Killington ski area

[tnevins530]

I see Killington is open. Anyone gone yet this year/plan on going this week?
I have never been there.
It looks like only blue trails are open. I was thinking that those trails would be a good place to practice some telemark turns with my Annums/T4/Hardwires.
Is that doable with my setup? Would I need leashes?

[tnevins530]

I forgot to add, it would be a 3 1/2 hour ride........

So, I know this is subjective but would it be worth it with my gear?

[MikeK]

How desperate are you?

3.5 hrs in nothing to drive for skiing IMO. I do it all the time. Gear should be fine... but I'm pretty sure they'll want you to have leashes to ride a lift. Runaway skis are a bad thing.

[tnevins530]

Thanks MikeK.

Yeah, sounds like I should rig up some leashes.

I may try to get up to Killington next weekend. It looks like it may be a long time before I see any snow by my house.

It would be great to get some descent practice in so I can have a head start on telemarking my xc trails when the snow flies. The yo-yoing just didn't get me enough runs in to get much better last year. Hopefully a day at the resort can get me equipped with the basics.

[MikeK]

Hey I know, this year is looking like a tough start.

Eventually the Lake Ontario machine will fire up. I don't know how far you are but early season we've been hitting the Black River Valley and Western Adirondacks. It's either 2 to 3 hours depending on where I go.

I haven't hit it up yet but there's a couple small resorts in that area that might be good for cheap practice, Snow Ridge, which we all should probably ski just because they are touted for their powder days and Woods valley, which is a tiny little slope just north of Rome NY.

The other place you might want to check for an early season, cheap lift experience is Oak Mtn in Speculator or McCauley Mtn in Old Forge. Both are small, I've never skied either but both tend to get a fair deal of early season snow and have cheap lift passes.

As far as free stuff, early season at BREIA can be good. They don't groom early on and there is a fairly decent downhill run at Jackson Hill.

And believe it or not, Thendara golf course near Old Forge actually has a lot of short, steep up and down yo-yo stuff if we get an early season dump. There are some nice tours and hw's in the BC near there if you explore around a little bit, but the golf course is a sure backup if there isn't enough snow or base for a wilderness ski.

I usually keep an eye on the BREIA webcam:

http://www.breiax-countryski.org/live-camera/

To get an idea of the conditions in the area along with the local weather. Generally it gets more snowy the more west you go too. Black River valley is a good indicator for the Western Adirondacks. There are also a fair deal of snowmobile web cams that broadcast snow depths in those areas. Sometimes there are good indicators, sometimes not - depends on how many rocks and conifers the area you are going to ski has.

[tnevins530]

Great info Mike!

I check out BRIEA. Last year I got all my early miles in up there. Unfortunately this year is a slow start for everyone.

I will keep my eye out for snow, looks like killington is the only place open now.

[tnevins530]

Mcauley mtn looks good!

$30 bucks to practice sounds right up my alley!

And if there is snow to be had it is usually in that area. Thanks again for the info, I actually thought Mcauley was closed. Not sure why I thought that though.

[MikeK]

Pretty sure McCauley is still open. I rode my bike there this fall and the lift was running for leaf peepers.