On the "Chair to Nowhere" at Killington

On the "Chair to Nowhere" at Killington

OMG...Deep, Steep, Traverse, Repeat...it's a March Powder day in Killington.

With Ruts and the Bagel down south (sorry you missed a good one guys) and a strange lift configuration that kept me from a planned meeting with some locals, I had to "find my own way" along the slopes of Killington today. What a shame...

By 9 AM opening, the storm had clocked in with 6 inches of new snow across the resort. Strong winds had many lifts either on hold or not operating. But that's ok... because on a powder day, if you live at a ski resort, you should get a chance to pick your places based upon local knowledge.

I generally stayed away from the "popular" trails early on, choosing instead to plot my runs on trails where lifts were not running. Killington is so big, you can get rewarded for a little effort if you know your way around. My first 4 runs required 8 lift rides. On each of the first 4 runs, I was the only one on the trail I targeted, getting fresh untracked shin deep powder each run. By that point, I was pretty cooked already, but as it was only 10:15, it was way too early to go home.

Cruise Control... totally untouched.

Needles Eye... knock knock... is anybody home?

Frozen waterfall. Not ski related, but an interesting picture from today none the less.

To tone down, I took a cruising run down Snowshed, under the tunnel to the Rams Head Quad. I figured that would be an interesting way to get back over to Snowdon and see if any of the boys were still hanging in. Caper from Rams Head was cut up, as one would expect, but the tree lines were still pretty pure, so it was fun all the same.

The Snowdon Quad provided a cool down period. From the top, a quick traverse over to East Falls was enjoyable. Neither the North Ridge Triple, the Canyon Chair, or the K1 Gondola were operating, so East Falls was pretty clean. The middle had been chunked up, but skiers right was filled with beautiful snow worthy of some sweeping turns.

The long traverse out brought me to the Snowdon Triple. It was the only really cold lift of the day, with a very strong breeze hitting the chair at the top of Conclusion. At least the wind was on my back. A little turtle move to slouch my helmet into the collar of my shell sealed the deal, and kept the lift ride bearable.

The top trails on Snowdon, including Upper Royal Flush, Mouse Run, MTS, and Bunny Buster were all getting wind blow. Drifts were forming on most trails on the right side tree line. For the most part they presented nice lines for turning, but every now and then there was a snow cornice to blow through which made things interesting. (A snow cornice caught my skis 4 years ago causing me to do a double eject and bust up my shoulder... so I respect them a lot!)

Snow is continuing to fall with additional accumulation expected overnight. Tomorrow should be another powder day at Killington.

Let it snow!