Ride Delaware ?

I’m not crazy enough to deal with that mayhem. Probably wait a week or so for it to die down and then hit it during the next snowmaking blitz.

It’s official. Ski season starts in the East on Friday. Killington opens at 10 for pass holders. Opening to the public Saturday. Walking both ways on the Led Zeppelin Musical Walkway…

They don’t show any Warren Miller down here in the first state, but the production Killington is getting on top of NR is looking really good. Very top near the bottom of the screen looks a little thin, but I think an opening tomorrow is possible unless they have the temps to run throughout the day and open on Friday with a solid groomed base. They’ve got 5 days of above freezing temps, and they hate opening and then closing, so they may want those extra production hours without any skiers.

One gun back on at the top of Reason, but nothing yet on Rime. Probably working their way down.

Looks like Killington had to stop due to curtailment. Early in the year and not very cold for that. That’s going to set them back…

I’ve read over on K-Zone a bit, and back in the 90s, they would have opened on that. Not now. If temps cool quick I still think a 2 PM opening is possible tomorrow, but now that an October opening is off the table, I’m guessing an official open on Thursday for SP holders and Ikon Pass holders.

Essentially they announce very last minute with no fan fare that they are opening late in the day for a couple hours. It’s been rare lately, but a decade or so ago, Killington and Sunday River often would post at 1:30 that they would be opening at 2 PM. Since it was only locals and it couldn’t be planned for, they could claim an earlier opening day and it wouldn’t beat up their snow too much. A lot of times it was free and they would hand you a ticket for liability reasons at the lift. You would often expect no grooming and operational snowguns. Nowadays Killington and Sunday River announce the day before and most of the time it’s groomed and half the time they turn off the guns and direct that capacity elsewhere. It’s often well attended as well.

Guns are going at Killington. Started later than I expected. Definitely no opening today. Looks like tomorrow afternoon soft opening is possible. Most likely opening to pass holders on Thursday if temps cooperate.

Legen - wait for it - dary…

I can’t believe it’s been 15 years since that CB trip. And I linked up with Justo and Root at a random spring trip at Hunter once too. Haven’t ridden much in PA outside a random Elk trip or two in probably 10 years. I’m taking a hiatus from ski patrolling this year, so I got the ikon pass and get some days at Blue and CB. If I can remember to bring my gear home, I’ll come up for a day or two. Did Nate Dogg log first chair in CO again this year? Snowmakers are out on the North Ridge webcam. Temps are probably hovering around freezing up top with temps at 38 in the base. Probably some mixed precip too. My in-laws in northern NH have a dusting on the ground already. Snowmaking temps look good for 2.5-3 days and then the next 10 look borderline. I’m thinking an opening on Wednesday with walking both ways on the stairway. I still wouldn’t be surprised if they have a surprise opening at 2 PM tomorrow so that they open in October. Debatable on whether they can stay open long term. It would be dicey…

I’m sure I’m way off. I couldn’t even hazard a guess…. Whose going after it?

Is Albrightsville where GSS did his infamous roadside skiing many many moons ago?

Got the skins ready to go?

Last gasp of summer until fall and winter really dig in…

I don’t think Killington is going to make Halloween, but a November 1 opening is still feasible. They will definitely open at some point next week. Doesn’t look like an extended cold spell hits until two weeks, and even then, t2b mountains like Mount Snow and Okemo probably won’t make it open with the warmer temps at lower elevations. Those dates above are historically accurate and probably realistic. The dominos will fall quickly once they start. Remember that time Big Boulder opened November 9th?

Winter is Coming

World Cup is back agin this year the weekend after Thanksgiving. People argue on K-Zone all the time whether it impacts early season terrain. The truth is that it does. When you’re pounding out Superstar, which is a wide trail and requires like a 3’ base for snow control, plus Skyelark or Bittersweet for training, that takes a lot of air and water, even if they do supplement with rented pumps. Regardless, even though the hike isn’t ideal, it really isn’t bad, and honestly, there’s usually some fantastic snow conditions up there. Helps to be 6 degrees colder than the base of K-1.

Take the long range forecast with a grain of salt, but it looks like temps change for the better October 30th up north. If forecasts hold, I wouldn’t be surprised if Killington starts making snow sometime in the afternoon on the 30th and have a soft unadvertised opening of old on the 31st at 2 PM just to claim the title of being open in October…

I guess I could say “free ride”, but free ski is generally an interchangeable term. I did try again a couple years ago. I’d love to do it, but it’s a lot of work changing disciplines at this point…

I only have crab grass and a crepe myrtle. No raking for me. I do have to shape all the landscaping for winter though…

Looks like this will be the first year I haven’t patrolled in 12 years. At the very least I’m taking a 1 year hiatus. There’s just too much going on for me to give 22 days for work in VT and still free ski. I can afford the pass, so I’m buying one. I’ll miss the camaraderie, but there’s always next year.

Still a little too early to tell, but it looks like the weather pattern changes for the better around the end of the month. We should start seeing New England resorts open the first week of November. If the forecast holds, Killington has a very small outside chance of hitting an October 31 opening. I’m sure they’d love that for their PR.

Obviously a little warmer down here. A couple nights in the upper 50s, but with it being warmer during the day, it hasn’t really gotten below 70 in the house yet. I’ve had to turn the heat on in the car a couple times with all these cool rainy dreary days, but the house is still on hold for now…. Winter is coming.

I feel like it’s been longer than that. 2 years isn’t that long ago. I’ll never catch up on all those posts…. I may disappear again. You never know.

This weather is terrible. It’s September 28th and we still aren’t skiing and riding in New England?