A very quick update. Our phone and internet connections have not been reliable, so I am keeping this short. I will provide a more detailed update with pictures in the coming days.

The Birch Ridge Inn survived the hurricane with minimal damage. The physical building is ok. We still need to do roof checks, etc, but first pass is good. Landscaping around the inn is going to take some time to clean up. On the plus side, the system of drainage control ditches we installed behind the inn during construction in 1997 did the job they were designed for and protected the building from the torrent of water washing down the mountain. On the minus side, they sacrificed themselves, dumping a lot of silt into the landscaped area behind the inn, which will require a some work to repair.

The driveway to the inn now has a drainage canal instead of a drainage ditch. The little ditch, which for years has successfully coped with spring runoff, is now a chasm about 6 feet wide and 4 to 5 feet deep alongside the driveway. Otherwise, except for intermittent power, telephone, and cable, everything else at the inn is fine.

From a staff side, we have spoken with most of the people who work for us. Communications is difficult, but everyone we have contacted is ok. We are all very lucky.

Around Killington, not so good. While most structures in town are fine, many along the Roaring Brook, and the Ottaquechee River have been severely damaged or destroyed. All roads leading into Killington, Route 4 East and West and Route 100 North and South are cut. Bridges are out around the state. Culverts used to carry little streams under roadbeds are now big fissures. It is quite stunning the power of rain water.

We do have some nice guests at the inn who have managed quite well though the last few days. Over the next few days, as communications out of the area stabilize, and after we have finished helping our neighbors, we will be reaching out to guests who have bookings at the inn in the near term to figure out travel plans.

While we survived Hurricane Irene, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have been less fortunate. The people of Killington Vermont are resilient. We will all get through this!

Driving the ball on hole 12 at Green Mountain National Golf Course. 

Just a beautiful day in Killington for a round of golf. Temperatures in the low 70's, a light breeze, and a sky filled with puffy white clouds capping the mountain tops. We have a few more days like this left this summer.

After some brief but torrential rain storms yesterday, today was just perfect for a round of golf. The rain left the course damp, so there was not a lot of roll. But it also left the greens soft, allowing plenty of opportunity to challenge todays pin placements.

You can definitely tell that the season is about to change. Temperatures last night dipped to the low 50's, resulting in the heat coming on at the inn for the first time in several months. At the golf course, Dr J, the starter, looked like he was dressed for winter. When comments were made about his wardrobe, he replied that he was at the course at 6:30 AM to get it open. There was not "frost delay" but it was "pretty chilly". Of course, most of us in Killington will take "chilly" over "hot and humid" any day.

Where ever you may be, keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sun screen!

Visit the full Birch Ridge Inn website at birchridge.com.

Over the last week, I have completed the system wide redesign of our inns website, birchridge.com. The prior site architecture was designed about 5 years ago, which in the world of the internet is about 2 lifetimes ago. While being very robust (I am a degreed software engineer after all), the design was showing its wear around the edges, especially as visitors to birchridge.com use more devices than just their personal computers to access the site. The new site is architected to take advantage of emerging HTML5 standards, and to be very adaptable to end user devices, be they smart phones, tablets, netbooks, laptops, or pc's. Bottom line, if a person is interested in discovering information about the Birch Ridge Inn, our web site needs to be able to adapt to their device, not the other way around.

In the intervening time since the last change in site architecture, web design practices have changed dramatically. In the old architecture, as in the architecture of this blog you are reading, much of the custom scripting I designed and implemented directly. Because of the widespread proliferation of devices and standards, I based the new architecture on a "Frameworks" to help isolate the software written for the site from the devices displaying the site. I did not make the leap all the way to using a standard "Content Management System" as I wanted to continue to maintain flexibility over the design. I did investigate a number of CMS's prior to starting the redesign effort. While I would seriously consider developing websites for clients using them, I found using a javascript frameworks was a better approach for this go around in the design.

Some of the new features of the site are interchangeable access between the full site and our mobile site, m.birchridge.com., direct access to this blog, and to our Facebook page. Custom drop down menus are carried over from the old architecture and supported on most pages. A "breadcrumb" feature, just above the drop down menus, was added to help guests navigate around the site. Custom photo galleries, like the photo gallery on the home page, can be supported throughout the site. I have also tried to make it easier for guests to check availability at the inn. After all, the purpose of the whole exercise was to help people book rooms and dinner at Birch Ridge, not just to make a pretty web site.

I have many more weeks of work on the site as we swing into fall foliage season and get ready for winter. But, even though today was a rain out in the morning in the mountains, we will also make sure that we get outside often for day hikes; and probably chase a little white ball down some fairways for a few more weeks while the weather permits.

Where ever you may be, keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sun screen!

Killington Peak - basking emerald green in the August sun. 

....thinking about what to do this weekend?

There really isn't any other choice... Killington and the Green Mountains are just resplendent in August. And there is a lot "to do". On the mountain, the "Cooler in the Mountains" series features Vermont based jam band Twiddle. The concert starts at 3:30 on Saturday at the K1 Base Lodge.

The Circus is also in town.....no not the clowns who represent us in Washington. Thankfully they are all in Iowa this weekend. No it's "Circus Smirkus" at Pico Mountain with shows on Sunday and Monday. "Circus Smirkus", now in its 23 year, is a traveling youth circus designed to inspire young people to engage in life-changing adventures.

This weekend is also the 50th birthday of "Art in the Park" hosted by the Chaffee Art Center in Main Street Park in Rutland. The Chaffee Art Center was built by George Thrail Chaffee, the eponymous great grand father to the skier Suzy Chaffee. "Art in the Park" brings artists from all over the north country to Rutland to show their work in a juried exhibition. Roughly 80 artists working in all different types of media and materials will be on hand for "Art in the Park".

And of course, if you want something a little more participatory than attending a concert, a circus, of an art show...the mountain with its peaceful hiking trails awaits. Or you can chase the little white ball down the fairways on any of the 18 golf courses within a 30 minute drive of Killington...or paddle a kayak on Kent Pond...or...

So much to do... so little time. Where ever you may be, keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sun screen!

Are you spartan tough? 

About 2000 competitors are heading towards Killington this weekend to participate in the first of its kind "Spartan Beast Race" at Killington.

For a little background, the Spartan Race Series is an offshoot of the popular "Death Race" held each year at Aimee Farm in Pittsfield VT. The concept is for competitors to be challenged by a obstacle course where personal injury risks are non-zero. In theory, it requires physical endurance, plus some brain power, to solve the course.

How the Spartan Race will play out at Killington is anyones guess as it is the first time for the event. Race officials are creating obstacles which are visible all over the mountain. Ranging from simple barriers to mud pits and more, modern day Spartans will be in for a challenge just running up and down the slopes of Killington.

In addition to the Spartans taking over the mountain, the "Cooler In the Mountains" Concert series features "Badfish, a tribute to sublime" this weekend. The concert starts at 3:30 PM at the K1 Base Lodge.

It all should make for an interesting weekend at Killington.

Where ever you may be, keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sun screen!

News about the Town of Killington 

Monday night Killington voters made history! A broad coalition of voters, for the second time in as many months, decided to change how future matters of town government will be decided.... by the ballot box.

Killington, like all towns in Vermont, is governed by a Town Meeting concept. Since being incorporated 250 years ago, Killington has held an annual town meeting where citizens get together and discuss/vote on town issues. Votes were taken "from the floor". A citizen needed to be in attendance, otherwise they could not vote. It did not matter if you were a fireman out saving someone's life, a member of the military defending people lives, or just some working adult trying to make a living. If you were not in attendance, you did not have the right to vote on any town issue.

And now that has all changed.

Over a series of 3 floor votes taken in the gymnasium of the Killington Elementary School, citizens of the town decided that future votes on the town budget, articles/initiatives up for consideration at town meeting, and elected officials will now all be done using an "Australian Ballot" , better know as "Secret Ballot", system.

At a special town meeting in May, Killington voters had initially approved using an Australian Ballot to decide future town issues. However, as allowed by Vermont Statutes, that vote was formally challenged by 48 voters, who petitioned Killington's Selectboard to bring the decision up for reconsideration. As the number of citizens requesting reconsideration was greater than 5% of the registered voters in town, and since the matter was one of town governance, the Selectboard was required to call a separate special town meeting to reconsider the matter.

Once again, the majority of town voters in attendance agreed that changing the way voting is conducted in Killington was the right and proper thing to do. By a vote of 164 to 79, voters agreed that town budgets should be approved based upon Australian Ballot. By a vote of 162 to 69, voters agreed that all public questions should be decided by Australian Ballot. By the time the 3rd vote took place, the moderator called for a voice vote which approved future elections of town officials to be conducted by Australian Ballot.

The vote was historic for a number of reasons. Clearly, changing how voting is conducted makes history. But also, the tenor of the town as exemplified by those who attended the meeting was one of moderation. A broad coalition of working people, business people, and retired people all came together to do the right thing and make sure that every citizen in Killington has the right to vote on town governance. How that right will be exercised in the next 250 years of Killington is anyones guess. But at least Killington residents are now truly free to participate as full town citizens, no matter where they may be on town meeting day.

Where ever you may be, keep it in the fairway, and don't forget your sun screen!

Killington Peak - major changes underway 

Summer time is always a period at Killington where change takes place. During the winter season the attentiveness to guests required by the level of business in the area, combined with the winter elements, make any substantive changes problematic. But in the summertime, while the mass of humanity is watching "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel from their beach houses on Cape Cod, the Hamptons, of the Jersey Shore, changes take place in Killington.

In April, the Killington Resort announced their plans to replace the aging building on Killington Peak. The building was originally constructed as a Gondola Station, but more recently used as a base lodge and restaurant (although it is at 4200 feet) serving typical resort hamburger cuisine. Mother Nature and peoples tastes ravaged the building. Rightfully so, the Killington Resort recognized that change was required. And change we shall have.

Over the last 2 weeks, work crews have been taking aim at the peak lodge with various tools suited for high altitude demolition. This last week, after stripping the inside of the building of it's contents, the process began to tear down the building. The face of Killington will be forever changed. (My friend over at "Tales from a Female Ski Bum" has some good pictures of the demolition, if you are interested in the seeing the entrails of the Peak Lodge building being carted away for recycling.)

Killington Peak over the years. Click image to stop rotation. Click again to resume rotation.

Or course, change is important.... and in the case of the Killington Peak Lodge it is down right necessary. But while I was looking through some of the photos I have taken over the years we have lived in Killington, it hit me that a familiar icon that I have lived beside for a significant portion of my adult life, is undergoing a transition that will change it forever. The millions of photos that people have taken of Killington Peak since it became a major east coast destination ski resort over 50 years ago will now be "nostalgic" and "historic" versus "contemporary".

And I am ok with that.

It will be an interesting process over the next couple of years watching the landscape of Killington Peak being reshaped to a new vision which will dominate the local area for the next 50 years. The familiar will become the new. We will adapt as a new normal is being established.

The above photo gallery of Killington Peak is but a fraction of the pictures I have in my library. I hope you enjoy.

Where every you may be...stay cool, don't forget your sunscreen, and keep it in the fairway!