Category: Vermont

2011-2012 Season, December, Killington

Killington: Expect the Unexpected

Killington Summit at Dawn

Killington Summit at Dawn

More ski areas need to offer 8:00 A.M. first chairs. Arriving at the summit of Vermont’s second highest peak forty minutes after sunrise was a treat. A warm glow bathed a mountain caked in white, floating over an undercast. I never expected to find beauty at Killington this morning. But low expectations make for delightful surprises.

That is the theme for this season. Delightful surprises happen when you expect the worst. Or when you don’t expect anything at all. Just set the alarm, grab your skis, and go. Because that is what we do. No matter how bad it gets, we are still making turns. And that sure beats the alternative.

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2011-2012 Season, Earned Turns, Killington, October, Powder Day

Beastly Skiing at the Beast

Skinning Under the Snowdon Quad

Today had all the makings of fantastic adventure: equipment failure, gear breakage, poor packing skills, lost helmet ear pads, and horrific skiing. Depending upon one’s outlook on life, it could have either been a comedy or a tragedy. Or both. My amusement while “skiing” (i.e. attempting and failing to link two turns) suggested comedy. But my frustration with trying to engage my Dynafits after falling (again) and associated broken brake suggested tragedy. I laughed, but I didn’t cry.

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2010-2011 Season, Jay Peak, May

Last Lift Service of the Season at Jay

Jet

More than half of Jay Peak’s guests last week were from Quebec. Whereas this weekend, more than half of Jay Peak’s guests were Killington Refuges. While not crowded, an empty chair was hard to find despite the Jet Triple running nearly ski on all day. For the second time this season, I saw a family without valid passes trying to sneak onto the lift only to be caught by RFID. And I thought it would have been the college kids getting called out.

Based on what I observed, it seems likely that Jay was operating profitably this weekend. But that is a somewhat dubious argument against Killington. As more ski areas close, it makes it easier for the limited few to make a profit due to attrition from other areas. As opposed to more competition for fewer guests spread around to more areas. But Killington could just as easily have been taking Jay’s customers rather than vice versa. Superstar is a superior late season trail and I would have been at Killington instead of Jay had the so called “Beast” ran their lifts. All that said, I was glad to be skiing lift serviced in May and glad to be doing it at Jay Peak.

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2010-2011 Season, April, Mad River Glen

Mad River Glen: All Options on the Table

Tree Skiing at Mad River Glen

Today featured a little bit of everything from powder to packed powder, scraped bumps to corn bumps, variable snow to mank. Things got started in incredible fashion with untracked powder in the trees–almost deep enough for Powder Day status. After my first run, I changed skis to my powder boards. Trees were excellent with great coverage and occasional untracked lines yielding four inches or more of somewhat fluffy snow up high. The trails were well covered with many liftline cliffs (including Birdcage) open; amazing coverage for April 2nd.

Tree Skiing at Mad River Glen

As the morning progressed, the air got warmer down low and stayed cooler up high. The mank level slowly worked its way up the mountain. By late day, trees off the Sunnyside were too manky for my tastes. So I abandoned the woods for a top to bottom down Chute to Liftline. After hitting Cannon on Friday, my legs were failing to deliver a back-to-back bell-to-bell performance. I bailed to the ladies tee on the Liftline cliffs and opted to call it a day before I hurt myself.