Killington Conditions

I'm out of town, so couldn't make it this weekend, but the powers to be are pushing for June 1st skiing. Only Mother Nature has control of that.

Great day yesterday. A bunch more snow than last year at this time.  Biggest late May crowd I've seen.

Had a brief chat with Mike Solimano on FB last night:

HARV: Mike I have aways wondered about your extended operations.  Does Big K actually make a profit on an average Superstar weekend or is it about branding only? Let's say it sunny and you are doing a decent business on the deck.

MIKE: We don't really make money at the end of the season if we factor in all our costs but it probably more of a break even and good for our brand as we want to be known as a skier's mountain.  We make some money on a sunny Saturday but lose on all the rainy ones. This year in the spring we have had more of the rainy ones.

HARV: When things quiet down in the offseason NYSkiBlog would like to interview you if you are open to it.

MIKE: I would do an interview whenever you want.  Just let me know.

HARV: Killington rocks and NY Ski Nation really appreciates all you do.

Harvey wrote

HARV: Killington rocks and NY Ski Nation really appreciates all you do.

I'm hoping for one more day...need to see how and where the chips fall in the next few days.

Mike is an awesome guy. Very approachable and his private remarks on some of our videos have been great too.

I decided to do a weekend camp at my summer cabin in Johnsburg this weekend.  Temps dropped to 38 degrees on Saturday morning and to my surprise my boys arrived on Saturday afternoon loaded with ski gear and amped to ski the Superstar Glacier at Killington on Sunday.

So early Sunday morning we slipped out of our sleeping bags to 35 degree temps and were Vermont bound.  With mostly cloudy skies, the sun was managing to poke through enough to make the mid-60's temps warm enough for a really great day of skiing.  

The Superstar Glacier was a sight to be seen and I have to take my hat off to team Killington for what they are able to achieve.  Cover was more than solid from top to bottom, totally bumped up and skiing great.  Everyone was having a great time from the top of the Glacier to the bottom of the parking lot.

As Gore pass holders we were afforded a 25% discount on our tickets and after 6 runs, we were looking at an amazing $8/run for the day.  Not bad at all.

If you have any thoughts about trekking up for Memorial Day weekend, I would highly recommend.  It was wonderful to get our feet back on the snow again.

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It is a beautiful morning.

That looks so inviting. I'm trying hard not to be jealous

I'm not trying hard. :)

Another forum member posted on FB that he though next weekend was a possibility.

Today was a lot of fun; so worth the effort. They groomed last night. I was on the lift at 8. Did a dozen runs before 11 when some more people started to show up along with the bumps. But, the headwall took a hit. By 1 some walking was required at the top of the headwall or you had good chances of hitting rocks. I was toast by 1:30 and needed to hit the road to get home for the bbq I'm at right now.

The choke point was also getting a bit thin by the end of the day but June 1st should be doable with possibly a small walk at the choke point and down the top of the headwall.

The cat was out on Superstar this morning, so my guess is that they will spin the lift for some June 1st skiing.  

I'm headed up if anyone wants to make some turns and drink some beers.

From the look of the webcam, they have a good sized crowd today. Enjoy!

I took a handful of runs this afternoon. The walking was a killer on my thighs, and there were a couple of narrow sections, but the snow really held up. They truly went above and beyond this year with snow making.

The first 250 skiers received green commemorative T-Shirts, and from what I was told, people were lined up about an hour or so before the lift started.

Depending upon my schedule I may try to hit Squaw in July.

So much fun today . Some sunshine some Drizzle good beers. Great way to close out the season

Well, it looks like the fun has started at Killington. I have been up for a couple of days to make sure my home is in order for the winter, and to my surprise, they started making snow last night. As of 2PM today, they were making snow on the top of Superstar, as well as Rime/North Ridge.  

Even after all of these years, the first signs of snow or snow making turns me into a giddy school boy.

What do people think about opening day?

There’s speculation of a weekend opening, but I haven’t heard that from any credible sources. Usually there’s someone that I recognize from management around, but it was sparse today.  The challenge is a warmup on Thursday.  Blowing on Superstar was a bit of a waste IMO, as the grass on the summit is barely covered after making snow on it all of last night and today. The temps are just too marginal.

I was also told that they actually dedicated a snowmaking crew just to Superstar to prepare it for the World Cup.

I’ll take a look in the morning before heading back home.

The guns are still going as of 7:30AM. They may have moved them down a bit on Superstar, but still basically the focus is on the top head wall. Rime is in a cloud of snow.

I'm heading out now, as I have a meeting later this afternoon.

Superstar and Northridge are whiteouts this morning. Fan guns on Supe.