Opening day at Killington has it's rewards!

Opening day at Killington has it's rewards!

It was not the longest of ski days, but it is great to be back out on the mountain on the snow! Kudo's to the Killington Resort for getting the resort open again for skiing and riding in October! And, I, along with everyone else who participated in todays opening, scored a nice hat to celebrate opening day. Way to go Killington!

Skiing and riding today, and for this foreseeable future, is limited to Rime and Reason. A blanket of heavy wet snow has been laid down on both trails. Skier and rider traffic are compressing the snow and building small bumps in the process. While the resort is open for skiing and riding, conditions are really for intermediates and above, as there is NO BEGINNER TERRAIN available.

That being said... "it was Glorious!"

Access to the terrain, at least for this weekend, is via the "Stairway to Heaven". A combination of construction activities for the New Peak Lodge, plus snowmaking focus to lay down good snow on real ski trails, have made it necessary to walk down the stairway to access the North Ridge region, as well as walking back up the stairway to get back to the K1 Gondola to down load to the K1 Base Lodge at the end of ski time. From personal experience the walk down is very easy. It did require more than a few deep breaths for me to make the hike back up in ski boots with my ski's over the shoulder. (Mary blames it on me getting older... I blame it on the altitude.) Never matter, the walk on the stairs is quite manageable if you are in the mood to air out the ski legs and make a few turns on the early season snow.

Overall ski conditions today were highly variable on mostly packed man made snow. Rime was probably groomed top to bottom, but there were still places where water bars created deep troughs. Conditions were actually perfect to re-awaken ski legs that were reshaped by a summer of golfing. While some people were straight lining the trails, most people on the slopes were enjoying their turns. Between the hike out and the bumps, it was a nice morning work out on the mountain.

Below are some pictures from today on the mountain. Enjoy!

The "Stairway to Heaven" at North Ridge on Killington Peak

Our assistant, Shelly, buckling in for the first ride of the season.

Looking up Rime towards a cloud draped Killington Peak.

The view down Rime towards the intersection with Great Northern.

Snow guns on Grea Northern at Reason.

Looking up Rime below Great Northern.

The view towards the Killington Basin area and lower Rime.

The Hat! Thank you Killington!

Let it snow!