Day 75 - Killington

Powder day - 6" of bone dry, blower pow this morning; out 9:00 to 1:00 with a coffee break; Temps around 10°, cloudy, light winds, heavy snow squall when I left; 12 runs; 13,600 vertical; started with the Blizzard Brahmas, but changed to the K2 Apache Xplorers almost immediately to venture into the nats; did tons of stuff for the first time this season - Patsy's, Low Rider, Lower Great Bear, Northstar, Conclusion, Escapade; Big Dipper Glade; they cleared way too many trees out of Low Rider; 3 falls today - I believe that doubles this year's total.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 44 - Seven Springs

Out at 9:00 with Dan and Tony, we skied until 3:00 and had a great time. We even got to do a few free NASTAR runs. With the recent snow the hill was in really good shape.

Day 35 - Killington

On the hill at 9:00, skied till 12:00 with a KBL coffee break thrown in for good measure; 2" to 3" new snow overnight; 26° and snowing at 9:00, 26° and freezing rain at 12:00; skied the K2 Apache Xplorer's; sick amounts of snow on Upper Cascade; signed up for Ski Bum Races today - Team Old S'Cool, thanks Kinley! I'm taking tomorrow off - heavy rain forcast :(

Day 24 - Killington

Day Two of Race Week; on the hill at 9:00; sessions all day; afternoon video analysis - all I could see was how fat I am; very warm again today - the snow is dwindling fast; skied the K2 Apache Xplorer's and switched to the Volkl RaceTiger SL Cheaters at lunch; they groomed Highline - SWEET; some of today's drills - ski on one leg, shuffle turns, teli-turns, practice starts, gates.

Day 19 - Killington

On the hill at 9:00; parked at Snowdon; first tracks in the 1" of new snow that fell on top of last night's courderoy on Bunny-Bunny-Bunny - NICE! Skied the K2 Apache Xplorer's; skied till 1:30 with a coffee break in KBL; made 24 runs. Caught up with Bud Horner, Mike Baldi, and Tom Watson at 12:30 and made a half dozen runs with them on Skylark and Sky-High-Bitter to end my day. Lower Skylark opened today - the snow making whales were fun, but nothing spectacular; all the snow making they've done on Lower East Fall, Highline, and Upper Bittersweet continue to sit there unused... Come on! Let me at it!

Mouse Trap

Day 17 - Killington

Skied with Radvanyi again today; on the hill at 9:00 and skied till 2:00 with a coffee break in KBL; made 24 runs; skied the K2 Apache Xplorer's. A little new snow again overnight; conditions continue to improve - nice surface texture without a lot of rocks coming through. Day 3 of snow making on East Fall, Upper Bittersweet, and Lower Skylark; they should open up soon!

Tucked up under the K Cloud on Skye Peak

Day 14 - Killington

Out at 8:00 to beat the Thanksgiving day crowd; left at 1:00 after 22 runs and a coffee break in KBL. Skied the K2 Apache Xplorer's. The Snowdon and Ramshead Quads opened today, so I'm thankful for the chance to once again park close to the snow. The new boots are starting to get there - my right shin was a little tender at times today, but I guess that's to be expected given all the abuse it's taken over the years. Another in a string of spectacular days - 42° and sunny with very little wind. The snow surface was fantastic as the warm temps really started to soften things up. Got the opportunity to watch Chelsea Marshall railroad track Upper Bunny - the girl can ski.

Day 13 - Killington

Out early for a couple of hours before heading to the gym. Parked on the Access Road right below the Superstar Quad. Made 14 runs - all on Skye-High-Bitter. A little chunky on Lower Bittersweet, but overall the snow was pretty good. Skied the K2 Apache Xplorer's. Dialed thing back a little bit today - no particular reason, just felt like it. Boots are feeling pretty good. After a little more work (grinding) yesterday, I didn't have any 'hot' spots today. However, I still have to unbuckle on the chair.

Day 5 - Killington

Spectacular morning on the hill - 65° and sunny with marvelously soft snow. With the warm weather, I wore spring attire and skied the K2 Apache Xplorers. Was out about 2½ hours and made 14 runs per today's Ski Tracks. Feeling pretty good, but not sure how well I'm skiing. Rain forecast overnight, so I might skip tomorrow - maybe I'll just go the gym.