encased in snow at 1:00 PM this afternoon. Light snow predicted in the forecast everyday this week, conditions should be outstanding thru the week into the weekend.

Birch Ridge Snow Stake, January 23, 2006,11:00 AM 

I am always one that can accept the good with the bad. In the long run, things have a tendency to balance out. Well.... today is one of those good days for the winter at Killington.

A light snow started falling early this morning an hour or so after sunrise. By 11:00 the grounds of the inn were covered with 2 inches of a very fine light snow. It is supposed to continue snowing the rest of the day. Total accumulations are predicted in the 4 inch range, but we know how good the weathermen are at predicting those things. But, the ground is white again, and for a ski resort in winter that makes things right with the world.

Birch Ridge Snow Stake, January 22, 2006, 2:30 PM 

Even though our chefs cook for us all the time, I don't often get a chance to dine in our restaurant. Last night was a little different. My son and his girlfriend, with his girlfriend's parents, came to visit for the weekend. We had not seen each other over Christmas. So it was a celebration of sorts to have everyone at the inn.

We started with a few cocktails at happy hour, sitting for dinner around 6:15 PM. I would usually prefer to dine a little later when I do a formal dinner, but the restaurant book was pretty busy last night. I wanted to make sure that we had enough time to enjoy our meal, yet be able to get another party down on the table later in the evening. I had never met my son's girlfriends parents, so we had a number of pleasantries and polite moments to get through, before everyone could relax. Of course, a cosmo for mom, and 3 nice bottles of wine from the cellar helped everyone become friends in quick fashion. By 12:30 AM, we were all over at the Wobbly Barn. My favorite Wobbly bartender, Bobby, had a pint of Guinness waiting for me, and the rest took care of itself. 4 Guinaye (or is it Guinness's') later, with a little dancing thrown in for exercise, and we walk back the the inn at 2:00 AM. I had not seen my son in a while so we stayed up talking, getting to bed around 4:45 AM, with another ski day shot before it got started.

It turned out to be a great weekend. I got a chance to see my son and his girlfriend again. The girlfriends parents were really nice and fun to be around. (You guys can come back anytime!) I had an excuse, like I need one, to crack open some nice bottles of wines for personal consumption. And don't forget the Guinness....

It turned much colder last night. Today's temperatures at the inn are in the low 20's with a raw damp feeling to the air. As you can see from the snow stake picture, we got a little dusting of snow on the ground. More is due in tomorrow, so we can go outside and play.

Killington Panorama, January 21, 2006, 12:30 PM 

Oh boy. It continued to be warm overnight with light showers. Any remaining snow at the snow stake at the inn has melted into the mud. But the mountain is still hanging on.

I spoke with several trusted sources who went skiing this morning. Conditions were very similar to yesterday with soft hero snow all over the mountain. However, some areas are starting to see exposed ledge poke thru the snow. All things considered, Killington has survived the January thaw.

The rain showers of today are supposed to end as snow showers this evening. Colder temperatures are returning which will allow Killington to start blowing snow again. And the forecast for next week features some snow from mother nature as well. A snow dance of two will help the situation...if you please!

Highline set for Race Training, January 20, 2006, 10:00 AM 

Wow. Skiing at Killington today was surprisingly good....Now before you think I have lost my mind to water torture with the weather we have had up here the last week, let me place a few caveats around my remarks...
1. I am not on the Killington payroll.
2. Good skiing should not be confused with the skiing one experiences in 3 feet of champagne powder.
3. Good is relative. I was expecting very poor. I was surprised.

Mary and I skied all over the mountain this morning including the Canyons, Bear, Needles, Skye Peak, Superstar. Conditions everywhere, except Superstar...I will get to that later... could be characterized as a very solid base with a thin top layer that was soft and spring-like. The base on all of the trails is very firm, which is a good thing. It has been so warm, however, that the firm base is not presenting itself as ice. It is more like carveable styrofoam. The surface layer, which has been worked by grooming machines, was a soft layer of snow. Most surfaces were not wet or sticky, but the top layer definitely was moist. We did not run into any rock or ledge outcroppings in our skiing this morning, but there were more than a few "dark" spots, where from past experience we know ledge exists, which we avoided.

Superstar, on the other hand, was totally different. The upper headwall was firm approaching frozen, which is typical for this time of year as it does not get much sun. Middle Superstar was mounds and mounds of soft snow. The resort had blown a huge amount of snow into Middle Superstar over the last few weeks, and most if it is still there forming mounds with an ice cream texture. Lower Superstar was developing the usual mounds interspersed with "skid plates" of frozen base. Basically, all of the mountain, except Superstar, was set up for cruising. If my ankle were not on the fritz, I would have really enjoyed the soft bumps of Superstar.

It is impossible to deny that the mountain would benefit greatly from a large snow storm. The snow stake at the inn is down to a paltry 3/4's of an inch. That being said, the Operations crew on the mountain has done a fantastic job maintaining conditions that most visitors to the area will enjoy. I don't know how many more days they can work without some help from mother nature, but from what I saw today, unless something happens which requires the building of an Ark, the mountain looks like it is coming thru this January thaw in pretty good shape.

Snow Guns blasting at Killington, January 19, 2006, 10:45 AM 

Last night at Killigton was surreal. Yesterdays precipitation turned to light snow in the evening. Winds accelerated. While we do not have an anemometer at the inn, local weather reports were claiming that gusts in the area approached 70 MPH. Suffice to say that the inn shook with the wind... so much so that Mary woke up several times during the night due to the noise.

This morning everything is coated with a very light snow. The wind is whipping it up into little snow devils... mini tornado's of snow. It is a marked change from the spring like conditions we had yesterday.

Up on the mountain, snow guns are blasting again. The Killington Resort is doing everything they can to create a sustainable ski season up on the mountain, even in the face of the nasty weather we have had in the last week. But it looks like we are all in for a break. The current forecast has a storm on track for Saturday. The forecast now looks like we will be on the cold side of the event and get all snow.

Inn and community responsibilities are keeping me off the slopes today. I will be out on the hill Friday and Saturday, to get a first had view of conditions.