Killington 2/1-2/2

[tirolerpeter]

Dates 2/1-2/2

Area Killington VT

Conditions Powder/packed powder

Report Every so often you get to ski a couple of days that make all the suffering over conditions, temperature, crowds, weather, etc., totally worth it. Tuesday and Wednesday were absolutely Glorious! with NO WIND! Although it was cold early in the morning (about 9 degrees) by the time I got to Bear Base Lodge at about 9:30 AM the sun was already having an incredible effect. As I debated putting a fleece layer between my poly undershirt and my powder suit people were streaming in and stripping off layers. So I just went with the basics. Good move. In no time at all, I had the front of my suit zipped down to my waist on every ride up. There was enough snow on virtually every trail to let it rip and carve careless giant arcs without the slightest concern for losing an edge. There were also very few skiers out, and all of them were clearly competent or outright terrific, so concerns over collisions were minimal or non-existent! . Except for the icey drop right under the K1 Gondola, ESCAPADE, DOUBLE DIPPER, AND DOWNDRAFT were absolutely fantastic. There was enough snow on all of them to make you think you were skiing a blue trail with abandon. One negative: we felt that there were a couple of advanced trails that should have been roped off instead of marked "thin cover." It is no fun to discover that once you commit to a trail that "thin" really meant "NONE!" Its one thing to have to avoid a hazard; its another, to have no way around or through one until you are totally in it. It was only on Wed (which is VT, NH "Discount Day") that there was a short (2 minutes max) line at the K1 Gondola. Every other lift was just "ski on." We didn't keep track, but my guess is that we got in enough vertical in two days to equal ten or more days of week-end skiing. In fact, it was one of those times that time actually riding the lifts was the only time you could rest! Thank you ASC for inventing the BRONZE PASS! Every day I ski at one of their resorts from yesterday on is a "Freebee" in my mind.