Killington 10-27-16

[Ride Delaware ?]

I'll try to make this shorter than yesterday's report.  

 

I was pretty much resigned to snowboarding alone today, but I went out to have drinks last night with some friends from patrol, and one of them was interested in splitting a 2 for 1 with me down at Killington today.  I had a couple things to do this morning, so I picked her up at about 10 AM and hit the road.  The road was clear and we rolled into the KBL parking lot around 11:15.  We booted up in the parking lot, snagged our tickets, and were on the gondola just after 11:30.  

 

The parking lot seemed to be a little less crowded than yesterday, but the lack of crowds was much more evident on skiable terrain.  There was even less of a lift line today than yesterday and the trail was never crowded.  The weather was much nicer yesterday.  Temperatures were very similar today vs yesterday, but with the storm approaching, the wind had kicked up and the top of the mountain was in a cloud.  They added Upper East Fall to the lineup today to give us some new terrain.  There were still guns going on Rime and Upper East Fall.  

 

Rime was in better shape today than yesterday.  They had groomed it overnight and reduced the bump line.  With the reduced crowds, it was much easier to build some speed and cruise on it.  Although almost everyone was sporting a slight glaze on their jackets, most of that seemed to be coming from 3-4 guns just above the bottom of the lift.  Reason had received some new snow overnight, but it still had the same setup as yesterday.  It looked like they had pulled the guns out on the trail to hit skiers right where the features were, so skiers left was day old crusty snow.  It was still fun, but not the same surface as yesterday.  Lastly, Upper East Fall opened and it had been groomed overnight.  Usually it is opened without grooming, so this was a treat.  They had the guns going on skiers left, but the side to hit was skiers right where there were no visibility issues and some slight blow over.  

 

We hit up 10 runs in about two hours until my friend was ready to go.  The natural snow started to fall as we were leaving.  Speaking of fall, I took my first "fall" of the season.  With the snow starting to fall, and temps rising ever so slightly, the correct conditions were finally made to glaze the bottom of my board.  Right as I got off the lift to take my board off for the hike up the stairway, my board stuck and i went forward.  I twisted a bit and was able to land mostly on my hip.  I slightly dinged my helmet on the snow, but no damage was done.  My friend had never encountered the stairwell before, and while she wasn't a huge fan, she agreed that it was well worth the product that we were able to enjoy today.  

 

Overall, today was not quite as good as yesterday, but it was still an excellent day to be on the snow with a excellent product.  I couldn't have been happier with my first October experience.  I couldn't imagine finding a better way to find amazing views, time with friends, and a physical activity I love for $27.50.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by Ride Delaware ?

[OutCold]

Sickbird

[Johnny Law]

Sickbird

 

That's my line but you can use it Fenwick represent.............dude I'm so jelly I don't give a fuck if it was 3" of ground up packing peanuts your sliding

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

That's my line but you can use it Fenwick represent.............dude I'm so jelly I don't give a fuck if it was 3" of ground up packing peanuts your sliding

Johnny you heading to Kmart at all for preseason skiing?

[Johnny Law]

Johnny you heading to Kmart at all for preseason skiing?

 

I highly doubt it, I'm booked solid for like 2 months....plus if I'm going to drive to VT might as well save the effort for a good storm

[Ski2Live Live2Ski]

Nice. Any speculation on when they will be T2B?

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Nice. Any speculation on when they will be T2B?

Forecast doesn't look promising for that. I'm sure their goal is Thanksgiving

[Ride Delaware ?]

Forecast doesn't look promising for that. I'm sure their goal is Thanksgiving

Typically, with good snowmaking weather, it would be a week to two weeks after opening. They typically have snowmaking on the t2b route at the same time as the NRT area. This wasn't the case this year. My guess, as I stated in my first report, is that they are using that water to bury Superstar for the WC race. I think they are maxing out between that and Bittersweet.