xlr8r
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2009
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- 43
Made my first trip to Vermont in a couple of years. Decided to go to mountains that I have not been to before.
Bromley 3/9
After driving around 3 hrs from home in Mass, I got to the mountain at around 10:30. Used a $10 off coupon from the Boston ski expo so that my ticket cost $29. But even at full price the lift tickets at Bromley seem reasonably cheap. Did laps off of the express quad all day mixing it up between the cruisers on the west side and the steeper runs on the east side. Did a couple laps on the blue ribbon quad, and 1 run each off the T bar and alpine chair, for the fun of riding a T bar and a double-double. Because of the southern exposure the snow really softened up to mashed potatoes in a lot of areas by the afternoon, but it was still a lot of fun. Did a few runs in the glades but I found the snow to be almost too soft and wet as my ski tails often got hooked in the snow. Nonetheless it was good spring day with nice warm weather and sunshine. Good thing I brought sunscreen. Bromley is a nice midsized mountain that is well priced and often overlooked being next to Flatton.
Killington 3/10
After skiing Bromley I drove up to Rutland to find a motel for the night. Woke up wed morning and drove up to Killington arriving in the parking lot right next to the K1 Gondola. I bought my ticket on liftopia for $52. I never pay full price. After skiing in New England for almost 20 years, I had never made it to Killington until wed. Started the day of with laps off K1 with trips down cascades, double dipper, east fall and the north ridge area. The weather was spectacular, not a cloud in the sky, warm temps, but not warm enough to affect the snow much.. Then I made my way over to snowdon and ramshead doing a few laps off of the poma for fun. Did the squeeze play which has to be the longest glade I've ever done, easy pitch but really long. then made my way over to skye peak by lunch to do superstar, skyelark, skyeburst etc. Eventually did outer limits which for me was an adventure for me because I kinda suck at moguls. Did one run down to skyeship base where there really isn't that much snow left. By the end of the day I worked my way back over to K1 to do a few more runs before the lifts closed.
Overall its easy for me to compare Killington to Sunday River, where I have skied many times, as they are similar in size and have a multiple peak layout. Killington I think wins because there is generally more vert in each run, plus more vert overall, you do feel like your at the top off New England on the top of Killington peak. Also the runs tend to have a little more variation in pitch and width, where all of Sunday River's trails ski the same as they all have similar pitch and width. However Sunday River doesn't have nearly the amount of crossovers and intersections that Killington has. It seems as though every trail has 4 or 5 intersections in it. I enjoyed the day a lot and hope to get back there next year to explore the more of the mountain.
Pico 3/11
Stayed another night in Rutland and headed to Pico on thurs. Again bought my ticket on liftopia, this time for $30. Pico is my new favorite midsize mountain. Spent most of the day doing laps off the summit express, with occasional runs off of the golden express. Also did a couple of runs on the gnomes knoll triple. The little Pico tiple and outpost chair weren't running, however I did hike up to the top of outpost once to ski bronco form the top of the golden express. My favorite trails were KA, sunset 71, sunset schuss, and the birch woods. These are classic narrow ungroomed trails with lots of character. Also they are long runs as its about 1.5 miles down to the base of the summit express and 2 miles down to the base of the mountain. Also the place is really uncrowded, and the people that were there stuck to 49er and Pike mostly. It did rain a bit at 2:00 but stopped after about 45min, it really did not dampen the day at all. This is a mountain that gets seriously overlooked being right next to Killington. I highly recommend the mountain to anyone who has not been there yet. This is a place that I see myself skiing a lot in future years.
Overall it was a great three day solo trip to Vermont to get to see and experience some new mountains.
Bromley 3/9
After driving around 3 hrs from home in Mass, I got to the mountain at around 10:30. Used a $10 off coupon from the Boston ski expo so that my ticket cost $29. But even at full price the lift tickets at Bromley seem reasonably cheap. Did laps off of the express quad all day mixing it up between the cruisers on the west side and the steeper runs on the east side. Did a couple laps on the blue ribbon quad, and 1 run each off the T bar and alpine chair, for the fun of riding a T bar and a double-double. Because of the southern exposure the snow really softened up to mashed potatoes in a lot of areas by the afternoon, but it was still a lot of fun. Did a few runs in the glades but I found the snow to be almost too soft and wet as my ski tails often got hooked in the snow. Nonetheless it was good spring day with nice warm weather and sunshine. Good thing I brought sunscreen. Bromley is a nice midsized mountain that is well priced and often overlooked being next to Flatton.
Killington 3/10
After skiing Bromley I drove up to Rutland to find a motel for the night. Woke up wed morning and drove up to Killington arriving in the parking lot right next to the K1 Gondola. I bought my ticket on liftopia for $52. I never pay full price. After skiing in New England for almost 20 years, I had never made it to Killington until wed. Started the day of with laps off K1 with trips down cascades, double dipper, east fall and the north ridge area. The weather was spectacular, not a cloud in the sky, warm temps, but not warm enough to affect the snow much.. Then I made my way over to snowdon and ramshead doing a few laps off of the poma for fun. Did the squeeze play which has to be the longest glade I've ever done, easy pitch but really long. then made my way over to skye peak by lunch to do superstar, skyelark, skyeburst etc. Eventually did outer limits which for me was an adventure for me because I kinda suck at moguls. Did one run down to skyeship base where there really isn't that much snow left. By the end of the day I worked my way back over to K1 to do a few more runs before the lifts closed.
Overall its easy for me to compare Killington to Sunday River, where I have skied many times, as they are similar in size and have a multiple peak layout. Killington I think wins because there is generally more vert in each run, plus more vert overall, you do feel like your at the top off New England on the top of Killington peak. Also the runs tend to have a little more variation in pitch and width, where all of Sunday River's trails ski the same as they all have similar pitch and width. However Sunday River doesn't have nearly the amount of crossovers and intersections that Killington has. It seems as though every trail has 4 or 5 intersections in it. I enjoyed the day a lot and hope to get back there next year to explore the more of the mountain.
Pico 3/11
Stayed another night in Rutland and headed to Pico on thurs. Again bought my ticket on liftopia, this time for $30. Pico is my new favorite midsize mountain. Spent most of the day doing laps off the summit express, with occasional runs off of the golden express. Also did a couple of runs on the gnomes knoll triple. The little Pico tiple and outpost chair weren't running, however I did hike up to the top of outpost once to ski bronco form the top of the golden express. My favorite trails were KA, sunset 71, sunset schuss, and the birch woods. These are classic narrow ungroomed trails with lots of character. Also they are long runs as its about 1.5 miles down to the base of the summit express and 2 miles down to the base of the mountain. Also the place is really uncrowded, and the people that were there stuck to 49er and Pike mostly. It did rain a bit at 2:00 but stopped after about 45min, it really did not dampen the day at all. This is a mountain that gets seriously overlooked being right next to Killington. I highly recommend the mountain to anyone who has not been there yet. This is a place that I see myself skiing a lot in future years.
Overall it was a great three day solo trip to Vermont to get to see and experience some new mountains.
