Seeded Moguls Coming to Killington for 09-10 Season

[Greg]

Snicker.......:dunce:

I forgot to include: "Blow the Fiddle!"

 

[Geoff]

Never groom Escapade, Vertigo, nor Northstar under any circumstances. Let Superstar and OL bump up fully in the spring. Maybe have one intermediate bump run - Skyelark perhaps? I think this would satisfy all the bumpers.

I doubt you've been here when Escapade, Vertigo, Northstar, Great Bear, and Vagabond are unskiable. The best strategy is to groom them after big thaws and groom them immediately before a 12"+ dump is expected. That's not too far off from what they've been doing. Killington has far too much uphill capacity to leave the natural snow trails roped off for weeks.

I think 50% grooming of the wide, steep bump trails like OL and Superstar is the better approach. The issue with OL is that they don't blow skier's right so it can be pretty sketchy over there. Skier's left of lower Superstar is also pretty sketchy. Skier's right of Ovation has the same issue. Killington has too much uphill capacity to leave those unskiable for the average customer. 50% grooming and edge-to-edge snowmaking solve the issue quite nicely.

 

[Greg]

I doubt you've been here when Escapade, Vertigo, Northstar, Great Bear, and Vagabond are unskiable. The best strategy is to groom them after big thaws and groom them immediately before a 12"+ dump is expected. That's not too far off from what they've been doing. Killington has far too much uphill capacity to leave the natural snow trails roped off for weeks.

I think 50% grooming of the wide, steep bump trails like OL and Superstar is the better approach. The issue with OL is that they don't blow skier's right so it can be pretty sketchy over there. Skier's left of lower Superstar is also pretty sketchy. Skier's right of Ovation has the same issue. Killington has too much uphill capacity to leave those unskiable for the average customer. 50% grooming and edge-to-edge snowmaking solve the issue quite nicely.

Definitions of "unskiable" vary.

But I hear ya. I think most bumpers would be willing to compormise on the half grooming, but I do feel Vertigo, Northstar, and Escapade should only be groomed under the worst circumstances, especially in the spring. Sugarbush has better natural bumps for a reason - they leave them alone, and yeah, they're unskiable sometimes, but you rope it, or just post some signs up. We all know how well the "letting bumps reform" approach works these days. Leaving three trails fully alone out of the 2,000 or whatever it is Killington claims to have these days is not a lot to ask.

 

[frankm938]

Tom - given the feedback that Vertigo has some of the best natural bumps on the mountain already, have you guys considered somewhere else to seed?

I still vote for skier's left on Double Dipper. Good visibility from the base, entertainment for the spectators on the quad, nice pitch, snow making, and plenty wide enough to half groom. Seeded bumps would give add a lot of character back to a trail that many people call an atrocity.

East Fall should get pounded with snow making in the winter and left virtually ungroomed all spring and allow natural bumps to form. Or perhaps seed once and let it go. Could be a great late season/spring bumper.

Never groom Escapade, Vertigo, nor Northstar under any circumstances. Let Superstar and OL bump up fully in the spring. Maybe have one intermediate bump run - Skyelark perhaps? I think this would satisfy all the bumpers.

double dipper would be fun and anywhere they seed is gonna get skied, but i vote for seeding the steep trails (OL, lower ovation ect) where the bumps get spaced out.

 

[mister moose]

Definitions of "unskiable" vary.

I do feel Vertigo, Northstar, and Escapade should only be groomed under the worst circumstances, especially in the spring. Sugarbush has better natural bumps for a reason - they leave them alone, and yeah, they're unskiable sometimes, but you rope it, or just post some signs up. We all know how well the "letting bumps reform" approach works these days. Leaving three trails fully alone out of the 2,000 or whatever it is Killington claims to have these days is not a lot to ask.

Groom most trails after a concrete creating rain-freeze event until the third week of March. My shoulder will be grateful. Soft bumps = good bumps!

 

[deadheadskier]

Don't like the idea of ANY grooming outside of after thaws on OL. It's a signature expert trail for the EC and should be left in it's most difficult state - VW sized bumps

 

[mondeo]

I doubt you've been here when Escapade, Vertigo, Northstar, Great Bear, and Vagabond are unskiable. The best strategy is to groom them after big thaws and groom them immediately before a 12"+ dump is expected. That's not too far off from what they've been doing. Killington has far too much uphill capacity to leave the natural snow trails roped off for weeks.

I think 50% grooming of the wide, steep bump trails like OL and Superstar is the better approach. The issue with OL is that they don't blow skier's right so it can be pretty sketchy over there. Skier's left of lower Superstar is also pretty sketchy. Skier's right of Ovation has the same issue. Killington has too much uphill capacity to leave those unskiable for the average customer. 50% grooming and edge-to-edge snowmaking solve the issue quite nicely.

As I remember it, they didn't groom Escapade or Vertigo at all the last half of last season, Needle's lift line never gets groomed. Skier's right on OL wasn't touched all season.

Where were the best bumps at the end of the year? All those places. Compare that to runs like upper Wildfire, where the post-thaw and pre-dump grooming leaves consistently crappy bumps because they never get a chance to really get skied in.

They don't need to leave all the natural snow trails roped off, just a couple. They have enough downhill capacity to do that.

As far as where to seed bumps, I'd either go with lower OL and 50-75% width on either Bear Claw or Needles Eye. I'm with Frank on needing some on the steeps, but there needs to be some beginner bumps too. If Bear Claw isn't going to be a park anymore, that's the logical place to me for pitch and to ride up with a view to OL, get some nice bump stoke going for the people just getting into the bumps.

 

[Greg]

For the coming season, mogul skiers will see, well, more moguls here at Killington! We’ll be offering a seeded mogul run for the 2009-10 season on Lower Vertigo. In addition, we’ll be looking at options for more “natural” bumps on some of our classic signature runs such as Outer Limits, Superstar and Ovation.

It seems like Killington has lightened up on the brutal grooming quite a bit so far this season. Are the regulars detecting a change at all?

 

[frankm938]

It seems like Killington has lightened up on the brutal grooming quite a bit so far this season. Are the regulars detecting a change at all?

yes, it was nice to see cascade still bumped up sunday morning.

 

[skiadikt]

It seems like Killington has lightened up on the brutal grooming quite a bit so far this season. Are the regulars detecting a change at all?

they haven't been grooming the nat trails letting them bump up. but there's barely enough snow to groom and conditions are good. they've left some bumps on mouse trap and i think lower cascade has yet to be groomed so yeah maybe there's a change. let's hope so but really it's too early to tell.

 

[BushMogulMaster]

they haven't been grooming the nat trails letting them bump up. but there's barely enough snow to groom and conditions are good. they've left some bumps on mouse trap and i think lower cascade has yet to be groomed so yeah maybe there's a change. let's hope so but really it's too early to tell.

It's definitely too early. The natural trails are not really groomable yet, even up here at the Bush. Plenty of snow for skiing, but not enough for grooming. The real test will be the snowmaking trails, and after we get a bunch more snow on the natural trails. I'm hopeful, but not really expecting much of a change at the K. We'll see!