Fall Foliage colors as seen from the Front Door of the Birch Ridge Inn at Killington 

Everywhere you look today fall colors have burst upon the scene at Killington.

Damp weather has brought low clouds and indirect sunlight....but that is not enough to dim the display of color on the mountains.

On my trip up to the mountain, low slung clouds were hanging over the area to about the 3000 foot level. The clouds cast a serene veil across the landscape; hiding the upper elevations in mystery, while allowing the lower elevations to burst forth in color. Tantalizingly ephemeral, they were teasing leaf peepers visiting Killington with the prospect of grand vistas just hidden from view.

Below you will find a photo gallery of scenes from Killington taken earlier today. Colors on the mountain are a vibrant mix of red, orange, yellow and green. Lower elevations are starting to display full color. Upper elevations are shrouded in clouds, but one would assume that they are tracking color the same. It is just a beautiful time of year to be in Killington

Fall colors on display at Killington Vermont, September 30, 2012. Click image to stop rotation. Click again to resume rotation.

All in all the colors are just beautiful.

Where ever you may be, enjoy the fall display put on by Mother Nature, keep it in the fairway, and pull out that rule book to review the "fallen leaf rule".

Ski Package Calculator page on the Birch Ridge Inn website birchridge.com 

The foliage colors at Killington are beautiful right now (if you look through the r@!n drops that are lightly falling today). But they are just a harbinger of more idyllic pictures of snow covered mountains to come.

Late last week the Killington Pico Ski Resort delivered 55 pages of information to their lodging partners (of which the Birch Ridge Inn is one) with information about ski package pricing for the upcoming 2012/2013 ski season. In the days where everyone on every desk has a computer to work(play) with, ski package pricing has gone from a simple chart with a number for holidays and non holidays, to a complex organism with pricing set by day. Just as the airlines load balance their plans with variable pricing, so to do ski resorts attempt to load balance the populations on their ski slopes with variable ticket pricing. Not to bore you with the details, but the pricing model used by the Killington Resort includes prices by day of arrival for normal ski packages ranging from 2 to 7 days. Special discounts are applied for certain stays 5 days or longer. Ski Free midweek options for stays of 3 or more days are available for certain weeks during the ski season. Oh.... and pricing is also available for Adults (ages 19-64) Youth (ages 7-18) and Seniors (ages 65 ) The same methodology is also applied for rental equipment... So...like magic... you wind up with 55 pages of ski ticket information to be used by lodging partners to use with their guests.

Truth be told.... after 15 years of being an innkeeper at Killington... working this stuff is still fun! (Really it is!!)

To make it easy to figure out the cost of an adult ski vacation to Killington staying at the Birch Ridge Inn, on our web site, birchridge.com, you will find our Ski Package Calculator Page. The page provides access to a program which will calculate our best rates for ski packages including lodging for the winter season. In addition to prices for each of our rooms, you can also price out ski packages which include lift tickets, rental equipment, and ski lessons. The program takes into account all of the discount permutations created by the Killington Resort for the winter season, automatically giving you the best price for the package combination you select.

(On a personal note... the ski package calculator on our website is a home grown product that I developed. My background many years before becoming an innkeeper is originally as a computer engineer. Writing computer programs that people can actually use to simplify complex processes is one of the things I enjoy recreationally when I am not skiing or playing golf.)

We hope that you consider a ski or snowboarding vacation to Killington this coming winter. (As if on cue... as I am writing this, a huge flock of ducks heading south for the winter just flew over my office...)

Ski and Ride Package combinations to the Killington Resort thru the Birch Ridge Inn are available for on snow activities starting Saturday November 17th. Before that time, Killington will be offering single day tickets with pricing based upon available terrain. Call the inn at 800-435-8566 for more information. Assuming Mother Nature cooperates, there will be skiing and riding at Killington several weeks before the resort allows their lodging partners to sell formal ski/ride packages. In a normal year, skiing and riding at Killington on limited terrain begins in late October.

In the mean time, where ever you may be keep it in the fairway, and pull out that rule book to review the "fallen leaf rule".

Looking up the lift line on Rams Head Peak (with Snowshed base lodge in the foreground). 

Cooler nights and shorter sunny days have set in motion the ritual transition of the Green Mountains from their namesake green to a bright melange of color. Fall Foliage season has descended upon the mountains and the surrounding countryside. What was but a glimmer of color less than 7 days ago has now burst forth upon the mountain sides all around Killington.

The mountains of Killington are literally exploding with color. The maples that make up the forest on the lower elevations of the mountain have all started to turn crimson. Random birch and poplar trees mixed in with the maples are sowing hints of yellow. Oak trees are still predominately green, but some early oaks are starting to show some orange rust in amongst their greenery. And of course, the high altitude conifers look down across the scene below maintaining their majestic green, waiting for their turn to be camouflaged by Mother Nature with early morning frost and some soon to arrive mountain snow.

If you are planning to visit the Green Mountains to see the fall colors, now is the time to finalize and execute your plans. You will be rewarded with one of the greatest shows Mother Nature puts on anywhere on the planet.

Where ever you may be keep it in the fairway, and pull out that rule book to review the "fallen leaf rule".

Green Mountain National Golf Course from the air looking north down Route 100. 

In the next day the northern hemisphere of the earth will experience the Autumnal Equinox. This year astronomers calculate it will take place on September 22 at 2:49 PM GMT. In simple terms, it means what we have already known at Killington for several weeks : Fall is here. In a more complicated discussion, it means that the sun for the next 6 months will lie south of the equator; delivering less energy to the atmosphere of the northern hemisphere leading us into winter. (Which if you live at a ski resort in the northern hemisphere like we do is a very good thing!)

Yesterday I had the privilege of getting an aerial view of Killington and the surrounding Green Mountains of Vermont via helicopter. The 15 minute helicopter ride is one of the signature elements of a golf tournament hosted each year by Casey Crompton and the Sante Fe Steakhouse in Killington. The helicopter takes off and lands in the driving range of Green Mountain National. In earlier tournaments, it shuttled golfers back and forth between the Green Mountain National course and the Killington Resort golf course. For the last several years, instead of acting as a between course shuttle service, tournament players were treated to a scenic ride around the Green Mountains.

Every time I see the Green Mountains from the air, I am struck by their beauty. On every turn the change in seasons in the mountains is making a statement. The bright green of the manicured lawns of the golf course shine like a jewel in a forest whose green canopy is starting to turn rust colored. The azure blue of the many large and small ponds in the area reflect the bright sunshine. You get the sense looking down on the mountains that a huge fuse has been lit; that the whole scene is just moments away from exploding in star burst after star burst of brilliant color.

Fall is definitely settling over the Green Mountains... and it's going to be one helluva show!

Where ever you may be keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sun screen!(and depending upon where your are, maybe pack a sweater!)

The basin area of Killington starting to show color. Click for panorama. 

In just a few short days, fall will officially arrive according to the calendar. At Killington, it is already here.

Last night brought heavy rains thru the area. They were the leading edge of a cold front which, while providing magnificent blue skies overhead, are keeping temperatures in the area in the low 50's.

Even though I am fiercely holding on to my summer shorts until the bitter end, blue jeans and fleeces are starting to make more than a casual appearance around town. Inn guests are starting to adapt. You may have noticed some motorcycles parked in front of the inn in the fall foliage picture of the day the last 2 days. All of the riders visited a local ski shop to purchase some winter thermal underwear this morning, before continuing on their way to points further north in Vermont.

In any regards, the seasons are changing. Summer is briskly moving into fall. A period of unmatched beauty with the pageant of fall colors is just about ready to descend across Vermont around the Green Mountains. And in Killington we have a ring-side seat!

Where ever you may be keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sun screen!(and depending upon where your are, maybe pack a sweater!)

Winter golf gloves make an appearance for the first time of the season. 

While today is providing us with some needed late summer rain, the signs that fall is getting itself established are all around.

The monarch butterflies which were at the inn in abundance a few short weeks ago have departed for points south.

The family of humming birds who have grazed at the feeder at the front of the inn have also departed. Each day, a new, random, humming bird appears briefly, as if to refuel the gas tank before taking off again on it's southward journey.

And it a sure sign of things to come, Mary got out her winter golf gloves yesterday afternoon while we were enjoying a round of golf in the "Lookout Golf Tournament" at Green Mountain National. There was no snow in the air, but you know it is just around the corner.

Where ever you may be keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sun screen!(at least for a few more weeks.)

Fall colors lighting up the hillsides behind the Snowshed Pond. 

Brrr... it is starting to get cooler everyday. I contemplated putting on blue jeans this morning, but opted for a pair of summer shorts. Blue jeans will become the standard daytime attire soon enough.

Pictures in the news this morning reported snow on the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It won't be long now before we can say the same thing about the top of Killington Peak. Everyday it is getting a little cooler. Every night, it is starting to get cold. While we have not had a frost yet, there have been several nights already where we have flirted with one.

All of this is, of course, pointing to a season of change. The trees all around central Vermont are starting to take on fall hues of varying intensity. While it is several weeks early for brilliant color, you can tell in your travels around the area that change is afoot.

The trees on Killington Peak are starting to take on some color; as are the trees behind the inn. A couple more cold nights and cool days will set the process, starting a cascade of color which will ripple across the area like waves at high tide. It is all a beautiful site.

Where ever you may be keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sun screen!(at least for a few more weeks.)