Killington VT – Tuesday April 29, 2014 – Making the Most of Deception

Today is Killington's last day. I wanted to post this a while ago, but I've been overwhelmed lately. This was written a while ago, but only managed to select the pictures now.

After a decade of turning its back to its reputation of the earlier, latest, longest, biggest season skiing in the East, there were signals that the lost years were over and sounds and cries that the “Beast was Back”. The evidence was two consecutive October openings and missing June skiing by only six days last season making it the longest ski season in the East again…after all these years.

MadPat hadn’t returned to Kmart since May 2005 and I was curious to return to see if Killington was really mighty again? Had Kmart returned to its glorious Spring days of the last millennium. For this mission, I enlisted Lucky Luke, frequent Kmart late season skier and partner from the 1990s. We hadn’t been together at K since June 1997.

The night before skiing, I joined Lucky Luke to squat in a huge unfinished home just North of the Vermont border. A quiet early crossing into rural Vermont until we reached the metropolis of Stowe. Our first glimpse of Killington was on I-89 where we saw the low clouds hanging over Skye and Killington Peaks. I hadn’t been this far South on I-89 in a long time, but still remember the road. A major things had changed since my first visit almost 30 years this May.

Once we arrived at K-Base, we noticed a few things : it was gray and colder than anticipated. Temperature was just 34F.

Major deception!!!

Click on link to rest of story and more pics...
http://madpatski.wordpress.com/2014/...-of-deception/

Spring time skiing in the East


Closed lifts


Some walking required


Nets to catch poachers


Skiing green runs...


And jumping over obstacles