Jackson Gore Inn at Okemo in Ludlow Vermont 

If you live in the area, you would be hard pressed not to know that the Okemo Ski Resort, in Ludlow Vermont, about 25 miles south of Killington, was celebrating it's 50th year in business today. Lift tickets for those of us over the age of 50, and you know who you are, cost $5.00 for today. We have not done a road trip this year, so we decided for Five Bucks, what the heck.

When we got to Okemo, we went to the Jackson Gore entrance. All skiers are forced to park in a remote parking lot and shuttled to the Jackson Gore Inn. The shuttle driver was nice and friendly, but this is a step in the fine art of skiing that we are not used to at Killington, where essentially you can drive to a large parking lot surrounding every base lodge. Once at the inn, we were first directed to a ticket window, then to a common area for day skiers called the "Roundhouse" at one end of the inn. The facility was nice and comfortable, smaller than any base lodge at Killington, but very well appointed.

From a skiing standpoint, we boosted up several lifts, finally arriving at the "Summit Lodge". We were skiing green and blue trails, which are the majority of trails at Okemo. And it was a good thing, because the fog was so thick you could not see 10 feet in front of you. At one point, we were trying to locate the "Lower Fall Line" lift. We could hear the lift motor running, and the squeak of the cable pulling over wheels on lift towers, but we could not see the lift. It seemed like we did not see the lift until we skied into the lift line maze, but I know that is an exaggeration. The fog was really that thick.

After picking our way over to the far end of Okemo to the South Face Express Quad, we headed back to Jackson Gore. All told, we were on skis a little more than 3 hours, after which we retired to the Colebrook Tavern at Jackson Gore for lunch.

My overall impressions are mixed. It is hard to judge the skiing because of the fog and the surface conditions. The fresh snow was hiding a hard base which got considerably choppy as the morning wore on. Because we did not know the terrain, and we could not see, most of our skiing was done by feel...which can get pretty exciting. We found ourselves taking a lot of turns. By Killington standards, all of the slopes we took were Greens or Blues. On a bright sunny day, they were probably nice cruisers, but it was not meant to be. We will need to go back to properly evaluate the skiing component.

From a resort component, Okemo has done some nice things. We quickly became aware that to the left of the top of each lift was a large trail map with a big "You are Here" sticker. Killington has map boards spread out around the mountain, but the boards at Okemo were particularly conspicuous. The facilities we used were also nice. Both the "Summit House" and the "Jackson Gore Inn" facilities were in great shape, very nice and comfortable. Lunch at the Colebrook Tavern was excellent. Our Waiter, Joquim, from Chile, was very polite and attentive. He left a nice final impression.

The one downside we noticed was that we could not get out of the weather. At Killington, if you don't like the weather, you ski to a different mountain, which faces in a different direction, which usually has different weather conditions. At Okemo, all of the peaks appear to face in the same direction, hence if a cloud blows over one peak, it blows over them all.

Will I go back to Okemo? Most likely yes... some day... In the mean time... Best Wishes to Okemo on the celebration 50 years in business!

Superstar Chair in operation
Monday, January 30, 2006, 12:15 PM 

Late yesterday I updated the blog site to report snow falling in the region. Between 3:30 PM and 8:30 PM, we received on the order of 4 inches of very heavy wet snow at the inn. Unfortunately, some time around 8:30 PM, the precipitation changed to liquid, completely washing away any snow we received.

Conditions at the mountain remain good. Guests who skied this morning before heading home are reporting soft surfaces with new snow at higher elevations. Today's picture is of the Superstar lift. The rumor around town was that it was out of commission with some failure, but this morning it was running normally.

Skye and Killington Peaks
January 29, 2006, 12:30 PM 

In contrast to the brilliant sunshine of the last couple of days, Killington is covered in a solid overcast this morning. Temperatures are very mild, in the mid 30's. From my visit to the mountain, snow surface conditions looked like they were softening up considerably, but they appeared to be holding up well. We are expecting a weather system to move by late tonight. Once again the forecast for the mountains is ambiguous, so we will need to watch and wait to see what develops.

Update 5:30 PM Light snow started to fall at the Inn at 3:30 PM. At 5:30 PM, it is still snowing with the temperature holding at 32 degrees. Based upon the weather forecast, we expect it to continue snowing off and on all night. It is not supposed to amount to much from an accumulation standpoint, but the snow this evening will refresh the area for skiing and riding next week.

Needle Eye Triple
January 27, 2006, 10:30 AM 

Another beautiful day in Killington. Skiers and riders were greeted this morning with mild temperatures in the mid 30's combined with 100% sunshine.

I drove up to the mountain this morning around 11:30 AM. From the number of cars in the parking lots, and traffic on the Killington Road, the Resort is probably having it's busiest day of the season thus far.

Last night at the inn, we hosted local Killington Pastel artist Kasia Karazim. Kasia presented a number of her works to a group of about 30 people. Kasia's artwork will be on display in the Great Room of Birch Ridge through Sunday afternoon for viewing by the public.

Pico Peak
from Bitter Sweet
January 27, 2006, 10:30 AM 

It got fairly cold last night. Temperatures dipped well into the single digits. But this time of year, unless there is a snow storm moving in, a temperature dip at night usually means lots of sun the next day. And today was a perfect example.

The mountain this morning was set up flat and fast. The dampness that was in the base from last weeks precipitation has finally solidified. No ice was visible this morning, because of all of the snow that we have had this week, but you could tell that the base had firmed up. Snow making operations were ongoing on Outer Limits, Wild Fire, Dream Maker, Lower Bitter Sweet, and Low Road.

For this first time in a while, I can say that there was a significant number of people out on the slopes. I spoke with a number of locals who just could not pass up such a perfect day. I also talked to a lot of weekenders who played hooky to take advantage of the conditions.

I did get bumped by a snow boarder on lower Bear Claw. Went over my left ski (of course... could not be my good leg) and spun me around. The good news is my binding released. Of course, the torque on my left ankle during this process left me quite speechless with pain, as the boarder continued to rip down the trail oblivious to the collision. After the collision, I did another half dozen runs. Got a good bruise mid calf, above the top of my boot, on my left leg, but so it goes.

Today's picture was a real tossup. For the first time all week, I had pictures with multiple skiers and riders in each frame. But, the skiing pictures do not tell the story of today. The real story was beautiful, sunny, crisp blue skies that provided unlimited visibility. From Bitter Sweet, it looked like you could reach out and touch the top of Pico... hence today's picture.

Green Mountain National
Hole Number 7.
A pastel by Kasia Karazim 

You may be wondering why I have a picture of a golf course posted on the blog today in the middle of winter. Mary and I try to support local artists. Not by purchasing their works in great volume, but by actively promoting them to our guests and the community. Such an opportunity presents itself tomorrow night.

On Friday night, the Birch Ridge Inn and the Killington Arts Guild are hosting an evening with Vermont Pastel Artist Kasia Karazim. In addition to commissioned portraits, Kasia loves painting figures in landscapes. One of her paintings, shown here, of the 7th hole at the Green Mountain Golf course, was painted specifically for Jeff Hadley Day and donated to the silent auction. The piece raised $1,000 for Jeff Hadley and ALS.

A little background on Kasia... she started taking formal drawing and painting lessons at the age of 7 from a retired New York University art professor. She continued her private studies until she left for Union College in Schenectady, NY where she earned her BA in Philosophy and French. After working for a few years, she decided to pursue her first love and went back to school to attend the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D, C., where she earned her B.F.A. in Fine Art with a minor in illustration.

Currently Kasia works as a web and graphic designer, though her first love is fine art and illustration. Kasia primarily works in soft pastels and is looking forward to displaying and discussing her fine art work at the Birch Ridge Inn.

You are invited to attend this presentation in the Great Room of Birch Ridge. In addition to actual displays of her work, Kasia will share her process of creating pastel illustrations. From 6:00 to 8:00 PM coffee and hors d'oeuvres will be available as well as a cash bar. Following the presentation, persons wishing to dine at the Inn's restaurant can make reservations by calling the Birch Ridge Inn at 802-422-4293. Persons wishing further information regarding the presentation may call Sally Curtis of the Killington Arts Guild at 802-422-3852. We hope to see you Friday night.