Brownski
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2020
Last week I decided to break my day-trip habit so I could bring my sons to Killington. I figured getting them to a bigger mountain would be a treat and staying in a hotel with an indoor pool, especially in winter, is a big deal for them. So we drove up to Rutland Friday night and enjoyed the pool and the change of pace.
Last year I learned about an ISKINY program that lets third and fourth graders ski for free at most NYS mountains right at the end of my younger son's fourth grade year. Oh well; you live and you learn. I did better this year by discovering that Vermont has a similar program for fifth graders. Theirs comes in the form of a passport which is mailed to the participants and entitles them to three days each at participating Vermont ski resorts. I ordered my ten year old a passport but Saturday was the first time he got to put it to use. It was his first time at Killington as well.
Like a lot of northeast ski resorts last weekend, Killington was socked in by fog in the morning. We parked at the Skyeship base area and took our time booting up, hoping the fog would clear out. We ran out of patience around 9:30 so we jumped on the gondola and headed up the mountain. My ten year old expressed amazement at how long it took to reach the top of Skye peak.
As much as I love the trails off of Killington peak, that wasn't the sort of day we had planned. It was a day for family skiing and I figured the crowds on that side would be brutal so we made our way down Great Eastern and spent the morning exploring the trails around the Needle's Eye Quad. This is a great little area for intermediates. It's a mix of green and blue trails and some easier black diamonds, perfect for my ten year old to challenge himself while his big brother worked on his technique and I goofed off along the trails' edges. We all had fun. We did one run down Bittersweet to the Superstar quad and took some cruisers over to the Bear Mountain Base area but spent most of our time around Needle's Eye.
At lunch time we took the long trek down Great Eastern to return to the Skyeship Base area. Great Eastern is often maligned by expert skiers because it attracts beginners, gets crowded and cuts across some harder trails as it meanders from the top of Skye Peak all the way to the bottom. The crowds on the upper portions certainly contain some novices. We saw some pretty inexplicable crashes on Saturday. A couple of times people who seemed to be doing just fine just face planted in the middle of the trail, popping right out of their light-release rental bindings. One time I saw a guy's foot come out of a snowboard binding, which surprised me. Once you get past the turn to head back to the Snowshed beginners area, Great Eastern is a whole different experience. It's just a nice cruiser with lots of switchbacks and turns and changes in grade. My kids love the trail.
Back at the lodge, we took our time eating lunch. Another group was having trouble finding a spot so we gave them the third of our table we weren't using and they broke out a huge spread of food from home, beef stew and meatballs, rolls, drinks etc... I walked back to the car for some more drinks to go along with our chicken fingers and chili and met some folks grilling burgers on the tailgate of their truck. Overall, Skyeship base just has a more homey, laid back vibe then some of Killington's other lodges.
We spent the afternoon pretty much how we spent the morning. There was a lot of Killington we didn't see but it's a big place on a busy weekend and we barely stood on line all day. I didn't feel deprived sticking to the Skye Peak/Bear Mountain side of the resort. For my ten year old's first visit to Vermont's biggest Ski Area, it went well. We even saw a little sunshine.
<img src="https://forum.nyskiblog.com/file/n4099044/image766.jpg" border="0"/>
Last year I learned about an ISKINY program that lets third and fourth graders ski for free at most NYS mountains right at the end of my younger son's fourth grade year. Oh well; you live and you learn. I did better this year by discovering that Vermont has a similar program for fifth graders. Theirs comes in the form of a passport which is mailed to the participants and entitles them to three days each at participating Vermont ski resorts. I ordered my ten year old a passport but Saturday was the first time he got to put it to use. It was his first time at Killington as well.
Like a lot of northeast ski resorts last weekend, Killington was socked in by fog in the morning. We parked at the Skyeship base area and took our time booting up, hoping the fog would clear out. We ran out of patience around 9:30 so we jumped on the gondola and headed up the mountain. My ten year old expressed amazement at how long it took to reach the top of Skye peak.
As much as I love the trails off of Killington peak, that wasn't the sort of day we had planned. It was a day for family skiing and I figured the crowds on that side would be brutal so we made our way down Great Eastern and spent the morning exploring the trails around the Needle's Eye Quad. This is a great little area for intermediates. It's a mix of green and blue trails and some easier black diamonds, perfect for my ten year old to challenge himself while his big brother worked on his technique and I goofed off along the trails' edges. We all had fun. We did one run down Bittersweet to the Superstar quad and took some cruisers over to the Bear Mountain Base area but spent most of our time around Needle's Eye.
At lunch time we took the long trek down Great Eastern to return to the Skyeship Base area. Great Eastern is often maligned by expert skiers because it attracts beginners, gets crowded and cuts across some harder trails as it meanders from the top of Skye Peak all the way to the bottom. The crowds on the upper portions certainly contain some novices. We saw some pretty inexplicable crashes on Saturday. A couple of times people who seemed to be doing just fine just face planted in the middle of the trail, popping right out of their light-release rental bindings. One time I saw a guy's foot come out of a snowboard binding, which surprised me. Once you get past the turn to head back to the Snowshed beginners area, Great Eastern is a whole different experience. It's just a nice cruiser with lots of switchbacks and turns and changes in grade. My kids love the trail.
Back at the lodge, we took our time eating lunch. Another group was having trouble finding a spot so we gave them the third of our table we weren't using and they broke out a huge spread of food from home, beef stew and meatballs, rolls, drinks etc... I walked back to the car for some more drinks to go along with our chicken fingers and chili and met some folks grilling burgers on the tailgate of their truck. Overall, Skyeship base just has a more homey, laid back vibe then some of Killington's other lodges.
We spent the afternoon pretty much how we spent the morning. There was a lot of Killington we didn't see but it's a big place on a busy weekend and we barely stood on line all day. I didn't feel deprived sticking to the Skye Peak/Bear Mountain side of the resort. For my ten year old's first visit to Vermont's biggest Ski Area, it went well. We even saw a little sunshine.
<img src="https://forum.nyskiblog.com/file/n4099044/image766.jpg" border="0"/>
