3412 replies to this topic

[Enrico Pallazo]

Not a cloud in the sky over the mountain right now... getting ready to head on up there for another afternoon of adventures with friends.

Its a good life.

Ski bum tan, not included.

Looks great it's a real shame they closed a month ago...j/k

[Skivt2]

Absolutely amazing day at Killington today. All Bays in the KBL parking lot and the access road all full of cars. Great soft bumps. Lots or terrain. Live band playing at the packed umbrella bars. Great crowd but not too many people. Barbecues were raging after the umbrella bar closed on the access road. Party still Raging at 7:00pm. We skied all day except for a long lunch in the sunshine. Late afternoon bumps on superstar were phenomenal! Just remarkable how the snow line was right at the base. Valleys are completely bare.

[ski MRG]

Absolutely amazing day at Killington today. All Bays in the KBL parking lot and the access road all full of cars. Great soft bumps. Lots or terrain. Live band playing at the packed umbrella bars. Great crowd but not too many people. Barbecues were raging after the umbrella bar closed on the access road. Party still Raging at 7:00pm. We skied all day except for a long lunch in the sunshine. Late afternoon bumps on superstar were phenomenal! Just remarkable how the snow line was right at the base. Valleys are completely bare.

Very very nice. Funny how we were all told by those that know little that ski season would be over weeks ago. Stay after it.

[sankaty]

Had an amazing day at Killington yesterday. Great bumps on Superstar and even better bumps on lower Skylark. The Killington Peak trails (Cascade, Espcapde, etc) were nice an soft with just a few rocks poking through. The Superstar trails are totally covered and look like they'll hold up for a while.

One of the best days of the year, bested only by Stowe in early March.

Great turnout for a Friday, though not so crowded to cause lift lines. The average skill level was extraordinary with just about everyone being at least a competent bump skier. I guess that's expected as casual skiers aren't paying attention anymore.

[HubbDave]

Awesome reports from KMart

Wish I was there

[powderfreak]

Awesome reports from KMart

Wish I was there

I second this. It is not often I get jealous of other Eastern skiers, but this is one of those times.

[CT Rain]

Had an amazing day at Killington yesterday. Great bumps on Superstar and even better bumps on lower Skylark. The Killington Peak trails (Cascade, Espcapde, etc) were nice an soft with just a few rocks poking through. The Superstar trails are totally covered and look like they'll hold up for a while.

One of the best days of the year, bested only by Stowe in early March.

Great turnout for a Friday, though not so crowded to cause lift lines. The average skill level was extraordinary with just about everyone being at least a competent bump skier. I guess that's expected as casual skiers aren't paying attention anymore.

Yeah I was there on Thursday it was phenomenal. The only issue was that the sun wasn't really out to soften up the snow so some of the bumps were unforgiving.

I'm getting better at skiing bumps... it's frustrating though when you see someone flying by.

[CT Rain]

Very very nice. Funny how we were all told by those that know little that ski season would be over weeks ago. Stay after it.

Some said the season never really began.

[ski MRG]

Yeah I was there on Thursday it was phenomenal. The only issue was that the sun wasn't really out to soften up the snow so some of the bumps were unforgiving.

I'm getting better at skiing bumps... it's frustrating though when you see someone flying by.

The biggest problem I see most people have when learning to ski the bumps is that they continue to try to traverse the slope. Straight down the fall line is the only way. It's tough though as it's counter intuitive to do this. Look straight down the fall line, see a line and go. You can look at the bumps as a staircase down. Going back and forth across the slope is the best way to get exhausted and rattled.

Some said the season never really began.

They were wrong. The only ones that said that were the ones that looked for excuses not to go. The testimony of all of us here should be enough to show how very wrong that assertion was/is.

[CT Rain]

The biggest problem I see most people have when learning to ski the bumps is that they continue to try to traverse the slope. Straight down the fall line is the only way. It's tough though as it's counter intuitive to do this. Look straight down the fall line, see a line and go. You can look at the bumps as a staircase down. Going back and forth across the slope is the best way to get exhausted and rattled.


They were wrong. The only ones that said that were the ones that looked for excuses not to go. The testimony of all of us here should be enough to show how very wrong that assertion was/is.

I think I had 10 ski days this year.

3 full days in CT, 2 full days in NH, and the remainder in VT. I'd rather ski so-so conditions in pleasant weather than freezing cold, wind, etc.

[CoastalWx]

Bottom like is that 2-4K in NNE usually always guarantees snow..lol. It also helped to have no Lake Cutters so despite lack of snow, it wasn't washed away and then frozen to a brick. They'll always be snow in NNE, but the human thinking of no snow imby means no snow up north will always be there to reduce amount of people.

[CT Rain]

Bottom like is that 2-4K in NNE usually always guarantees snow..lol. It also helped to have no Lake Cutters so despite lack of snow, it wasn't washed away and then frozen to a brick. They'll always be snow in NNE, but the human thinking of no snow imby means no snow up north will always be there to reduce amount of people.

Bingo. Actually meant to post this the other day.

Though the numbers were pitiful the season could have been much worse. While S VT had a hell of a time opening terrain in general the snow they had lasted and remained in good condition. A season this pitiful could have been incredibly worse if you threw in several lakes cutters with 50F dews and 1-2" of rain.

[powderfreak]

Bottom like is that 2-4K in NNE usually always guarantees snow..lol. It also helped to have no Lake Cutters so despite lack of snow, it wasn't washed away and then frozen to a brick. They'll always be snow in NNE, but the human thinking of no snow imby means no snow up north will always be there to reduce amount of people.

Yeah the lack of precipitation hurt snowfall but also meant no rain. Some locals up here say it was better this season with 210" of snow than some of our average years with 320" or more. They cite the lack of rain as the reason and I agree to some extent. We had consistently great conditions through Jan and Feb though with no snow in cities folks assume it sucks.

I know people get sick of hearing about it, but the benefits of having the insurance policy of upslope snowstorms throughout the winter really helped up here in NVT. Without any rain, and consistent fluffy snowfalls, conditions were nice. The problem is the public does not understand upslope and it doesn't sell tickets like a noreaster does. The number of calls the Info Center at Stowe got during that Feb blitz was crazy...Folks saying they see 36" new snow on our website but they are at Loon in NH where the sun is out and wondering if it really snowed that much. They also watch the local news out of Boston or Portland and unless you catch Tim Kelley, no one will even mention that the northern VT areas are measuring 5 feet in 8 days. They usually just say scattered flurries over the mountains or higher terrain.

Just like this past storm, no one would know it was snowing in the mountains until the BTV WFO (snow lovers) started talking it up in AFD about 25-30" and an incredible upslope snow event. Then the media jumped on it at least up here with stories from Killington and Jay Peak.

[powderfreak]

With all that said, I love active patterns and big QPF events, so I'd take my chances with some rainstorms to get 350" of snow like we've often seen this past decade.

I just hope we are active next season. Even strong rainers can deliver big upslope on the backside once they get up near Quebec City and stall. I just hate all the 10-day periods with 0.15" liquid totaling 6" of fluff we had this winter. So boring.

[bobbutts]

My simple mogul lesson.
1. Standing in the mogul field, imagine a bucket of paint being dumped down the hill, the path it would take is where you want to go.
2. Start downhill and stay on your line, when you feel you're losing your balance or control or unable to stay in the line, stop and return to 1.
At first it may just be 1 or 2 bumps before you have to stop or fall, but before long 3 happens, then 4 and so on and so forth.

[powderfreak]

It ain't over yet. I'm still milking it daily along with friends. Great exercise everyday after work... skin up to the top, enjoy the spring weather, and then ride down to the car and head home for dinner.

Yesterday evening...







This evening...

[ski MRG]

Nice Scott. Check out this spot we scouted from the air, There is a place to land nearby. Looking at skiing the line in the foreground as well as the ridge line in the back. Don't think it's ever been skied. Awesome stable snowpack right now. Very stoked.

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[kulaginman]

Hey everyone! I made the trek up to the Gulf of Slides on Mount Washington with a buddy last Saturday. There was still plenty of snow up above 3500' at that time...though I'm sure the outrageously warm wx early this week did a number on the snowpack even way up high. Still, there will be skiing here into May for sure...

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[CoastalWx]

Hey everyone! I made the trek up to the Gulf of Slides on Mount Washington with a buddy last Saturday. There was still plenty of snow up above 3500' at that time...though I'm sure the outrageously warm wx early this week did a number on the snowpack even way up high. Still, there will be skiing here into May for sure...

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Hey you went up there with Chris W right?

[kulaginman]

Hey you went up there with Chris W right?

I did! Chris and I have done a number of winter hikes together, but this was our first attempt at skiing the ravines. He's a good hiking/skiing partner but he shouldn't have gotten rid of the beard!

[powderfreak]

I did! Chris and I have done a number of winter hikes together, but this was our first attempt at skiing the ravines. He's a good hiking/skiing partner but he shouldn't have gotten rid of the beard!

Awesome shots, man! And for anyone else... that is A LOT steeper than it looks in the photos.

I gotta get up there... I'm leaning towards doing it the lazy way and waiting for the Auto Road to open.

[HubbDave]

The Loaf might open again this weekend

[Frisbetarian]

The Inferno Pentathalon is this Saturday.

[Bigbob]

Last day of the season for me today at Killington. Snow farming connected the dots in a few spots, other required some walking. 68 at the bottom of Superstar and 78 in the valley when I left at 2:30 this afternoon. Day 54

[HubbDave]

Killington is the last one still open

5 trails. The Loaf did not make it

[HubbDave]

My mistake. Jay still has 3 trails open

[powderfreak]

It ain't over yet... coverage on Lord and North Slope at Stowe is wall-to-wall still on a lot of the trail. 1,800ft of vertical still there for the taking.













I hadn't been on that route since the mountain closed... and holy parc am I shocked at how good the cover still is on that. We've got a couple weeks left on that one.

[Skivt2]

Killington just closed yesterday with some pretty thin cover. In the afternoon yesterday both trails that were open required hiking at the headwalls to get to the snow. Skylark also required two other hikes lower down and some careful sidestepping in one place. It was fun and I'm sure there will be a sizable contingent of hikers on Superstar next weekend. Superstar is really the only hiking as there is very little snow anywhere on the mountain. For a shorter hike there is a nice bump line on lower skylark. Kudos to Killington. They stayed open with conditions that basically required backcountry experience. Definately ski at your own risk type stuff served by a lift. Very hardcore. Even if Jay reopens next weekend Killington deserves the spirit award this year. In a horrid snow year they managed to pull it out as best as they could for their customers. They earned some serious respect in the past few weeks.

[powderfreak]

I'll second the props to Killington...but also Jay. Im not sure you can leave Jay out of it if they are able to reopen...however Killington did receive 100 less inches (8 feet) of snow than up here in northern VT which is pretty substantial, and that's with Killington counting the October snows. The actual winter season snowfall difference is quite remarkable if you look at November-April.

[powderfreak]

Another fine afternoon of late April skiing...

[HubbDave]

Is skiing on that stuff even fun?

Lol


Enjoy!

[HubbDave]

Is skiing on that stuff even fun?

Lol


Enjoy!

[powderfreak]

Is skiing on that stuff even fun?

Lol


Enjoy!

Skiing's always fun, Dave

Actually this surface is a lot better than it looks (it looks like something you'd find in a shopping mall parking lot in late March) but the top inch is really soft, carvable, and fun to ski on. If this were frozen solid, then it wouldn't be much fun, lol. I much prefer this to any mid-January ice or general slick conditions during the winter.

[Enrico Pallazo]

Look how green the golf course is in the first shot...wow!

[powderfreak]

Look how green the golf course is in the first shot...wow!

Yeah courses are opening up early around here though I don't think the mountain course pictured will be...that course ranges in elevation between 1500-1800ft and still sees some pretty cold temps in that elevated bowl there.