New England Killington

[Phelmut]

Hey GIS, What is the mountain looking like now? I'm thinking of coming up this weekend but only if it's looking good.

 

[Marker]

Well, we're definitely heading up for a long weekend on Thursday. My first turns for the season!

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Guy In Shorts 4 Dec Killington Conditions

December sun blasted away the morning mist at the start of the glorious ski day. Short Gondi delay had us starting on the old reliable Snowdon Quad. Sweet grooming on Mountain Training Stations and Mouse Run started the day. Launched over to Superstar were that last of the leftover blue painted ice chunks from the race were being ground up to star dust. Long shadows raced us down hill on Skye Peak. Race camp was in session for those adults with the inclination to adjust their angulation. We made our own drills of hip dumping, twisting and edging without any real goal but having fun. Highline soaked up the sun resulting in some of the softest snow on the hill.

Grade B

Quote of the Day - I skied today were greatness just had been.

Snowdon Start Thanks Guys

Long Shadows

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Hey GIS, What is the mountain looking like now? I'm thinking of coming up this weekend but only if it's looking good.

Pretty amazing conditions considering that we only have 9" of natural snowfall to date. Early season conditions change as fast as the weather. Warms up Tuesday for a decent sized rain event. Historically speaking if the weather event ends with snow impact in minimized. Normal deep December cold settles in for next week. Over all fairly good early season weekend should be on tap.

 

[Phelmut]

Thanks for the update. I'll keep n eye on your blog here to see what transpires the rest of the week. I will come up with a friend if it looks worthwhile.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Guy in Shorts 6 Dec Killington Conditions

Lots of clouds with cold weather having finally settling in for a long run. Summit temperature of 22 degrees froze the wet snow pack of yesterday into a solid mass. Runs off the North Ridge triple were fairly decent as they most been groomed last. Dropped off the lip onto Lower East Fall as we needed to find out if we still had the skiing skills to edge on a surface hard as a bowling ball. Passed the test but a repeat was not in order. The good news is snow guns are back on resurfacing bad spots and working on expansion towards Needles Eye and Snowshed. Bittersweet and Middle Ovation will be groomed and open in the morning. Getting antsy for the rope to drop on all the nice snow that they have made on Cascade. Every open trail will be groomed overnight with conditions improving daily.

Grade C-

Quote of the Day- Frozen corduroy lines remaining at the end of day is not a good sign.

Cascade Waits
Good Night Lower Bunny Guns

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Guy In Shorts 7 Dec Killington Conditions

Beautiful snow clouds hung around for the day painting the mountain white. Summit temperature of 20 degrees when I made it out for some end of the day runs. Transformation of the mountain in just a day was impressive. Inch or so of new fallen snow helped return a real winter soft feel to the slopes. Warm-up on East Fall was delightful until the sticky glue like snow surface running out of the canyon reminding me to get the skis waxed soon. Made the first turns of the season on Mid Ovation and Bittersweet. Guns going on Lower Bittersweet were putting out a very dense snow that bogged down the less than fully committed skiers. Cascade is on tap to be groomed and open for Friday.

Grade B

Quote of the Day - The ability of this mountain to recover so fast never ceases to amaze me.

Blue Heaven Superstar Turns Bittersweet Guns

 

[Marker]

Did not get to East Falls, but skied a lot of the mountain today for my first day of season. Superstar was a tad icy, but Highline was fun. After lunch my legs were starting to wonder why I wasn't parked in front of my computer at work! Gym workouts only take you so far and then you need real skiing to get in shape for an entire day. I didn't feel a good rythym until the afternoon. Early days...

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Guy In Shorts 7 Dec Killington Conditions

Beautiful snow clouds hung around for the day painting the mountain white. Summit temperature of 20 degrees when I made it out for some end of the day runs. Transformation of the mountain in just a day was impressive. Inch or so of new fallen snow helped return a real winter soft feel to the slopes. Warm-up on East Fall was delightful until the sticky glue like snow surface running out of the canyon reminding me to get the skis waxed soon. Made the first turns of the season on Mid Ovation and Bittersweet. Guns going on Lower Bittersweet were putting out a very dense snow that bogged down the less than fully committed skiers. Cascade is on tap to be groomed and open for Friday.

Grade B

Quote of the Day - The ability of this mountain to recover so fast never ceases to amaze me.

View attachment 34758 Blue Heaven View attachment 34759 Superstar Turns View attachment 34760 Bittersweet Guns

Indeed impressive. I do love bittersweet. Headed up tomorrow afternoon.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Guy In Shorts 10 Dec Killington Conditions

Sun made an early meager attempt to shed some light onto our powder day. Clouds quickly won the battle with snow showers blessing us for the remainder of the day. Summit temperature of 15 degrees allowed the snowguns to continue to run at full output. Nearly four inches of fresh made some of the low angle natural trails barely skiable for the brave. Many in attendance this weekend were getting in their first turns of the year. Presents were stacked under the Peak Lodge Christmas tree as Santa tends to deliver early treats to the Killington faithful. Having completed 25 runs for my 25th day of skiing I passed on final chair heading for a well-deserved IPA reward.


Grade B+


Quote of the Day – After sampling this IPA selection today there is no way I can revert back.

Superstar

Peak Lodge Bittersweet GIS in Long Pants

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Indeed impressive. I do love bittersweet. Headed up tomorrow afternoon.

The RTM's were hanging out in guest services Saturday morning looking awfully lonely. Hope that the afternoon reunion was blissful.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

The RTM's were hanging out in guest services Saturday morning looking awfully lonely. Hope that the afternoon reunion was blissful.

Yes it was. The RTM's were lonely no more by the afternoon . I offered to take a picture of Michael hugging them but he declined, he's shy

 

[Marker]

A bit busy to report on my last two days on Saturday and Sunday, but let's just say the fresh snow was wonderful to have on my first weekend of the year!

I'll be back for Christmas through New Year's before work reality set's back in. Family coming up for Christmas then friends for New Year's. This will be the longest extended ski "week" I'll ever had.

 

[PinnacleJim]

First day a of a two week pre-Christmas stay. Snow showers on and off all day, temps in the 20s, and decent surfaces from the weekend snow made for an good early season day. Terrain expansion continues with the cold weather and aggressive snowmaking. Excitement about the prediction of maybe 6 -12+ inches out of the storm tomorrow was evident.

Got to try a series of the new Head skis at demo day. Skied the Rally, Monster 88 and Kore 93 and my recent score of some new leftover Fischer Motive 95 back to back. The Rally was the Head ski most suited for today's firm eastern conditions, but I was surprised how well the light Kore 93 did. But I think I prefer my Motive 95s to the Kore 93 or Monster 88.

 

[Marker]

How did the demo days go with all the fresh and falling snow? All the reps bring their powder boards?

 

[BillyGoat]

I'm traveling to Killington in Feb and want to take a lesson. I didn't start skiing till I was in my late 40's and have since progressed to an adv intermediate, I think. When I've taken lessons before at Plattekill, Windham and Hunter - it's been very much a gamble hit and miss in terms of getting what I considered to be a good teacher versus someone who just seems to be an expert skier. It's expensive and I haven't always felt like I got my money's worth.

Does anyone have advice on requesting a specific instructor at Killington ? Is that even possible at Killington? Thoughts on how to minimize the gamble in general?

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Guy n Shorts 14 Dec Kllington Conditions

Morning fog quickly gave way to bright post storm sun. Clicked on the boot heaters for the first time this year as well as tucking a hand warm in with my cell phone. Summit temperature of zero degrees had us hiking up to Catwalk for a warm-up. Clicked on the skis then pounded on the wind drifted super pile of snow perched atop the trail in an attempt to groom out the entrance. Wind hitting the North Ridge made the triple a chilly ride. Leftover pockets of powder were found all over. Trees are fun if you are careful and have wide skis exercising normal early season caution. All the nats like Northstar and Escapade have skied in nicely. Even Lower Royal Flush had good snow for our afternoon descent. Both the wife and I were getting used to turns on new skis. Volkl 90Eight’s in her case and Faction Dictator’s for my feet. Pulled the plug at 3:45 passing on last chair as I had my fill of cold sun filled fun for the day.

Grade B+

Quote of the Day - (Our 82 year old friend) - I am just out here trying to ski better than the 50 year olds.

Catwalk New Skis Royal Flush

 

[TTM9]

I'm traveling to Killington in Feb and want to take a lesson. I didn't start skiing till I was in my late 40's and have since progressed to an adv intermediate, I think. When I've taken lessons before at Plattekill, Windham and Hunter - it's been very much a gamble hit and miss in terms of getting what I considered to be a good teacher versus someone who just seems to be an expert skier. It's expensive and I haven't always felt like I got my money's worth.

Does anyone have advice on requesting a specific instructor at Killington ? Is that even possible at Killington? Thoughts on how to minimize the gamble in general?

You can definitely request a specific instructor at Killington if you call the private lesson number on their website, and you absolutely should. I've taken a number of lessons there, and my go-to instructor is PB (Peggi-Beth) Doxsee, who is fantastic. Rick Svencer is another great instructor. Besides being great skiers, both are very experienced and fantastic teachers (they both coach the race camps and PB also coaches a number of the Women's Camps).

 

[BillyGoat]

You can definitely request a specific instructor at Killington if you call the private lesson number on their website, and you absolutely should. I've taken a number of lessons there, and my go-to instructor is PB (Peggi-Beth) Doxsee, who is fantastic. Rick Svencer is another great instructor. Besides being great skiers, both are very experienced and fantastic teachers (they both coach the race camps and PB also coaches a number of the Women's Camps).

thanks so much for this excellent information!

 

[PinnacleJim]

How did the demo days go with all the fresh and falling snow? All the reps bring their powder boards?

Killington demo days were Monday and Tuesday. Monday was typical eastern conditions, but above average due to the decent snow over the weekend. Tuesday started with about 4 inches on the ground and continued all day. So a groomer day and a decent powder day. Head and Nordica were the only "major" brands with a number of smaller ones added to the mix. I stuck to the Head tent and sampled the Rally, Monster 88 and Kore 93 back to back on Monday. All great skis, but the Rally was the best match for Monday's conditions. Love that ski.