The "English Gentleman's Room" undergoing renovation. 

The Killington Resort opened for skiing and riding for the 2011-2012 season on Saturday morning. It's now Monday, and I have not been able to get near thinking about skiing... what the @#$%!

The race is on at the inn to get everything ready for the arrival of large numbers of winter guests. In addition to snow blowing 8 inches of new snow on Sunday Morning, work has been going full bore at the inn. I am not sure why I feel like we are behind... maybe the hurricane at the end of August diverted time away from getting things done at the inn, but every day is a step closer to getting out for a few runs on the mountain.

Over the last week, a number of projects got started around the inn. Our main web site has begun it's seasonal transition to winter. A new photo gallery has been created for the index page, and the ski package calculator with winter rates for ski packages for this season has been reprogrammed. Work on web sites is never done, so expect to see more changes to birchridge.com in the coming weeks.

Major renovation work is also ongoing to some of the rooms around the inn. With the TV upgrade to HD completed, we have not switched gears to redoing some of the rooms. The big project is in Room 8, the English Gentleman's Room. New carved ceiling moulding was installed at the end of last week. My job this week is to completely repaint the room. Yesterday was dedicated to "spackling" the various imperfections in the walls and ceiling created over time. Today's efforts involve painting the ceiling. Later on in the day, I will begin cutting in the walls with an eye to getting them done tomorrow(hopefully).

Work is also taking place to redesign the internet network at the inn to be better able to serve our inn guests. I have been meeting with Vermont Telephone, the carrier which provides our access point into the internet to add in additional capacity. Next year VTEL will be dropping fiber into the inn as part of a wholesale change to their network. For this winter, we will be adding an addition DSL line for more bandwidth. Of course, it's not quite that simple. To get the 2 DSL lines working together, we will also be adding a load balancing router to be able to take advantage of the increased bandwidth. (Having come out of that businesses 14 years ago) I have the router spec'd and on order. With luck, we will have the network changes completed before Thanksgiving.

And, of course, just when we thought things were under control, we decided after some discussions of alternatives, that it was time to retire my 9 year old Subaru Forester and replace it before the start of winter. The Subaru had served me well, but 9 year old cars do need some maintenance. We decided the money that needed to be spent to get the Subaru ready for winter would be better spent towards a down payment on a new car. So late last week and through out the weekend, I was spending most of my time in Rutland visiting car dealers. After driving 5 different small and mid-sized SUV's (we decided that the new car needed to be All Wheel Drive as Mary's is just Front wheel Drive), we made the change from Subaru to Honda with the acquisition of a new Honda CRV. At least that is out of the way for now. But there is something about that new car smell.

Let it snow!!!

Killington peak under assault from snow guns. 

By the time your read this, I hope you find this as old news. The Killington Resort is set to open on Saturday October 29 2011 at 10:00 AM for the 2011-2012 winter sports season.

As I write this blog for Friday at 1:30 AM on Saturday, I am excited that the season will be getting underway. We have had a very short period of time between the end of Fall Foliage season (we still have fall guests this weekend) and they start of ski season. So short in fact, that most of the leaves from the trees around the property are still on the lawn, now nicely buried under 6 inches of snow. (And I hope the storm predicted for Saturday night puts them under until next May, the lawn be damned.)

I am usually very punctual and timely about announcing the opening of Killington to blog readers, but this morning I found myself way out of position to get to my computer to type out the story. The Resort did contact the inn early this morning with the news and a reasonable request to delay the story until they had a chance to let other people know. When that happened, however, I was already gone for the day to Rutland (more on that in subsequent blog posts). Mary texted me from her new iPhone 4S,(She is really starting to get used to her new phone) so I got the message very quickly...but without the ability to act on it.

Prior to heading out this morning, I did drive up to the resort to check out the scene. With the snow Thursday evening, and the announcement that the resort was blowing snow overnight, it was a pretty good bet that the resort would be opening for the weekend. Thursday when I went to the K1 Base Lodge, there was a lot of heavy equipment being moved around, still working to repair damage from Hurricane Irene. This morning, the equipment was parked out of harms way, and the work area was swathed in Killington Logo Snow Fence. All strong clues that the resort was getting ready.

In addition to the 6-10 inches of natural snow that fell on the Resort Thursday evening, snow making operations were actively blanketing Killington Peak. Great Northern and Rime were clearly under the gun with the clear intention of being the first trails open. The snow making cloud on Killington Peak was quite impressive, as todays blog picture highlights. It is all the more impressive, given some of the damage the resort sustained from Mother Nature in late August. Suffice to say, the art of making snow at Killington requires hundreds of miles of pipe for water and compressed air, not to mention some serious air compressors and water pumps. The resort clearly did a great job assembling the necessary equipment to get the job done to support a late October season opening.

If you do come to Killington for opening weekend, be aware that the resort is telling us that there will be skiing and riding on Rime only. The resort is rating the early season terrain as "Advanced" and "un-groomed". This is not the weekend to bring your novice friend out for a few runs on the snow. The resort will operate from 10 to 4 on Saturday and 9 to 4 on Sunday. The K-1 Gondola will provide uploading and downloading, while access from the top of the K-1 Gondola down and up from the skiing and riding terrain will be via a short walk on the Peak Walkway.

For those of you making early season turns this weekend, have fun! Let it snow!!!

Snow graces the Birch Ridge Inn for the first time in the 2011-2012 winter season. 

The first snowfall of the 2011-2012 winter season is blanketing Killington his morning.

The light r@!n that spread over the area last evening changed to a heavy wet snow covering the area at first light. Snow fall amounts around the inn and at the Killington Base Lodge area are negligible, given the warm temperature of the wet ground left over from the wet fall season. Snowfall at the upper elevations is not visible from the base area through the heavy blowing and drifting snow which has continued to fall all morning.

Scenes of the first snow fall of the 2011-2012 winter season from around Killington on October 27, 2011 Click image to stop rotation. Click again to resume rotation.

With colder temperatures overspreading the area, snow showers are predicted all day at Killington. Cold temperatures are needed for the coming ski season right now, as the ground is totally saturated with water from heavy r@!ns experienced during the late summer and fall. Until the ground freeze, it will be problematic to support a viable snow surface for winter sports. (That is of course, unless Mother Nature decides to unleash a multi-foot dumpage to take care of the problem all in one shot!... please... please... please!)

Snow making operations were not visible at lower elevations around the Killington Resort. Compressors have already arrived at the resort to support making snow. Heavy snow and noise from construction machinery around the Killington Base Lodge, repairing damage left from tropical storm Irene, did not permit visual or aural detection of snow making at higher elevations of the resort. We will have to wait to see what the resort reports, but I would guess that if cold temperatures persist we will be hearing about snow making at Killington shortly.

In the mean time... it is time to get ready for winter....Let it snow!

Mary preparing to take gardens down for winter 

Soggy....that is the only way you can describe this week in Killington.

Classic twig season weather is setting up across the area. The leaves on the trees are falling at a rapid rate, leaving gray shoots reaching for the sky. To match the trees forlorn reach for the heavens, the sky is also matching the gray tableau by being overcast at best, with intermittent rain drops sprinkling the area. Add a cold breeze sweeping down from the mountain peaks, and there is no doubt that twig season is firmly established in Killington.

Twig season brings with it a sense of urgency to get the inn ready for winter. When the weather permits (read not r@!ning), we have been outside preparing the grounds for winter. Mary has been working the gardens, getting all of her dahlia bulbs up for winter storage. I have taken one afternoon with the brush cutter knocking down dead growth on the berm rising in the front of the inn from the Killington Road. (I have at least another day to go!) Of course the leaves are piling up, but as they are all soaking wet, raking them up just now would be problematical. Hopefully, it gets a little drier next week.

Inside the inn, we are also working to get things ready for the winter. To make the inn "Greener" we have been working with "Efficiency Vermont" to spec out some new lighting around the inn. Our electrician will be busy with that project some time in November.

I have also been working our telecommunications plan. Every guest arrives at the inn with a wireless device of some kind which uses network bandwidth over the inns WiFi system. At one point over the Columbus day weekend, we had 20 guests in the building and 22 guest WiFi devices connected to our network (Some people had both a laptop and a smart phone connected to the network at the same time.) A couple of Skype calls nearly brought the network to it's knees. That will be addressed before the arrival of winter guests.

Add on the basic maintenance like painting rooms, cleaning carpets, etc... Bill, Mary and chef Frizzy have a busy month planned. Don't fret though, we will be cramming this all in so we can get out on the mountain to ski as soon as snow arrives on the top of Killington.

Fall season is definitely winding down at Killington. We may be in twig season before the onset of winter, but Killington is still a great place for a relaxing getaway. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.

Twig season on the way. From Hole 2 at Green Mountain National Golf Course. 

Although the crisp temperatures demanded long pants and a "jumper" (to borrow a term from our British guests) this morning, the beautiful blue sky around the inn held out the promise for a nice morning for a round of golf at Green Mountain National.

As one would expect with the departure of the majority of fall foliage visitors, Green Mountain this morning was left primarily to pass holders and staff trying to catch one more round for the season. Aeration of the greens was done several days ago, demanding attention to putting. Some of the fairways also saw a vari-cut machine to help soften them up. But for the most part, the fairways and the rough are plenty soft enough with all of the wet weather we have had in the area over the last several months.

The blue skies of the early morning were, unfortunately, only a fake out. By the 4th hole a not so friendly overcast covered the area in a foreboding gloom. It was a classic example of the change in seasons in Killington. With the leaves mostly off of the trees around the course, the twigs matched the grey skies to cast a pall across the landscape. A cool breeze only helped emphasize the changing seasons.

The doom and gloom, brought on by an approaching storm front, lasted until we reached the ninth green, at which point glimmers of sunshine streaked across the sky. It was clearly a sign that we should play on, versus retiring to the club house for an early lunch and some warming beverages. By the time we had reached the 13th hole, blue sky was once again in attendance. We had made the right call in continuing on.

I would like to pretend that my golf game was good today (it wasn't); if only because I am not sure that there will be many more opportunities to play this year. It has been a spotty year for golf with family obligations and the weather event in late August. But golf is a great game, and there is always next year if there is not one more round in my future for this season.

Right now, of course, we are caught between the best of both worlds for recreation, without having either. Golf is more enjoyable with warm temperatures. Skiing, on the other hand, requires cold temperatures and some snow. Right now my mind is switching to winter, so a little snow would be just fine for me. I look forward to heading out on the slopes of Killington this winter.

So I guess it is time to clear the brain of thoughts of green fairways and rolling greens, at least until we start thinking about a vacation to some warm climate next spring. With twig season signaling the end of fall and the onset of winter in Killington, its time to switch gears and think snow...

Fall season is definitely winding down at Killington. If you want to catch the last of fall colors, now is the time before the onset of the winter season. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.

Killington Peak - the season is starting to change. 

Another fall weekend in the Hurricane Irene condensed fall foliage season has come to a close. Thank you to all of the nice guests who have visited with us these last few weeks.

Some random thoughts and observations as the seasons change at Killington...

On the fall season : Hurricane Irene really "knocked the wind out" of the early fall season, as expected. But the message that Vermont was being quickly repaired; that Vermonters were very resourceful and resilient; and that Vermont was back open for business, was very well received by the traveling public. Because of the worldwide news coverage of the hurricane, Vermont got an incredible amount of attention in the media. And that attention has translated into guests in Vermont over the last several weeks. Hopefully Vermont leaders have finally understood that the state needs to be actively promoted if it is going to depend on the tourism sector as a major contributor to Vermont's overall economy.

On the global economy : Many of our inn guests the last few weeks have been international travelers on extended vacations. Last week was almost exclusively guests from countries of the British Commonwealth including the UK, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand. Reading the tea leaves is always fraught with danger, but the uptick in International visitors returning to Killington could bode well for the winter season.

On the national economy : Too soon to tell from visitors to Killington.... During the summer prior to Hurricane Irene, it looked like a "new normal" was being established. One must remember that 9% unemployment translates into 91% employment. (I know... there is under employment and people stopping looking for work... but there are still a lot of people who are collecting a paycheck.) Hurricane Irene's damage went up much of the I-95 corridor; right where most of the visitors to Killington call home. It only makes sense that as people spend time repairing their homes that they would not be traveling. The international travelers helped out in the last couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see the geographic distribution of early ski season bookings over the next 4 to 6 weeks.

On the upcoming ski season : The resort is continuing it's preparations for the upcoming ski season. Hurricane repair seems to be taking place at an accelerated pace. Snow-making compressors have started to appear. Early winter promotions are out on the internet. A new Killington Magazine has been published and is out for distribution. We even had a little white stuff fall from the sky over the weekend. Now we need Mother Nature to cooperate; give us a few days of cold and dry conditions to allow the ground to chill down; then give us a dumping of white to "get the party started". We have already started our pre-ski season conditioning programs...have you?

On the new iPhone 4S We have had a weekend with our new cell phones. Many times technology companies over-hype and under-deliver. Not in this case. First impressions of the iPhone 4S is that it out performs in many ways. Of course it is a cell phone... So far I have not had a dropped call at the inn on ATT's network (unlike our prior experience with Verizon cell phones). The camera delivers. The last 2 days of fall foliage pictures at the inn were taken with my iPhone. Of particular note was today's picture with the blue sky showing in the trees to the left of the frame. My Cannon point and shoot rarely captures that, as the sun is usually shining just above the frame to the left (which is why there always appears to be clouds above the trees in the left side of the frame). Yet the iPhone's camera was able to focus thru the sun glare. And then there is Siri...The beta software still has some kinks, but it works incredibly well overall. It has the potential to be a game changer in how people interface with technology just like the mouse and the touch screen before it. While it is too early to know how the iPhones will integrate with our work flow at the inn, they do look they will become a valued addition to our technology tool kit.

Fall season is definitely winding down at Killington. Guests at the inn over the weekend were reporting nice colors on their driving loops to the south and east of the area. Several of our guests reported nice colors on their visits to the Vermont Country Store in Weston, and Grafton Village Cheese in Grafton. If you want to catch the last of fall colors, now is the time before the onset of the winter season. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.

Welcome to the 21st Century 

At 11:51 AM this morning, Skynet went active at the Birch Ridge Inn....oops...wrong mime...

Last week, I spent the day asking Mary the following question...Black or White? Our assistant, Mickalyn, new exactly what the question meant, but Mary was briefly puzzled. You see it was pre-order day for the new iPhone 4S, better known in alternate universe of Apple Inc customers as the iPhone for Steve. I pulled the trigger in the afternoon and pre-ordered 1 black and 1 white; both from ATT.

I have been tracking the shipments all week. With the crush of orders for the new iPhone, I was never quite sure if they would make it thru the backlog. ATT said they would, but you never know. Nervous anxiety, combined with a less than crisp ATT Order Status, kept me checking ATT's order status web site all week. Fedex shipment numbers were finally released early Thursday morning, resulting in a whole new level of anxiety as I saw that the shipment was split in two (2 iPhones, 2 shipments sort of makes sense). I watched the iPhones travel across the country through slightly different routes in Fedex's network before arriving in Vermont early this morning. With my black turtleneck and blue jeans as the chosen attire for the day, I scanned the web early this morning and confirmed that the iPhones would be delivered today on schedule. At 11:51, they arrived at the inn.

First impressions: fantastic! Initializing the phones could not have been easier. A quick connection to our respective computers, and all the information we needed was automatically transferred. Mary was making phone calls, reading email, and taking pictures in less than an hour.

The personal assistant on the phone, Siri, is simple and efficient to use. Making phone calls, calendar entries, searching the web, checking the weather, are all as Apple has advertised. And the parlor tricks that can be done with Siri are worth the price of admission. I guarantee we will see a comedian on TV in the next week or so, having a conversation with Siri... Skynet indeed!

Anyways; at least for today, Mary and I are on the cutting edge of new consumer technology. Thank you Steve.

There are still some nice colors in the mountains around Killington. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.