Killington 6/3/02

[cd]

Drove up to Kmart for some June turns today. They closed Sat and I considered going but decided that I'd just as soon hike up and have the place to myself. <BR> <BR> I take back what I said before about them possibly being able to last another week. Superstar is toast, with the long flat middle section broken into numerous widely-spaced patches, none of which look to be worth putting the skis on for. Nevertheless, there *is* some skiing to be had. The headwall at the top still has good coverage w/ a huge patch of snow (it's always the last to go, have even skied it in July....but not likely this year). Luckily I did not have to hike all the way up as there was still a nice long stretch of snow on the bottom pitch, close enough to walk up with ski boots on. Couple hundred feet or more, with a short traverse to skiers left about halfway down. It's continuous as of today but will probably be broken just above the traverse in another day or two. Each main section has 2-3 nice zipper lines possible. Snow was firm but with a soft surface. I did the top section a few times, then the whole thing, then the bottom a few times. Below that is a smaller patch of snow that's quite flat (this area was flattened late in the game and never really re-bumped) but was good for another dozen turns before the short walk back to the van. <BR> <BR> A side note: On the way home I got to I91 at Rockingham and the southbound entrance ramp was blocked by a cop who said a milk truck had flipped just beyond the top of the ramp! Sure enough, I drove a little further, smelled spoiled milk, and came upon two firemen trying to dam up a small creek that came down from the highway, the creek running completely white! Had to detour through Bellows Falls and join 91 at the next exit south. Hope the driver was ok....