Killington - 12/18-19

[kfan]

Date(s) Skied: 12/18-12/19

Resort or Ski Area: Killington

Conditions: Packed Powder

Trip Report:
This was my first time out for the season. Last year I learned to snowboard and I was worried that I might have forgotten how to ride.

I started the first day down by Snowshed and the lines were non-existent at 8:30AM. My first run of the year on Snowshed was great and it reminded me why I love this sport so much as I rode my way down the slope. After a couple of re-acclimation rides, and as the lift lines at Snowshed got longer (around 10AM), my buddies and I headed out to Skye Peak and down the Great Eastern. For most of the morning we stayed on the green trails which had good cover and very good surface conditions.

In the afternoon we headed out to Ramshead and thought we would hang out by the terrain park. This plan got shot down as we found out that the TP on Ramshead was not opened yet. So we went over to the K-1 lodge and up to K-Peak. When we got up to K-Peak, I saw a bunch of people walk up a path to a trail called the Catwalk. My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to take a look (even though it was marked a black diamond trail). It looked like a nice hike and I thought I would just go up and walk back down. At the top of the trail I saw Catwalk . It looked like a scene from a skiing video where there were rocks jutting out of the snow and the skier/rider glided effortlessly between the obsticles to conquer the mountain. We watched a couple of people go down the trail and I was in awe. Two of my friends who were more experienced riders decided that they wanted to go down and after asking some skiers about the trail they were ready to go. They tried to talk me into it, and I entertained the idea for a second (it looks worse than it really is, I thought to myself), but curiosity is not going to kill this cat (me) and I decided to walk back down the trail and made it down the mountain on something I was more comfortable with.

From K-Peak I wanted to make it down to the Snowshed lodge. I busted out my trail map and planned the route (side note: the boards with trail maps were missing on the top of all the trails, what's up with that?). First go down Great Eastern, turn left onto Launch Pad, then another left to Skye Lark, then a right to High Road, then Low Road, then back to Snowshed. Um... OK. I tried, but some how I missed a turn and ended on Superstar, a pretty steep slope with moguls. After Superstar I was ready to call it the day, but I still had to meet up with some folks at Snowshed, so it was up the Superstar quad and another attempt to get back to Snowshed. Second time is the charm

Day 2
I got on the slopes around 10AM. My legs were sore, my body was in pain, but I already paid for the second day lift ticket so gosh darn it, I'm gonna go on some trails and get my money's worth. Once again the day started at Snowshed, but after one run we headed out to Ramshead and up K-Peak. My buddies tried again to talk me into going onto Catwalk, but I decline the offer. A couple of times down the Great Northern and we were ready to head back to Snowshed. On our last time up K-Peak I review the path I attempted to take the day before: Great Eastern-Launch Pad-Skye Lark-High Road-Low Road. Since my buddies all went down Catwalk the previous day, they haven't gone down this path. It was up to me to lead the way. I was the slowest (and least experienced) rider in the group and I was eager to make a good impression. As I headed down the path, I recalled the correct paths I took the previous day and saw the wrong turn I made that took me onto Superstar. The lesson learned from the previous day lead us down the mountain safely, not to mention an excellent ride down the mountain.

Overall it was a great trip. I'm looking forward to another great season.