Skivt2

Killington still skiing for the next few weeks at least. Had a few good runs today in the afternoon once it softened.

Fun skiing the April powder day at killington! Very tricky conditions since what is underneath is so suspect in many places. But good to get that floaty feeling again.

Typical millennial. You do know the youngest boomer was born in 1963.

Yickes. Out for lunch turns at Pico from 12:30-1:45. It looked really threatening and the wind picked up just as we were headed in. By the time I logged in to my 2pm meeting it was pouring and dark. We joked a little about it being too dangerous on the last lift ride. Maybe it was.

A bad season in Vermontvis one where the glades and natural snow trails are not skiable at all during the season. We have seen that. In 15-16 Pico opened on 1/6 and closed on 3/14. We never got in the woods nor on our favorite natural snow trails. Never the less Killington skied superstar until Memorial Day. So a bad winter is low snowfall interspersed with rain events that wash away the snow every time it falls. That is what a ratter looks around here.

Killington always goes to 3 days a week starting the first weekend in May. It’s Friday-Sunday. And as you know it’s important to understand that it’s certainly not consistent with the normal resort skiing culture. It becomes sort a study in deviant behavior by a core group of obsessive skiers. Mostly the same people gather there in May each year from all over New England. It’s sort of an oddball tribe often referred to by the participants as “Land of the misfit toys” etc. Many folks will show up at 8 and ski until 10 on the groomed strip of snow then tailgate or go home to do yard work. Others wait until the snow softens and the bumps are “ready” before they start skiing. The lifts run until 5.

It’s no gimmick. It’s one of the highlights of the season. They used to go into June but now tend to try for June 1st. Here is the group picture from the top after last chair. Lots of good peeps in this photo.

There’s 30’ of snow on superstar as usual.

Killington always stays open until Memorial Day. Generally until June 1st.

It’s a shame this is your first winter here and it’s so unseasonably warm and snowless in March. The other folks here are right. You will soon adjust your expectations of how long mid ski season length should be. This is not typical. I ski the week of st Patrick’s day every year and I have plenty of pictures to prove that we often get massive amounts of snow here in March. In 2017 and 2018 we had 40”+ weeks that week. I think 1993, 2001 and 2011 as well. March is usually a pretty solid winter month. What you are experiencing is typical mid-late April skiing here. It happens every few years but it’s not typical to have spring skiing like this so early here. Fortunately The man made snow holds up very well. Even with this crazy stretch of warm dry weather Followed by snow killing rain, there will be skiing well into May here.

Day 71 today and it was beautiful. Skied in a long sleeve T-shirt, sunglasses and spring ski pants and it was still warm sitting on the chair in the late afternoon sun. It really does feel like late April though and that has me worried about terrain loss early. Thursday into Friday could really take out the natural snow trails and woods for the season. It’s been remarkable with the dry air how the pack is holding up. It’s still a bit icy under the corn with some angles and shady spots refusing to corn much at all. Hopefully we get through the end of the week and get a restorative storm and some cold nights in the next few weeks. I’d really like to hit 100 days again this year. Superstar does have a pretty good pile. Hopefully enough to make it to mid May at least. That would make it easy to reach the goal.

Beautiful day. Bumps and trees in sunny spots. Still pretty firm in others.

All so true. Everything was perfect today and it’s just the beginning of some of the best skiing of the year. The FB memories of this week in 2017 and 2018 reminded me of what it can also be like this time of the year with the giant snowstorms. I think we got 47” in a 4 day period or something in 2018. But I will take soft bumps with all the usual suspects. Glory days are here. What we missed last year.

Today was phenomenal. Softened just enough to make things fun. Looking forward to a bunch of great spring skiing days over the next couple months.

Killington blew a bunch of snow all over the mountain this past week. There are mini piles of snow like the big superstar piles on other trails. I’ve never seen them do that before. It seems like they must have a goal of keeping more terrain open longer. It’s hard to say but as big as superstar is, it might be slightly smaller then past years.

We still have the pack. Everything is mostly covered on the hill but we need a storm or some upslope every day for a bit to fix this. Skied some woods Thursday but a tad spongy. Today the summit never softened with the wind blowing across the face. The bottom stiffened right up this afternoon. Still have full coverage but it’s going to be crunchy and loud unless we get something to create a cushion.

March and April are actually two of my favorite months to ski. Often we are really just getting started with glory days. Generally we are looking at snow or sun and warmth. The pack is deep. Lots for groomers to work with so even the cold dry period are fun fast days with lots of terrain.

Funny I did not think it was that cold today either. But I skied 2-4. And I am at Pico. Maybe just completely different here. There is some nice snow in the low angle woods if you are careful of anything that looks crunchy.

They must be my neighbors. Yesterday it rained from 2-2:30 pretty hard. Then froze last night. It’s really the first time things did not exactly go our way. But then again I think we dodged a bullet because it looked like it was going to rain for longer when looking at it earlier in the day.

Yes. It’s one of the deepest packs I’ve seen in my decades of hanging out here at Killington. The woods are Very deep for here. I actually started worrying about the lack of freeze thaw because I’ve seen spring bring spongy unskiable woods. But it’s starting to solidify which should help with retention and spring conditions. Although it would be great to avoid the eastern hardpack we have going on now, we could have the opportunity for keeping this pack, getting it to a slightly more solid long lasting condition, and then getting a big dump on top of that. I think most folks here would be looking at a very highly ranked winter here with that scenario.

It is not just snowing often in VT. Occasionally it is not snowing but most of the time it is. Once you have this much snow it’s nice to just have it constantly snowing. Lol

Ahhh. My apologies. Yes. No need for a sharp ski right now. lol

I don’t know where you ski but there have been a lot of powder days this year. We have had no freeze thaw cycle and the only place you will find any loud snow at all is the groomers with man made where the wind or skiers have blown or scraped the natural snow off.

Yup. When you are skiing in a mesh bug proof jacket and head net and you need a nice sunscreen/bug dope combo to protect your skin you park a gallon of water at the bottom of the lift and make sure you have something salty in your pocket for a snack. It could be 80 and sunny or snowing and it could also thunder and pour rain at any minute. I don’t miss a day once Killington goes to 3 days a week in May. Nothing like carrying your skis on and off a moving lift and having to hike to get to the snow. Protip.....the black flys are worst where the mud meets the snow and you have to stop hiking and put your skis on. And those F’rs will bite through the vents in your helmet. I know mud season skiing well. I’m a slush specialist lol.

My favorite time in VT but I’m a bump skier.