Killington Diary

Season Opener 2013

2012-11-11T06:29:00.004-08:00

Just me & Steve. We have no people :(

Top to bottom coverage is nice. Sunny, blue sky, and about 40 degrees. Made some nice turns through the Glades and enjoyed a beverage afterward.

Later on we joined neighbor Bruce at Sushi Yoshi, a quick stop at the Lookout, and had dinner at Choices. Monkfish does not disappoint.

Today we are ready for day 2 and crave the sunshine of day 1.

February Break

2012-03-02T15:51:00.002-08:00

Saturday: Steve & I get up late after I find him drinking Bourbon with Dave S. at the kitchen table Friday night. Windy, but burn a few calories. Trail of the day--the one that leads to the Yellow Yurt.

Sunday: Lovely skiing, but Byron skis up the OUTSIDE of the half pipe and blows a calf muscle. New adventure--taking the Base Shuttle back to the K-1 parking lot. Parking lot attendant pisses me off by not letting me drive through the upper parking lot to retrieve limping Byron. Immediately after I drive off, he lifts the cones and puts the sign away. I'm writing a letter. Trail of the day--not Grizzly.

The Tim & Dee Show blow into town. Five minutes later they are bickering about something important. One hour later, Tim is asking for a hammer and drill for a project he wants to start. Oy!

Monday: Wonderful day with Tim & Dee. There is a lot of corduroy and that is good. Dondi & his kids arrive early and meet us at the Yellow Yurt where the famous Tom-the-slowest-bartender is pouring the drinks. Trail of the day--Tim's ride down to the gondola station on route 4.

Tuesday: Off to Okemo after hours of figuring out deals, coupons, pass promotions, again, Oy! Okemo was great!! Typical Okemo--flat and fast and good snow. You never kill yourself there. Trail of the day--anything in Jackson Gore.

Wednesday: The Schricks arrive and we go back to Killington with the family. Cameron, Tim & Dee do Snowshed 'til you're dead. With all the green circles, Cam is in heaven. He practices his turns for hours! Tim & Dee love the break. Mia can't find a black diamond she doesn't like, until she takes a digger on Mouse Trap. But there's no stopping Mia. A short break later, she's back in the saddle. The snow falls all day. WOOT! Trail of the day--too tough to call. Cam would say Snowshed. Mia would not say Mouse Trap.

Thursday: 12 inches and falling. Carol is a powder hound. Schrick is maniac. The Stairs, Breakaway, Jug, Vagabond, lower Patsy's. Timber is back! Annie & Mace arrive. Trail of the day--Into the Light.

Friday: Snow is done falling. Michael and his clan are here. Steve is the Pied Piper and Leader of the Pack. Four boys follow him everywhere! "We wait for no one" is their motto. Every wooded trail, bumped trail, gnarly trail, they're in! Patsy's, Stairs, Ovation, Superstar Woods, and still they wanted more. Steve was happy to pass the pack back to their parents. Michael bought him a well deserved Bloody Mary. Trail of the day--Steve says Thimble, I say Devil's Fiddle kicked ass! Soft, deep powder. I win on that one.

We'll see what Saturday brings. It doesn't look good.

February 18

2012-02-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

Skiing not bad! Skied 9:30-2:30. Can count the number of days we've done that this year. Got a few inches last night. Snowing now. Can we get 3-4 out of this? Cascade good in the morning, Highline & side trail off lower Chute excellent in the afternoon. Mid 20s. Sun in and out.

BB had three under 30 men to "instruct" while Pete played poker back in the city.

Missing stories: Michael's aversion to water, the bra story, Lennie and the afghan, having two too many Goombay Smashes.

January 21

2012-01-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

We need snow.

Cold but not windy. Where did Monday's 16 inches go?

Dew Tour here. Only one trail open at Bear. Except for OL which we didn't do.

Michael made coffee, lunch, and dinner. Looking forward to pulled pork butt.

If he'd only shower...

Last Week

2012-01-21T13:28:00.000-08:00

I say to Stephanie's boyfriend, "Wow, I was watching you jump off of everything."

Stephanie's father says, "As long as he's not jumping on anything, we're all set."

Steve says, "They're seniors in college. They should be doing it five times a day."

This is lunch conversation.

Christmas Week

2011-12-30T04:31:00.000-08:00

It has been a different kind of Christmas week up here--the kind with no snow. While Bob & Steve dealt with elder care in Manch, the good wives came up and skied on Tuesday. It was lousy. Barely a flake on the mountain. We went to happy hour at the Lookout with young men to our left who ignored us and older men to our right who didn't. We were "Leo-ed" as Leo, starter at Green Mountain and Chatty Patty spent hours telling us all about themselves. Leo did ask Diana twice about herself, "so do you rent at Glazebrook for the whole season?" Twice. Or maybe three times. Not great listeners.

Wednesday was a much better day on the mountain. Bob had come up the night before and Steve came up in the morning. It had begun to snow and got better and better all day. Run of the day was at the end when ski patrol dropped the rope on the West Glade and we got 8 inches of freshies. We then went down and did another 8 at the bottom of Highline in our secret stash.

Thursday was 6 degrees and windy when I got there, and rose to 14 by the time I left. We were a sad little trio. Steve didn't ski Thursday. He may have broken a toe walking around the condo. He went back to Manch to be a good son. By 11 o'clock I needed a warm-up, but trying to get a seat at the K-1 lodge was ridiculous. With no summit lodge and Bear closed, the place was a madhouse. P.B. told me they are down 500 seats on the mountain. We had hot chocolate with people just like us only older. They even called the Snowdon Quad the double-double. They bitched about this and that, and remembered the good old days with Pres Smith skiing in 1959. I thought I was looking at us in a time warp.

Lift lines were 15 minutes long. The K-1 was down, and they weren't running the Snowdon Cripple. We took Superstar up for one run. At the top everyone is filtered down the icy Suicide Alley to avoid the Superstar Headwall and get to Skyelark. If one person went down, the whole stream was going down. The mountain really needed to put a snowgun on that. The skiing there was good because everyone was stuck in the alley.

Today is supposed to be much warmer. The rest of the week is not looking good for accumulation anywhere in the East.

Day 2

2011-11-27T04:43:00.000-08:00

We skied 10-2 with newcomer Joe. It got to be 50 degrees and was sunny all day. You don't get too many like that. Had a drink in the Yellow Yurt where they ran out of white wine. Shameful. It was all interrupted by a flip-flop footed guy carrying his beloved on his back through the snow and mud. She had gorgeous boots which are clearly not for inclimate weather. He lost his flop at one point, but he recovered. Upon entering the Yellow Yurt, there were cheers and hoots and someone said, "Get that boy a Jager!" He deserved it. Chivalry is not dead! But the Yellow Yurt has no liquor, either.

We had a drink at Casey's Caboose and an appetizer (50% off)and then a delightful dinner of steak topped with roasted jalapenos and melted cheese and a baked potato and delish Leisel-made guacamole.

Day 2 for me & Steve. Diana & the nephews came out as did Pete & BB.

Off to do it again today.

Day 1 2011

2011-11-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

The snow was soft like a spring day. The temperature was in the 40s to low 50s, and it was sunny. We skied the same two trails a half dozen times then, according to the website, climbed the short Peak Walkway. It's better than being herded up to a lift in the back of a pick-up truck.

When we got to the mountain in the morning (after I waited a gazillion minutes for Steve to exit the condo), Steve made a little discovery. He had no helmet, no hat, no goggles. So he skied in his ratty baseball hat and my cute goggles with the pink polka dots. This finished off his fashionable look of blue jacket and brown ski pants.

We saw Paauulll who acknowledged Steve by name and to me said, "Hello!" Whatever. We only took one run through the terrain park where Bob wanted to watch the "village idiots." One of them became some orthopedic surgeon's wet dream as he came down the trail in a sled.

It was 60 on the sunny Lido deck behind the Chardonnay Chalet where Steve grilled up burgers that have been sitting in the freezer since an April tailgating session.

We'll be back after Thanksgiving with my cousin and her boyfriend. New blood!

Gillette Stadium

2011-11-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

Go Cats!

Chowderfest 2011 Results

2011-10-05T05:53:00.000-07:00

Best Chowder

First Place Tie
Cannon Mt. Chowder by Joe & Leisel
Sassy Seafood by Kathy

Second Place
Divine Seafood Chowder by Tonya

Best Non-Chowder

First Place Tie
Byron's Lobster Appetizer
O'Hagan's Lamb's Stewed

Most Original Recipe

First Place
Sassy Seafood

Second Place Tie
O'Hagan's Lamb's Stewed
Provencal by Linda
Molassas Cookies

Best Looking Dish

First Place
Tonya

Second Place
Byron

Third Place Tie
Leisel
"The Neighbor"

9 and Dine at Stonebridge

2011-07-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

Clown golf at its best!

Cheers to Better Days

2011-07-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

We're supposed to be golfing, but the thunder and lightening is preventing that activity, so I went through the video archives.

Cheers!

There's More to Skiing Than Skiing & It Is Golf

2011-06-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

Cloudy & damp; 65 degrees, but no rain and most importantly, the balls got in the air! Woot, woot! Back on his home course, Steve is feeling good. No chardonnay at the bar. Steve had to choke back a LaBatt's Blue. With only hot dogs on the menu (the guy next to me ate three), we drove down the road and dined at Green Mountain National. And had a chardonnay.

February 2

2011-02-05T05:25:00.000-08:00

"Go where the piles are; do not go where the piles are not," said Bob.

"Like a good proctologist," said Byron.

A Few Weeks Ago

2011-01-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

Great day! We thought the temperature would be brutal, so we got a late start, but WOW. Sunshine, no wind, 11 degrees. Really not bad! We took our first few runs off the gondola instead of the usual double-double. That might have helped.

The snow was marvelous. Michael got hung up by his nads in the bushes on the Old Superstar.

MLK Weekend

2011-01-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

An array of characters, says Steve. Yesterday Steve & I warmed up on the Jug. Soft snow, not too many rocks. I was happy. We found the crew at Bear. Everybody and their brothers were at Bear. Everyone had to funnel into Wildfire. It was wildly packed.

Matthew jumped off of everything around. By lunchtime he had had it. Dave, Bob's protege, was game for anything. We dragged him down Great Bear, Vagabond, Superstar, and a very bushy Old Superstar. Dave just wanted more. Racers on Bunny Buster were done at the end of the day, but hadn't pulled the rope. We went in and it was marvelous. At 3:15, Steve wanted to take the lunch up the Superstar chair. Skyelark was a madhouse and at that time of the day scraped off. We had to endure all that just so Steve could ski Low Road again.

Steve & I joined Ray Leno for a pink champagne. As usual, he had his own array of characters. He painted the place green and has a t.v. that hangs on the wall. Two of his female guests went into his room for power naps. Bruce noted, "Man, you've got two girls in your bed and more on the couch. What am I doing wrong?"

Jordanian dinner at H-4 and British chocolates finished off a great day. Thank you, Susan.

Sunday was warmer, but felt colder. It didn't start off well with a gondola ride next to Mr. Wiggly. Worse than Wayne, this guy was screwing around with his helmet, his ipod, his boots, then his phone rang. I was so sick of being bumped, that I wanted to punch someone when we got out.

Pipe Dream was super soft, but Pete found rocks. It was sunny at Bear, but still nutty. The half-pipe and jumps they are building for the Dew Challenge are impressive.

For Pete

2011-01-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

Because I can't seem to e-mail this to Pete...

January 3

2011-01-02T04:45:00.001-08:00

Rain.

January 2

2011-01-02T04:30:00.000-08:00

It was even warmer today--40 degrees and less sun. Trail of the day yesterday, today CLOSED. There was much closed today. Only the six of us came out for all the fun. It was a really late start. Steve said, "It might be a 10-2 day." When 10 am came and went, he said, "It looks like an 11-2 day."

Trail of the day: Who cares? It was all pretty soft.

We did ski until after 3. We took a leisurely break on the new Vista Deck at the Eye. We took a long one to route 4. I found an iPhone in the snow. Happy Hour took place at the Snowshed lodge. Bob looked around and said, "These are not our people." It took 30 minutes to get waited on and our nachos came on a plate the size of a quarter.

Happy New Year!

Pico Lunch

2011-01-01T13:59:00.001-08:00

Lunch was a zoo! B & D were the first to get to the lodge, so were charged with securing a table--a daunting task at Pico. Once they got one, keeping it until we all arrived was the hardest part. "Just don't make eye contact," B told D. "If you do, we're dead." Bob called it Custer's Last Stand.

December 31

2010-12-31T12:32:00.001-08:00

The best Spring Skiing in December ever! The day started off with each peak socked in. Skiing the lower terrain was good. So different from yesterday. Today was in the higher 20s and lower 30s. The best surprise was the sun coming out about 11 am. Most of the mountain had good coverage. One big exception would be the Edgemont Ski Home Trail. I doubt that trail will be open tomorrow, and if it is, I'm not sure I want to be on it.

Run of the day: Great Bear. The bumps were perfect, and I had a blast.

Most everything was good, though. Mouse Trap,

Toward the end of the day, Steve and I took Upper Bunny Buster which had been closed for race training. We got some nice corduroy which my legs appreciated having been out an hour earlier than everyone else.

We stayed away from Bear today, since it was so warm. Well, most of us, anyway. Coming off the top five of us zigged and Pete zagged. He spent the next few hours at Bear and the Eye. BB spent them trying to call him (no service over there, though). We found him before lunch, though.

Christmas Week

2010-12-30T16:17:00.000-08:00

It was a slow start, but we finally made it up here for Tuesday, but not in time to ski. We had car issues and hot water issues and had lunch at Bentley's in Woodstock to view the gorgeous ceiling which was the inspiration for our pink balls in the kitchen.

Later on we had a glass that the beautifully decorated Birches Inn. Love that place.

Skiing Wednesday was great. We even skied some real snow. Kelly brought up the boys, and we brought up Michael. Baldwin was out on his board. Lots open. The storm set Killington up nicely.

Run of the day: Escapade. As Michael said, "I don't mind a few rocks if the payoff is soft snow. Unless you blow out an edge, a few scratches on the bottom of your skis don't make any difference."

Runner up of the day: Ski Home Trail. Kelly's virgin run. Happy Hour at the Houligans. There was Boggle and Jenga and then a rousing game of Short List.

Who is on your short list? Who would you do and who would you just date. Halle Barry is always on Michael's short list. Julia Roberts is not. A few actresses I don't know came up.

"Steve," asked Bob, "who is on your short list?"

"He doesn't have one. He has a trophy wife," said his wife.

Diana put Robert Redford on her short list; she doesn't care how old he is. Her next pick raised a few eyebrows--William Shatner. "Just to go out on a date with. He'd be funny!" She also picked DiNozzo. I like Gibbs better.

Kelly raised a few classic names, but after today's conversation, I think she's not too picky as long as he rode a big Harley.

Pico was beautiful today. Mid-twenties and SUNNY. Kind of sounds like the short list. A couple of runs through the Birch Glades makes the run of the day status. Except for BB trying to kill us on Upper KA, you couldn't go wrong at Pico today. What does NOT get run of the day was the second time BB tried to kill us on her ski home trail. It's a cross between a cross country trail and bushwhacking. And in order to get to it, she led us down a closed trail. A snow-snake grabbed me, and I went down. Diana shot off it like a cannon, and she went down. Logan got himself in a ditch.

Where's Kelly during all this adventure? At the pub with our husbands, none of whom would answer their phone.

Pete hosted happy hour at the condo of Pico Pete and Bronco Barb. While we all sat around (except for the kids sneaking through crawl spaces), Pete served us beer, wine, apple-flavored bourbon, cheese, crackers, party snacks. BB sure is lucky. I bet he vacuumed after we left, too. Thanks, Pete!

T'was the Week Before Christmas

2010-12-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

Not a bad weekend at all. Steve & I came up in the morning and eventually found, Sam, and Corey to ski with. Some sun in the Eye, but it all got cloudy in the afternoon.

We met BB at Charity's with Pico Pete who spent the morning on that mountain. Pete held court with the young bloods. When BB was ready to go, she asked Pete if that was his last beer. "That is my second to last beer," he said.

Sunday morning brought Wano, Katie, and her friend Megan to the mountain. Megan's father is the head of snowmaking here. "Megan, I don't know your father, but I love him," I told her. And he lives AT our home golf course--White River Country Club!

Again the Eye was good, Bittersweet and Skyelark were much better than yesterday. Ram's head was a cluster. It stayed sunny through milky clouds. 25 degrees and no wind. Really beautiful.

Trail of the day: Snowshed. Super snow. We did it twice.

About lunchtime we split up. We had just been in the terrain park when I asked Steve if he got any air. "Yeah, three feet! It was epic!"

Wayne replied, "I got big air, too, but not the good kind."

And that's all I have to say about that.

December 4

2010-12-04T13:21:00.000-08:00

The thermometer said 23 degrees, but the wind made it feel MUCH colder. Surprisingly cold. We both said we needed an extra layer. The word of the day was not cold, though. Today was brought to you by the word CROWDED. There were a ga-zillion snowboarding young men out there. Our neighbor, Bruce, took his two young kids off the mountain by 9:30. He said he couldn't protect them both.

The trails got pretty scrape-y. Steve said, "Well, we're out here anyway, but I don't like it," followed by, "Let's go to the bottom for a break and re-evaluate."

We re-evaluated a ride on the triple which went triple slow.

They're blowing it up and down Bittersweet and Skyelark, but they did not load the Superstar chair. Maybe tomorrow.

We need snow, boys and girls. We should all make a sacrifice to the Snow Goddess. I think she likes Chardonnay.

Day 3

2010-11-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

I wasn't going to go out, but was lured. It was cooler than yesterday, and I didn't wear as many clothes. Frozen granular. Made a few turns, then back up the Stairway to Heaven. Ten steps into it, Bob wanted a break. There were people knocking back beers about 2/3 of the way up. Bob waited until we got to the peak for his beverage.

Free pizza at the Outback last night to kick off Northern Skiworks' season. The place was packed. Big energy. And just as Joey Leone was about to go on, Diana made us leave and meet Barbara at the Wobbly Barn. Fine.

Everything was 1/2 off, and it's been years, maybe, since I've eaten there. Tenderloin with crab and asparagus was quite nice. BB & Pete golfed for the day. Diana hadn't eaten in weeks, it seemed. She finished her filet mignon in 3.5 minutes flat.

Off to the Lookout for a nightcap. P.B. called me. I won the grand prize, Solomon skis, back at the Outback, but you have to be there to claim them. I was not. I blame BB.

Skiing the Glades and hiking the Stairway to Heaven is getting old. We need cold weather and snow.