Killington 5/19 - 5/21

[Ride Delaware ?]

I usually don't do multi day trip reports, but since it's just one trail, I figured that I would.

 

My girlfriend and I had decided 3 weeks ago when Sugarbush shut down, that we were going to try to get a couple more days in on this weekend. Despite warmer than average weather and a decent amount of rain, we were excited to have the chance to ride this weekend.

 

Killington is open Fri-Sun, so I headed up a day early to ride on Friday. The GF would follow me a day later.

 

The drive up Thursday was ridiculously hot and topped out at 99 degrees in several spots along the I-87 corridor. The temperature dropped to the mid 60's around Sugarbush due to a front moving in behind some Thunderstorms.

 

Due to morning rain on Friday, I didn't rush out, and went to see my friend who is running the cafe at the Warren/Sugarbush airport. Around 11:30 I headed down to Killington. It was 73 in the parking lot. I remembered my pass this time, and I got my lift ticket for $32. I talked to a guy in the parking lot that said it was good that I had come late. He said it was terrible just an hour earlier. The 90 degree temps had melted the snow down to the ice and the fog created terrible visibility.

 

The first thing to tell, is that the riding was not ski on/off. In order to preserve the snowpack, they decided not to waste the snow for load/unload ramps. Therefore, a small hike was required at both the top and bottom. The top was about 50' from the snow surface, while the bottom was about 100'. The surface on Friday was pleasant enough, but it was mostly shaved ice on top of a giant ice block. The ticket salesman said 130 people had been scanned when I arrived at 1, but that number is incredibly inaccurate since they hardly scan anyone. The trail still had good coverage and limited bare spots. As the day went on, it got much chillier and windier. I finished 8 runs in 2 hours and called it a day.

 

There were still some people tailgating, but the parking lot was mostly empty. Overall, not a bad day to get back at it.

 

 

 

 

 

[toast21602]

WTGAI

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

5ool report I guess it was 5old the last 5ouple of weeks to 5onserve the snow!!!

[Ride Delaware ?]

Saturday was much busier than Friday. We arrived around noon to sunny skies and a full parking lot. My girlfriend had a free ticket, so I purchased mine at a discounted rate, and we hit the slopes. The salesman today said that 500 people had been scanned.

 

The snow surface was much better. The sun and extra traffic had really allowed the snow to corn up, and the soft bumps were a ton of fun. The edges were getting a little thinner, but there was no appreciable loss in snow.

 

There was a good crowd at the top of the mountain, a packed umbrella bar, and plenty of tailgating. There was also a pretty decent lift line. The lift line was a nice break, because the larger bumps were more of a workout. I would say that the max lift line was 8-10 minutes, a large part of which was due to the policy of only 2 people per chair.

 

We ended up getting in 6 runs in about 3 hours and decided to call it quits. Smiles were had all around on a perfect spring skiing day.

 

 

 

[SallyCat]

Sweet!  I was there in late April and you had to hike up and over the snow at the top of Superstar to get to the trails on the other side.  Worth it; soft snow, fun bumps, hoppin' umbrella bar, and a lively crowd. Thanks for your report, I've been curious about conditions!