Fresh snow drapes the Birch Ridge Inn 

Has the January thaw come and gone at Killington?

During the week between January 7 and January 14th, Killington did see some warm temperatures. From January 11th till the 14th, we lost about 8 inches of snow accumulation on the ground around the inn. The loss was mostly due to warm weather, as while there were some showers during the period, there really was not any extended period of r@!n throughout the region.

But yesterday things started to turn around. A couple of inches of snow fell during the early morning hours of January 16th. This was followed up with another inch today, bringing the snow stake at the inn back up over the foot level (13 1/4 inches to be more precise) once again.

Fresh snow covers the Birch Ridge Inn.

With seasonably cold temperatures in the forecast and light snow predicted during the Martin Luther King birthday weekend, it looks like the January thaw is done. We can only hope!

Let it snow!

Pico Peak dominating the view to the north of Killington. 

The clouds may be heavy and gray, but the last 2 days have been pretty nice to ski at Killington.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sneaking out of the inn for a quick loop around the mountain. Temperatures were in the low 30's with a sky full of clouds and the occasional ray of sunshine. Today I took in a full morning session on the mountain, skiing with Mary, Ruts and the Bagel.

As it has been several days since significant snowfall on the mountain, most of the resort was groomed relatively flat. While black diamonds definitely do not become blue cruisers, there was a lot of relatively quick up and down laps of the mountain to be made on both days.

Conditions over at Bear Mountain skied consistently on machine groomed packed powder. Upper Skyburst had a little scratch just where you dropped in, but other than that it was nice soft snow with small skier bumps being created on the highly groomed surface. The Stash this morning was a pure run through the features. The grooming job in the Stash was impeccable. The only bumps to be found in the Stash were the many features that the resort has created to challenge skiers and riders.

Dreammaker was also in nice shape, except for a little oops at the bottom near the entrance to the SuperPipe area. Snow making operations had taken place there, but the area was not groomed out. Skiers were being diverted back to Lower Skyburst, but the markings were a little odd, resulting in several people in our group experiencing some high speed skid stops in the flat light. So it goes. The rest of Dreammaker was set up perfectly, with nice little rolling hills down it's course. We all commented that it would have been just a perfect run if a foot of fresh power were covering it, as the base was so consistently smooth.

Needles Eye, Cruise Control, Bitter Sweet, Sky Lark and Superstar were also groomed relatively flat. Bitter Sweet was somewhat skiddy in the middle section. The lower section was just a cruiser. Firm bumps were on Lower Sky Lark. Superstar was just a high speed cruiser. The wind was coming from the south on Superstar, blowing snow down the trail towards the lower headwall, which was relatively soft.

The spine of the Green Mountains to the north of Killington as seen from Superstar.

After Superstar, we took the K1 for some runs off Killington Peak. The south wind was blowing our "skier dust" at basically the same pace as we were skiing. If you remember the character "Pig Pen" in the comic strip "Peanuts", we all had that kind of dust cloud of snow around our feet as we came down both Cascade and Double Dipper. It seemed to induce a mild case of vertigo in the Bagel, but he recovered quickly for a few more runs.

Cascade was relatively soft from top to bottom. FIS was a little bumpy with some exposed ledge. It was best avoided. Double Dipper was a challenge. Overall it was soft, except for the wind blown section at the top of the headwall. However, when we were on it, there was a 20-30 MPH wind coming straight down the trail, adding speed to the what is already a relatively rapid descent down the Dippers compound fall line. It was a nice run, but not a do-over.

We finished up with a few cruisers at Snowdon with a little bumps thrown in for good measure. Great Northern to Mouse Trap was in good shape, considering the traffic they usually get. Chute was generally soft from top to bottom, allowing nice sweeping carving turns. We did venture over to North Star for a run. North Star was covered with relatively large irregular bumps. Not the best choice for the day, but we all survived.

Overall... some nice days to ski at Killington...but I did leave my skis off at the Forerunner Ski Shop to be tuned for next week.

Let it snow!

A foreboding Killington Peak loom over the countryside 

Everyday is not a bluebird day. While some days are bright and sunny, others can take on a dreary and foreboding look. Today happens to be one of those days.

The early stages of winter (we are really only 3 weeks into it since the Winter Solstice) can be rather dark at Killington. When you add in a thick gray cloud cover, what should be the middle of the day feels more like the twilight of early evening.

The mountain has a surreal look. The snow covered peaks intermixed with the leave-less trees blend into the ashen sky almost seamlessly. Temperatures in the area have risen to just about the freezing mark, causing melting to take place on most of the snow covered roofs around town. Giant stalactites and stalagmites of ice are forming where the melt water refreezes. Steeper roofs are avalanching down with thunderous roars. The sounds of snow and ice spalling off of the slate covered roofs of the inns restaurant and Great Room are deafening at times. A giant base of snow is forming at the bottom of both A-Frames. That base of snow will serve as a great insulator for the cold period we usually get in Killington later in the winter. It will also serve to stabilize future snowfalls on the roofs to minimize winter damage.

Panorama of Skye and Killington Peaks

Even though the mountains seem covered in a gray pall, they are still beautiful in their majesty. The mountains snow covered slopes are challenging guest skiers and riders to come and enjoy their charms; while the grayness of the day lets locals work off the holiday backlogs without guilt, knowing that the mountain snow will be preserved for another day to enjoy. For the foreboding will give way to the bluebird. It is only a matter of time.

Let it snow!

One last look at the 2012 Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree 

The stockings still dawdle
by the chimney stripped bare;
of their trinkets and baubles
left on Christmas with care.

The tree stands tall
with no ornaments tarnished;
but from the great hall
it too will soon be banished.

For the holidays have past
we've all had great cheer;
thank God hang overs don't last
from celebrating the New Year.

Merry Christmas...Happy New Year we've proclaimed far and wide.
For sharing these festive holidays, we thank you with pride!

Mary starting to remove ornaments from the 2012 Birch Ridge Inn Christmas Tree.

We hope that the holiday season past brought you peace, happiness and joy.

Let it snow!

Upper Dreammaker 

After a 7 day hiatus, I was able to venture out onto the slopes of Killington this morning. And it was great to be back on skis again.

The temperatures warmed up slightly over night, hitting the mid teens early this morning. A fairly steady 20 mph wind with gusts to ??? was blowing most of the morning from the west. With that in mind, we spent the morning enjoying the trails on Bear Mountain and Sky Peak, leaving the other peaks of Killington for another day.

We started doing loops off the Skye Peak Quad. Bear Claw to Sky Burst, Sky Burst top to bottom, Sky Burst to lower Wild Fire, Wild Fire from top to bottom, Dream Maker....you get the drift. Everything was essentially soft packed powder with the exception of Upper Wildfire, which was firm bumps. We were working our way over to Outer Limits, but after the bumps on Upper Wildfire we decided to pass.

After about 2 hours at Bear, we moved on to Needles Eye. Needles Eye was perfect with a combination of little skier made bumps and soft snow. Just enough bumps to make you turn...snow soft enough you wanted to turn. A nice combination.

From Needles it was on to the Superstar pod. Bitter Sweet, Skylark and Superstar were all in great shape. Old Superstar was nice little soft bumps, as was Low Road. Ovation was being assaulted by snow guns. The boyz did middle Ovation. I took a pass in deference to my knee.

One thing is obvious since my last mountain excursion... Killington has gotten a lot of snow. Hopefully it keeps coming down.

Let it snow!

The Snow Stake in the field behind the Birch Ridge Inn at Killington 

With the new year firmly in place, work around the inn has focused on the tasks that were abandoned in anticipation of the Mayan Apocalypse.

Well... not really.... Actually, Mary and I have been catching up on the many small things that come up after a period of high occupancy at the inn. One of the things your mother never told you is that things break when people use them.... and that is a good thing.

Most of my time, when not in front of the computer, has been outdoors. Not skiing down the snow covered slopes of the Killington Resort, but "playing" in the snow none the less. The last week saw a record 7 tanks of gas used in the snow blower...(I am really not sure if it is a record.. but my aging memory does not remember such a concentrated period of snow blowing over such a short period in the 16 years we have owned the inn.)

Today I had my snow shoes on. I can say quite proudly that I broke a trail all around the inn. Of course, it was not a recreational stroll in the woods. With a snow rake in one hand, and a bucket of roof melt in the other, I walked around the inn dealing with several ice dams that have been created due to the volume of snow we have received. It has been at least 3 to 4 winters since tending to ice dams. Once again, thats a good thing, because it means we have a lot of snow on the ground (and on the roofs of the inn).

Mary has been up to similar tasks, though mostly related to getting the rooms back in shape for future guests. We had gone though all of the rooms before the holidays to make sure that they were ready for guests. But 14 days of near 100% occupancy leaves little dings, scratches, spots, and stains which need to be fixed, so Mary and her house keeping team have their hands full (as is usual for this time of year.)

With some luck, tomorrow may be a ski day; my first day out since the storm just before Christmas. I am looking forward to getting back on the Mountain. It's time...

Let it snow!

Happy New Year 

2013...

Its a New Year!

No more presidential election politics...for a few months please! No more talk of a Mayan Apocalypse...at least until November when Comet Ison is due to approach the sun. No more Fiscal Cliff debacles...wait the House of Representatives in Washington DC could still make a mess of this one..

2012 had its share of good and bad. The elder members of our family are still hanging in there...albeit a little more fragile than the year before. My golf handicap dropped...until my knee gave out. But a fall of physical therapy has me prepared for a winter of skiing so we will see how it goes. On a trip to Burlington VT in the spring, we discovered a wonderful Vermont made rye called Whistlepig.. That definitely goes into the good column. We have a great team of people who work for us at the inn. And then there are all of the guests who keep returning to visit with us in Killington year in and year out who give Mary and I great encouragement.

New Years at the Birch Ridge Inn at Killington.

The chapter in life we call 2012 is closing. A new chapter called 2013 is before us. May the new year bring you much happiness.

Let it snow!