Killington: Colorado in VT

Lucky for me I had plans to ski Killington with my friend Mark on Sunday March 24. Due to personal commitments, I couldn’t make the trip until Saturday, and knew driving conditions might get tricky going into the storm on Saturday. Just after getting on the Northway at Albany, Waze started giving reports that traffic was building ahead, which was the first sign of travel issues.

Killington summit view
Killington summit view

A few miles north, the pouring rain started to freeze, which is where things got interesting. After crossing the twin bridges into Saratoga County, there were cars all over the place — off the road, in ditches, in the woods and pointed in all directions.

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Perfect Early Winter at Killington

Last Friday, I enjoyed a splendid early season day at Killington. Conditions were good, terrain was abundant for the date (open trails from Skylark to Rams Head) and the weather was perfect – one of those days I like to call no weather – due to the comfortable conditions. I met up with Vinny, Dennis and Mark to celebrate Mark’s birthday on the slopes.

Killington gondola
Killington gondola approaches the summit

We rode the K1 Gondola to the summit and skied down Great Northern towards North Ridge. The guns blasting along upper Great Northern were putting out sticky snow, and the passengers in the first few gondolas of the day wound up in a multi-skier pile up at the start of their first runs.

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The High Point Carriage Road at Minnewaska

In the last days of August, the High Point Carriage Road, a historic 2.8-mile piece of the Minnewaska State Park’s carriage road network, officially re-opened to the public. On September 1, my friend Brian and I set out to explore the new road on bicycles.

Smiley Carriage Road
Smiley Carriage Road

We started at the Minnewaska parking area and rode on the Upper Awosting Carriage Road to Lake Awosting. From Awosting, the Smiley Carriage Road would connect us with the new High Point road. Although I’m a frequent visitor to Minnewaska, this was my first cycling trip on the full length of the Smiley Carriageway that was restored a few years ago.

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