Killington Opening day

[ga2ski]

here are the pix. I'm working on a trail report.
http://forums.alpinezone.com/module...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php

 

[ga2ski]

here is the trail report:
http://forums.alpinezone.com/viewtopic.php?t=6157

 

[bill9009]

What a day, I'm glad I made the trip. After almost getting run over when they dropped the ropes on the K-1 gondi(15 mins late) made it to the top. That first run is always so nice. I got off the north ridge triple right before it broke down, I heard some weren't as lucky. I heard some were stuck up there for an hour or so. I guess they had to unload it in manual override. Took a few spills, oh well, getting up was the hard part in some areas. You would reach down to push yourself up and your arm would go in the snow up to your shoulder. You could basically ski anywhere you wanted today. roped off didnt matter much. I would ocassionally find myself somewhere with not a sole in sight. A great start to a hopefully great season!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sky]

RC....nice edit on the video.

*from Spaceballs*...Nice disolve. *smirk*

EDIT: What the hang?! I was wondering where this went!! I thought for sure I posted it under the "Cannon" trip report.

Ah well...must have been tired. I mean, it's not like this is RSN with the wild and random thread assignment. *smirk*

 

[Tyrolean_skier]

I am a little late in making a post here but nevertheless here it is. I went up on Thursday night hoping that they would open on Friday. When they didn't, myself and two others (MtnMan and Phantom from www.killingtonzone.com) hiked up to the top of Snowden Quad. Originally we intended to ski North Star but we saw John Lamb (a Killington instructor) and he told us that Upper Royal Flush was sweet. We decided to take his advice and make a longer run down so we skied it. When we got to the top of Lower Royal Flush, we decided to duck the rope and ski it - it felt great to be in that deep snow in October. We then decided to head to Highline via Racer's Edge - we had a few challenging water bars to surpass but managed to do OK with that. We then proceeded to ski down Highline - the snow was heavier here but even though it took work to make turns we still enjoyed it tremendously.

Opening day I got on line at the K-1 at 7:30 AM. Decided to head over to the North Ridge area and do some runs on a groomer to get the legs moving. Did manage to ski one run on Rime but then headed to North Ridge and found powder. I got stuck on the triple for a bit (it stopped when we were over the Great Northern trail) and when we got off we decided that we earned a run down a NOT_A_SKI_TRAIL and we found that it was really sweet in there and managed not to hit too much shrubbery. After that we skied mostly ungroomed terrain and we even ventured into the trees and felt like we were in Heaven because the conditions were wonderful in there.

It saddens me to see the condition that the mountain is in now after a few hot days. Hopefully, the cold temperature will return soon.

 

[Marc]

Went up Saturday all by my lonesome... amazing day, I feel for ya Bill with the whole shoulder deep in the snow thing.


I skied real crappy, perhaps a mixture of the halloween party the night before, too many tasty adult beverages, three hours of sleep, a three hour drive and the first time out since last Feb.


I still had a blast though.

Ok, I lied about the drive being bad, anywhere I drive in the S I don't really mind
:beer:


Still looking forward to a week from tomorrow!

 

[Mark D]

im thinking of making a day trip up their the next time they open. its about a 7-8 hour drive from were i am. do you guys this its worth it. wakeing up at 4 am driving at a riduclus rate of speed for hopefuly only 5 or 6 hours then doing the same on the way home?

 

[JimG.]

im thinking of making a day trip up their the next time they open. its about a 7-8 hour drive from were i am. do you guys this its worth it. wakeing up at 4 am driving at a riduclus rate of speed for hopefuly only 5 or 6 hours then doing the same on the way home?

I have a rule about day trips...if I'm going to spend more time in the car than actually skiing, I don't. So, if you're going to do this, try to plan an overnight stay and get at least 2 days of skiing in.

 

[ctenidae]

You'd have to drive at an earth-shattering speed to knock 2 hours off the drive, since the last hour is back roads, anyway. I'd sseriously reconsider K as a day-trip consideration. I don't want to do it, adn it's only 3.5 hours for me.

 

[Greg]

im thinking of making a day trip up their the next time they open. its about a 7-8 hour drive from were i am. do you guys this its worth it. wakeing up at 4 am driving at a riduclus rate of speed for hopefuly only 5 or 6 hours then doing the same on the way home?

I have a rule about day trips...if I'm going to spend more time in the car than actually skiing, I don't. So, if you're going to do this, try to plan an overnight stay and get at least 2 days of skiing in.

I've got the same rule. For day trips, the drive time:ski time ratio must be 1:1 or better. With that said, K is about 3.5 hours for me. I don't have a problem with that. I wouldn't make a 7-8 hour drive for an 18" powder day at Killington, much less opening day. Driving up the night before, staying near the mountain and grabbing an early chair (gondola) seems like a better option to me. Better yet head up early one morning, ski the PM, stay overnight and ski the better part of the next day and if you can swing it spend another night. A seven hour drive for a day trip is insane no matter which way you look at it.

 

[andyzee]

A seven hour drive for a day trip is insane no matter which way you look at it.

You want insane, I have a "former" friend that lives in Greenwhich, CT. He drives to Stowe, 6-7 hr ride each way, skis all day, then drives home! That means he leaves CT like 2AM! That is INSANE!

 

[Greg]

A seven hour drive for a day trip is insane no matter which way you look at it.

You want insane, I have a "former" friend that lives in Greenwhich, CT. He drives to Stowe, 6-7 hr ride each way, skis all day, then drives home! That means he leaves CT like 2AM! That is INSANE!

Why not just stay overnight somewhere?

 

[andyzee]

A seven hour drive for a day trip is insane no matter which way you look at it.

You want insane, I have a "former" friend that lives in Greenwhich, CT. He drives to Stowe, 6-7 hr ride each way, skis all day, then drives home! That means he leaves CT like 2AM! That is INSANE!

Why not just stay overnight somewhere?

Too cheap, is my guess.

 

[bvibert]

A seven hour drive for a day trip is insane no matter which way you look at it.

You want insane, I have a "former" friend that lives in Greenwhich, CT. He drives to Stowe, 6-7 hr ride each way, skis all day, then drives home! That means he leaves CT like 2AM! That is INSANE!

Sounds pretty insane, but it could also be viewed as dedication...

 

[Tyrolean_skier]

im thinking of making a day trip up their the next time they open. its about a 7-8 hour drive from were i am. do you guys this its worth it. wakeing up at 4 am driving at a riduclus rate of speed for hopefuly only 5 or 6 hours then doing the same on the way home?

As other have said, make it a two day trip. You can probably stay at Turn of River or the Happy Bear for a reasonable rate.

 

[andyzee]

im thinking of making a day trip up their the next time they open. its about a 7-8 hour drive from were i am. do you guys this its worth it. wakeing up at 4 am driving at a riduclus rate of speed for hopefuly only 5 or 6 hours then doing the same on the way home?

As other have said, make it a two day trip. You can probably stay at Turn of River or the Happy Bear for a reasonable rate.

You could also consider the Mendon Orchards for a reasonable rate.

 

[awf170]

im thinking of making a day trip up their the next time they open. its about a 7-8 hour drive from were i am. do you guys this its worth it. wakeing up at 4 am driving at a riduclus rate of speed for hopefuly only 5 or 6 hours then doing the same on the way home?

if they dont get anymore natural snow before the next opening(they probably wont) youll probably be skiing on one icy nasty trail with 1,000 other people. IMO its not worth if it is over a 1 hr drive