While Killington has come under fire in recent years for a reduced commitment to the eight month season that created “the beast,” the fact remains that the mountain remains incredibly important to New York skiers. The combination of convenient location, excellent orographics and an aggressive approach to October snowmaking puts Killington top of mind for many of us, especially in the early season. This past season half of all the trip reports posted in the NY Ski Forums in November 2011 were from Killington.
For those living in northern New York, early season upslope events combined with job flexibility and the jones to ski can lead to memorable days with fresh tracks. Condor and tBatt fit that description to a T. Twelve inches of new snow a few days before Killington’s scheduled opening lured them to rise before dawn and earn turns before work. From tBatt’s report:
“Snow in the forecast? Hell yeah! With reports of 12” new at Kmart, I figured I’d head for the blue light special. Condor had the same idea. There was probably 8 inches on the ground with more in drifts and less where the wind was blowing. Bluebird day and temps just above 30, pretty much perfect. Having a base would have been really nice. There was a lot of tall overgrown grass that liked to grab your tips and put you over the handlebars.
After several runs, I skied out to my car and drove back to New York. I stopped by Sports Page to share the stoke with some of the guys, and then headed home to get ready for my 8 hour shift at the Hotel. It was a hell of a day.”