Great Northern "Killink Bypass" under the guns 

It is not mid winter. There is limited terrain open. There are snow guns pushing out water with consistencies varying from "light fluff" to "5 alarm fire hose". There are ski teams race training everywhere. There are herbs and herbettes(is that a word?) playing hooky from work. There are lift lines. Can I say anything else bad...

Now for the good...

There is skiing on real snow! There is clean fresh air. There are beautiful blue skies with thin wispy clouds. There is that great feeling of being on top of the mountain. There is the crunch of snow under the skis. There are the tight turns under the chair lift. There are the sweeping turns on Upper Great Northern (or West Glade if you have skied at Killington for years). There is the feel of new ski boots. There is camaraderie in the base lodge. There are new people to meet on the chair lifts and in the gondola. There are lots of happy people all over the resort with smiling faces. There was a late breakfast at Johnny Boys with good friends.

In otherwords.. it was just a great morning to take a few runs skiing at Killington.

Now for the conditions...The resort today was basically skiing from the K1 Gondola, the North Ridge Triple, the Snowdon Triple and the Snowdon Poma. Upper terrain on the mountain was in great shape, with nice mid winter quality snow in most spots. Thinness will easily develop down the middle of each trail as skier traffic wears the surface, but skiers right and left on all the trails I skied on where nice soft snow with plenty of coverage to make some nice carving turns.

From the peak we were for all practical purposes limited to skiing Rime and Great Northern to the North Ridge Triple. Ski race training was taking place on Upper East Falls. Snow guns were going on sections of Great Northern, especially at the high traffic merge spot at Killink.

Lower sections of the mountain, other than the last part of Lower Bunny Buster, still had snow making operations ongoing when we skied down off the peak. Snow guns at the lower elevations were very wet with considerable body sliming taking place as we passed under the guns. Surfaces near the snow guns were also very wet, as one would expect given the high water content being expelled by the guns.

Crowds at the mountain in the early hours was solid. Many ski teams were on the mountain either officially training, our out for some runs. The hooky factor also seemed pretty high with people taking the day off from work to make a few turns.

All in all, it was a pretty morning to be out on the mountain. Hopefully there are many more to come in the next few weeks.

Where ever you may be this weekend....Let it snow!!!

White creamy goodness all around Killington 

Killington Got Snow!

Alright... contain yourself. We don't want to get Mother Nature or Ullr upset by wild displays of irrational exuberance.

The warm air pattern which has held sway with local weather for the last week at Killington broke last night with a cascade of 3 to 6 inches of heavy wet snow falling around the region. Although the weather service had been predicting that the heaviest snow would fall on the eastern side of the Green Mountains, anecdotal evidence from people coming to Killington from Rutland and points west indicated that snow totals were probably slightly higher on the western facing slopes. But again, we are talking small differences.

The weather pattern in Killington the last few weeks has been fairly predictable. For the last 5 weeks we have had a period of snow, followed by a warm up. It started in late October with the warm up reaching the high 60's and low 70s. Each week since, the warm up had dropped 10 degrees into the 60's, 50's, 40's, before this week when highs reached the upper 30's on Monday. You can see that winter is approaching..Is the cold air here to stay is anyones guess, but if the pattern holds true one would guess that it will. And of course that would mean that winter is establishing itself in Killington.

This weekend at Killington you can enjoy the Killington Holiday Festival produced by the Killington Chamber of Commerce at the Killington Grand Hotel. Mary is up decorating the Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree at the Grand this morning as part of the "Festival of Trees". The Festival runs Friday and Saturday and is great for "children of all ages".

With some luck, we will be starting to get out on the mountain for some skiing in the next few days. It has been a couple of weeks since I got my new ski boots from Surefoot. I was beginning to think that I had jinxed the season, as snow conditions at the area have not improved since I got the boots. But,last nights snow fall has belayed my fears. It's time to get on the mountain and get into a winter schedule.

Where ever you may be....Let it snow!!!

Work progressing on decorating the Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree 

While you are out shopping today, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Killington. To be sure we have a long way to go between now and the holidays (or a short way to go if you are counting the shopping days), but it's clear that the holidays are approaching.

We got a dusting of snow overnight. Not enough to register at the snow stake, but enough to make the ground, which has frozen these last 2 cold days, covered in white. Hey...it's not much but it sure beats looking at dead grass on the lawn!... On the mountain, the cold temperatures have allowed the resort to continue to make snow. While much work has been done of late to refresh the trails that they had previously opened to provide top to bottom early season skiing and riding, if the cold weather keeps up I would expect a break out to happen soon to expand skiable terrain. Watch for that to happen in the next week or so if the cold weather finally holds.

Around town, business are getting ready to decorate their trees for the Killington Holiday Festival taking place at the Killington Grand Hotel next weekend. The public viewing of the trees from the festival will take place at the Killington Grand Hotel on Friday December 9th from 4:30 to 9:00 PM, and on Saturday December 10th from 12 Noon to 9:00 PM. Mary has already planned the decorations for this years Birch Ridge Inn tree at the festival. The festival is always a good take to get you in the mood for the holidays, if you need a final push to get over your inner Scrooge.

At the inn, decorating of our 15 1/2 foot Christmas Tree in the Great Room is proceeding quickly. The lights are done (3000 little white lights!). The ornaments and bows are being put on as I write this. It will be completed to be "officially" displayed next weekend to coincide with the Holiday Festival. But if you want a sneak peak before then, stop bye the inn.

Enjoy your early December weekend, where ever you may be. Let it snow!!!

Snow making operations underway at Killington 

Twig season is well established and holding on at Killington. But that has not stopped the resort from attempting to enhance the gifts Mother Nature has delivered (or not) to the area.

The persistent cold weather has allowed the resort to continuously make snow the last 2 days, substantially refreshing the surfaces which were depleted by warm temperatures earlier in the week.

From the K1 Base area, snow making was visible all across Killington Peak down through Snowdon back to the K1 Base. The resort is clearly making snow at all elevations to provide top to bottom skiing and riding this weekend. Snowmaking was also taking place in and out of Rams Head along Caper and Lower Great Northern, to allow further lift serviced skiing from the Rams Head base lodge.

With cool temperatures and bright sunshine predicted for Saturday, it should be a good weekend at Killington for some early season turns.

Let it snow!!!

Birch Ridge Inn Network Design 

Cold weather has finally returned to Killington. Of course the real question is will it stick around. But at least today we have returned to more seasonable temperatures worthy of a ski resort in December.

After an early season thaw, accompanied by non-crystaline precipitation (NCP) at the lower elevations, most of the snow in the region below 3000 feet is now flowing through Vermont's Irene enlarged river system headed towards the Atlantic. Killington had suspended top to bottom skiing and riding for a couple of days while they focused their snow making operations on the upper elevations. But the return of cold temperatures has allowed them to make snow on the lower elevations and resume skiing and riding all the way to the K1 Base Lodge today.

Around the inn, under the theory that the more we get done now, the more time we will have for skiing later, we continue to work to get ready for the winter season and the Christmas Holidays. The last couple of rooms had their carpets cleaned today; Chef Frizzie has been working to create the menu for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; and I have been working on all things internet.

Yesterday I completed the "Winterization" of birchridge.com and our mobile site m.birchridge.com. The work on our web sites never really stops, but changing out the looks for the seasons in just something I feel needs to be done to help represent our inn online.

I have also been spending a fair amount of time working to tune the inns communication network. A major redesign to the inns Internet Network has been completed with the addition of a new DSL line, and new routing and wifi equipment. Birch Ridge, of course, offers Free Wifi to our guests over our network. As more of our guests arrive at the inn with internet connected devices, we have had to continuously upgrade and refine the network topology and capacity to meet demand. The new design is actually transitional itself, as we prepare to have fiber brought into the inn by our telecommunications provider (Vermont Telephone) next spring.

Of course, Mary has not just been standing around either. She has made really good progress on decorating the inns 15 1/2 foot Christmas tree. About the top 8 feet of the tree is decorated. With a tree that large, it needs to be decorated in stages with multiple ladders moving around the tree. She took a well deserved break today to visit Boston to celebrate her fathers birthday. Tree decorating resumes tomorrow, and will continue through most of the weekend.

The return of cold temperatures to Killington means the resort will be continuously making snow on the slopes. Mother Nature has both giveth and taken away during this years early ski season. Hopefully she settles down, keeps temperatures cold, and gives us lots of the white stuff for the rest of the season.

Let it snow!!!

The 2011 Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree standing in the Great Room waiting to be decorated. 

Yesterday was the 14th annual "Christmas Tree Monday" at the Birch Ridge Inn. Once again, we were successful in our efforts to find the perfect Christmas Tree to stand in our Great Room during the holiday season. Below you will find a video on Youtube with a little vignette following all of us on Christmas Tree Monday 2011...Enjoy!

......Let it snow!

Now that's some Black Friday shopping you can raise a glass too! 

The turkey left overs are all properly stored. (Mary is making hot turkey sandwiches for lunch!) The turkey bones are in the pot bubbling away to create a stock. And I had sticky buns for breakfast. Must be Black Friday.

At the inn, we do our part to keep the economy moving. In a delightful quirk of fate, one of the wine shows I attended early in the month had their deliveries scheduled for today. Black Friday presents began arriving early this morning, waiting to be inventoried, binned in the cellar and posted on the wine list. I know what I am doing this afternoon. Now for a little more turkey!

If you are in Killington this weekend, and looking for a bite to eat other than turkey, the restaurant and Great Room at the inn are open for dinner service tonight and tomorrow night starting at 6:00 PM. Enjoy your Thanksgiving Weekend!

Let it snow!!!