Ruts and the Bagel disembarking from the Superstar Quad 

Here we go again!

After a great week of skiing and riding that saw conditions vary from mid winter to pure spring, Mother Nature is sending Killington a late season gift that will keep the resort going for weeks.

While the weather forecasts are all over the place, and very altitude dependent, the Killington Resort stands to gain an additional 1 to 2 feet of snow from the storm which has settled over the area. The long duration storm started this morning around dawn. Snow is currently falling about a 1/2 inch per hour (1:30 PM) at the inn. Snow is forecasted to continue all night well into tomorrow morning.

While the snow is not the light fluffy powder we had with the storms earlier in the month, and in February, this storm will lay down a thick creamy coating over Killington's thick base, assuring great spring skiing and riding conditions for several weeks to come.

Where ever you may be, get out and enjoy the final moments of the winter season as we head into spring. And remember...Let It Snow!

Killington Peak bathed in sunlight and snow. 

It has been a fantastic week of late winter skiing and riding in Killington.

Last weeks snow storm, a bubble of cold sunny air, and continuous snow making set up the Killington resort for a great week of skiing and riding. Starting our with soft powder as a result of some clipper systems coming through the area, and finishing up with a series of beautiful groomed cruisers, it is hard to think of a better week at Killington for skiing and riding over the last several years.

And to top it off to prepare for the weekend, more light snow is falling across the area, coating surfaces with 1 to 3 inches depending upon elevation.

On the mountain, the easiest thing to remember about conditions is that the groomers are cruisers, the bumps are setting up, and snow making has continued all over the place, with a heavy concentration of firepower on Superstar and Skylark. This week we saw powder, groomed corduroy, and waist high bumps, depending upon which part of the mountain we were enjoying. Below are a few pictures of this weeks outing.

First run groomed cruising through "The Stash"

Some steeps with a light powder coating on Cascade

A ski stop under the guns on Skylark.

Snowmakers putting out the goods on the Superstar Headwall.

All out snow making assault on Superstar

Snow making has been ongoing on Superstar for over a week. The snow whales are now over the lift line in most places. The troughs on skiers right from the whales have filled in with snow completely in many places. So much snow has been stockpiled on Superstar, that the resort has also been making snow on Sky Lark from top to bottom, allowing for a second run off the Superstar quad to last through out the upcoming spring season. And without trying to junx the weather we may have over the next few weks, the Killington Resort has publically started to talk about skiing and riding at the resort continuing at least into June.

What does all this mean for John Q Public. Basically, don't hang up you skiis or board yet. There is a lot more time on the snow to be had before the last cowbell for the 2016-2017 winter season has rung.

Where ever you may be, get out and enjoy the winter season. And remember...Let It Snow!

Chuck, the Bagel, and Ruts exiting the Stash at Killington 

Irish eyes are smiling....

Today was the perfect post snow storm ski day in Killington. With the fresh powder days right after the storm behind us, the Killington Resort was awash in silky soft groomers. Ego snow was in store for anyone who ventured out on the the slopes. And if you wanted some bumps, there were also plenty of those around to fulfill you need for some pulsating rhythm.

From Bear Mountain to Skye Peak to Killington Peak, to Snowdon mountain...every where you went you were presented with great run after great run. At Bear the Stash, Bear Claw, and Skyburst were soft groomers. Wildfire was left with the pucker bumps of ski traffic over the last couple of days. Soft and very carvable, they really got the quads working.

More of the same was found off of Skye Peak. Bitter Sweet, Skye Lark, and Superstar were all nicely groomed. Plenty of bumps were left on Ovation and on skiers right and left on lower Superstar. The problem will all of these trails was that everything was so good calling a trail a do-over was just a waste.

Off of Killington Peak the North Ridge Area and East Fall were working the legs. Double Dipper and Downdraft were barely being skied, probably due to the collection of bumps on both trails. We never did make it over to Cascade. From what we could see it was flat coming off the bottom, but since we were riding the Snowdon Triple and the Canyon Quad we never got a view from the K1 of the top of Cascade.

The mountains are set up for a great weekend of skiing and riding. With temperatures projected in the mid 20's, skiers and riders should experience one of the best weekends of the season.

Where ever you may be, get out and enjoy the winter season. And remember...Let It Snow!

The Bagel returns 

Resplendent in a retro onesy, the Bagel returned for the spring skiing season at Killington after wintering in Florida. What a day he picked for his return!

You would be hard pressed to find a better day to ski at Killington. Temperatures were in the low 20's. Bright sunshine dominated most of the resort, with the exception of the K cloud on Killington Peak. And there was fresh powder everywhere.

We skied a mix of trails during the morning sesson. Some, like Bear Claw, had been groomed out. While they were puckering up with small bumps created by skier traffic, they were still fast cruisers in the good visibility. Others, like Wildfire, Ovation, and Superstar were fairly au natural... Big powder bumps everywhere.

It was a great day on the resort, with many more to come as a result of this weeks storm.

Where ever you may be, get out and enjoy the winter season. And remember...Let It Snow!

Do I need to say more?

With the storm exiting the area, the restaurant at the Birch Ridge Inn will re-open tonight for regular dinner service starting at 6:00 PM.

If you are planning to come to Killington, now is the time!

Where ever you may be, get out and enjoy the winter season. And remember...Let It Snow!

Snow once again coverning the Birch Ridge Inn 

5:00 PM Update Blowing and drifting snow continues. Snow accumulation over the last 3 hours was approximately 1 1/2 (Snowstake at 13 inches versus 2:00 PM report of 11 1/2 inches). Radar from weather.com indicates that Killington has been ain a dry spot in the storm for several hours which probably accounts for the decrease in accumulation. Winds in the area are picking up resulting in significant drifting. Around the inn there were several drifts over 4 feet based upon how high they were over the cowling of the snow blower (3 feet).

In the interest of safety of our staff and guests, we have decided to close the restaurant at Birch Ridge for the evening. We will resume regular dinner serice tomorrow evening, Wednesday March 15th.

Get some sleep. Tomorrow is a powder day! End 5:00 PM Update

2:00 PM Update

Snowfall is quite heavy and accelerating over Killington. Approximately 6 inches of snow has fallen over the last 4 hours. The snowstake increased to 11.5 inches at 2:00 PM from 4 inches at 10:00 AM.

While taking the 2:00 PM pictures, the heavy snow was turning granular in consistency. Not sure is some warm air is overriding the system, as I do not have a temperature reading, but the snow flakes seemed denser than what I experienced at 10:00 AM this morning. Snow is predicted to continue all evening and into the day on Wednesday. Stay tuned to killingtonblog.com for snowstake updates.

Snow accumulation on a section of flat roof at the Birch Ridge Inn, Killington

End 2:00 PM Update

Original 11:00 AM Post All week long, people around town have been very careful not to jinx it. With great respect for Mother Nature, when a huge dump is predicted for the mountain, caution is exercised when speaking in public. For their part, the resort just ignored the pending snow and continued their all out snow making assault as if nothing was going to happen. But it has!

At about 6:30 this morning, light snow started to fall across the area. By 10:30 this morning, the snow had accumulated to 4 inches at the snow stake. Snow is coming down very hard and is predicted to continue for the next 18 hours of so.

If you are planning to come to Killington, now is the time!

Where ever you may be, stay safe during the storm, and get out and enjoy the winter season. Let It Snow!

Snowmaking on Superstar with Killington Peak in the background. 

Kudo's to the Killington Resort for a fabulous ski day at the resort.

It is hard to believe that it was only 2 weeks ago when the snow stake at the inn was at 21 inches. Much has changed since then.

Today was a glorious day to ski at Killington. Bright blue sky, cool temperatures in the low teens, no wind, snow making guns laying down velvety powder everywhere. It is hard to believe that we are going into the first weekend of March.

Conditions on the mountain were mixed. Base conditions were firm as the surfaces have frozen after melting in the warm temperatures of the last 2 weeks. Some areas were beach sandy, as the base has been ground up repeatedly with the freeze thaw cycles. Some areas were sweet and carvable. Machine groomed packed powder in cold areas of the mountain has held up quite well. Other surfaces were pure velvet where snow making operations are taking place. Bumps are generally missing, as the warm weather has effectively flattened all surfaces. Natural terrain in pretty much done, but at Killington has over 70% of the mountain covered with snow making, one hardly notices. The woods are at your own risk at best. You better know where you are and have some local knowledge, or it will be a long walk out. However, even with the exceptions, today was just a beautiful day to be skiing Killington.

Lone snow gun on Lower Skyburst

We started the day as we often do at Bear Mountain. Upper Skyburst was flat and fast. The middle was knarly with chunks and death cookies. Lower Skyburst was groomed but soft with beach sand developing.

Blue sky over Wildfire

The Stash to lower Wildfire was nice. Grooming in the Stash was firm with a few artifacts from the snow cats. Wildfire did not suffer the chuncks of Sky Burst but the bottom was once again getting granular.

Mary and Ruts on the Sky Peak Quad. A full armor day.

Sky Peak Quad in bright sunshine

While it was a full on armor day, as temperatures were in the low teens in the morning, the bright sunshine and the lack of any significant wind made riding the lifts quite tolerable. Not spring with the jacket open tolerable, but there was no shivering or complaining going on either.

Needles Eye Quad

After Bear Mountain we traversed to Cruise Control and Needles Eye. Cruise was groomed corduroy with a few ice patches mid slope. Needles was flat and fast. Skiers left was more granular due to deeper snow making coverage. Skiers right was getting thin. Don't try to ski under the Skyship unless you plan on a new pair of skis in the near future.

Lower Bittersweet.

Lower Superstar.

Bittersweet was nicely covered top to bottom. While the surfaces were granular, they were very pliable for carving. Skylark from the top was nice. Lower Skylark was your basic skating rink. Our skis are well maintained so setting an edge was not a problem. But Lower Skylark would present some problems for those who are not prepared. Superstar was beautiful. On middle Superstar you had your choice of sweeping whales on skiers left, or beautiful velvet on skiers right. Lower Superstar was getting the full 21 gun salute. It was soft and creamy. Really nice.

Mouse Trap getting the full treatment.

Snow guns were also delivering the goods on Snowdon. Great Northern and Mouse Trap were getting the treatment during the day. North Ridge saw snowmaking earlier in the week, and maybe last night. There will be plenty of intermediate and beginner terrain available for the weekend.

Rime and Reason

East Fall

Upper Rime

Rime and Reason skied very well. East Fall was soft with some granular developing. Double Dipper was getting narrow, especially at the merge point with Down Draft. Down Draft was closed. Cascades also seemed closed as no one was skiing it, but we did not venture over to it to find out. Cascade is scheduled for snow making later this evening according to the Mountain Operations report.

All in all it was just a beautiful day to ski. Saturday also looks good, although it will be colder with some wind. But the mountain is in very good shape if you want to partake.

Where ever you may be, get out and enjoy the winter season. And remember...Let It Snow!