Killington closing day 5/11/04

C

cd

New member
I could've posted this in the previous thread but figured it was worthy of a stand-alone note in passing. Marc's article on the Kmart closing hit the nail on the head re ASC cost cutting, but (unlike Mt Snow at Easter) they didn't exactly end up closing with the stated "seamless cover"! <BR> <BR> In short, it went fast! I was last there Thurs 5/6 and it looked just like Marc's pix from two days later, Sat 5/8. Today however, barely 48 hours later, the middle section was melted into multiple pieces with significant walking sections. I didn't take any pics but similar conditions can be seen in that mega 140-post Kmart thread from last spring. As last week, we had to hike down over the lip of the headwall, although it hadn't receded much since then. At the bottom of the headwall the snow was broken but only by a few feet, then there was a couple of hundred feet of nice bumps, but then it got ugly. The bumps petered out into a connect-the-dots section, then 50' or so of bare ground that could be carefully walked over w/o removing skis (or skied faster if you really didn't care about the boards). Another 50-100' patch of bumped snow led to a similar patch of bare ground, then another very short patch of white, then just above the bottom pitch (the 'footwall' as it were), where it was the thinnest last week, was a long unambiguous walking section. The bottom pitch was beautiful with one narrow connection as the snow doglegs to skiers left then plenty of snow all the way down to the lift (or within 10 feet anyway). True they've stayed open with more walking...but not much. <BR> <BR> The only onsite clue to it being last day was a small hand-lettered sign in the lift house at the top, easily missed and I only looked for it after a chance conversation had someone telling me about it. I hadn't even checked the website before heading up since they've hardly been mentioning the skiing lately, so one wonders if others will be showing up this week w/o knowing it's over. <BR> <BR> It certainly was a visual shock on rounding the bend on the access road and seeing the meltdown, but it wasn't too surprising really. I guess it's morbidly fitting that Kmart should follow the latest opening in over a quarter century with the earliest closing in about the same. They would probably have us believe it was nature's roll of the dice, but that's only a small part of the story. No, the main reasons the snow ran out early was a) the new corporate spec of making only 15' or so on Superstar rather than the "blow snow whenever possible" 20-25' of the past and b) the even newer apparent policy of grooming Superstar almost nightly. The latter was the death sentence more than anything, since disturbing the snowpack and its natural thermal mass greatly hastens the melt. This has the potential to act as a control for the end of the season just as choosing when to make snow does the beginning. One insider told me last week that the party line was that the grooming was to cover the bare spots, but at that point not much patching was evident, nor even neccesary. Besides, if they were really concerned about it they would've made more snow in the first place and/or stockpiled some extra 'whales' in the trouble spots. Anyone who's even casually observed the late season rhythms of Superstar knows *exactly* where the patches would be needed first. This year they didn't even do the huge glacier at the top. Ironic that such thick cover that was left to rot on the vine at Mt Snow after the door abruptly slammed there on Easter, while Superstar was scraped down to nothing before our eyes. <BR> <BR> Anyway, that's all just observation and ASC's modus operandi is a pretty open book at this point. Sign of the times, but it was fun while it lasted. For anyone interested, the bottom pitch will be a very nice and easily accessible hike-up for another week or so and the upper headwall maybe a little longer, tho the June (and even July) visits of years past are pretty unlikely.
 
I <I>knew</I> I should have called in sick to work yesterday! Glad you caught the unadvertised last-chance.
 
Lucky CD, I can't believe it's over ! <BR> <BR>When I think that last year, we were complaining about a season oct 25 to may 26, this year is nov 10 to may 11, 31 days less of skiing, it's really hard to see that. <BR> <BR>Somehow I'm eager to see the comments of Joegm ! (ouch, I guess he's writing is lone paragraph since yesterday night and it's still not posted so it will be 100,000 words long !) (just teasing you Joe <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)">)
 
nobody ski's bumps anymore, that was an 80's thing, grooming brought out the more mainstream skier, enabling them to make some money on their last few days
 
Yeah, unfortunately, you're a bit right. <BR> <BR>Since the "intelligent skis" and the snowpark era, the moguls' soul have disappeared a bit. <BR> <BR>shame on us to not speak louder... <BR> <BR>We want some moguls <BR>We want to ski until there is no more snow <BR>We want to ski as soon as it's possible to make snow. <BR> <BR>But we seem to be so few to want this that it will probably never come back...
 
Bumps have "fallen out of favor" with the current emphasis on the many well to do boutique skiers who demand flat surfaces and no ice. That simply isn't the case for the many "old school" skiers out there who love bumps. I'm in my mid-40's and still look forward to the spring VW- sized bumps as much as ever. I look for bump fields and admit I look down on traditional ski areas that don't allow bumps to form somewhere on the mountain. Then again, I like hard work and let's face it, nothing takes more hard work than skiing bumps well run after run.
 
That probably feels good as justification, but the fact is that nobody comes to Superstar in May expecting anything BUT bumps (your more general "bumps as passe 80s thing" was shot down in another thread IIRC). If you were trying to attract more intermediate skiers, there would've been something said about the grooming on the website or phone report. It's highly unlikely that that the grooming "brought out" people as it was impossible to know conditions until onsite (tho a webcam aimed up from Rams Head would solve all that!). Just let Superstar be Superstar. Besides, until last week the less experienced skiers had a second flatter trail. I do wish that more skiers took advantage of the beautiful spring conditions, esp compared to the # that jump at the chance for far less consistent opening (or even mid) season conditions, but most evidence suggests a corporate eagerness to ease out of the season post-Easter, not keep it going. <BR> <BR>Anyway, the plain fact (and main point!) is that the grooming made the snow melt faster. Everyone can decide for themselves how much of a part that played.
 
Since skiing revenues continue to decline, it doesn't look like eradicating moguls has brought out the "the mainstream skier" in sufficient numbers to make a difference. <BR> <BR>I'd venture that grooming is "a 70's thing"... for all the old men like Anonynous, whose knees can't make it down Superstar anymore.
 
well JimG. I just turned 40 in april and to me bumps are where it's at, groomed trails bore me most of the time, every resort should keep one real mogul trail and call it nostalgia alley !
 
CD: Agreed, Superstar = bumps in the spring and it ought to stay that way. The grooming this season was extreme and the intent was to get the snow to melt faster. <BR> <BR>anon: any "mainstream" skier ought to at least know how to ski bumps. The skiers that mountains cater to by grooming everything in sight are the "destination resort" skiers who ski 5-10 days a year and who are generally unmotivated to work hard on developing better skiing skills. <BR> <BR>boomer: word brother! Groomed trails are OK for warmup runs and warmup runs are totally overrated anyway.
 
I can just feel it... <BR>Another thread about K that tops 140 posts.... <BR> <BR>I'm just glad that i didn't turn my trip from last year (May 16-17) into a yearly tradition... <BR> <BR>Anyways... <BR> <BR>Hey one thing about bumps... Remember when you were a teenager and could ski bumps all day without your knees hurting, then you hit your 20's and knees started to hurt? <BR> <BR>For some reason, in the past year, my knees have stopped hurting after bumping... <BR> <BR>Which makes me a little more bitter about k's closing.. can't bump it up in the (late) spring now. <BR> <BR>thats all for now.. .i'll weigh in later.
 
My knees never gave me any problems, I can't say the same for my back...but nothing a couple of Advils can't take care of. <BR> <BR>last time I went to K, bumps where in, that's 15 years ago...
 
My god, CD, it looks like you know how to begin a 140 posts conversation <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> <BR> <BR>I'm too young (23) to feel hurt after moguls, but when I see some zoneskiers like Wake66, Radpat and Pat (all in the early 30s) that ski some moguls like some gods without aches, I think that I should be able to continue for a while (hopefully). <BR> <BR>But now that Killington is closed... any of you consider to continue to ski in the east ? <BR> <BR>Also, what is remaining except Mt Washington, Killington (hiking), St-Sauveur, La Réserve, Sutton (looks like the "Dynamique" is still white almost T2B), Valinouet/Édouard/Grand-Fonds, Chic-Chocs ? <BR> <BR>I guess Eisenhower at Hunter, FIS at Sugarbush and few trails in the kind should still be skiable ? (Skidder at the Loaf ?, something at Sunday River ?)
 
Frank, I guess you're not taking about this Pat when you talk about "gods without aches in moguls". <BR> <BR>This Pat is in his late 30s. I don't mind skiing the moguls, but I don't ski them as much now (by choice). I prefer skiing steep runs (not necessarly moguls). My knees and back can just take so much moguls, especially in the Winter. But I don't have a problem with skiing Spring Bumps all day once in a while. <BR> <BR>All this said and done I love skiing at MRG bumps and all.
 
No, I was talking about "Pat" (and not "Patrick") on Zoneski ;) <BR> <BR>Eric (zoneski) did a video of moguls of Pat and Wake66 in the Sous-bois at La Réserve (and in the lower Loup-Garou) earlier this year. It was amazing to see these rockets on skis in the moguls !) Radpat is amazing too. He's going as fast as them... and in telemark... (and skis sometimes)
 
I love bumps.Love 'em love 'em love 'em. <BR>Killingtons early closing doesnt suprise me at all.The ASC stock is worth less than doggy doo. <BR>((* <BR>*))NHPH
 
Frank as for skiing the rest of the year. I will be in Colorado this weekend for a wedding. I'm only there one day, but I'm trying to convince my parents to let me ski around loveland pass at night. I'll let you guys know. <BR> <BR>porter
 
I'm not old by a long shot ( only 24) but my knees hurt bumping, (and even watching others bump made my knees hurt) but now they don't anymore... <BR>"Moguls are like heartbeats. You only have so many, and when thy're gone, they're GONE" -Warren Miller. <BR> <BR>that was just a wierd way of me saying that now that my knees don't hurt anymore, i've got nowhere to ski mid may... <BR> <BR>NHpowderhound: less than doggey doo eh? man, hope that all the condos they built don't smell that bad too!
 
There are a couple of pics from closing day yesterday at the K Basin Ski Shop site. None that show the entire trail from afar but a couple that show just how nice the top and bottom sections were (& still are!): <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.basinski.com/" TARGET="_top">http://www.basinski.com/</A>
 
Why stop now. Another 120 to go... <BR> <BR>This is the first season I haven't skied Superstar in May since at least 1996 (eight years straight, or more). I knew they would close earlier than in past years, but didn't count on them closing so soon.
 
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