Killington - BEACH DAY!

Killington - 5/2/2015 BEACH DAY!

Date(s) Skied: 5/2/2015

Resort or Ski Area: Killington, Vermont

Conditions: Soft spring corn, temps between 60-70... Summer!

Trip Report: So this will most likely be the final trip report for me this season - but I figured I would write up a nice little report.

Ride up:
But wow, what a way to close out the year at Killington with great snow, amazing sun, beers, and bumps! The day began at 5am, as I woke up not knowing whether I was going to make the trek up to Killington. With a bit of allergies, and just well - spring. I was not quite enthusiastic usually am. My wife and kid at the last minute decided to stay behind so off I went at 6am, with skis loaded up in the Q5 and the open road ahead. Cruising down Route 2, and blasting WZLX - I began to get pretty excited. This was my 20th day out this season and man the sun was out and well I wanted to make this the best trip yet. One of the best parts of driving out to KMart from Acton is using the back roads. I love taking 12 through Keene, into Bellows Falls and then hitting 103. That whole ride is just amazing ... and then when you get close to Okemo, what a great town Ludlow is... That road through the mountain pass (you know the one right before town), just got me excited. A little patch of ice still on the ground, and I knew it was game time.

Okemo, well closed for the season still showed shrouds of snow. That was the sign that hell this is going to be a great trip! Banging a right down onto 100 and blasting some classic Aerosmith, I knew it was on! Finally turning left onto Route 4 past the old Sunrise lift station, I could tell that I made the right choice. Up onto Bear Mountain road, the climb began, and boom before you know it - I was already at the base by Superstar... Tunes blasting, people filing in and this scene waiting:




Soft Snow:
For today K was running the snowdon triple, Canyon Quad and Superstar Express. Obviously, I took the Snowdon trip up so I could access K Peak. Dumping us off at the top of snowdon you had to make your way over through the Killink trail and down east fall. Eastfall was all softly bumped up and beautiful soft snow. Now I am not one to ski the bumps, but today I got a good dose of soft hero snow with great bumps to really get me going. Next up on the agenda was skiing a trail I have never taken ever in my time at K. Usually it is closed in the early season, too icy and bumped up midway which just scares the shit out of me, or closed at the end. Today I first skied cascade and MAN it was awesome. soft snow bumps and just so good... But man without any wax it was tough getting down! Used the cascade spill way (well walk way halfway down) to make it over the the umbrella bar and the rest of the day was reserved for Superstar, Skylark and Bittersweet. Man soft hero snow and big bumps were the name of the game today... Big bumps I am not use to (lower Superstar and headwall) but damn it was fun. I skied until my legs couldn't do it anymore and just sat at the umbrella bar after taking in the scenes... All in all it was a great day to be out on the snow, and one I will not forget for a long time!

Now for the photos!

Snowdon Triple:



Top of the lift:


Looking up Eastfall:


Looking down Eastfall:



Cannon Quad:


Looking up Cascade:


Looking down Cascade:


Cascade Runout:


On top of Superstar Glacier:


Bumps forming on Superstar:



Looking up Superstar:


More Superstar Goodness:


And one last look up Superstar:



All in all I was very pleased with the day and what a way to cap off the season! Maybe June 1st if they are open I will be back, but otherwise one for the record books here!

Nice pics! Looks like really good conditions for May!

Thanks for the TR, looking good. I'm heading up tomorrow, anyone else going?

Cornhead said:

Thanks for the TR, looking good. I'm heading up tomorrow, anyone else going?

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I'll be there until about 1. Skiing with a guy on what will look like a cross between ski blades and water skis. Was there yesterday too. Made a last minute decision to go up. Conditions were great, if a little hot!

Domeskier said:

I'll be there until about 1. Skiing with a guy on what will look like a cross between ski blades and water skis. Was there yesterday too. Made a last minute decision to go up. Conditions were great, if a little hot!

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OK, I'll keep an eye out for you. I dressed accordingly, black tank top, white shorts.

Incredible!

Cornhead said:

Incredible!

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Agreed! I think I might have seen you on my last run of the day. Had just gotten to the top of the SS when you were taking off. Thought I recognized the volkls from the other thread. Awesome spring day. Hope to get up there one last time this season.

Are your buddy's skis green? I was on the SS lift and saw someone on one of the connecting trails coming from the direction of Ovation/ Old SS onto SS. They fit the description, very short, very wide skis. Looked like a couple small snowboards. I yelled out, "Domeskier" from the chair.

That's probably it for me till the end of the month. Unbelievable coverage for this time of year. I guess we can thank the chilly Spring. I almost left at 3, dark clouds rolled in, even spat a little. I noticed how much I missed the light too while making a run down. Then the Sun returned, and I decided to stay until 4. I, and my legs, are toast. Weird having a windshield plastered with bugs upon returning from a ski trip.

Don't think it was us - his skis are a light wooden color. There were a lot of people rocking short skis (relatively speaking). I saw one guy with tele bindings on snow blades! My legs were pretty much toast by 1 after skiing yesterday. They clouds were a nice break from the sweltering sun, but agreed they made skiing the bumps tough. Got some snow burn and cuts on my arms as proof! nice pics. I didn't get any sadly. I have an old school dumb phone that takes terrible photos.

Great coverage on Superstar, Sunday 5/3/15

Nice pics! I was there on Saturday too. Cascade, East Fall, Superstar & Skye Lark were my personal favorites. The varying levels of bumped-ness made for good variety. Here're a few pics from my day.

In the Canyon. Dramatic mix of sun & clouds through the afternoon.


Top of East Fall.


Top of Skye Hawk. Those troughs were deeeep.
I salute anyone who can properly rip that line. (I can't!)


Obligatory end of day, from the top of Superstar shot.

What great pics. Now if they only leave the groomers in the shed...!


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I was there too and tree skiing on the summit was pretty damn good for May.

Yeah you couldn't beat this past weekend for weather and snow. I'm already trying to see if I can make it out June 1st, since the next couple of weekends I am stuck with other things going on.


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that sun was strong!

Skied on Killington on Sunday. I don't know the mountain so I stuck to the Superstar lift. I arrived around noon (wish I had woken up earlier once I got there!). Bumps on Superstar were big and soft. Everyone there was exuberant.

As mentioned above the top of Skye Hawk had bumps with tall, narrow troughs - tough to shred on a big stiff snowboard - I tried it once and was glad I did but not glad enough to take it again. My favorite trail (of the three I did) was Skye Lark - it was covered in super soft little bumps. The bump spacing was perfect for launching off of bumps for some cheap thrills. The coverage was perfect and the crowds were less than Superstar so you could really go after it there.

My wife came with me and then decided not to ski - instead she hung out on the patio and got some sun and some drinks. I made a habit of checking in after every other run - it was actually pretty cool since I could unbind - hop over the river of melted snow to the patio and grab a drink while resting. This actually made for a pretty cool day - ski a few runs - grab a drink at the bar - listen to good music - and then jump back onto a lift (no line!).

The weather was great and coverage was good. I'll be going back next weekend for more laps on Superstar - this time I will be arriving earlier in the day though.