Killington — March 4

I am up at Killington for my annual father-daughter ski and ride trip with my daughter Allison. We arrived late Sunday afternoon and by the time we were done with dinner, it was snowing. And it snowed all night leaving behind 3 or 4 inches of snow.

The crowd factor was pretty typical for a weekday. No wait at any lift except the K-2 gondola, which had maybe 10 or 15 people in front of us the really busy time we took it to the summit. Lift lines at the other lifts were nonexistent.

First Run

Our first run of the day was Great Eastern, summit to base, non-stop. Despite being a beginner trail, with no one on it in front of you, and if you just point the skis down, it can be a fun ride. And it’s a great way to wake up those leg muscles. From there we roamed all over the resort, and there is plenty of space to roam around.

It was snowing lightly when we broke for lunch about noon. And the snow simply kept coming on heavier and heavier throughout the afternoon. Our last few runs of the day, over at Ramshed, were through untracked powder an inch or two deep along the edges of the trails.

At days end, the view from the Long Trail Pub was such that we could not see even halfway up the beginner slope as Snowshed. It was dumping snow at a prodigious rate.

Needless to say it was an incredible day on the hill. According to Allison’s tracking device, we skied more than 25 miles and over 31,000 vertical feet with top speeds of about 40 miles per hour. I honestly don’t know if the numbers are impressive or not, but we sure had lots of fun making them.

Incredible Conditions

Bottom line is that conditions are absolutely incredible up here in ski country. Killington was 100% open. All 155 trails ready for someone to play on. It really can’t get any better than that. Toss in the new Snowdon 6-pack bubble lift, a few new tunnels on Great Northern to remove those previously nasty congestion areas, and Wow! is the word.

My recommendation is to come get some of this stuff. Luckily enough, Avie’s Ski / Sports is running a ski and ride bus trip up here to Killington this coming Wednesday, March 13th. Remember, March is historically the snowiest month in Vermont. And conditions are already phenomenal.

Tomorrow we head south. But there is a stop at Okemo on the way. That helps reduce the separation anxiety that I am sure both Allison and I will have leaving this incredibly snowy, incredibly fun winter playground.

I’ll be sure to update you on conditions at Okemo, where they got even a bit more snow than that which fell up here in Killington. In the meantime, check your schedule, then free it up so you can be on the bus to Killington next Wednesday,

AlanD