The Santas of the Birch Ridge Inn

Where ever you may be.... have a very Merry Christmas....

Let it snow!

Birch Ridge Inn draped in early morning snow. 

Killington skiers and riders were having their Christmas wishes answered early today as the area has been blanketed in a coating of snow.

Generally from 2 to 4 inches has covered the area with slightly larger amounts being reported at higher elevations. Snow started falling across the area late last night and has continued sporadically all day.

Forecasters are calling for snow showers to linger in the area for the next several days as a winter cold front descends upon the area from Canada. Temperatures are expected to be in the low to mid 20's, providing perfect conditions for Killington to re-fire their snow making system and expand skiable terrain across the resort.

Snow scenes from around Killington Vermont, December 23, 2011 Click image to stop rotation. Click again to resume rotation.

With just 2 days left until Christmas, the snow fall across the region is a welcomed gift from Mother Nature. Now if we could only have a couple of feet or more before heading into the new year...or maybe I am asking too much...

Where ever you may be as we head into Christmas weekend, have a happy holiday.... Let it snow!

Before and after pictures of the Killington Resort 

In the run up to the Christmas holidays, the Killington Resort dodged a bullet last night weather-wise. Yesterdays warm temperatures and r@!n showers decimated what little natural snow there was around town, but continuous snowmaking operations at the resort the last week appeared to have paid off.

Before and after pictures of the resort show that skiing and riding is still fully underway on a mix of beginner, intermediate, and expert terrain. From Snowdon to Snowshed, it looks like the resorts snow making plan from the last several weeks was enough to establish a stable base for skiing and riding over the upcoming holidays.

Temperatures in Killington today are slowly dropping, allowing any residual water in the snow pack some time to drain out before the onset of freezing temperatures this evening. Various weather services are predicting 2 to 4 inches of snow overnight. When combined with the snow that will be made by Killington's snow makers, one would expect that the terrain Killington has worked so hard to open over the last couple of weeks should be refreshed and ready to go for Christmas weekend. The current forecast calls for below freezing temperatures for the next week, which the resort should be able to put to good use to continue to make new snow.

Let it snow!

Snow guns covering Superstar with snow in the morning sun. 

At Killington we tend to think differently. I could have gone Christmas shopping today, but when I got up this morning there was a beautiful blue sky. Temperatures were in the low 20's with a "slight" breeze. Knowing that the resort has been making snow with the Christmas Holiday season fast approaching, it was the ideal day to go out and make some turns on the slopes.

The calendar says that winter officially starts at the end of this week. That means that historically this is the darkest week of the year, in terms of sunshine falling on the trails, of the winter season. And today lived up to that challenge. Arriving at the resort you were presented with the surreal man-made blizzard covering the area in fine, powdery, snow. With the sun just barely above the mountain peak, the shadows created a moody feeling. The faint of heart might have trepidation, but anyone who skies Killington regularly knows that the chaos the image paints just means that the resort is going all out to make as much snow as they can while they have the right conditions.

Snow at Killington Resort on December 19, 2011 Click image to stop rotation. Click again to resume rotation.

We started the day with a boost up to Killington Peak. Wind gusts at the peak were quiet strong, bouncing the gondola cabin a couple of times as we arrived at the upper terminal. The sun was shining brightly with nary a cloud in the sky, yet light snow was raining down, being swept up to the top of the mountain by the wind carrying the product of hundreds of snow guns working their magic around the resort. The North Ridge area, scene of basically all of the early season skiing and riding at Killington, was soft and velvety. Upper East Fall, basically in the shadows the whole way except for far skiers left, was nicely consistent. There were a couple of "death cookies" in the middle of the trail; their origin however was a puzzle since there were not any visible craters from which they could have erupted. Rime under the lift was the best it has been all season. Light skier traffic this morning did not erode the surface. We did it several times in the early morning, and then later in the day. Every time it was nice.

On the Skye Peak side of the resort, Superstar is seeing aggressive snow making from top to bottom. A very strong downslope wind was present at the top. Mary briefly thought she lost me on the traverse over to Sky Lark as I appeared to dip below the horizon of the upper Superstar Headwall on my traverse across the top of Sky Peak. I explained to her that I was doing an old sailing trick, tacking into the wind, to propel me across the mountain. It took her a minute, then she realized I had my arms spread apart with my jacket like a sail when she last saw me on the headwall, so it sort of made sense. (All I know is that it works!)

Upper Sky Lark was very chunky, the product of a snow groomer cutting up the crust left by wet snow guns last week. A couple of more grooming cycles and they will be all broken up, leaving a smooth surface in their place. Upper Bittersweet still was roped off, although there looked like there was adequate snow cover for skiing and riding. I would guess the rope will drop on Upper Bittersweet in the next couple of days, if not sooner.

The run of the day was probably Lower Bittersweet. Lower Bittersweet was very dark in the shadows cast by the mountain, but the snow surface once you got below the junction with High Road was beautifully soft. It was a definite do over.

Killington is continuing their snow making operations full bore as we prepare for the Christmas Holidays... Now, how do I find time for Christmas Shopping? Let it snow!

Ruts and the Bagel on their first 2011/2012 ski day at Killington 

With the warm wet weather we had yesterday, it was with much trepidation that I agreed to go with my friends, Ruts and the Bagel, on their first ski adventure at Killington for the 2011/2012 season. After a few runs, we were all surprise at how well the mountain was skiing. Below you will find a video on Youtube with a little vignette about our adventure...Enjoy!

......Let it snow!

Roof repairs being completed at Birch Ridge earlier this week. 

Mother Nature pulls on the string all the time. We all like to think we can control her. The Killington Resort continuously makes snow when Mother Nature comes up a little short. I spend hours behind my snow blower when Mother Nature throws those of us lucky enough to live at the ski resort a bone. In the end, it all hopefully balances somewhere between the "Around the World" and "Sleeper".

Today is not a bluebird day at Killington. Temperatures at the inn are running above freezing, and it's a little damp. At least it's not r@!ning at this point, although there is the occasional sprinkle of NCP (Acronym refresher - NCP non-crystalline precipitation). Today's warm up was predicted (hey - the weathermen got one right!). It will be interesting to see if the prediction for colder temperatures for the next week that was in the same weather forecast holds true. Assuming it does, then the resort, with its enormous snow making capacity, should be in good shape going into the Christmas Holiday week.

Around the inn we are continuing final preparations for Christmas. The decorations are pretty much set. The Christmas tree is just slurping up water, as freshly cut trees tend to do. The last of the Hurricane Irene damage has been fixed (I think). We had some latent roof damage that was discovered 2 weeks ago when the roof was covered with snow. Thank you to the brave roofers who went up on the icy roof to locate and repair the damage. So we are in good shape. Now if Mother Nature will just cover the roof again with snow! What's a few hours behind a snow blower between friends.....

Let it snow!!!

Dr Lyons coaxing the ivory keys for some Christmas Carols. 

You know you are blessed when people who were once complete strangers are now good friends.

Mary and I were reminded once again last night that moving to Killington many years ago was the right choice for us. We had the pleasure of attending our good friends, Dick and Noel Gluck's, annual Christmas party with a lot of mutual friends from the Killington community. With Dr. Lyons on the piano leading the group in Christmas Carols, it was a nice night with delicious food, a few tasty "adult beverages', and great company. It is always a great party to lead into the holiday season.

Let it snow!!!