This weekend I set out to ski at two very different Vermont ski areas, Killington “The Beast of the East” and Mad River Glen “Ski It If You Can.” I expected two very different ski experiences, but there were some unexpected surprises along the way.

Killington, VT: Saturday 1/23/10

21 Gun Salute on Outer Limits

For me, there are a five things that make a super ski day:

1. Powder
2. Good Company
3. Nice Weather
4. Good Snow Conditions
5. Challenging Terrain

There hadn’t been any new snow in the previous 5 days. Let’s look at the other four.

Friends (check), Bluebird day (check), Snowpack (check), Big Vermont mountains (check). Four of five ingredients in place. Not a bad start.

Since we decided to ski Killington on a beautiful Saturday, crowd avoidance was key. “The Beast” can see more than 20,000 people on a busy day. With years of Killington Ambassadorship under my belt from my ski bum days, I’ve got the beta to beat the crowd. For starters, we bypassed the Killington access road and drove over to Bear Mountain.

At 9 am, we pulled up to a man-made snowstorm on Outer Limits. We scored a great parking spot. It was sunny and warming, so we booted up in the lot. Wished we hadn’t forgotten the lawn chairs. It did not seem very busy. We took advantage, and spent the morning working the goods at Bear.

Team Gore: EDeO, Powderqueen, Chuck and Pam

The first run had to be under the guns on Outer Limits, Killington’s premier showcase mogul run. The snow was soft and sweet. It was the best man-made snow we skied all day. Then off to explore the road less traveled, looking for less manicured, more natural terrain.

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