The view around Kent Pond looking back towards Pico Mountain 

An ocean storm exiting New England well to the south of Killington has kicked up some high cloud cover over the region today; muting the sunshine in the process. But, if anything, it provides a slight enhancement to the "leaf peepers" touring the Green Mountains.

I took a short drive around town this morning to take in some of the fall color. Instead of heading up to the resort, I traveled towards "Thundering Brook" to get a different perspective.

Color around Kent Pond is developing nicely. While much of the foliage around the lake is still green, there are swatches of red from glowing maples that highlight the views. In addition, birch and poplar trees in the forest around the pond are showing some yellow in their tips. It is just enough to give a little shine to the foliage canopy on panoramic views, but not enough so that you would really notice much if you were standing near an individual tree. Oak trees are also starting to rust slightly, giving the overall tableau a burnt orange palette.

Temperatures in the area are similar to yesterday, with highs in the lower to mid 60's. It does feel slightly cooler, as the sun is muted behind high clouds. But overall it is a very pleasant day to travel around Vermont for those taking in early season foliage.

Color progression is visibly occurring each day. The tall trees which tower over the back of the inn are starting to show bolder colors interspersed with the normal forest green shades of mid summer. Barring any unfortunate weather events, I will stick with my earlier prediction that peak foliage colors in Killington will occur between October 5th and 8th. But again, that is a highly localized guess, with peak color in the immediate area to the east and west of Killington occurring later in the month.

Where ever you may be .. keep it in the fairway...And take in some of the fall foliage beauty of Vermont.

The Bagel tees off on the 16th hole at Green Mountain National surrounded by fall foliage glory. 

What a gorgeous day!

I had my shorts on this morning when I left the inn at 8:45 for a 9:00 tee time at Green Mountain National. The temperature was a crisp 46 degrees. The car was covered in a thick morning dew. And the sun was shining brightly, giving me confidence in my clothes choices for the morning.

The early morning sun highlighted the fall colors popping up all around Killington. Many maple trees were glowing with fire in the morning sun. And from the many vista's around the Green Mountain National Golf Course, fall colors were on full display.

Reports along Route 4 to the east of Killington indicate that the color is starting to fire up in the Woodstock area. Several guests of the inn hiked up Mount Tom just outside of Woodstock. They said that the early season foliage views were really nice; and they enjoyed the mild exercise from the walk to the top of the mountain.

For those of you who read the blog year round, today's round of golf was with the Bagel; a ski friend usually mentioned more often in the winter ski reports I post from Killington. Where I started in shorts and a fleece, the Bagel was in pants, which by the 3rd hole he had changed out of in favor of shorts as well. While temperatures today in Killington have struggled to reach the mid 60's, the bright sunshine certainly made it feel warmer on the fairways of the golf course.

Speaking of the coming winter, our weekend accomplice, Merisa, was quoted in an article on Liftopia titled "The East's Top 3 Most Livable Ski Towns. Liftopia picked Killington as Number 1! But you already knew that....

Where ever you may be .. there are still many weeks of good golf weather left, so keep it in the fairway...And if you don't favor golf, at least get out side and take in some of the fall foliage beauty of Vermont.

Breakfast view across Roaring Brook Valley from Birch Ridge Inn 

While there were a few who were in denial last week about the arrival of fall colors in Killington, looking out the window today should put down any doubts. The Roaring Brook Valley and Killington Basin area are coming alive with their annual show of fall colors.

Cool weather last night, with temperatures dipping to the low 40's high 30's have set the color in place. Scattered around the forests on the mountains of Killington, the early season maple trees are catching fire with a display of vibrant red. These are just the early trees to show fall colors, the signal trees so to speak, who announce the start of the fall season with their early show of fall color.

Reports from the area are indicating that broad changes are also taking place at lower elevations. Color is appearing west of Killington along Route 4 towards Rutland on the back side of Killington Peak and Pico Mountain. Guests have enjoyed the color along the Deers Leap hiking trail at the top of the Sherburne Pass on Route 4.

Temperatures the next couple of days at Killington will be in the upper 30's in the evening to mid 60's during the day. If you plan on visiting the area, this is definitely the season for layers. Although many locals are still in shorts (yours truly included), guests from states in the deep south have been seen breaking out their fleeces and heavier coats.

Where ever you may be .. there are still many weeks of good golf weather left, so keep it in the fairway...

Fall colors have arrived at Killington 

The Autumnal Equinox is upon us and the fall foliage around Killington is bearing it witness.

After an unseasonably warm day on Sunday, a cold front has swept through the area dropping temperatures in it's path. While it was too moist last night for a frost, the evening temperatures around Killington for the last few days did support frosts at higher elevations. Ground frost around the inn, at 1870 feet, has not yet occurred. But frost has been see at the tee tops around the inn, indicating that the frost line has been hanging around the 1900 foot level the last few days.

Foliage colors on the mountains around Killington are starting to develop nicely. The early maple trees are now showing fair to medium amounts of red in their leaves. When the sunlight hits them just right, you can also notice that the oak trees have started to rust, while the Birch trees are hinting yellow.

The color has a long way to go before it fully develops, but the process is clearly underway. From here on in, it is basically unstoppable, with more color expected to be showing in the foliage canopy every day for the next several weeks.

Hopefully you can get outside this fall to enjoy natures beauty pageant. Where ever you may be .. keep it in the fairway...and brush up on your club's local "Fall Leaf Rules" as you head off to the 1st tee.

Be a Spartan! 

The slopes of the Killington Resort will be full of people this weekend. No; there has not been a surprise snow storm and you missed the first day of ski season. Instead of sliding down snow covered ski trails, the people on the mountain this weekend will be running up and down hill, performing a variety of physical and mental tasks in the process, as part of the annual Spartan Beast Race at Killington, sponsored by Reebok.

The race is the "Spartan Race World Championship". Over 10,000 competitors from around the world are signed up to participate in the weekends events in Killington.

The Spartan Beast Obstacle Course for the race includes:
3.5 miles
13 miles battlefield of insane mud running
21 miles of obstacles designed to test physical strength and mental resolve
A collection of water crossings and other obstacles on the course that racers must navigate. (It's not all that scary. Athletes that cannot swim will be given personal floatation devices to negotiate any water obstacles set up on the course.)

And, if you want to get your children involved in this physically and mentally challenging event, there will also be a 1/2 mile and 1 mile Spartan course set up for Kid's races.

The race starts at 8:00 AM on Saturday Morning, September 20. Waves of 200 racers will be "released" on the course in 15 minute increments.

We hope that all who participate have a great race; and also take a little time out during the day to look at and enjoy the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont which surround the race course.

BTW: Yesterday, Mary and I had the privilege of playing in the "Look Out for Each Other" golf tournament at Green Mountain National Golf Course. Kudo's to Phil and Joy Black, and "Sneaky" Pete Mittendorf and the staff of the Lookout Tavern for hosting a great charity event to benefit many worthy causes in the Killington Community.

Wherever you may be the next few days.. keep it in the fairway...and brush up on your club's local "Fall Leaf Rules" as you head off to the 1st tee.

Too early to give up shorts. 

This morning when I woke up, I could not face to prospect of surrendering my Bermuda shorts for a pair of warm, comfortable, blue jeans. While I look forward to a long, cold, snowy winter, I am just not ready to put on the mid day working uniform that prevails over half of the year at Killington. I just won't do it!

The last couple of days at Killington highlight the coming change in the season. Cool (some visitors from the south would say cold) temperatures have descended across the mountains. Daytime high temperatures have been struggling to get out of the 50's. Night time temperatures have been heading to the low 40's. The weather forecasters are saying it is just a "short term" intrusion by cold air from the north, but we all know it is a harbinger of things to come as the season inevitably progresses from summer to fall.

The cool, damp, weather has basically locked in place the color progression of the local foliage. The temperatures have not been cold enough to make a difference, and the damp atmosphere is still nurturing the forest canopy. The depreciated sunshine caused by thick clod cover will have an effect in the long term, but for the mean time we are in a holding pattern.

Mary's flower gardens know something is going on. The cool moist temperatures have all of her flowers perking up as straight as can be; similar to flowers in a florist's refrigerator. Unfortunately, their days are numbered just like the foliage canopy of the forest. As long as the atmosphere stays moist, it will be difficult for a killing ground frost to develop. But it is only a matter of time.

So where does that leave us?

I will cling to my shorts as long as possible, and then some.

Chef Frizzie in the kitchen has already started to make the seasonal shift on the menu's. This week he has featured a collection of hearty chowders on the menu, aimed at satisfying restaurant guests searching for some solace with the demise of summer.

Never to be out done, of course, Mary has broken out her warm fleeces to wear around the inn. Her, em, "body mass" being a little less than mine, she needs to work a little harder to maintain her core body temperature. While I carry an extra layer of insulation with me at all times, she needs to head to the closet for insulation augmentation.

The cool temperatures we have seen the last couple of days are due to break early next week. Temperatures are due to rise again. While we will only hit the high 60's and low 70's with the next intrusion of warm air, it will feel like summer has returned once again to the Green Mountains, while we wait with anticipation for the return of winter.

Wherever you may be.. keep it in the fairway...And before you hit the course, you may want to look for a wind shirt or a sweater.

Hints of fall appearing around Killington 

With Fall foliage season right around the corner, it's time to take out the crystal ball and predict how vibrant Fall 2014 will be in the Green Mountains. Of course it is a swag, but it is also fun to "read the leaves" and guess what Mother Nature has in store.

This summer has been a cool one around Killington. Much to the consternation of Green Mountain Power, our air conditioning has been barely used(bringing a smile to Mary's face when she saw lower electricity bills for the inn).

Cool temperatures were also accompanied by a fairly normal amount of rainfall. We did have a lot of precipitation in May and June. In July and August we fell back to our normal pattern of late afternoon showers, which we are still seeing in early September.

What does this mean for fall foliage?

Basically, the long and short answer is that trees in the area had a fairly low stress growing season. As a result of cool summer temperatures and plenty of moisture the foliage canopy in the mountains around Killington has fully developed; looking quite heathy and robust.

Fall foliage at Killington in "normal" years peaks between October 3rd and October 6th. Lower elevations to the east (Woodstock) and west (Rutland) of Killington tend to peak a week later. North of Killington along the Route 100 corridor sees peak foliage earlier in the season. South and west of Killington along the Route 7 corridor generally peaks later.

Based upon this years summer, I would anticipate that peak color in Killington will fall towards the later end of the average, or even a few days after that.

Color development in the leaf canopy of the Green Mountains, with it's highly diverse combination of deciduous tree species (Oak, Maple, Birch, Popular), is complex. So let's keep the prediction simple.

Throwing a dart at the board, I would anticipate peak foliage colors in Killington between October 5th and October 8th this year. Unscientific, Ouija board analysis of course. Stay tuned to killingtonblog.com for updates as we progress though the season. From here on in, we will be posting a fall foliage picture of the changing colors around the inn every day.

And wherever you may be.. keep it in the fairway...