Photo: IStock.comFebruary 28, 2010
Killington, Vermont
Ski Watch Reporter Todd

Ski Watch Reporter Todd skied at Killington in Vermont on Sunday, February 28. Here's what Todd had to say about his ski day:

The K-1 Parking lot filled up early today, but you could park down the road if you had to, most other lots were also at peak capacity.

Snow conditions were great today. Most trails were groomed (71 or about half the trails).

There was great powder in the woods and trees probably about 2 feet deep and it was medium heavy. Snowdon Mountain and Ramshead Mountain had the best snow and fewest crowds today.

Everyone tends to gravitate to Bear Mountain and Skye peak probably because they have more challenging expert trails. I skied all of the intermediate and beginner trails off the Snowdon and Ramshead quads today, both early in the day and late and all these trails retained soft pliable somewhat heavy snow that was perfect for either bombing or carving. The trails under these two quads, Header and Chut were particularly good trails for intermediates, good pitch but not too steep and void of moguls. These trails did NOT get icy or hard all day, they retained a good cover of 2 to 4 inches of soft snow.

Easy Street and Caper, two beginner trails off Ramshead were nice wide cruisers that were not somewhat challenging for intermediates. North Star and Great Bear (experts off Snowdon) had some nice large moguls that had plenty of snow on them and around them and these could be handled by intermediate skiers.

In the afternoon I went over to Killington Peak and took Blue Heaven to Solitude, I had never taken Solitude before, it is a beginner trail that curves back and forth forever eventually coming out at Sassafras (or Juggernaut that was closed today) which drops you at the South Ridge Triple Chair, which was not running. So I continued down to the Bear Mountain base area.

Off the Bear Mountain Quad I skied Outer Limits, a double black diamond, which is usually just a black diamond, but today it was more moguled up so it was a truer double black, plus it was a little icy between the moguls.

Wildfire (Black diamond) and Bear Claw (intermediate) were a little easier but they had some moguls also. Most people in the afternoon were avoiding the Bear Mountain Quad and taking the Skye Peak Express Quad. After 2:00 there was no one getting on the lift at Bear Mountain Quad but about a 10-15 minute wait at the Skye Peak Express Quad. At this top of this Quad, there is also a drop off for the Skye ship express gondola Stage II,

So the crowds below these two lifts are always packed and today they were particularly packed. In fact there were so many people that all of the trails cutting back to the K-1 Lodge were packed and the snow was moguled up everywhere, making it difficult for a beginner skier to get down safely, if you don’t get run over, you crash on the moguls. Now that I think of it and looking at the trail map, they should have had the Gondola go up higher on the mountain to avoid this traffic jam of two lifts dispersing skiers in the same place.
 
Conditions for tomorrow will be about the same if not better if is snows a couple of inches tonight as expected.

Newsworthy or pertinent Lift information: The Snowdon and Ramshead Mountain Quads had no lift lines today and I suspect they are good bets on very busy days, which today was.   

Current and Upcoming Events or ticket deals: The weekend of March 20-21 is Ski and Ride Ladies Weekend, five hours of clinics taught by talented female instructors. If you want to get a last minute ski getaway at a steep discount, check out the Snow Blind Deals, offering up to 40 percent off lodging, plus discounts on tickets.

Ski tips: Ski the runs off the Skye Peak early and avoid them in the afternoon, and switch to the Ramshead, Snowdon Mountain areas.  

An overall subjective opinion: Considering that the parking lots were full and that the weather was slightly overcast, the snow and visibility were very good to excellent today. It was not cold and the snow stayed firm all day due to a lack of direct sunlight. The snow conditions today were just about perfect.

 

-Ski Watch Reporter Todd