monday 1/8 report

[skiadikt]

a conga line of cars snaked it's way up the access rd this morning. thought it was a pretty decent crowd for a monday as lots of folks apparently called in "sick." a brisk, blustery start to the day w the k cloud camped out up top. cleared later in the morning. 9-1:30 shift.

at the bell, highline skied well on a flat packed surface. no more daily rotd as the kms have taken over their trail. LEF good early. in general the new snow rolled in nicely on all the groomed terrain. the best being lower skye burst. cruise a bit more marbly. preston's skied better than it has lately. skye/bitter improved w the new snow. needles was adventure skiing. seems they didn't finish making snow. lots of water bars and thin as you moved right. downdraft hw also in that adventure mode w some huge drifts and whales. would probably benefit from a groom so it could grow better bumps.

upper flush good but very thin. hit most of the opened nats and it was the same theme as they had taken a beating yesterday. also the drier snow didn't hold up as well as the denser, heavier snow in the previous storms. one of the best was upper needles which hadn't been skied much when i hit it. and as always, the upper dipper bumpline skied very well. shorty good as well. old supe good but lower section was grass skiing. mid-o skied well but you were in constant search for snow mode. similar on conclusion. skis did take a beating today.

[PinnacleJim]

K1 lot was full shortly after 9. On a non-holiday Monday!

[Captain Hafski]

Afternoon Report: One of the better days in a while I thought. Was surprised by how far back the lots were full when I got there. Guessing lots of peeps came up for yesterday's pow then decided to stay over for today. Agree with SA that last nights grooming did a great job combining the old beach sand with the new snow; groomers were very much improved.

ROTD: Shorty -> the rest of Skye Claw. Shorty one of the better nats on the mountain right now. Viper Pit better than before and really liked lower Skyeburst. Even though quite a bit of the old glaze between the bumps, with the good viz you could mostly ski down "on" the muguls that formed.

First run down Panic Needle's Eye was pretty good. Double Black skiing down Panic, with lots of backside whale ice in play, but I've seen it worse. Needle's Eye proper was fun butt it is not fully covered even in the middle. Went back later and chose Upper/Middle Needle's Eye over Panic; big mistake. Upper NE was pretty good, with normal tough exit but Middle Needle's Eye was toast; should not be open. Viz had deteriorated and NE proper not as good as before.

Old Supe good. Same for Low Road. Won't hold up very long though. Highline was groomed too far [left] coast to coast screwing up the nice lines that have been there past few days.

Late day Upper Chute -> Upper Great Bear was a nice treat to end the day. Bunny right back to being very good.

Ridge Run still fun.

[newpylong1]

According to snow/trail report that may or may not be correct, they're back on Mid and Lower Needles.

[rogman]

Arrived at the half full Bear lot at the pedestrian hour of 9:30. Some walking required. As I would later discover, KBL was full (not that weekend fake full where bays 1 and 2 are empty), as was Vale, Ramshead, Snowshed. Even the upstairs had quite a few cars, but those were perhaps worker bees.

The groomed out Bear runs earned a rare repeat, ostensibly so I could do both Viper Pit and Anti-Venom routes, but really because they just skied well. Noted that Wildfire’s brief Sunday open had come to a screeching halt, but it had way more snow than 30 minutes after patrol had dropped the rope. Heading off to less green (browner?) pastures, I realized Upper Needles was open. Gold! As I stood on the precipice (yes, I know Killington doesn’t have headwalls or precipices, but I’m going for a certain literary effect here). Anyway, the choice: indulge my desire but trash the race skis, or them the love and respect they deserve? The truth is I suck at racing (I’ve seen the vids, I look like a rumbling black bag of potatoes dodging shopping carts while careening down the junk food aisle at Killington Market). Anyway, after all that, somehow I skied upper Needles miraculously avoiding any core shots. I revisited it a few hours later and the rocks made up for the over sight, graciously carving “I skied upper needles” into my bases as a souvenir, Middle needles was also “pretty good”, and now I was at the Needles proper. The part below Panic. The part I think of when people say Needles. The part they’d made snow on. It sucked. Below the crossover was better, but really Killington? Glad to hear the guns are back on.

Of course the Needles chair wasn’t running. The reluctant debutant that keeps cancelling her debut, a show horse that won’t leave the stable, a candidate that if nominated will not run. I know it wasn’t scheduled, but I can dream. Stage 2? Not a fan. Is anyone? K’s in austerity mode so let’s run the most expensive lift on the mountain that everyone hates. Brilliant. Here’s a thought, instead of Sunday printing on the App in embarrassed red “Needles Eye lift will not run today” give the shy gal a less glittery tryout midweek? Work out the kinks? “Nah, we want to face plant. Again”.

Highline was closed for racing. Hahaha (weeps quietly thinking of the waste). Lower conclusion also autographed my skis, “Thanks for visiting”. Time for breakfast…

[RustyK]

Another great one for sure. Full lot parked by the 802, but missed the start.

Found the black and blue crew at the Gondi.

Groomers nicer with the nats blended in.

Surprise runs of the day were needles eye and thimble.
Many laps and on down to panic.

Another upscale lunch at the peak with dynastar.

Great night at Mary Lou’s Monday.