# Killington 4/21/18



## ss20 (Apr 21, 2018)

Time skied- 8:15-4:45
Weather- powerful sunshine, 40s
Conditions- firm underneath with soft on top

Just a gorgeous day at Killington.  Driving up the road this morning the mountain peak really looked like February.  I parked in bay 2 at 7:50am (more on that later).  Skiing was fast for the first couple runs.  I skied a perfectly groomed Bunny Buster which may be one of my favorite groomers of the season.  There were very few bumps to be found on the hill today so I spent most of my day in the trees.  Patsy's, Low Rider, Somewhere, Nowhere, The Stairs, Double Dipper, The Light and some other stuff you won't find on a map.  I heard Julio and Anarchy were skiable...but passed.  Lot's of ropes had to be ducked today to have any fun...either a shortstaffed of lazy k patrol meant I was ducking stuff that had softened up and was in prime shape well into the afternoon.  No good bumps to speak of.  Superstar had some OK bumps form late in the afternoon.  Too many people on that trail though.

Very tough to pick a favorite trail today.  Probably Low Rider or Somewhere/Nowhere.  


Mountain ops were a borderline disaster today...lots of unhappy folks out there on the hill.  Parking especially- Killington filled up an entire parking bay with chairs from the Snowdon Quad.  Cars were parking down to Snowshed and the hotel.  Apparently no shuttles either.  People were getting rides up from mountain employees and strangers.  Long lines at K1 for food...food service only available on half the cafeteria.  Liftlines were crazy.  They didn't even set up lift corrals... it was a free-for-all.  5-10 minute wait was standard for pretty much everything between 10am and 4pm.  North ridge had a line like it was a weekend in October.  Saving grace was the extra hour they stayed open at the end.  And the advanced crowd meant once you got on a lift it probably wasn't going to have a stoppage.  


They really needed another lodge today for the turnout.  And at least Canyon+Needle's Eye lifts running.  While the skier side of me was very happy to get out there today, my "armchair ski resort GM" side was disappointed that Killington would skimp on their spring skiing operations...something that has apparently turned into a happening.  HUGE crowd today.  More day tickets than I would have thought as well.


----------



## ss20 (Apr 21, 2018)

From the conditions report...just to prove I'm not blowing this parking thing out-of-the-water.  If you got there after 9am you had to hike up the hill...if you got there after 10am...some say you're still walking!!



> As great a day as it was, we do want to apologize for the parking situation today. We were unprepared for the size of the crowd that arrived, and we weren't at our best. We'll try to be considerably more organized tomorrow with appropriate transportation to and from the remote lots. Thanks to everyone for their patience today.



It hurts to see resorts say "oh we're closing because there's just not enough people coming!" and then a place like Killington hits an A+ home run of a spring day...perfect weather...lots of snow...live music...great chance to turn a nice profit.......and they have nowhere for people to park and piss money away.  Very frustrating to watch as a person who wants to see mountains keep going late in the season.


----------



## MommaBear (Apr 22, 2018)

Yes, we were one of those that arrived about 10:30 and had several near road rage incidents in the parking area.  Total clusterfuck.  The lower lots weren't plowed and cars getting stuck attempting to park in them, so they were lining the streets instead.  No way my Honda was going to get in or out of them.  By that point, the road parking was down to the Ram's Head lodge.  With an already pissed off spouse (he was doing the driving), there was no way we were parking and hiking up the road to the K-1 lodge.  Especially knowing it was the only lodge open, meaning more crowded than usual.  We admitted defeat and opted for breakfast at The Hatchery in Ludlow.  Missed out on Killington's great day but was able to catch some sweet runs at Mount Snow later in the day.


----------



## ss20 (Apr 22, 2018)

MommaBear said:


> Yes, we were one of those that arrived about 10:30 and had several near road rage incidents in the parking area.  Total clusterfuck.  The lower lots weren't plowed and cars getting stuck attempting to park in them, so they were lining the streets instead.  No way my Honda was going to get in or out of them.  By that point, the road parking was down to the Ram's Head lodge.  With an already pissed off spouse (he was doing the driving), there was no way we were parking and hiking up the road to the K-1 lodge.  Especially knowing it was the only lodge open, meaning more crowded than usual.  We admitted defeat and opted for breakfast at The Hatchery in Ludlow.  Missed out on Killington's great day but was able to catch some sweet runs at Mount Snow later in the day.



That's rough.  The craziest thing I saw in the parking lot was people parking on the access road to the Snowshed compressor pad.  Pretty much cars in the woods on the side of a trail.


----------



## kingslug (Apr 22, 2018)

I wonder if i would have followed my own early rule..never woukd have thought it would be such a zoo. But then again considering the freezing cold spring we have had..everyone was dying to get some spring runs in.


----------



## Zand (Apr 22, 2018)

Up here today. Was a late riser this morning so I didn't arrive till 1030. Lots are all full...parked on access road at the corner of Vale Rd. Lots of shuttles running...caught one just as I started walking up. Lines at Snowdon Triple and Superstar were a cluster with no corrals and 10 minute lines. Gondi actually not too bad of a wait. Conditions are absolutely incredible. Tons of day tickets out here. Stowe must be shitting their pants if they're paying attention.


----------



## kingslug (Apr 22, 2018)

Yup..the new stowe bean counters..got it wrong


----------



## bdfreetuna (Apr 22, 2018)

Sugarbush got a good crowd today as well. At least I'm glad to see people showing up at this point in the season.


----------



## MommaBear (Apr 23, 2018)

Zand said:


> Lots of shuttles running...



Had there been shuttles on Saturday, we most likely would have stayed.  I asked an ambassador if there were any and she said, no, they were done for the season.  Its not that we are lazy (ok, may be we are) - just older and not up for the challenge to make the hike up the access road, ski spring conditions all day in the crowds, then make the hike back (on wobbly legs, I'm sure).  Glad so many others got to enjoy thou.  Was a beautiful day for it.  And breakfast was delicious.


----------



## 180 (Apr 23, 2018)

No Bumps at K, are you nuts/  Lowrider, North Star, Vertigo, Great Bear, Anarchy, Old Sup, Low Road, oh and Flume.  Flume was incredible both days.


----------



## Zand (Apr 23, 2018)

MommaBear said:


> Had there been shuttles on Saturday, we most likely would have stayed.  I asked an ambassador if there were any and she said, no, they were done for the season.  Its not that we are lazy (ok, may be we are) - just older and not up for the challenge to make the hike up the access road, ski spring conditions all day in the crowds, then make the hike back (on wobbly legs, I'm sure).  Glad so many others got to enjoy thou.  Was a beautiful day for it.  And breakfast was delicious.



I parked on the access road...so while I did luck out with the shuttle driving by, I was able to ski right back to my car on idler so that was a plus. Lots were a total mess though.


----------



## cdskier (Apr 23, 2018)

I'm surprised to hear Killington wasn't prepared for a big turnout. Only 5 resorts left open in VT combined with near perfect spring conditions forecasted after a crappy weekend the weekend prior...sounds like all the ingredients to me for a good turnout.


----------



## bdfreetuna (Apr 23, 2018)

cdskier said:


> I'm surprised to hear Killington wasn't prepared for a big turnout. Only 5 resorts left open in VT combined with near perfect spring conditions forecasted after a crappy weekend the weekend prior...sounds like all the ingredients to me for a good turnout.


Admittedly hard for any resort to plan in advance, only Stowe can be legitimately criticised for early closure.

Killington I think it's fair to say their terrain contraction keeps them competitive, but "The Beast" should always operate at capacity as long as there is snow.

Sugarbush finds themselves in a good spot to capitalize on spring -- and they are doing it well. Mount Snow is just showing off their snowmaking coverage and April base depths.

Hopefully lights a fire for next season. They are really counting on the hard cores, A-zoners and die hards to show up consistently if the season gets an extension thanks to weather.

Sent from my LG-D850 using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## Not Sure (Apr 23, 2018)

bdfreetuna said:


> Admittedly hard for any resort to plan in advance, only Stowe can be legitimately criticised for early closure.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





Says it all


----------



## ALLSKIING (Apr 24, 2018)

ss20 said:


> Time skied- 8:15-4:45
> Weather- powerful sunshine, 40s
> Conditions- firm underneath with soft on top
> 
> ...


Seriously???  Best conditions for april in years and this is your report. The fact that you missed all the good bumps discredits your entire trip report. Fantastic bumps on tons of trails.

Sent from my SM-N950U using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## 180 (Apr 24, 2018)

ALLSKIING said:


> Seriously???  Best conditions for april in years and this is your report. The fact that you missed all the good bumps discredits your entire trip report. Fantastic bumps on tons of trails.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using AlpineZone mobile app



Agree


----------



## JimG. (Apr 24, 2018)

180 said:


> Agree



Me too...the only part of that trip report that is accurate is the parking thing which honestly was no big deal.

Hard to believe that parking issues ruined a great day for so many people.


----------



## heiusa (Apr 24, 2018)

If you get there early, like I did at 8am, parking was not an issue, I parked in Bay 1.  You can't show up at 10 am and expect a primo parking spot.


----------



## Griswold (Apr 24, 2018)

Look at these dbags tearing apart someone’s trip report haha.  There are so many people on here I would never want to ski with


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone


----------



## cdskier (Apr 24, 2018)

heiusa said:


> If you get there early, like I did at 8am, parking was not an issue, I parked in Bay 1.  You can't show up at 10 am and expect a primo parking spot.



Even in the spring I still agree with arriving early all the time. I'd rather get there early, get a good parking spot, and then ski a couple fast, firm groomers and then sit and relax and wait a bit if necessary for terrain to soften up before taking more runs. And sometimes even in the spring early morning runs can be surprisingly good.


----------



## gladerider (Apr 24, 2018)

the parking was a mess. i decided to unload my wife and daughter and all the equipment at the unloading area, parked on the access road near rams head lodge. took me a while to hike up. there is no way my wife and daughter would have hiked up with equipments. 
after skiing, i skiied down to the car using idler. was a good call. 

a shuttle would have been nice.


----------



## ALLSKIING (Apr 24, 2018)

gladerider said:


> the parking was a mess. i decided to unload my wife and daughter and all the equipment at the unloading area, parked on the access road near rams head lodge. took me a while to hike up. there is no way my wife and daughter would have hiked up with equipments.
> after skiing, i skiied down to the car using idler. was a good call.
> 
> a shuttle would have been nice.


There was a shuttle they just needed more.

Sent from my SM-N950U using AlpineZone mobile app


----------



## ss20 (Apr 25, 2018)

Bumps that faced south turned to glop.  Ovation was groomed flat.  Big Dipper, Cascade were flat.  The naturals I did do (Ridge, Flume, Escapade, Old Supe) were ungroomed but nothing special.

Vertigo did have nice bumps, especially the headwall.  Superstar was OK.  So yes...there were bumps...but a lot less and a lot smaller than what you'd expect at K on April 21st.


----------



## JimG. (Apr 25, 2018)

ss20 said:


> Bumps that faced south turned to glop.  Ovation was groomed flat.  Big Dipper, Cascade were flat.  The naturals I did do (Ridge, Flume, Escapade, Old Supe) were ungroomed but nothing special.
> 
> Vertigo did have nice bumps, especially the headwall.  Superstar was OK.  So yes...there were bumps...but a lot less and a lot smaller than what you'd expect at K on April 21st.



Northstar and Great Bear over the Snowdon side really had the best of the bumps.

Didn't mean to make you feel I was dumping on your TR...I really don't care at all about mountain ops. As long as the lifts run and there is good snow I'm happy. So it's easy for me to come into ski area chaos and just figure out the quickest way to the goods. I didn't even know that I could literally ski back to my car door, ALLSKIING showed me that.


----------

