Killington Feb 9, 2012

[4aprice]

Camelback Crew day 4 at the Beast. Nice and sunny with a bit of a breeze. Really stuck to the groomers all day as the bumps I saw just looked rock hard. Started with a run down Cascade as a couple of the crew were delayed by equipment problems, then headed over to Bear to follow the sun. Hit Wildfire, Dreammaker, Bear Claw and Skyburst and did a couple of groomed OL's. Hit the Superstar side along with Skyelark and Bittersweet. Everything skied about the same getting slicker as the day wore on. In the afternoon my daughter came up from CSC and joined us for a couple of runs on the Snowdon/Ramshead side. Some of our crew ventured into the woods but came out very disappointed. While I always enjoy being at and skiing Killington it was not vintage K today. Will be back later this season hoping for better. Tomorrow the final day of the trip we originally planned to be at Magic but with mother nature not being so kind a vote was taken and it looks like Bromley. Then its back to CBK for the weekend.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[thetrailboss]

Seems weird to hear that OL was groomed.

 

[drjeff]

Seems weird to hear that OL was groomed.

Well you know when the new low e tower guns they installed on OL this year don't quite have nearly the throw that the old tower guns had, you gotta get some of that manmade snow spread out across OL one way or another

 

[4aprice]

Seems weird to hear that OL was groomed.

Really only 1/2 of it was groomed. There were bumps on the side away from the chair but like I said in the report I wasn't going anywhere near them. As much as I like bump skiing yesterday was just one of those days to avoid them.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[jimmywilson69]

Seems weird to hear that OL was groomed.

They groom it rather regularly the past few years.

 

[oakapple]

Did you teach your girlfriend to ski?

 

[drjeff]

My guess is that the "new" low e tower guns on OL for this season "quietly" get switched out this coming summer and the "old" ones re-installed. Then the current low e towers on OL get re-installed on a trail(s) that is maybe 75 feet or so wide instead of a trail that is over 200 feet wide. I'm guessing that it was either a big "oh sh$t" moment when they 1st lit up OL with the new towers this year and whoever made the decision to install them there saw the decreased throw they had compared to the old guns, combined maybe with a bit of an "I told you so" moment from someone in the snowmaking department (who probably didn't have much say, if any at all) in the decision to install them there.

The snowmakers at K are as good as anyone in the world, and they have an extensive arensal of gun types at their disposal. That very efficient HKD tower gun that is on OL now is a very ood product, however a wide trail like OL probably isn't the best place for them. I'm guessing that either some folks at K, and maybe even some folks at HKD, learned a bit of a lesson with OL this year. And who knows, if HKD comes out with a new low e, long throw tower gun for next year, maybe those will line OL next year! Considering that the NSAA East region convention was at K this past week, i'm guessing that there were plenty of different manufacturers there showing off their latest and greatest snowmaking and grooming and everything else industry related stuff this week

 

[bobbutts]

Doubt they change it, it's cheaper to cover 1/3 of the trail vs. the whole thing.

 

[oakapple]

Really only 1/2 of it was groomed. There were bumps on the side away from the chair but like I said in the report I wasn't going anywhere near them. As much as I like bump skiing yesterday was just one of those days to avoid them.

I think that's one of the reasons why they regularly groom OL. After they turn to ice, those bumps are quite dangerous, and there have been some injuries. It's compounded by the fact that a lot of people feel obligated to try OL as a rite of passage, so you have a lot of inexpert skiers up there.