Killington - Opening Day

“Today is opening day at Killington! Wooohoooo! The ski season has begun. They opened top to bottom with 12-36". Granted, they only have 8 trails open, but they are traditionally the first area in the Northeast to open and the last to close. Yup, I think that season pass will get lots of use this year.”

“wooohoooo!

best news to start the day with!”

“hey, anybody ever stayed at Pico Resort Hotel?”

“Twinks, do you ski at Killington?

Lyra...nope, never did. Pico is just a couple of miles west from the Killington access road.

Let me know if anyone wants to meet up for some turns this winter. I should be at Killington a bunch.”

“the AT goes right over killington. that looks like a fun mt to ski”

“doesn't that hotel sound like a shi-shi place?? but it was the cheapest deal we found...5 nights and 5 days of skiing (the skiing is just for Tarpy, 'cause i don't play dat) for like $450! it's right at the mountain, AND it has a free fitness center with an indoor pool!! i figure there HAS to be some catch...
;-)

we'll be up there in December!”

“killington is one of my favorites. nothing like skiing in the east before thanksgiving. do they still have pallets at the lifts when the snow is at a minimum?”

“Ski- yeah, every winter a group of my friends and I get up there for at least one, (if not more) weekend. That's where I learned to ski a few years ago. :)”

“hey ski--
how spendy is Killington in comparison to other resorts around there?”

“One of the more expensive in terms of lift ticket prices, but they also have some of the most varied terrain as well as 3,000 vertical. It's a big ski area. I think a weekend lift ticket is somewhere in the mid $60 range, but they have deals. I got a great season pass deal. I figure I only have to use it 6 times to make it start to pay. There *are* 14 blackout days, but they are at times I wouldn't normally ski because of the crowds, anyway. The only bad thing about it (and take no offense NYers) is that too many New Yorkers come up. I tend to ski early in the morning when the party folks aren't up yet.

Lyra- let me know when you'll be up in Dec. and maybe we could take a few turns together.”

“what ski resort would you suggest up in the NE?”

“cool, i'll let you know, ski! :-) personally, i'll only be hiking/showshoeing in the area. but you and Tarpy could ski/snowboard together, that would be so romantic. LOL! i'm dumb.”

“yam-what are you looking for in a ski resort? What sort of terrain? Nightlife? Skier capacity/hr.? High speed lifts? Vertical feet? Less expensive? Closer to a location? Specific lodging requirements/desires? Who has the best conditions? Best in NH, VT, NY or ME? Personally, I would stick to VT, NH or ME. In ME, It would be Sunday River or Sugarloaf for me. NH and VT ski areas depend on drive time, vertical feet, high speed lifts, cost, and terrain for me. I will most likely ski mostly at Killington because of the season pass, but there are some killer deals throughout the season that will lure me to try other areas. I really enjoy Stowe, Sugarbush Killington and Okemo in VT and I've always wanted to ski Mad River Glen. I'll sometimes go for the best snow conditions.

You owe me a call anyway...;-)”

“Whoo hoo! I hope to get up there one day. I am taking my first snowboard trip of the season to Snowshoe in Dec. It's the closest decent mt to me. Skiracer, do you know when it opens?”

“oh crap ski! i forgot to call ya, skiracer! poooo! i'm horrible.

i'll shoot you an email about the ski "requirements." Basically i'm just seeing what's out there for a possible trip up there. : )
last edited: 11/09/04 12:34:17 PM”

“Embear - Snowshoe opens Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving. Unless the weather gets a little colder around here, they will have very few trails on opening day. They do have a pretty good snowmaking capacity though so if we get some cool weather right before the opening they should be able to get at least 8-10 trails open in time.”

“I don't downhill ski much, but good to know. I'll try to go a couple of times this year. It's wicked fun.”

“Thanks wvmtnmatt! I am going the 3rd weekend in Dec. Do you think there will be much of a base at that point?

Artex - wicked fun?”

“Skiing!!Skiing!!!”

“I see a TT day trip or two this winter to strap on the boards (or board for you that are ski-challenged)and mosey about the mountain. Well, some will mosey some will get in a lot of runs. Talkabouts are a great thing.”

“monkeyboy, we've got some planning to do! Maybe even a cross-country trip...without packs. What's that cross country place right near Pinkham Notch? Is it Great Glen?”

“Hey Ski, what am I, chopped liver because I'm from the city?!?! :(

I'm so offeneded. lol!”

“Twinks....give me a shout when you're headed up to the big K and I'll meet you for a few runs.

Don't be offended... ;-)

and uhmm...

"Let me know if anyone wants to meet up for some turns this winter. I should be at Killington a bunch."

skiracer
9:45:34 AM
11/09/04

That was directed to anyone from TT heading up to Killington.”

“What is skiing? Is that like snowshoeing real fast?”

“Strapping waxed boards to your feet and sliding down snowy slopes as fast as you drive a car.”

“Oh, you mean the thing I tried to do once and ended up with a broken arm.

Have fun everybody and stay in one piece.”

“ski--got your email. you'll be gettin' a late night booty call tonight. ooooooo yeah. : )

lumby--you busted an arm skiing? you need to stay away from the trees!!”

“Don't forget the sharpened steel edges that can cut you to ribbons, bit. Oh yeah...and the cold, wet hands....and sitting down on a wet chair...and getting blasted by snow guns. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

No wonder I wear a helmet when I ski. It's a personal choice It's the warmest 'hat' I've ever had.

lz- it's that feeling you get when you slide down a steep snowy hill with snowshoes for a few feet. Except you're going about 50 times faster and for far greater distances. Throw in some boilerplate ice and changing snow conditions within a short distance, big bumps, thrills and chills...you've got skiing in the Northeast. It's the most fun thing I've ever done with my clothes on.
last edited: 11/09/04 2:44:44 PM”

“yam... ;-)

so....what are you wearing? LMAO!”

“Yammy - it was the single board variety. Metal edges catching in ice = seeing the ground then the sky, then the ground and sky a few more times.

I would like to put skis on my feet again, but I think I’ll stick with the cross-country kind. I have too slow of reflexes for that down hill stuff.”

“ski--i'll wear WHATVEVER you want me to.
HA!

how long ago was that lumber?”

“I am probably the only person in the world who managed to crack ribs while cross-country skiing. It was fun anyway though.”

“bitpusher, you're not supposed to use the trees to stop!”

“It was probably about 10 years ago. I found out breaking your humorous isn't really that funny; at least not until they gave me the morphine.”

“I know that much! I used the ground! lol...
last edited: 11/09/04 3:11:52 PM”

“Colorado ski season opens this weekend!!!!”

“Hey Skiracer, this week, I have to pretty much wait for the inspector to get back from vacation. I am stuck at doing just about nothing this week. I bet I could sneak away for a few runs and Skeetah wouldn't even know about it!!!! You got some time off? And... since we are waiting like crazy, I'll dig out the skiis and maybe she and I'll go ski this weekend also. Iffin I can't build our home, I'll go skiing!!!! Who from ASC is open right now and how open are they?

BRB”

“Killington has 8 trails and 2 lifts turning, and more planned for the weekend. Hmmm. anyone want to hazard a guess as to where we will be this weekend?”

“outer limits forever!!

bring on the moguls!!!”

“haha. i think i still have a shirt that says "outer limits-moguls the size of volkswagons"”

“i suppose i've probably skied killington 100+ days before. it's been 10 years though. they used to have 6 mountains you could get in and out of. has it grown any? i thought i heard one time they were going to buy pico and connect with them.

i liked stowe a lot too and smuggler's notch. sunday river was my favorite.

if your in the adak's, there's a small place called big tupper. it's right near tupper lake. it is real small but great skiing. the trails are really narrow (at least they used to be) but there were never any crowds. killington is always packed.

ski racer, have you been to jay's peak yet? it is kind of small but was pretty good because of the lack of crowds.

once again, it's been 10 years so things could really have changed a lot.”

“monkeyboy- I'm going to wait to use some vacation time for midweek skiing in December when there will be more open. I'm heading to Killington on Saturday, but have to be in Hanover by 3 PM.

e-mail me and we'll arrange to meet. Do you guys have Talkabouts? If so, we'll arrange a channel beforehand.

baume 66 - I have not been to Jay's Peak yet. Sometimes, they have the best snow since they are so far north and are in a real snow belt. I've hiked up Big Tupper in the summer, but never been in the winter. I think they've since closed...something about a disagreement over power. That was years ago, though.

The thing about Killington is that once you really get to know the 6 peaks, there are ways to avois lots of the crowds. With a season pass, I can hit it early for a few hours and then head out if I want to. The best skiing is in the early morning or later afternoon.”

“"I don't downhill ski much, but good to know. I'll try to go a couple of times this year. It's wicked fun.”
- Artex

Don't you even THINK about taking one of them chair contraptions up the mountain. A TRUE Ebanott straps on his skis and hikes up the dang thing.

by the way, I heard a guy did just that on Cannon Mt Saturday.”

“The only time I ever hiked up the entire mountain to ski down was at Sunday River a few years ago. They got 30" of heavy snow in late March. The power to the entire resort was out, meaning no lifts. Three of us waited about 15 minutes for the power to come back on, but it never did. We started climbing. It was a very tough climb through 30" of fresh, heavy snow in ski boots. There was one trail we had not skied that week because there wasn't enough snow. It was aptly named Spruce Cliff. We got to the top and rested for awhile until we started to get chilled. We skied down that incredible trail. It was steep, deep and I couldn't beleive this was actually a trail. The trees were very close together. I'll never forget it. I only took one run that day, but it was the most memorable one of the trip.

I guess the runs you pay for like that are the ones that may be the most memorable, but I still like taking the lifts up. If you ski hard all day, you're beat by the end of the day. With lifts, you can easily get 30-40 thousand feet of vertical in a day.”

“you guys have really got me jonesin' to strap them back on.”

“and pennsy, as an official member of EBANOTT, you must know that the entire thing is to be capatlized when refered to.”

“We are planning on heading up to Killington. No Talk abouts.....phooey! Skeetah Bait may have to work Saturday though... double phooey!! We may have to do Sunday....

As far as weather.com goes for Killington. Looks like some PM showers there on Thursday, then colder temps (highs of 35 and 32 degrees) for Friday thru Sunday. Sounds like they'll lose some terrain on Thursday and work on getting it back thru the weekend.

Last night Skeetah says she has a day off that she has to use up, or lose before the end of the year, and asked about taking a day off to come skiing. I pretty much said the same thing you said: Let's save that day for mid to late December, when there is some real skiing to be had.

We checked Mapquest. It looks like a 3 hour drive for us to Killington. Suddenly, we aren't so anxious to go just for 8 trails. But it seems like we'll have down time Saturday or Sunday to burn!!!”

“Can't wait to get out skiing this winter. I never did get out last year. Vermont has been on my list ever since I drove through the area a few years ago. Looks beautiful.”

“Let me know what day you're going. I'm planning on Saturday, but may ski again on Sunday if the conditions are good enough.

Send me an e-mail.”

“tarabull-
Stowe, Sugarbush are great in VT. Killington is good midweek without the crowds. I talked to a friend of yours recently about the possiblity of an upcoming trip. Sunday River, Sugarloaf are great in ME. There are lots of 'smaller' resorts that each offer a unique flavor, but are certainly nice. Cross-country is also usually nearby. ;-)”