Date(s) Hiked:September 11, 2005
Trails(s) Hiked: Ascent and descent by various ski trails (Spillway to Double Dipper and then Great Northern/Eastern to the Summit. On descent: Downdraft/Cascade to Great Northern all the way to the base via Snowdon).
Total Distance:4 miles.
Difficulty:Short distance, difficult ascent, longer and easier descent.
Conditions: Most trails are mowed, dry, excellent visibility.
Special Required Equipment: Killington Trail Map, Topo Map.
Trip Report: After a beautiful Saturday, I could not pass up the opportunity to join the Vermont Law Schoo Mountain Club for a short run up Killington. I had suggested this hike--up and down--as a nice way to spend a few hours away from our studies.
Though I was still a bit tired from the short run up Cardigan, I got up and made the drive to K-mart (about 35 miles). The fog had burned off to reveal that the trees on the higher elevations were starting to turn
. The other members of my party, MB and her boyfriend (and Cola, the fun VLS mountain club mascot), and AG were also psyched to see clear skies and some color which was better than the fog we found last week on Camel's Hump.
"This is going to be a bit unorthodox for hiking, but here is a micro map of the ski trails in front of us," I said motioning up the mountain. "I suggest a steep, straight, head-on approach starting with the service road up Spillway to the Canyon Quad and from there either straight-on up Double Dipper or maybe sidestepping up."
With that, we were off. The gondola was spinning and many tourists and bikers were riding up. The service road leaves K-1 Lodge gently ascending underneath the Gondola before passing the skate park and then turning to the SW heading off on its own path. Within about 10 mins, we were at the base of the Canyon Quad looking straight up Double Dipper which today represented pretty much all of the vertical ascent in a very short, steep, headwall. :blink: It did not look so bad from our vantage point, but once we began the ascent, it was a bit tougher and steeper than I remembered from my last time there on skis in 2001. "This looks sweet," I said, wishing that I was on my skis heading down.
The main headwall was steep and footing was tricky in places thanks to rip-rap and waterbars. The trail had just been mowed recently. As we climbed, taking many short breaks, we enjoyed the incredible views that were opening up.
Standing at the top of the headwall, we chose to take a milder route to the summit via the service roads on both Great Northern and Great Eastern. The views to the SE were amazing.
We arrived at the summit of the gondola and then headed up the stairway to the narrow summit hiking trail past the Catwalk Ski Trail, which I recall trying in 2001 (is this still open?) and to the final climb to the summit ledge.
The summit area offers dramatic views down to Rutland and up the Otter Valley and Lower Lake Champlain. The view extends well up the Green Mountains to Massachusetts, over to New Hampshire, and into Maine. The radio towers and an abandoned fire tower obscure the views to the Southern Horizon. :roll:
It was a bit hazy at first, but the visibility improved the 30-45 mins we were on top. I was able to identify many peaks including Spruce in Plainfield, VT, the Franconia Ridge, Moosilauke, Washington (with Cog Smoke) , Cardigan, Kearsarge, Ascutney, Sunapee, Monadnock and the Wapack Range on the far southern horizon :blink:, Okemo, Stratton, Snow, Equinox, the High Peaks of the Adirondacks including Marcy, Giant, Whiteface, Mts. Abraham, Lincoln, Ellen, Camel's Hump, Mansfield, Mount Hunger, as well as many other hills, valleys, and towns (including Ticonderoga, NY and Middlebury, VT). An impressive showing! Visibility stretched about 100 miles in either direction with the W and N views the best. The view from the fire tower must be sweet.
After taking in the views and talking to many people, we headed back to the Gondola Summit where we used the rest rooms and took in the views from the former Gondola Building. The views on the deck here to the E are dramatic and better than on top because there are no obstructions.
Having seen the views and had some time to sun ourselves, we began our descent by taking a footpath under the gondola which dumped us onto the top of Cascade. This little headwall was kind of difficult to descend, but we made it. We picked up Great Northern and followed it all the way to Snowdon Mountain and down the Poma line to Bunny Buster and back to the lodge. Descent took about one hour and was not bad on the knees or joints but we did have to dodge quite a few bikers :x.
Having done our 3.5 hour stroll, we headed to Pizza Jerks to celebrate our accomplishment before heading home to hit the books for another week at Law School. :beer:
What a nice weekend and a nice hike. Trailboss has done his VT 4,000 footers now! :beer:
Being on the ski trails reminded me of skiing...soon. :roll:
Pics coming soon...I promise! For now, here are the maps of our route.
Trails(s) Hiked: Ascent and descent by various ski trails (Spillway to Double Dipper and then Great Northern/Eastern to the Summit. On descent: Downdraft/Cascade to Great Northern all the way to the base via Snowdon).
Total Distance:4 miles.
Difficulty:Short distance, difficult ascent, longer and easier descent.
Conditions: Most trails are mowed, dry, excellent visibility.
Special Required Equipment: Killington Trail Map, Topo Map.
Trip Report: After a beautiful Saturday, I could not pass up the opportunity to join the Vermont Law Schoo Mountain Club for a short run up Killington. I had suggested this hike--up and down--as a nice way to spend a few hours away from our studies.
Though I was still a bit tired from the short run up Cardigan, I got up and made the drive to K-mart (about 35 miles). The fog had burned off to reveal that the trees on the higher elevations were starting to turn
. The other members of my party, MB and her boyfriend (and Cola, the fun VLS mountain club mascot), and AG were also psyched to see clear skies and some color which was better than the fog we found last week on Camel's Hump. "This is going to be a bit unorthodox for hiking, but here is a micro map of the ski trails in front of us," I said motioning up the mountain. "I suggest a steep, straight, head-on approach starting with the service road up Spillway to the Canyon Quad and from there either straight-on up Double Dipper or maybe sidestepping up."
With that, we were off. The gondola was spinning and many tourists and bikers were riding up. The service road leaves K-1 Lodge gently ascending underneath the Gondola before passing the skate park and then turning to the SW heading off on its own path. Within about 10 mins, we were at the base of the Canyon Quad looking straight up Double Dipper which today represented pretty much all of the vertical ascent in a very short, steep, headwall.
:blink: It did not look so bad from our vantage point, but once we began the ascent, it was a bit tougher and steeper than I remembered from my last time there on skis in 2001. "This looks sweet," I said, wishing that I was on my skis heading down. The main headwall was steep and footing was tricky in places thanks to rip-rap and waterbars. The trail had just been mowed recently. As we climbed, taking many short breaks, we enjoyed the incredible views that were opening up.
Standing at the top of the headwall, we chose to take a milder route to the summit via the service roads on both Great Northern and Great Eastern. The views to the SE were amazing.
We arrived at the summit of the gondola and then headed up the stairway to the narrow summit hiking trail past the Catwalk Ski Trail, which I recall trying in 2001 (is this still open?) and to the final climb to the summit ledge.
The summit area offers dramatic views down to Rutland and up the Otter Valley and Lower Lake Champlain. The view extends well up the Green Mountains to Massachusetts, over to New Hampshire, and into Maine. The radio towers and an abandoned fire tower obscure the views to the Southern Horizon. :roll:
It was a bit hazy at first, but the visibility improved the 30-45 mins we were on top. I was able to identify many peaks including Spruce in Plainfield, VT, the Franconia Ridge, Moosilauke, Washington (with Cog Smoke)
, Cardigan, Kearsarge, Ascutney, Sunapee, Monadnock and the Wapack Range on the far southern horizon :blink:, Okemo, Stratton, Snow, Equinox, the High Peaks of the Adirondacks including Marcy, Giant, Whiteface, Mts. Abraham, Lincoln, Ellen, Camel's Hump, Mansfield, Mount Hunger, as well as many other hills, valleys, and towns (including Ticonderoga, NY and Middlebury, VT). An impressive showing! Visibility stretched about 100 miles in either direction with the W and N views the best. The view from the fire tower must be sweet. After taking in the views and talking to many people, we headed back to the Gondola Summit where we used the rest rooms and took in the views from the former Gondola Building. The views on the deck here to the E are dramatic and better than on top because there are no obstructions.
Having seen the views and had some time to sun ourselves, we began our descent by taking a footpath under the gondola which dumped us onto the top of Cascade.
This little headwall was kind of difficult to descend, but we made it. We picked up Great Northern and followed it all the way to Snowdon Mountain and down the Poma line to Bunny Buster and back to the lodge. Descent took about one hour and was not bad on the knees or joints but we did have to dodge quite a few bikers :x. Having done our 3.5 hour stroll, we headed to Pizza Jerks to celebrate our accomplishment before heading home to hit the books for another week at Law School. :beer:
What a nice weekend and a nice hike. Trailboss has done his VT 4,000 footers now!
:beer: Being on the ski trails reminded me of skiing...soon. :roll:
Pics coming soon...I promise! For now, here are the maps of our route.
