Ride Delaware ?

SallyCat may have beaten me to the mountain this year, but I snagged the “first separately posted trip report” of the season...

Today marked the earliest day I’ve been on snow by 4 days. As usual, my wife and I got a later jump on the day than we had hoped, but we were still able to get on snow, and that’s all that really matters. We rolled into the Killington parking lot about 12:15 to t2b snow guns running on Superstar despite 36 degree temperatures. Seeing SallyCat’s post, I was afraid it would be busy, but the crowds had mostly dispersed. We snagged our lift tickets for $59 ($6 cheaper than last year), and hit the gondola. Please keep in mind that Killington has switched to RFID, so that price doesn’t include the $5 rechargeable lift card. The temperature at the top was 29 degrees, and the snow guns were still running full tilt. They have finally moved some guns to Great Northern off of the gondola to start connecting to the NRT so you don’t have to hike down. If they get another 24 hour window this week, that should be skiable, but they only had a dusting down while we were there. The hike down was shorter than I remembered. It’s a little more work, but truth be told, it’s worth it to be riding on October 22nd. As is expected this time of year, all open terrain had snowmaking in progress. Our first run was down Rime. This was the only open section where the guns were relatively dialed in. I stayed mostly to skiers right, but no snow stuck to my goggles and the snow on the ground was fairly dry. However, below Great Northern was a different story. The snow continually coated the goggles and the snow was very wet. A decent bump line formed outside the snow gun radius and provided for some fun turns however. Next we decided to hit Reason to East Fall. While Rime only had every other snow gun running, Reason and East Fall had them all going. The difference in snow quality was obvious immediately. Every gun on those trails was running wet and made it difficult to see and turn. Reason only had 2-3 features at the bottom near Great Northern. I would imagine that they will add a couple more for the weekend as they are able. We ended up doing 9 runs, most of them on Rime. Overall, it was great to be back on snow. They had decent base depths and should be able to weather any small warmup. I would expect traffic on the stairway to be one way by the weekend. It wasn’t the best early season day I have had at Killington, but when you put into perspective that it is October 22nd, you realize that it’s all pretty good. The hike back up the stairway was very manageable and definitely worth the product they were putting out. It was a good start to what hopefully ends up being a great season. FYI: Snowdon Six Pack and it’s associated trail work and tunnel work seems to be significantly behind schedule. Since that is the early season route to the bottom, it may need to be altered. They can’t make snow there right now, so I wonder how that will effect their next moves.

I was there maybe 3-4 years ago. I was able to go on Lookout. There were a couple inches of fresh when I was there. It’s definitely fun, but I felt like I kept finding myself on the same trail run after run. Plus, I found the glade coverage to be pretty poor despite a decent amount of snow previous to my trip. I would go back, I just think that he is going to find better bang for his buck elsewhere in terms of a full package.

It’s tough to say. Almost every mountain has its positives and negatives. Stowe is more expensive, but it’s got great infrastructure, snowmaking, and consistently more natural snow than Killington. That also makes it easier to find quality woods runs that aren’t on a map. Killington has similar snowmaking, but less natural snow. However, they maintain their on map glades better than Stowe, so they don’t need as much snow. Both places are going to be packed on weekends. However, Killington has Pico, and it’s easy to avoid crowds there and still rack up runs since they have HSQs t2b. The other benefit to Killington is that it is huge. You could easily spend days there without too much overlap.

Sally, if you head back down into the fray, I’m wearing a blue jacket, dark blue pants, black helmet, and teal goggles. My wife is in a purple jacket and black pants. Say hello!!!

I’m in the parking lot at K-Mart right now. About to head up. TR to follow.

Salty, if you often ski on a budget and like to get to VT, you should look into the VT Ski 4 pass put out by Ski Vermont. It sells out very quickly each year, but 4 tickets (each ticket can only be used at one mountain) for $175 (iirc) is a steal. Usually comes out early to mid October. Whiteface is overrated in my opinion. Unless the conditions are stellar, it gets repetitive, it’s cold, and it’s out in the middle of nowhere. Stowe is awesome, but due to the Epic pass, powder days can be packed, and it’s definitely not a budget friendly place. Killington is packed on weekends, but relatively manageable on weekdays. If it’s a Thursday or Friday, Pico is a diamond in the rough. Lots of terrain, good snowmaking, and lots of fun woods. Sometimes you can find a deal too.

Mount Snow is apparently pounding the mountain, but announced they won’t open this weekend. They have had significantly less run time than Killington. The most likely early season player for Peaks is Wildcat, but they have to go t2b on a 2k plus vertical mountain with a decent (not great) snowmaking system. I see them as getting open next weekend at the earliest. Weather might be ok up there for round the clock a couple days next week.

I couldn’t imagine running a business like that. Constant repairs. Low margins. Constantly trying to one up the competition.

That would be the earliest Big Boulder has ever opened. It seems unlikely. I still think the week before Thanksgiving at the earliest. Isn’t it supposed to be warmer this November?

Luckily we opted for a smaller boat of 2,000 people and hardly felt crowded. It’s the perfect size, even in the boat lacks some of the newer amenities. We saw the Allure of the Seas in port on the last day, and I think that one holds 6,300 people. It is massive. I couldn’t imagine being with that many people...

We went on a cruise out of Miami to Cuba, Belize, and Mexico. It wasn’t my first cruise. It won’t be my last. Great relaxing time.

I’ll still do my best to post some original trip reports when I run off to Quebec again this year...

Killington has officially announced they open Friday to Season Pass Holders and Card Holders. Let it begin...

Everything is a crapshoot this time of the year in New England. Every mountain other than Killington relies on a significant cold blast to get open. If you see a couple days of around the clock snowmaking close to a weekend, that is when they will open. If it’s marginal snowmaking temps, Killington will be the only option. Being able to make snow at the top AND having a higher peak elevation easily gives them a 6-9 degree temperature advantage over other mountains that have to make snow to the base in order to open.

More like late spring, but we just went on our honeymoon. I’m eager to get some of my work projects done and get to snowboarding, even if my work projects will force me to ride less this year. At least, that’s what I’m expecting...

I have heard of these mythical passes. We used to have two of them at SR for the whole mountain because of their association with Ski Maine. I used them once in a failed attempt to hit Saddleback on a powder day. That’s too good a deal to pass up. They are much more useful in VT than Maine. Much better options for big mountains. My wife’s brother patrolled at Suicide Six. He enjoyed patrolling but said their patrol culture just wasn’t for him. Not a knock on Suicide Six, but like I said, you have to find a mountain that works for you. Patrolling will definitely make you a better skier. Being on snow every day and not being able to avoid terrain and conditions you normally would skip is very helpful to your skill set.

I’m going to take this the complete opposite direction. I would never instruct. I have zero patience. I wouldn’t want to check in. I don’t need a culture where everyone is comparing who is best and who has good technique and who sucks balls. However, I do volunteer as a ski patroller, and I love it. Yes, you have to have a certification (OEC is the National Ski Patrol’s cert, but many mountains allow a WFR or EMT and after a year experience will let you “challenge” the OEC instead of taking the full course). It requires you to do a one day refresher each year to keep yourself valid. All mountains are different with regards to ALL aspects of their patrol. I am required to put in 22 days in a year, but I receive passes for all my dependents and I receive a comp ticket for friends for each day. We patrol out of the top of the mountain and are free to ski as long as someone is at the top of the mountain to respond to calls. We rotate run by run and are able to take a run with family and friends if coverage is adequate. We are a working patrol, so we often find ourselves cutting trees, marking hydrants and obstacles, moving snowmaking equipment, and helping injured guests. Lots of the time we just hang out at the top of the mountain. The patrol family is very similar to the PASR family. I do it mostly for the camaraderie. It’s basically just hanging out and BSing with good friends all day. As stated before, all patrols are different. I would suggest talking to patrol members or even “interning” for a day to get a good feel for what the mountain is like. I know some mountains that require members to get further NSP training (senior certification and higher). Mine does not. I know some that don’t really let you ski on the clock. They want you at the top in order to respond. This is more likely in PA because there are so many people getting hurt in a small area. I also know of mountains that respond from the bottom on a snowmobile. It’s really not much work, and once you have the certification you need, it really is easy on a year to year basis.

Killington and SR fired up the guns in earnest last night. Looks like a decent window starting Wednesday night through early Friday and then Saturday night through early next week. I think Killington opens Friday to pass holders and the general public Saturday. Hike to and from the top of the NRT.

I like to try all sorts of mountains of all sorts of sizes. It wouldn’t be worth a designated trip, but if I could “swing” by on my way to or from VT, I would give it a shot... I met some of the patrollers from there two years ago at the OEC refresher at Montage, and they seemed to have fun there. That’s all that really matters.

It really depends on what your definition of “early” season skiing and riding is. If you want a couple extra weeks, then Killington (maybe SR) is going to be your best bet. Once Killington opens, they stay open unless the snow doesn’t cooperate. Sunday River is usually only weekends until they can get off Barker. In a typical pre WC year, I would say that Killington is going to be your best option. They have a better climate than any of the other early season VT players. The stairway allows them to open earlier. They are aggressive down to the base and expand quickly. Unfortunately, since the WC was brought on, the early season offering has really suffered. The WC course remains their number one priority, and they push all excess capacity to Superstar to ensure they have the snow. 5 years ago they would have half of NR lit up at once. Now it is basically one trail at a time. That being said, due to the elevation, the snow quality is usually excellent. However, the lift line will always be a madhouse on weekends until they are t2b. In short, if you want to extend your season, go to Killington in October/early November. If you’re looking for the best option after the first sustained cold spell in November, head somewhere else until the WC is over. They will likely be t2b before Killington on multiple routes.

They would be running a spur line off the pipeline so Blue could build a power plant to feed the hot springs spa and the hotel/other improvements. That’s what the last article I read said at least.

Has there been any movement this year on the hotel or water park? Are these dead in the water, or still moving through regulatory agencies? The water park up top makes perfect sense due to the view. Why not scale back the hotel at the top and move it back a little from the AT and then build a larger hotel at the base where it’s flat and has less issues?

I wouldn’t be surprised if she keeps running it as a retirement plan and just lets the GM do everything. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Camelback owners bought it, sold the resort land, leased back the operations, and then developed it like Camelback. They are making a mountain of dough out of a molehill.

If Vail bought Peaks, they wouldn’t keep these. They would keep the real resorts like Attitash, Wildcat, Mount Snow, and Hunter. They would probably spin the PA mountains off into a different company and sell it.