Killington in April

[aschir01]

I am moving to NY later this month to start a new job there and I was wondering what my prospects were for a weekend of skiing in April, specifically at Killington. In short, what conditions could I expect and how much of the mountain might be open? Thanks for your help.

 

[Tyrolean_skier]

Usually in April you will have spring skiing. That means soft snow and lots of moguls. There will probably be less trails than in the winter. Also some trails might have some thin cover. Last year at the beginning of April Killington got a huge dump of snow that helped a lot in keeping things opened. The Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge is held the first weekend of April. There is a huge party at the base of Outer Limits. It is a lot of fun.
Have a blast when you go up there.

 

[nightingale]

Killington has high-elevation terrain available at the terminus of the access road - stays open when everyone else is done!

 

[skibum1321]

Killington has high-elevation terrain available at the terminus of the access road - stays open when everyone else is done!

It's not necessarily a factor of the elevation as much as it is a factor of the amount of snow blown. K-mart just blows more snow on Superstar than most other resorts blow onto a single trail.

 

[ozzy]

K-mart just blows more snow on Superstar than most other resorts blow onto a single trail.

Not this year they didn't
superstar doesn't have much life left in it this spring. thin spots are starting to show and bare spots are getting bigger by the day. after another sunny and 60 degree day tomorrow it should only get thinner. besides that they are still grooming it nightly which makes it go even quicker. Seems like killington just cant wait fot this winter to be through.
Besides that skiing was awsome today.

 

[riverc0il]

if the temps get to around the freezing mark, there really is not much harm in grooming nightly. though it is interesting they are doing grooming on superstar, i figured they would let it bump this late in the season and say the heck with grooming. they still have plenty of other groomers to mow down. any one have a recent pic of super? curious to see how much has opened up so far.

 

[skibum1321]

Not this year they didn't
superstar doesn't have much life left in it this spring. thin spots are starting to show and bare spots are getting bigger by the day. after another sunny and 60 degree day tomorrow it should only get thinner. besides that they are still grooming it nightly which makes it go even quicker. Seems like killington just cant wait fot this winter to be through.
Besides that skiing was awsome today.

That's really disappointing that they are still grooming Superstar. I would be really angry if I went there and found it groomed. All I want to do in spring is bumps and when a resort doesn't have them I get bored after about 2 runs.

 

[andyzee]

if the temps get to around the freezing mark, there really is not much harm in grooming nightly. though it is interesting they are doing grooming on superstar, i figured they would let it bump this late in the season and say the heck with grooming. they still have plenty of other groomers to mow down. any one have a recent pic of super? curious to see how much has opened up so far.

Superstar this past Sunday:

http://killingtonaccessrd.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/normal_P4090019~0.JPG

 

[Greg]

Wow! I've never seen Superstar groomed like that in mid-April... :blink: What gives?

 

[Vortex]

Last year when I went in April and May, if it froze up they made a pass or two. My guess here is access for all skiers. On a warm day by mid morning the bumps will be head high.

Families want to be able to ski together, not everyone is a bump skier. Trying to get families to come up. I don't have an opinion either way... just a guess.

 

[andyzee]

Wow! I've never seen Superstar groomed like that in mid-April... :blink: What gives?

I never saw Superstar groomed like that. Never skied it as fast as I did this past Sunday:lol:

 

[2knees]

This is criminal. The real killington is officially dead. Not only groomed but i cant believe how shallow the drop is from the trail down to the liftline. In years past this wouldve been 4 or 5 feet in mid april not the foot or two in this picture.

[URL="http://killingtonaccessrd.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/normal_P4090019%

 

[skibum1321]

If only ASC would sell Killington, maybe it could have some soul...

 

[andyzee]

This is criminal. The real killington is officially dead. Not only groomed but i cant believe how shallow the drop is from the trail down to the liftline. In years past this wouldve been 4 or 5 feet in mid april not the foot or two in this picture.

That's the truth. I was telling my wife this weekend. I remember the first time I ever did Superstar, guess that was about 4 years ago. I thought it was great, there were mounds of snow about 10-15' high.

 

[salida]

Wow, that sucks... I was thinking of going to K if the weather is bad in the whites this weekend. But without a bump run, whats the point.

They just shot themselves in the foot.

 

[2knees]

one of the local guys who posts on killingtonzone says that they catted a bump run on the lower headwall. So it's not as bad as we thought.

 

[loafer89]

That's the truth. I was telling my wife this weekend. I remember the first time I ever did Superstar, guess that was about 4 years ago. I thought it was great, there were mounds of snow about 10-15' high.

Ahh, the good old days, circa May 17th, 1993:

 

[andyzee]

Ahh, the good old days, circa May 17th, 1993:

That one looks like it's at the top of the trail, at least they still build that up, so that they can push snow down the trail as needed. What I'm talking about is hills like that on the lower portions.

 

[loafer89]

That one looks like it's at the top of the trail, at least they still build that up, so that they can push snow down the trail as needed. What I'm talking about is hills like that on the lower portions.

Yes the picture is at the top, but the date is one month past todays date, and the rest of the trail had 25-30' that year. That pile was 15' high including the base underneath of it. Killington was still experimenting with how much snow to stockpile on Superstar in 1993 and make it last into June.

This was the view looking down Superstar:

 

[salida]

It has become pretty obvious that K is no longer the early and late season giant that it was during the 90's. I wonder if any other area could take its place, or if any other area wants to take its place. It is to bad that there are no longer any places to get lift service in June or October...

-Porter