Day 46 - Seven Springs

Annual trip to ski with family. On the hill from 9:00 until 1:45; 20° overcast and snowing; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; another poor racing performance - 27+ handicap at NASTAR today.

Day 45 - Killington

On the hill a little over 2 hours starting right at 8:00; skied the Blizzard Brahma's; Needle's, Superstar, and the Canyon; right knee is bad, bad, bad.

Day 44 - Killington

Waited for it to start snowing - out for a couple of hours at the end of the day; 2" by 4:00PM; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's.

Day 43 - Killiington

Day 42 - Pico

After 3 days of rain there's not a stitch of snow around - without snowmaking Pico would have < 1% snow coverage; out for a couple of hours in the afternoon; overcast with temps in the teens; Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's.

Day 41 - Killington

9:00 to 1:00; skied till it rained; Timberline, Supe, and Cascade; overcast and windy with temps in the upper thirties; Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's.

Day 40 - Killington

Out 9:00 until 2:00 with a quick KBL coffee break; overcast and windy with temps in the twenties; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; miles; skied with Sardelli and Bud's NJ posse.

Day 39 - Killington

No real progress today - still skiing like shit. Out from 9:00 till 2:30; warmer today - teens warming into the twenties; full on K-Cloud this morning, with a heavier overcast by the afternoon; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the brand new Blizzard Brahma's; another crappy Ski Bum result today, 28th overall - even finished behind the Women's B winner; the Blizzard Brahmas ski shorter than their 180cm length.

Day 38 - Killington

Really, really struggling - hope to regain some sense of competence soon. Out for 3 hours at the end of the day; cold, windy, and snowing; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; tons of people on the hill today despite the cold - big PSIA event this week; didn't get scanned for the second day in a row.

Day 37 - Killington

Just out for a couple of runs to get the day. Very cold overcast with a fairly stiff breeze; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's.

Day 36 - Killington

ASRA GS: Run 1 - 40.32 (83)   Run 2 - 40.19 (88)   Overall - 1:20.51 (82)   +15.05 behind 1st place; Clear, cold, and still - 7 below at Snowdon this morning; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's and the Atomic GS-12's.

Day 35 - Killington

ASRA GS: Run 1 - 41.21 (44)   Run 2 - 40.94 (36)   Total - 1:22.15 (38)   +14.85 behind 1st place; 10° and snowing with 5" of new snow; nailed both pair of GS skis, but really fucked up the #2's.

Day 34 - Killington

ASRA Race Camp Day 3/Ski Bum 1. On the hill from 9:15 until 2:00; overcast with light winds; temps in the teens; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; AM fall - third fall of the season; skied a comfortable first Ski Bum of the year - 32.29 (22)/(5); PM - single GS run on Bunny plus a single re-run the Ski Bum course; woke up this morning with a sore toe - skiing today did it no favors it still hurts like hell.

Day 33 - Killington

ASRA Race Camp Day 2. On the hill from 9:15 until 2:00; overcast changing to light snow; temps in the low twenties; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL WorldCups; not every day's a good one.

Day 32 - Killington

ASRA Race Camp Day 1. On the hill from 9:30 until 2:00; snow, wind and freezing rain; temps in the twenties; AM skiing drills; PM brushes and stubbies; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL WorldCuups; Ric - change edges without changing direction then pressure, no rotary; John - make something happen between the turns... too static... move forward, pole plant, anything, something...

Day 31 - Killington

Killington Race Camp Day 5. Only on the hill in the AM - left at lunch; hard rain overnight, but it stopped just before 9:00; windy overcast with dropping temps - around freezing when I left; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL WorldCups; slalom gates on Bunny; brought home new skis - Blizzard Brahamas.

Day 30 - Killington

Killington Race Camp Day 4; on the hill from 9:00 until 3:00 with just a lunch break; overcast and windy with temps in the thirties - despite the forcast no rain today, it may be a different story overnight; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17 & 19's; today was Race Day   41.29 (6)   41.14 (6)   1:22.43 (6) +8.00 from the winner +0.43 from (5th); skied the race course a ½ dozen times after the race before they pulled it; East Falll was really good this afternoon - our group made our final run of the day on it, it was so good I did 2 more despite having to use K-1.

Day 29 - Killington

Killington Race Camp Day 3; on the hill from 9:00 until 2:30 with just a quick lunch break; partly cloudy with temps in the thirties; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; lots of gates today - full length GS on Bunny both AM and PM.

Day 28 - Killington

Killington Race Camp Day 2; on the hill from 9:00 until 2:30 with a ¾ hour lunch break; brightening overcast with eventual peeks of sunshine; temps in the thirties - snowmaking continued, but only at higher elevations; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; full length GS on Bunny this afternoon; skiing better with the softened Dobi's; use loopy turns to stay in the course - jump hard on the fronts while using the ankle, knee, hip progression to make the ski turn across the hill.

Day 27 - Killington

Killington Race Camp Day 1. On the hill from 9:00 until 3:00 with just a 30 minute lunch break; overcast with in and out fog; temps in the low thirties, so no snowmaking today; skied both the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17 and 19's; DT's group - go figure?; balance drills - up and over for angulation - White Pass turns for inclination; other crap; still having trouble with speed control using anything but skidding - DT's recommendation more forward pressure earlier in the turn and higher edge angles to tighten the turn radius thereby controlling speed using turn shape; went to Peak after today's session to soften the Dobi 150's in an effort to allow me to actually make small forward moves to engage the tip of the ski.

Day 26 - Killington

On the hill from 8:00 until 1:00; Overcast but warmer - upper twenties for first chair, mid-thirties on the way home; 15 runs; 12,500 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's and the Rossignol Experience 98's; DT lead our KSC Masters group today - fairly productive morning; 1,000 steps, up only - garland turns, across only; shorter turn progression - ankles, knees, hips; pass the poles behind Schlopy; to affectuate forward pressure use ankle flexation and big, hard, dramatic forward move; while doing drills, don't be subtle - demonstration required exaggeration.

Day 25 - Killington

Big holiday crowd. On the hill from 8:00 until 2:00 with both coffee and lunch breaks; clear skies and cold temps - 5° first thing this morning, but warming up nicely throughout the day - 24° when I left; 19 runs; 18,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's again today; first day of KSC Masters training - no revelations, just someone different to listen to and some different things to think about; Chris and Trevor are visiting from PA; fell in the Mouse Run park after sliding off the side of one of the boxes.

Day 24 - Killington

Felt like a holiday on the hill today. Out from 8:00 until 11:00 with a quick KBL coffee break; 9°-13° with brilliant sunshine and little to no wind; 18 runs; 16,100 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; late arriving crowd - nobody on the hill till after coffee, then it was swamped; conditions remain good - firm and smooth where they groomed, plus lots of snowmaking; Lower Skylark had some large whales - a little wet, but hey they're trying to build base; my skiing felt pretty good today - not sure what makes a good day versus a bad one?

Day 23 - Killington

Very nice recovery from yesterday's rain. On the hill from 8:00 until 2:15 with a KBL coffee break and a 2 beer, 2 pretzel lunch at the Long Trail Pub in the Snowshed lodge; yesterday's rain ended as 3" of new snow; overcast to start, partly cloudy when I left; 10°-15° today; 23 runs; 24,250 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; perfectly timed grooming last night given the change from rain to snow; the hill looked in really good shape today - you could hardly tell it rained; Lower East Fall first thing was devine - groomed nice and flat and setup with 3" of perfectly cohesive new snow; Snowshed and Ramshead opened today; skied every open trail segement except FIS and Cascade Runout; decent crowd given the holiday - makes me worry about tomorrow; skied on and off this morning with Susan and Jay.

Day 22 - Killington

A little snow before the deluge. On the hill from 9:00 until 1:30 with a KBL coffee break; 2-3" new snow overnight; overcast with a steady breeze; temps rising through the twenties; started out on the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's and changed to the Atomic GS-12's after coffee; 21 runs; 24,500 vertical; skied a little better today; a big storm on the way, forcast to start as snow then rain long and hard and finally finish off as some more snow; not sure if I'll ski tomorrow - we'll see what the weather brings.

Day 21 - Killington

Looks and feels like winter. On the hill from 9:00 until 1:45 with an extended KBL coffee break to warm up; sunny and cold with a steady west wind; Snowdon temps: 7° at 9:00, 14° at 1:45; 19 runs; 23,250 vertical; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; very few people on the hill today; not sure I like where my skiing is at right now - hoping some of the upcoming camps will help me figure things out; Superstar Headwall was gnarly today - it kicked my ass the first time I tried it, but I returned a second time and at least came down without losing total control; didn't realize it until I got home and took a shower, but I got frostbite on both cheeks today - below the goggles and above the neck gaitor; GoPro footage - on YouTube.

Day 20 - Killington

On the hill 9:00 to 2:00 with a KBL coffee break; an inch of snow, then rain overnight; total fog and light rain to start - the fog stayed but the rain stopped about 11:00; temp fell to 30° by the time I left; 23 runs; 25,150 vertical; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; very few people on the hill - too bad because it was pretty good; skied every open trail segment today except Mouse Trap - with just ½ an ounce of forethought I could have gotten it too; Highline and East Fall opened today - East Fall was so good I stayed an extra hour and did it six times; used my new clear goggle lenses today - they worked really well; today's GoPro lesson - you get lots of white-on-white on a foggy day - Highline POV.

Day 19 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 1:30 with just a quickie KBL coffee break; 30° and sunny with a light breeze; 30 runs – ok, 19 were either the NRT or the Poma, but 30 is still a good number; 23,250 vertical; skied the Atomic GS-12’s; snowmaking on Snowshed was turned off when I left – not sure whether it was temperature related or they’re done; technique conundrum – cross-over vs. early forward pressure on the outside ski with angulation.

Day 18 - Killington

Perfect snowmaking weather overnight - cold and still. On the hill from 9:00 until 12:00 with a quick KBL coffee break - cut things short this morning so I could head to the gym this afternoon; started out with brilliant sunshine, by noon things dimmed slightly as some high cirrus clouds rolled in; temps in the twenties; 17 runs; 18,100 vertical; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; good skiing just about everywhere - Lower Skylark had 15-20 big piles of snow and the picture below shows the big pile at the top of Mouse Trap; did a few in North Ridge before I left - firm, but nice; re-surfacing more or less complete - full on expansion mode in progress, East Fall, Highline, and Snowshed lit top-to-bottom; snow making started in earnest at Pico today - Forty-niner all the way down Lower Pike.

Day 17 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 12:45 with an early coffee break in KBL after I got cold hands; a high K-cloud kept the hill overcast while everything else around looked to have a partly cloudy day; large temperature variation today - mid-to-upper twenties at the base and mid-teens up top; 21 runs; 18,750 vertical; skied the Volkl P50 SL Cheaters today for the first time in like ten years; snowmaking returned overnight - resurfacing on Snowdon and Skye with spot guns on Great Northern; a dusting of snow overnight - just enough to hide some of the obstacles; not sure where or when I did it, but I nailed the newly repaired P50's today.

Day 16 - Killington

Despite the warm weather over the weekend and the heavy rain overnight, there was still some good snow to be found today. On the hill from 10:15 until 3:00 with a quick lunch break in KBL; mid-forties with peeks of sunshine through the wind blown overcast; 22 runs; 22,850 vertical; skied the K2 Apache Xplorers; after a couple of hours of sliding around, I found the sweet spot on these skis - ski these things from the front with little to no rotary; the good - good cover remains on Rime and East Fall and some great snow on Skylark-Bittersweet; the bad - it's going to take most of the week to resurface everything; and the ugly - walking required signs on Superstar Headwall and Middle Great Northern.

Day 15 - Killington

A very good day. On the hill from 9:00 until 1:45; substituted a lunch break for the normal KBL coffee break - I wanted to ski as much as I could today, since I won't ski this weekend; temps in the forties with brilliant sunshine all day; 26 runs; 21,750 vertical; started with the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's and finished with the Volkl P60 SC's; skied every open lift and every open trail except FIS and High Traverse; great conditions just about everywhere today - the only exceptions were Lower Skylark (a trillion golf ball sized chucks after it's first grooming of the season) and Lower Chute (a little chunky, but it got skied in a little after a couple of hours); Superstar Headwall opened today to some sweet snowmaking and Upper Chute was a surprise find at the end of the day - so soft and dry, I cut over at the bottom and climbed back to the Poma to get a second shot; I was glad to have another opportunity to ski Volkl P60's - a little soft, but still a super fun ski; more GoPro today - GoPro Test 8.

Day 14 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 1:00; took a long coffee break waiting for Superstar to open; a cold and breezy 30° day with decreasing overcast; 17 runs; 18,000 vertical; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; with more lifts and terrain opening there's plenty of room now on the hill; Skye-High-Sweet opened at noon - I was expecting some soft snow, but it ended up being firm and variable; more GoPro today - GoPro Test 7.

Day 13 - Killington

On the hill this afternoon after going to the gym this morning. Before you think me too virtuous, let me explain. I need to ski more varied conditions - too many early morning groomers lately, so some afternoon hard pack was in order. On the hill from 12:45 until 4:15 - coincidentally, the same time as KMS - I thought I'd miss them, but no such luck; I caught the last gondi at 3:58; clear and cold (teens) with a stiff breeze - another winter day; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; 21 runs; 15,500 vertical; tons of snowmaking around the mountain - I expect both Superstar and Snowdon tomorrow; some GoPro footage today - GoPro Test 6; I would have more, but I took too long 'hiding' the tripod and some guys skiing by seemed a little too interested in what I was doing.

Day 12 - Killington

First winter day of the season. On the hill from 9:00 until 1:15 with just a quick coffee break in KBL; completely overcast; mid-to-upper teens; another inch or two of snow overnight; skied the Atomic GS-12's again today; 28 runs; 19,600 vertical; much better crowd today - other than the initial rush at K-1, no liftlines what so ever; conditions are excellent - good coverage, good grooming, and soft snow; felt much better with the GS-12's today; much more room on the hill today, especially after the KMS kids left for school; KMS kids on their absolute best behavior today; feeling frisky enough to hit the Reason Park twice - obviously no rails or boxes, but I popped off every ramp.

Day 11 - Killington

Big Vetern's Day crowd today. On the hill from 9:00 until 1:15 with a quick coffee break in KBL; upper twenties; mostly cloudy up top, mostly sunny at KBL; 21 runs; 16,900 vertical; skied the newly repaired Atomic GS-12's - they're still a top notch ski; top-to-bottom is finally open, so no more walking the stairs; too many people on the hill today to really open it up with the GS skis; much harder to keep in front of the GS-12's; feeling good, skiing just OK.

Day 10 - Killington

I didn't know Vetern's Day Weekend was a ski holiday. Peak Lodge construction delayed this morning's start until 11:00, so I joined Susan and Jay in KBL for a coffee. Ok, Jay and I had a couple of beers, but whatever. So, we were on the hill for a couple of hours starting at 11:00; mid-twenties with light snow falling; 9 runs; 5,400 vertical; huge crowd for an early season Friday - 4-5 minute lift lines everytime; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; nice recovery from yesterday's rain - frozen granular, but it didn't seem to get too scraped off or sugary; today's revelation - keep thinking macro view and add a light touch - don't tense the legs while edging - if the transition is timed correctly and everything is stacked, a light touch will grip and turn much smoother.

Day 9 - Killington

Amazed at the number of people stupid enough to join me this morning skiing in a driving rainstorm! On the hill for a couple of hours starting right at 9:00; the weather was, as previously stated, warm and rainy with a stout breeze from the SW; soft snow where they had groomed (Great Northern, Rime, Upper East Fall), skiable moonscape where they had not (Upper Double Dipper); coverage remains good - just a few thin spots on Great Northern and on the sides of the main trails; 13 runs; 7,750 vertical; skied the K2 Apache Xplorers; even in the soft snow the K2's aren't working well any more - I guess they're relegated to 'early season tree ski' status from now on; I'm feeling pretty good, although my left calf tightened up a little last night so I'm going to the gym this afternoon for a light streaching session; more GoPro testing today - GoPro Test 5.

Day 8 - Killington

Another glorious day on the hill! Out for about 3½ hours starting right at 9:00; light winds and overcast skies gave way to brilliant sunshine almost immediately; upper thirties to start, probably mid-to-upper forties by the time I left; carvers paradise today - super soft, smooth, and cutable; 21 runs; 12,500 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters again today; as the run counts over the past few days attest, I'm feeling pretty good physically and I'm skiing adequately enough given the time of year; I plan on stepping things up next week - GS skis, bigger angles, and higher speeds; more GoPro testing this morning - GoPro Test 4.

Day 7 - Killington

Another day in paradise! Out for almost 4 hours starting at 9:00; brilliant sunshine with very little wind; upper twenties to start, mid-thirties to finish; 24 runs; 14,250 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; they groomed in yesterday's snowmaking and continued to make snow on top into mid-morning when the temps rose above freezing, making for another day of marvelous soft snow conditions; fairly large crowd today - 25 to 75 person lift line most of the morning; prevented a potential disaster this morning, when I noticed that the GoPro mount I was about to use was broken - having it fail and loosing my new GoPro would have sucked big time; had the opportunity to make a run directly behind CM this morning - for a downhiller she's mighty quick on the short boards; walked up the stairs and rode down the K-1 with DT today, he rode his motorcycle to the hill to go skiing today - he's crazy!

Day 6 - Killington

What a great day to be alive - or at least a skier and at Killington. On the hill for 3¼ hours starting right at 9:00; low twenties to start; upper twenties to finish; crystal clear skies and little to no wind; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's again today; 20 runs; 11,900 vertical; snowmaking on everything that was open; the snow was marvelous today - soft and dry; the bumps on Upper East Fall were of particular note; skied most of the morning with Mickey Cahill; despite all the snowmaking and good coverage, I nailed my skis pretty good on Upper East Fall; GoPro testing continues - GoPro Test 3.

Day 5 - Killington

On the hill for an hour and a half this afternoon starting at 2:00; 25° and sunny with almost no wind; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's; 9 runs; 5,350 vertical; frozen granula scraped into piles of sugar; lots of people still on the hill when I got there, but it cleared out to almost nothing by the time I left; forgot my googles today; passed two people on the stairs today; more GoPro testing today - GoPro Test 2.

Day 4 - Killington

What a fantastic day - it may have been the best October day ever! Arrived early only to be greeted with yet another hold. It ended up only being 15 minutes, but still... On the hill from 9:15 until 1:00; totally overcast and windy with some rain from 11:00 until 11:30 and then again as I was leaving; mid-thirties to start, mid-forties to finish; futzing with my GoPro app screwed up today's Ski Tracks so I'll have to estimate 25 runs and 14,750 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's - what an unbelievably fun ski; the snow was fantastic - great cover, groomed smooth edge-to-edge, and as soft as a baby's butt; almost left when it started to rain, but ended up being rewarded when all the people left and then it stopped; with heavy rain in the forecast for tomorrow, I skied just about as long as I could today; picked up my new Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's on the way home today; took the GoPro out for a little test run this morning - shot about 80 minutes - GoPro Test 1.

Day 3 - Killington

I woke up this morning to the first snowfall of the season. Although it was only an inch, things sure look a lot more like winter. On the hill for 2½ hours - from 9:00 till 11;30; a heavy overcast at the start gave way to gradual clearing; temps in the upper twenties; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; 14 runs; 8,300 vertical; snowmaking continues all over the upper mountain; the snow was a little heavy and sticky to start, but as they turned off the guns on Rime and things got skied in it actually became quite good; took my first fall of the season today on Upper Double Dipper - a rather loud affair that got me no less than five, "Are you Ok's" from passersby - don't worry, nothing hurt but my pride; my legs were very tired today; still looking for the first opportunity to use my GoPro.

Day 2 - Killington

Got to the hill right at 9:00, but a mechanical problem delayed opening until 10:15; brilliant sunshine today with no wind; teens overnight; low twenties to start; mid thirties when I left; 2½ hours today - 10:15 until 12:45; 14 runs; 8,300 vertical; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; snowmaking galore today; with the warming temps and on-going snowmaking conditions were all over the place; not sure whether it was the sunshine or the snowmaking, but the hill looked much better today; skied Downdraft Headwall first thing - extremely good - I'm not sure it will get any better all year; legs still feel pretty good, but my right shin is a little tender - I think I'll try a little strategic padding tomorrow.

Day 1 - Killington

Late start this morning after arriving last night and unpacking until 2 AM; out for 2½ hours from 10:30 till 1:00; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL Cheaters; mid-thirties, increasing overcast, and windy; no snowmaking this morning - I guess they're expecting some warmer weather to move in; 16 runs; 9,500 vertical; fairly good coverage; variable conditions from hard pack to super soft snowmaking; Great Northern around to most of the Northridge area; lots of familiar faces: Jim, Bob, Ric, Rick, Barb, Chelsea, and Dave; my legs feel pretty good after a fairly agressive start to the season.

Ski Areas

If I can get 32 of these ski areas this year, I'll consider it a major accomplishment. Unforturately, Grand Targhee is already a scheduling casualty, so it's going to be all the tougher.

11/25 - just lost Catamount and Wachusett too, NEMS scheduling change.

12/30 - lost Blue Knob, had to wait for the plumber.

01-Killington, VT
02-Pico, VT
03-Blue Knob, PA
04-Seven Springs, PA
05-Greek Peak, NY
06-Swain, NY
07-Elk Mtn, PA
08-Ski Denton, PA
09-Big Boulder, PA
10-Ski Sawmill, PA
11-Montage, PA
12-Labrador Mtn, NY
13-Middlebury, VT
14-Catamount, NY
15-Wachusett, MA
16-Stratton, VT
17-Bromley, VT
18-Gore Mtn, NY
19-Whiteface, NY
20-Mt. Pisquah, NY
21-Pat's Peak, NH
22-Ragged Mtn, NH
23-Plattekill, NY
24-Bellayre, NY
25-Cannon Mtn, NH
26-Loon Mtn, HN
27-Steamboat, CO
28-Winter Park, CO
29-Jackson Hole, WY
30-Grand Targhee, WY
31-Silverton, CO
32-Durango, CO
33-Telluride, CO
34-Crested Butte, CO
35-Loveland, CO
36-Breckenridge, CO
37-Arapahoe Basin, CO
38-Copper Mtn, CO
39-Keystone, CO
40-Okemo, VT
41-Magic Mtn, VT
42-Jay Peak, VT

New Snow Tires

Since this will be the first full-time winter in this Ford Expedtion, I got new snow tires. The original wheels I picked out were $770 each - I kid you not! So I got the ones on sale for $102 each instead. Although they don't look half as good, they only cost an eighth as much - so by my logic they're four times the value.

When I got home I found out Killington opened this afternoon!

Slideshow of Last 3 Seasons

Seven Springs Confirmed

Visiting Lee, Tony, and the boys; staying over 12/30 and 12/31; skiing 12/31 and 1/1.

Winter Condo Rental

111 Birchwood, Mendon, VT; Nov 1 thru Apr 30; rent and utility deposit paid in full this week

Western Trip Plan

Wed	2/26	Fly ALB to DEN + 3.25	Steamboat
Thu	2/27	Steamboat (N)	Steamboat
Fri	2/28	+ 2 Winter Park (N) + 2	Steamboat
Sat	3/1	Steamboat (N)	Steamboat
Sun	3/2	Steamboat (N) + 6.5	Jackson
Mon	3/3	Jackson Hole	Jackson
Tue	3/4	+ 1.25 Grand Targhee + 1.25	Jackson
Wed	3/5	Jackson Hole	Jackson
Thu	3/6	Jackson Hole + 9.75	Ouray
Fri	3/7	+ 1 Silverton + 1	Ouray
Sat	3/8	+ 1 Durango (N) + 1	Ouray
Sun	3/9	+ 1 Telluride (N) + 1	Ouray
Mon	3/10	+ 2.5 Crested Butte + 3.5	Silverthorne
Tue	3/11	+ 0.25 Loveland + 0.25	Silverthorne
Wed	3/12	+ 0.5 Breckenridge + 0.5	Silverthorne
Thu	3/13	+ 0.5 Arapahoe Basin + 0.5	Silverthorne
Fri	3/14	+ 0.25 Copper Mtn (N) + 0.25	Silverthorne
Sat	3/15	+ 0.25 Keystone + 1.75
Sun	3/16	Fly DEN to ALB

2013/14 Killington Pass

Bought on-line today; paid in full.

Hammering!

Ivica Kostelic

Day 116 - Killington

Yet another in the string of spectacular ski days! Parked on the Access Road; on the hill from 9:00 until 2:30; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; 30 runs; 36,000 vert; started out mostly sunny with temps around 40°, by 11:00 it was intermittant sun and flurries - sometimes not even intermittant, but both at the same time - then after 1:00 it got sunny again and warmed into the 50°'s; Super-Hawk-Sky-Sweet was creamy smooth to start, after coffee Skylark got good, and after lunch I did a few Skyhawk-Skylarks; I'm not going home yet - I now plan on skiing through next Monday.

Day 115 - Killington

Another really nice spring ski day; parked on the Access Road; on the hill from 9:00 until 12:30 including a coffee break in KBL; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's; 21 runs; 25,600 vert; Superstar was in really good shape this morning. The top and middle were smooth, flat, and firm without being slick. The bottom wasn't quite as good, it started out with the similar conditions to the top and middle but quickly started to 'chunk-out'; the Peak via K-1 is as good as done - walking required on Cascade Runout; after coffee Super-High-Skylark was extremely good - so I did 10; thinking tomorrow might be my last day.

Day 114 - Killington

Today was a really good day - mid fifties with brilliant sunshine; parked on the Access Road; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's straight threw from 9:00 until 12:00; started on Superstar, conditions were extrememly variable; moved on the K-1 and eneded with 7 straight DD - really good, soft, nicely spaced bumps; 15 runs; 21,000 vert; just a couple more days and my seasonw will be over.

Day 113 - Killington

Decent winter type day for late spring; parked on the Access Road; on the hill from 9:00 until 11:15; temps at or just above freezing with overcast skies; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL Cheaters; 13 runs; 16,500 vert; the upper and lower Superstar headwalls were in nice shape, most everything else was pretty much blah...

Day 112 - Killington

Parked on the Access Road again this morning; on the hill from 9:00 until 11:00; 35° with a bright overcast; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL Cheaters; 15 runs; 18,000 vertical; overall pretty good morning; Super-High-Skylark was good - relatively firm, flat, and skiable.

Day 111 - Killington

Rain overnight; the hill looks terrible - the top of Great Northern at the K-1 terminal is all gravel ½ way to the ski patrol shack; parked on the Access Road again; tried the K2 Apache Xplorer's again this morning and once again had to change skis immediately to the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's - I think the Xplorer's are done :( ; deep, heavy, granular chucks on Lower Superstar almost immediately; Cascade wasn't near as good as yesterday; I was so depressed, I made like 8 runs and left.

Day 110 - Killington

Parked on the Access Road just below the Superstar Quad; on the hill from 9:00 until 1:15; threatening rain at 9:00 with heavy overcast and a stiff breeze, around noon skies brightened a little as temps rose into the upper forties; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's; 20 runs; 28,400 vert; The runs on Skye Peak immediately turned to deep piles of sugar and various size chucks of ice this morning, so I went in a little early for coffee thinking that I might just go home. When I came back out I got on K-1 and was rewarded when I found Cascade in really good shape, nicely firm and relatively flat, just starting to corn up - so I did 10 in a row!

Day 109 - Killington

Just a few runs the morning; on the hill from 9:00 until 11:30; 11 runs; the rain overnight soaked in and froze, so most of the runs off the peak were closed early on; Superstar was the only thing even remotely skiable until after coffee when they dropped the rope on Cascade; skied the K2 Apache Xplorer's and immediately changed the the Volkl RaceTiger SL Cheaters; the hill is looking pretty worse for wear.

Day 108 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 1:00 with a quick coffee break in KBL; 45°, overcast, and windy - rain expected this afternoon and evening; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; 16 runs; 24,500 vert; good morning - everything was pretty soft; East Fall was good early, Downdraft was good later; did Ovation again today - again probably for the last time this season.

Day 107 - Killington

Very nice return to the hill today after being away to do my taxes. They obviously got some snow over the past few days because the hill looks alot whiter than when I left. On the hill from 9:15 until 12:30; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; 16 runs; 21,400 vert; Skylark was good early and the Canyon was good after coffee; suprisingly large crowd today - maybe it's just that there are only two lifts open; probably skied Lower Ovation for the last time today.

Day 106 - Killington

Well spring skiing has finally arrived. Rain overnight, lots of mush, lots of dirt and pine needles and sticky snow. On the hill for a dozen runs from 12:30 until 3:00. Skied the K2 Apache Xplorers.

Day 105 - Killington

Another unbelievably beautiful day - 55° and brilliant sunshine! Skied all day - OK, just from 9:00 until 3:45; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters and the K2 Apache Xplorer's; 32 runs; 38,500 vert; skied an hour or so with Doug, Nadine, and Rick Svenser; Skylark early was fantastic, after coffee it was Cascade, then Dip Dip; this was like day 5 in a row of flat corn in the Canyon - unbelievable!

Day 104 - Killington

What an unexpectedly beautiful day! Forcast called for warm and rainy, but this morning's overcast gave way to brilliant sunshine and some great skiing. On the hill from 8:00 until 2:00 with just a quick coffee break in KBL; 31 runs; 36,600 vert; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; fantastic snow up in the Canyon once things softened - soft without being wet at all; skied as long as I could - I'm tired.

Day 103 - Killington

Winter returns! Sunny, cold and windy today. 15° at 8:00 and 26° when I left at 12:45; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #2's and the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's; 20 runs; 24,750 vert; conditions were good today, just not as great at the past few days; Canyon and Snowdon mostly - Cascade was the best run of the day; coffee and a few runs with Susan and Jay this morning; the old Bittersweet headwall was actually open today and it was pretty good too!

Day 102 - Killington

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood! 35° and mostly sunny with a light wind; on the hill from 9:00 until 1:45 with a quick KBL coffee break; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; 26 runs; 32,000 vert; spectacular snow conditions today - smooth, soft and extremely carvable without getting clumpy or wet; Lower Ovation was groomed so that was nice, but Dip Dip and Cascade were unbelievable again today.

Day 101 - Killington

Another spectacular spring day! On the hill from 9:00 until 1:00 with a quick KBL coffee break; Sunny and warm (36° when I left) without getting wet or sticky; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #2's; 22 runs; 29,000 vert; another season high Max Speed recorded in today's Ski Tracks; they didn't groom DD or Supertar last night so they weren't near as good today.

Day 100 - Killington

A beautiful mid-winter, 3F day - perfect for my GS skis; on the hill from 9:00 until a little after 1:30 with just a quick coffee break in KBL; hard freeze (15°) overnight and some good grooming made the Canyon and Superstar near perfect; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; 29 runs; 35,000 vert; After consulting with Nadine about last week's Ski Bum disaster, I've been focusing on sustaining much more of a macro view while skiing. Rather than looking at some spot on the ground in the the turn I'm entering, I've been looking much more down the hill trying to see 100 or 200 yards ahead and focusing on the entire slope, not just some point on the ground. I think it's been helping me a lot - I've felt pretty good.

Day 99 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 11:15; made 12 runs or so; 33° and heavy, low overcast; 3" new snow overnight; skied the K2 Apache Xplorers; make a half dozen runs or so with Mike Cahill; nobody else out on the hill today; lots of first tracks in this morning's cement - Stitchline, Vertigo, and Lower Ovation.

Just can't help myself. I went to the hill this morning thinking I'd just do a run or two to 'get the day', but with 3" wet snow overnight I ended up staying for a couple of hours. It started raining as soon as I got home. With today's rain and a hard overnight freeze forcast, I'm going to skip tomorrow.

Vertigo

Stitchline

Same turns on Stichline from above

Day 98 - Killington

Another spectacular day; on the hill from 8:00 until 12:30 with a quick coffee break in KBL; mid-thirties with a building light haze starting to dim this morning's bright sunshine; 23 runs; they did a really nice job grooming DD for my birthday - I did 10 in a row before coffee; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; after coffee I went to change skis to one of my mid-fats only to find I only had my race skis in the car - I guess I need to do skis this afternoon; easily one of the best ski days on my birthday ever!

Day 97 - Killington

Another beautiful ski day; 35° and sunny; 23 runs; on the hill from 8:00 until 1:00 with quick KBL coffee break; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters and the K2 Apache Xplorers; another new high speed recorded today - I wanted to make sure I carried from Lower Bunny across KBL to Superstar, not a problem at 75+ mph; nice freeze overnight, so conditions started out firm - perfect conditions for the GS Cheaters; after coffee I switched to the Xplorers hoping that things would soften up; anything with an eastern exposure or lower elevation did soften (East Fall, Highline, Snowdon), but Cascade, Downdraft, and DD stayed much firmer than yesterday.

Day 96 - Killington

A really Good Friday; 35° with broken clouds; on the hill for a couple of hours stating at 10:30; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's; parked in the Vale; hit Snowdon, Skye Peak and the Canyon; marvelously soft spring snow - not yet corn and not yet wet, just perfect; fairly large Friday crowd today.

Day 95 - Pico

Pico closes Sunday, so I did a few runs over there this afternoon before the mountain closes; 9 runs from 2:30 until 4:00; 35° and heavy overcast; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups.

Day 94 - Killington

Scratch yesterday's skiing well quote; got disgusted and left after DSQ'ing both runs in today's Ski Bum Finals; one bright note - fastest speed of the year recorded in today's Ski Tracks.

Day 93 - Killington

19 runs - on the hill from 9:00 until 1:15; 30° with flurries clearing to broken sunshine; 1" new snow on last night's groomers - nice! first run on Cascade was fantastic; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's and switched to the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's after coffee; made a few more runs with Amy and Mark - she is the coolest person I know; I'm not sure, but I think my skiing is actually coming around.

Day 92 - Killington

Did a few runs (14) first thing this morning before taking my boots to Peak for a little work; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #2's; Canyon chair running, but DD not groomed... ... ... come on!; skiing ok, but still feel blah.

Day 91 - Killington

On the hill at 8:00, left at 11:30; 25° and overcast; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL Cheaters; good conditions today, but I just felt blah…; made 12 runs by 10:00; DD was groomed poorly.

Day 90 - Killington

Welcome home! 4" blower pow overnight - 2" or 3" more this morning; 20° with 20 mph breeze; parked in the Vale and started right at 8:00; made 11 runs; skied the Volkl Katana's; all the trees were pretty sweet - The Cathedral, Patsy's, Low Rider; Super Star Woods - Upper and Lower, Julio (run of the day), and Chop Chop (a little less than stellar).

Day 89 - Schweitzer

A beautiful day in the Great Northwest; on the from 8:50 until 2:15 with a quick lunch break at 12:00; 30° and sunny, with a couple new inches since yesterday's close; started on a few groomers using the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters, then changed to Rossignol Experience 98's; did tons more trees and steeps to complete most of the trail map; after 7 straight 'big mountain' days, I'm spent; I'd like to come back here again.

Day 88 - Schweitzer

On the hill all day, 8:50 until 4:00; 30 runs; 43,750+ vert; mid-twenties with intermittent heavy snow - 3"-4" new during the day; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters for two hours first thing, then switched to the Rossignol Experience 98's; just a spectacular day - lots of baby soft
groomers and tons of deep, soft trees; while making laps on The Great Escape Express this morning, I skied up to the lift and who do I see? Amy and Mark from Killington; they shut the lift down 10 minutes early when there was thunder embedded in a particularly heavy snow squall;

Near white out at 4:00PM

Day 87 - Schweitzer

Enough said!

Day 86 - Whitefish

On the hill from 9:00 until just 11:45 - leaving for Schweitzer; 1" new snow overnight; 32° and overcast with heavy fog/cloud layer right to the bottom of the hill; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; Some of the stuff they tried to groom last night chunked up immediately when somebody skied it - a few other groomers seemed to freeze up underneath and stayed much nicer, at least by east coast standards.

Technically, you could still see the chair in front of you.

Day 85 - Whitefish

On the hill from 9:00 until 3:00; mid-thirties and mostly sunny; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters in the morning on the groomers and changed to the Rossignol Experience 98's after lunch; 27 runs - 38,700 vertical feet today; really good day;

Day 84 - Whitefish

On the hill at 9:00 and skied until 3:00; 32° with a very high, bright overcast at 9:00; same cloud conditions with a 45° temp at 3:00; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters on the groomers until lunch, then switched to the Rossignol Experience 98's; with the high cloud layer today, I could really see the top of the mountain - impressive; other than some of the larger cliff areas everything here is skiable; skied lots of steep tree stuff on the front and east rims today - a little heavy, but hey that's what I'm here for!

Day 83 - Whitefish

Late start this morning since I didn't get in until almost 5:00AM; On the hill from 10:30 until 2:30; 2" of cement last night; Overcast and 35° with little to no wind; Heavy cloud layer on the top third of the hill; visability on top at times was total white-on-white - in fact it was so bad they marked the center of the main trails with orange lollipops every 50 yards or so; today was get acquainted with the mountain day - I skied at least two runs in all open areas; this is a Big Mountain - pun intended; tons of snow here; tons of steeps here; tons of tree skiing here - a little different than VT, much more open in the trees and different wildlife too!

 

Day 82 - Killington

On the hill from 8:00 until 11:30 with a quick coffee break in KBL; 25° and perfectly sunny at the start with increasing light clouds and 40° when I left; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's; the Canyon was marvelous again today; Ski Tracks recorded 72+ mph today - on my putt putt skis none the less.

Day 81 - Killington

On the hill from 8:00 until 1:30 with a long coffee break in KBL; beautiful day - perfectly sunny with 25° temps to start getting up to 45° by the time I left; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #2's and the Rossignol Experience 98's; after coffee I skied with Radvanyi and his son Trevor - we did few easy blacks then headed for the trees.

Day 80 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 1:30 with a quick coffee break in KBL; 4" of new snow overnight; 24° and still snowing at 8:30 when I pulled in at Snowdon; 34° with the sun starting to peak out when I left; skied the Volkl Katana's; did a few things I hadn't done yet this year - Pipedream, Roundabout, Devil's Fiddle, and Sunrise liftline; So I had to duck the rope to get the top of Sunrise Liftline, but I even went back and jumped off the chair to get the bottom pitch as well. I'll bet I'm the only person who has skied that lower pitch in years; Patsy's and Low Rider were excellent - Low Rider was so good I did it 3 times.

Day 79 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 12:30 with a quick KBL coffee break; Skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; 28° overcast and very windy with a few short periods of freezing rain; Ski Bum double header today - second run scored seperately as make-up from last week's cancellation; Despite periodic white-on-white conditions in the Canyon Double Dipper was in excellent shape - I've seen it softer, but rarely smoother.

Ski Bum #1 - 1st in class Men's B, 13th Men's Overall, and 15th Overall including the Women

RANK	BIB	NAME	CLASS	RESULT
15	98	MARTIN BURNS	MB	26.01 (15)

Ski Bum #2 - 1st in class Men's B, 12th Men's Overall, and 12th Overall including the Women.

RANK	BIB	NAME	CLASS	RESULT
12	98	MARTIN BURNS	MB	26.19 (12)

Day 78 - Smuggler's Notch

On the hill at 8:45 and only skied untill 11:00; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters and the K2 Apache Xplorers; 2" new snow; 25° and overcast with the cloud layer at about mid-mountain; they still need additional lift capacity BAD; unless Smugg's ends up on another ski card I purchase or something like that, I probably won't go back.

Day 77 - Gore Mountain

On the hill from 9:00 until 2:00; Skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL Cheaters; 25° overcast with intermittant light snow; skied The Rumor, Hawkeye and Lies before moving on to Stielhang and the Darkside Glade before an early lunch, then 5 laps on the front-side via the gondi; hit a couple of jumps in their park; I drove a majority of the Adirondack Trail Senic Byway on the drive down from Malone. I'd never driven through the western Adirondack lakes region before - it's very pretty.

Day 76 - Titus Mountain

What's Titus Mountain like? Think ¼ of Sunday River sans any high speed lifts or people; on the hill from 9:00 until 1:30; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's; 2" new snow overnight; 22° with a bright overcast and intermittant light snow; a few good trails on the 'upper mountain' and all the way over to the right on the 'lower mountain'; poached the top third of a slalom course three times; driving home I saw a kid 12 or 13 years of age skijoring really fast behind a four wheeler - looked pretty fun, but it's all fun and games till somebody gets hurt and that time was approaching quickly!

Day 75 - Killington

On the hill from 8:00 till just 10:00 - big crowd gathering quickly; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; 25° with intermittant light snow; groomer's paradise this morning; the Canyon was excellent once again.

Day 74 - Killington

On the hill from 09:00 to 11:15; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; 28° and overcast; gorgeous snow conditions this morning - ¾" new snow over soft-pack groomer heaven - velvety smooth; the Canyon was marv! Weekend type crowd this morning.

Day 73 - Killington

Got to the hill at 8:30 and suprise, the Snodown Quad was running and people skiing??? Turns out they did an early start as an employee appreciation day; 10" of cement since Tuesday nignht, 5 last night; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's again today; 30° and cloudy; nice morning - in no particular order did Patsy's, Great Bear, Mouse-Mouse-Bunny, Mouse-Chute-Mouse, Mouse-Conclusion-Highline, Julio, Ovation, and Skyhawk-Skylark; saw CM out again today - nice GS turns down Lower Chute, low and forward and dynamic.

Day 72 - Mad River Glen

On the hill at 9:00 and skied until 1:30; 30° with low overcast; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; Paradise was closed, but otherwise I skied everything else off the single; the snow was pretty thin - they need some more snow; got stuck in The Chutes again - if you're trying to get to Fall Line by cutting under the chair, make sure to keep going left!

Day 71 - Killington

On the hill early at 7:50 - Snowdon Quad loading early to accomodate the VARA U16 Girls SL; skied till 11:45; 2" new snow overnight; 28°, overcast with on and off light snow; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; first tracks all the way down Chute and again on Mouse Trap-Lower Bunny; the Canyon was pretty good - even did Big Dipper Glade over the cliff band; appropriately enough finished with 3 runs down Conclusion; these skis are really good in the crud.

Day 70 - Killington

On the hill from 8:00 till 10:15 - 12 runs; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; 25°' with low clouds - top half of the Canyon was white-on-white in the cloud layer; decent crowd starting to build when I left; nice morning, despite not being able to see real well.

Day 69 - Killington

Groomer Paradise this morning! On the hill from 8:00 till 11:30 with a very quick KBL Coffee Break; Skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters before coffee and the K2 Apache Xplorer's after; Perfectly sunny, 20° and no wind at 8:00, 28° and light overcast when I left; The Canyon was stellar - all four groomed to perfection with nobody else on the hill till after coffee; 11 runs by 10:00 this morning; I finally did the Canyon in "14 chairs"!; Take a look at today's Ski Tracks Summary - I did the 70+ mph without even tucking!

Day 68 - Killington

Cold and windy today - 5° at Snowdon at 8:00 and only 9° at 11:30 when I left; selected the totally wrong skis today - I used the Atomic D2 Race GS #2's, when almost anything else would have been a better choice; the wind made conditions a little inconsistent - one turn was on wind blown hard pack the next in a pile of fresh, the next on what ever... ...; my left knee feels pretty good and my hip is only a little 'gimpy'.

Day 67 - Killington

On the hill from 8:00 until 12:15 with a quick coffee break in KBL; Epic morning - 5" of fluff overnight with very little wind so there was a good consistent layer of pow to enjoy; Started at Superstar and moved on to the Canyon before coffee, then on to Snowdon and Ramshead before calling it a day; K-1 had mechanical problems and didn't start running until around 10:30, so from 9:00 to 10:00 I was basically all by myself in the Canyon riding the Quad; Skied the Volkl Katana's; Tons of freshies this morning - 1st and 3rd shots at Lower Skylark, 5th or 6th shot at Lower East Fall, 1st shot at Upper Double Dipper, 1st and 3rd shots at Escapade, and 1st shot at The Light; Skied lots of stuff for the first time this year including, The Cathedral, Patsy's, Low Rider, The Throne, and The Light; After coffee the wind started to pick up and it started to snow again.

Day 66 - Belleayre

On the hill from 8:30 till 11:00; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL WorldCup's; ASRA SL - DNF; hooked the 4th gate first run and high-sided over on to my right hip very hard - my hip is still pretty swollen as I write this on Monday - thank god it wasn't the other way around and I didn't land on my hip replacement.

Day 65 - Killington

On the hill from 8:00 to 12:00; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; overcast and 25° with intermittent light snow; great conditions today - soft groomers galore; per the recent routine, I spent a good portion of my day in the Canyon; reality check this morning - I was cruising out the bottom of the funnel on Dip Dip and Kevin Ture blows by at like 50; good holiday weekend crowd, but I stuck it out till 12:00; finally had a chance to catch up with Susan and Jay this morning!

Day 64 - Cannon

On the hill from 9:00 to 1:30 with just a very quick coffee break; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cup's; beautiful day - 25° with in and out sun and very little wind; the hill was in excellent shape - lots of perfectly groomed trails; skied all of the top of the mountain and most of the ravine, but only skied the front side down to the tram once; easily the best day I've ever skied at Cannon; they did a nice job remodeling their lodge since the last time I was here - they got rid of the bar that was right in the middle of the cafeteria area.

Day 63 - Burke Mountain

On the hill from 9:00 till 1:30 with a quick lunch break at 11:30; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's; the new high speed lift is a nice addition - round trips every 10 minutes; other than the race hill conditions were a little sketchy; poached 5 BMA kiddie slalom runs - 35 gates long on the bottom third of the race hill.

Day 62 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 till 1:00; Skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; Ski Bum Race today - DNF; With the Canyon chair running, Double Dipper was good enough for a few laps; Doctor appointment this past Monday to read the MRI on my left knee - torn meniscus requiring arthroscopic surgery. I'm hoping with enough medication I can wait till after the season.

Day 61 - Greek Peak

On the hill from 8:00 till 12:15 with a quick coffee break in the A-frame; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; beautiful morning - full sun with temps starting out at 15° and rising to about 25°; today's snow was a little inconsistent, yesterday's snowfall was groomed into the existing hardpack leaving a mish mash of hard and soft spots; NASTAR Platinum today!

Day 60 - SNÖ Mountain

Beer League; Skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; Finally beat all the women! Finished 2nd in class M50-59, 8th men's overall, and 8th overall including the women..

RANK	BIB	NAME	BEST RESULT	HANDICAP
8	286	BURNS, MARTIN	30.86	15.97

Day 59 - Killington

On the hill at 9:00 and skied till 1:30 with a KBL coffee break; Skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; Overcast and 18° with on and off light snow; No Ski Bum Race today; Dip Dip was really good - I did like 10; Played 'race the chair' - I'd get off and 15 chairs later get back on, I couldn't get to 14; My knee feels much better today.

Day 58 - Killington

Parked at Snowdon; On the hill at 9:00 and skied till 1:30; Started out on the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's and switched to the Rossignol Experience 98's after coffee; Gorgeous day - perfectly clear, cold, and no wind (6° at 9:00, 15°' at 1:30); Started off with a Bunny-Chute-Chute and a Bunny-Chute-Bunny over to K1, then did Rime and Lower East Fall a couple of times before heading over for a few laps on Superstar; Everything before coffee was deserted, 3f perfection; After coffee I switched skis and headed for the snowmaking on Lower Skylark and Wildfire - very nice; There are some stupid big piles of snow around - maybe some pictures tomorrow; The left knee wasn't too bad today - a little Celebrex this afternoon and I should be good for tomorrow's Ski Bum Race.

Day 57 - Suicide Six

Skied from 9:00 to 1:00 on the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; Nice day - partly cloudy and warmer with temps around 20°, just a little windy; Not much snowmaking at S6, so it was more like Suicide Four; I did like maybe 30 runs - 6 or 7 minute round trips; Very few people on the hill till the high school kids started showing up at 12:00; As I drove home I stopped at the Skyship base and made a run at K.

Day 56 - Killington

On the hill from 8:00 to 12:00; 15 runs; 2° at Snowdon this morning; 15° when I left; Skied the Rossignol Experience 98's and the Volkl Racetiger SL Cheaters; Despite all the rest my left knee is still a problem; Skied the Canyon today; Cascade under the guns was nice - I did 4.

Day 55 - SNÖ Mountain

Beer League tonight; Clear and cold, 8°; Other than the league racers, very few people on the hill; Skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; DSQ'ed my first run - I was the first racer so there was no track to follow and there was a gate hiding in the dark over to the right at the finish; Finished 1st in class M50-59, 8th men's overall, and 9th overall including women; Nearly killed myself on Smoke this evening - it looked groomed from the top and from the bottom, so I cruised over the headwall right into a mogul field. I didn't fall, but I scared myself to death; Cannonball on the other hand was marvelous.

RANK	BIB	NAME	BEST RESULT	HANDICAP
9	286	BURNS, MARTIN	33.62	19.81

Day 54 - Hunter

Clear, cold, and still; -6° at the top; 8° when I left; Chris and Jordan came up from PA; despite my left knee hurting, we had a nice day; started on the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters and changed to the Rossignol Experience 98's; lots of good snowmaking.

Day 53 - Killington

2"-3" new snow overnight; Partly cloudy and 10°; Parked at Bear; On the hill at 9:00 and jsut skied for a couple of hours; Skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; Nice morning. Bear Claw-Wildfire; The Stash-Lower Skyburst; Outer Limits; Skylark, Superstar, Gateway-Great Eastern-Skyburst-The Northway-Home Stretch-Great Eastern; 4 Way-Bear Trax-Bear Cub-Sun Dog; Rendezvous-Sun Dog; Bear View-Bear Cub

Day 52 - Pico

ASRA GS again today; 32°, overcast and very windy; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; today's race was back-to-back runs on the same course; screwed up the bottom on run 2 again today; finished 6th in class M6, 14th men's overall, and 16th overall including the women...

POS	RACER NAME	CLUB	BIB	1ST RUN	2ND RUN	TOTAL	HANDICAP
16	BURNS, MARTIN A	KSC	726	51.81 (24)	50.68 (16)	1:42.49	12.16

Day 51 - Pico

ASRA GS; Upper twenties, overcast and windy; Skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters in Run 1 - big mistake, the course was more or less straight; Changed to the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's for Run 2; I nearly got bounced out of the course near the bottom of Run 2 and ended up way off line; finished 3rd in class M6, 18th men's overall, and 24th overall including the women.

POS	RACER NAME	CLUB	BIB	1ST RUN	2ND RUN	TOTAL	HANDICAP
24	MARTIN A. BURNS	KSC	726	47.31 (32)	47.12 (20)	1:34.43	13.71

Day 50 - Wildcat

Clear, cold, and a little windy today; -5° to start, but it warmed up to around 10°; great views of Mt. Washington today; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1's; inside leg drills in the morning; full length GS in the afternoon; SWIX waxing clinic at 3:30; although these skis are a handful, my knee doesn't seem to hurt as much when I ski them; our group spent way to much time in the lodge warming up today, so I stayed out and did a few free runs - with all its twists and turns and drop-offs, Lynx is one of my favorite ski trails anywhere.

Day 49 - Wildcat

25° and snowing heavily this morning, 5" in total; clearing, windy and 15° by 3:00; day 1 of anther Race Camp; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; 3 sessions today: drills, followed by stubbies and brushes, followed by standard GS gates; courses were a little short, but otherwise well set; coaches: Phil, Tom, and Craig - all very good, got a couple of good, new queues; added 'a box' to the Schlopy drill; got to the hotel last night without my coat or warm-ups - they're still hanging on the coat rack in the condo, so now I've got a new black Karbon jacket.

Day 48 - Killington

25° and snowing this morning - 2" by noon; on the hill right at 9:00 and skied till 1:30 with a coffee break at Bear; after doing my first Ski Bum Race on the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters, I skied my new Rossignol Experience 98's - they're a really great 'crud ski', today was the perfect day to try them out; skied with Bud, Tom and Alex a little bit today; today I got skied Double Dipper for the first time in a couple of years; was going to do Cannon today, but I checked the Cannon website last night and found out that today of $25 Wednesday for all HN residents. I figured it would be crowded so I stayed home.

RANK	BIB	NAME	CLASS	RESULT
19	98	MARTIN BURNS	MB	28.33 (19)

Bunny-Bunny-Bunny, Great Northern-Rime, Rime-Great Northern-Highline, MTS-Great Northern-Highline, Skylark, Gateway-Bear Trax-Bear Claw-Wildfire, Skyburst, Skyburst, Bittersweet, Superstar, Superstar, Superstar-Skylark, Superstar-Skylark, Great Norther-East Fall, Double Dipper, Double Dipper

Day 47 - Killington

Out at 10:00 and left at 12:30; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #2's; skied with Bud, Tom and Alex again; it took a little while this morning, but once acclimated I got out in front of the skis and felt pretty good; found Cascade just before I was going to leave, but it was so good I stayed and did it three times despite having to use the K-1.

Day 46 - Killington

Back on the hill after almost two weeks resting my left knee. My insurance rejected my doctor's request for an MRI, recommending physical therapy instead. I'll take my PT on the hill please.

Out for a couple of hours to reacquaint myself with the snow. Skied the K2 Apache Xplorer's; Got to ski Lower Ovation today for the first time since sometime in the spring of 2011; After all the rain and warm weather the hill looks like shit.

Day 45 - Seven Springs

Out at 9:00; skied till 11:30; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; 2" new snow on top of yesterday's groomers; did half a dozen NASTAR training runs on Sunset; very nice day.