View Full Version : Is Killington worth skiing in Oct...
kfarrar
09-22-2003, 01:03 PM
if they open. I am torn between my desire to go skiing ASAP and the unfortuantely reality the the snow will probably be very thin.
I usually don't make it out skiing until mid December when conditions have been fairly good. This year I want to get out early. The question in my mind is how early is too early. Can any of you early help me out here?
BladeGirl
09-22-2003, 01:29 PM
SKI!SKI!SKI!
Will put a huge :skiplow: on the faces of everyone there. LOTS of fun!
-BG
Castlerock
09-22-2003, 01:47 PM
Actually, the snow probably won't be that thin. (depending upon the weather of course). It will be snowmaking trails only that they maintain especially for early skiing. If it is cold enough the snow will be piled on.
Now as for the challenge that is another thing, but remember it is better than a stairmaster!
surfy
09-22-2003, 02:02 PM
The other thing to think about is that Kmart usually has reduced price on lift tickets until they have some decent terrain open. I think last year they started at $30 for the day.
surfy
Surfy is correct, but I will be going 10e for a change. I'll be there on Oct 1st. At the worst...it's a vacation day :cooldog: , at the best, I make turns :happydog: and start the counting once again :pumpkin:
kfarrar
09-22-2003, 02:28 PM
RR -
Isn't 10E just opening a tubing and terrain park. I didn't think they were going to have any trails open that early.
The ski pass deal was an extra $50 for the early season, so I'm thinking they'll be skiing early early, if not Oct 1st.
jshefftz
09-22-2003, 03:14 PM
The slope Tenney plans to cover for Oct 1 will have only about 60 vert.
As for the Big K, on some days in October (whether the famed Killington Opening Day or within a week thereafter), the cover has been beyond thin in some places: a mixture of wet grass, small rocks, mud, and semi-frozen brownish liquid that bore only a vague resemblance to the worshipful substance known as snow.
On the other hand, last year’s KOD was absolutely spectacular, with great some snow (both curdory and powdery bumps), lots of terrain, and lots of lifts.
So ya just never know what you’re gonna get there in Oct.
Here are some recent KOD stats though:
10/25/02
11/06/01
10/29/00
10/25/99
10/22/98
I just checked: here's the published story:
"We will be open for early season skiing and riding in October on 1000 vertical feet."
That's a couple of turns anyway....I'll be there.
Some Plymouth, NH weather beta:
Day High Low
Sept 25 66F 39F
Sept 26 66F 39F
Sept 27 66F 38F
Sept 28 65F 38F
Sept 29 65F 38F
Sept 30 65F 37F
Aug 01 64F 37F
Aug 01 64F 36F
Aug 01 64F 36F
Aug 01 63F 36F
Those ranges are well within the smowmagic operation limits for full time production. Recall that it was nearly 100 degrees and they had some capacity on July 4th...very limited to be sure, but they went on to stay open for tubing for a couple of months.
This will be their big test...I don't care if it turns out to be a bit exagerated...I have rock skis and if it's a bust, I go climbing...talk about win-win!
BladeGirl
09-22-2003, 03:43 PM
RR:
I just checked: here's the published story:
"We will be open for early season skiing and riding in October on 1000 vertical feet."
Let us know when they plan to open, RR. 10e is a lot closer to me than K-mart...
-BG
10e has plans to be open on Oct 1st. I have the day off and will be there! If they blow it off because of rain...I'll ride my bike out the Livermore Road to see about brush near the North Slide...if it's dry and they don't open, I'm going climbing.
Frankontour
09-22-2003, 04:01 PM
Hey, Jonathan is correct, Patrick (FTO) just got a call from Tenney today. They told him that only the little park at the bottom will be open on october 1 and that the 1000' trail will only open near mid-november.
So Killington won't be pushed too much and will just claim to have the 1st decent terrain open in the east. There is still MSB (Saint-Bruno) who consider to decently open at mid-october. Let's hope... this is not very far from New England ;)
This poses an interesting problem. On most resorts, you can hike up and ski whatever you want whenever you want... as the snow is mostly natural, and is on forest service land. But 10e has created every flake of snow in the Oct timeframe so do they have the right to limit to poaching of their trails?
Frankontour
09-22-2003, 04:52 PM
Not sure to understand you, M@. If there is no snow, where will you ski ? The reason why the 1000' high trail won't be open is because they're not able to make snow on it :(
(I was searching very far about what you were meaning by "10e", as I would say it something like "disseuh" in french... quite far from Tenney.)
Franko, it's an English language deal. "10e" is said "ten - EE", and that is very close to "Tenny".
In fact, Tenny Mountain uses the "10e" as a bumper sticker...I have one on my car.
Frankontour
09-22-2003, 05:48 PM
RR, yep, I understood it after thinking seriously a couple of seconds. I didn't know that they had a sticker with "10e" though. When I read in english, I say the words in english, but I never translate the numbers, it's why I was wondering a little bit, as "Disseuh" and "Tenney" or "Tenny" are quite far :) (I understood you were probably talking of Tenney, but didn't see the link with 10e instantly.)
loafnut
09-22-2003, 05:58 PM
So tenney is going to open with 1000 feet of vert in mid november?
Big deal.
All the other big areas in the east will have already used regular snowmaking and have coverage on more than 1000 feet of vert.
So what is the use of this system if you only use it when its already freezing? Or is it just for the park?
NH_tele
09-22-2003, 07:27 PM
That Tenney report (which has been confirmed by various other people) is very disheartening. I was looking forward to go up there to 1000' vert. However, with 60 I don't plan on it.
Shame on Tenney!!!! They got our hopes up... (or my hopes at least).
Is K-mart worth it???? Yes!!!!!!! Skiing is skiing, and there's NEVER a question (or should be a question) of whether it's "worth it". I plan to be there if there's any possible way I can, although I have X-country running races on all the last saturday's in October, and the first 1 or 2 in November and my couch doesn't want me skiing...
If Tenney doesn't get their 1000' open until Mid-November than forget it. Last year I was at Bretton Woods skiing 1000 vert on the 1st or 2nd weekend in November, and I'd rather sit on Bretton Woods' high speed quad than Tenney's double...
Waterville is almost always open by that time too
Cannon has set Nov 28th for opening day (I hope they make it!).
Oh well, I've never actually skied at Tenney, but I thought I would this year; looks like no though.
Mumster
09-22-2003, 09:10 PM
Kmart has fantastic early season ski-and-stay deals -> you basically get both for the price of a lift ticket -> maybe unimportant for you New England folks, but for us southerners, the package is appealing.
The effectiveness of 10e's new snowmaking system remains to be seen. The trail they targeted this summer wouldn't appeal to T4Ters, except perhaps snowboarders who do tricks. It's basically a bunny slope. Having seen their system in action, I wasn't impressed, but am trying to keep open minded.
Bannick
09-23-2003, 08:43 AM
NH_tele:
....and my couch doesn't want me skiing...
Come to me NH, I am sooooo soft an comfy...I have beer and snacks too and there is always something on TV.....
Give in to the couch.....I have a 4 seater sectional that speaks to me.
I already have October 1st as a day off...so I'll take the skis, just in case. I'll take the SLR as well to document any shenanigans.
BladeGirl
09-23-2003, 09:48 AM
Bannick:
NH_tele:
....and my couch doesn't want me skiing...
Come to me NH, I am sooooo soft an comfy...I have beer and snacks too and there is always something on TV.....
Give in to the couch.....I have a 4 seater sectional that speaks to me. For me its been my bed. We never had a place to stay locally before, so we did A LOT of day trips. Up at 5:00 AM, on the road by 5:45 (car loaded the night before). When that early alarm goes off in the darkness the bed says "mmmmmm! Aren't you all cosy and warm here? just snuggle back under thoes blankets and go back to sleet...thats it..." I shut my ears, though ("la la la, I'm not listening..."). Mornings are always tough, but I've never regretted it once I am on the slopes.
-BG
2plankerider
09-23-2003, 11:45 AM
kfarrar:
The question in my mind is how early is too early. Can any of you early help me out here? The answer in my mind is IT'S NEVER, and i mean NEVER too early... :D
2plankerider
09-23-2003, 11:49 AM
and BTW, K-MART was killer last year on opening day! TOP to BOTTOM, no trucking or downloading needed. although riding up to the canyon quad in the cattle car has a certain mystique....
all that matters now is....NEXT MONTH THE SKI SEASON STARTS!
surfy
09-23-2003, 01:21 PM
And the best part of opening day at Kmart is the apres ski when the day is over. Last year they were giving away free drinks at Casey's Caboose to celebrate the skier's return. Elwood would have thought he died and went to heaven. Skiing and beer, not a bad day.
surfy
DRPHIDDLEPHOS
09-23-2003, 02:50 PM
Elwood and I went attended Castleton State and Killington was our backyard. I worked there most winters, bartending and waiting tables, my frosh and soph years i was also a lift op! first trax every weekend!!! there are definite upsides to being a lifty! not many but a couple! not to mention the sunrises!! i worked poma II which in the world of kmart lift ops is a very coveted position. all of the snow off of bunny buster (Snowdon mnt) blows into the poma line which leaves 3 to 4 ft drifts of sick powder and it is off limits to the general public unless you poach the top which is what happens most any powpow day. but is it worth it to hit the preseason???? very debatable...yes it is first trax of the season,and that is not to be taken lightly we all want to get back on the hill. But I see no mystic in the cattle cart! it sucks! they pack you in to the back and up you go slammin each other from side to side and if you are in the middle you are bounceing off of all the others around you, fun but not that fun! and the monotony of up and down the canyon quad or glades chair is fun for a while but is it worth $50.00?? I have never seen any prices lower than that and pre-season does not come with your pass?? well at least not an employee pass. So i would go once every year early and dodge the :wipeout: monkeys. So there is an objective response......it is always worth it, but in different ways! apres ski!!!! there is no other and I just wouldn't mention Elwood or I in certain circles up there we definitly are well known!!!
:disinfo: What the hell do you tuckers want with KMart, is there a blue light special or somthing??
infidels!
elwood
09-23-2003, 03:00 PM
DRPHIDDLEPHOS:
I just wouldn't mention Elwood or I in certain circles up there we definitly are well known!!! True, certain circles you should not mention the doc or myself. However there are certain circles that you should. You guys can figure that out on your own though.. HAHAHA :D
TenSeven
09-23-2003, 03:08 PM
I would think that being a lifty would be phat for hooking up with the she-she's.
Jolly J
09-23-2003, 03:17 PM
I had a buddy that worked at killy as a lifty a couple of years back. He liked fresh tracks but really hated the job. He liked the fact that he worked weekends and got to take a couple days off mid week. He didn't make any money but he had a blast.
I like to get to KMart early cause it makes me cooler than i already am ;)
I can tell all the posers that I skied in October... And because of that I reign supreme!!!
ALL HAIL THE OCTOBER SKIERS..
Well - that and it's fun...
DMC:
I like to get to KMart early cause it makes me cooler than i already am ;)
How's that possible?
I'm a poser of cool... ;)
elwood
09-23-2003, 04:08 PM
DMC, you're so cool man!
:p
I know you are but what am I?
Elwood - Going to see Dave Mathews in Central Park tomorrow... It's gonna be insane!!!!! 100,000 people...!
Rumours - Trey,Simon and Garfunkle, Bowie and a ton of other guests...
elwood
09-23-2003, 04:19 PM
Dude, I am jealous. That will be a pretty memorable show. Take pictures and tape if possible!!!
DMC: Did you get tickets for DMB? I was tempted... but the drive is 4:20 without traffic.
Colour me jealous too.
They we're giving them away on the streets of NYC...
Due to the crowd I'm travleing light...
No taping - maybe PIX but I doubt it...
ITS GONNA BE INSANE!!!!!!!! I love it...
Insanity.... goooood....
TenSeven
09-23-2003, 05:13 PM
I have got to go to NYC one day. It must be great.
Bannick
09-23-2003, 05:32 PM
Jolly J:
I had a buddy that worked at killy as a lifty a couple of years back. He liked fresh tracks but really hated the job. I was a night cleaner at Blackcomb one season...made money, saved money and got first dibs on freshies in the morning once I befriended the lift ops supervisors and patrolers.....4 days on three days off and my own skidoo for heading up the mountain each night. They even let us do some full moon descents over the season. Having the entire mountain to yourself at 2 AM is incredible. Lifties had it tough....especially on powder days while their night crew friends were pulling deep laps on the glacier or 7th heaven.
TenSeven:
I have got to go to NYC one day. It must be great. NYC is not to be believed.. There's ALWAYS something going on... I love the place...
But it is nice to escape to the country every now and then.... ;)
Whats it like where you live?
DMC: You got an extra ticket? (%10 I could make it)
TenSeven
09-23-2003, 09:28 PM
DMC...from where I live it's about 45 mins to an hour from downtown Toronto. It has it's moments but probably not the frequency of NYC.It's not fair for me to comment cause I've never been a city person. Bannick would have a better take. If I said I grew up in Hamilton, Bannick would understand.
I like Ottawa, where Dave lives. I lived there for 3 years.
elwood
09-23-2003, 10:22 PM
DMC:
NYC is not to be believed.. There's ALWAYS something going on... I love the place...
But it is nice to escape to the country every now and then.... ;) The first time I was in NYC I went to a club. Got there at about midnight. Partied all night and walked out of the club at 6:30 in daylight. Walked down the street and saw some dude smoking crack at the B-ball court. Walked down the street a little more, and saw a guy get split in half by a utility van going 50. Got back to my buddy's car, thing got towed. Had a fun trip to the impound lot after that. :D
Jolly J
09-24-2003, 07:25 AM
I hung out in NYC for a week about 10 years ago. We stayed in Jersey City and bused in for the day. Twas a merry good time. I liked Boston as well had a great time partying there two years ago. I was in Montreal when I was a kid don't remember much of it. Have never made it to TO but I'm not in a hurry. I'd rather go to the mountains.
This past weekend I went to Keith's Fest in Halifax. I was a good time. 20 bands in 18 hours. The party started at 10am and didn't stop until 4am. It was great you had to win tickets to go and there was only 3500 tickets total to be won. I got two tickets for my wife and I from the club I work at which included my hotel room, free shuttle service while I was there, spending money, plus a mit full of beer tickets. The event was put on by Alexander Keiths Beer (http://www.keiths.ca) and was awesome. Nothing better than being appriciated as a consumer from your favorite beer company. As their saying goes...Those who like it, like it alot.
NYC is da bomb. I've tried to talk Suzy into moving down there. I agree it's something everyone should do at some point in their life. I guess I'll be doing it in the late Summer of my life as opposed to the spring.
Think DMC is in the park yet?
Agreed: in 1969 I stayed for a couple of months with some friends in a shotgun flat half a block off Tompkins Square, on 9th. Very cool.
Worked at Herman's in T_Square, selling skis :cool:
I gotta get some hours :atwork: in today...
Will be in the Park around 3:30... I hope...
That should give me time to find a spot...
This is going to be huge... I can feel the electricity already.. :guitar: the local news was all over it... The rumours are BIG... I have SOOOOOO mush work to do and I can't concentrate... Maybe too much coffee(Insert coffe Graemlin here) today...
:disinfo: -"Rock and Roll music will guide you to the gates of Hell...! Where you will rot and your ears be picked at by :chicken: "
Bannick
09-24-2003, 08:50 AM
TenSeven:
DMC...from where I live it's about 45 mins to an hour from downtown Toronto. It has it's moments but probably not the frequency of NYC.It's not fair for me to comment cause I've never been a city person. Bannick would have a better take. If I said I grew up in Hamilton, Bannick would understand.
I like Ottawa, where Dave lives. I lived there for 3 years. Oskie Wee Wee baby!
Toronto does have its moments...it is clean safe and has a nightlife with a few decent after hours spots. You can always find a good time. But nothing like NYC. Personally I am only here because this is where the Architecture jobs are. The mountains call to me everyday. So I am trying to find a job in Colorado. Ottawa was alot of fun too spent 5 years in university there from 90-95.
Hamilton (the hammer) is another story altogether. :D
The problem with doing only ski travel is I really don't get a chance to check out the citys..
I've been to Canada a dozen times to ride and have yet to check out and of the citys..
You land in them - grab your gear and head to the area...
Why is Talking Head's song Citys going through my head right now...
Jolly J
09-24-2003, 09:48 AM
That's gonna be an awesome show. I saw DMB a couple of years ago in Foxboro. Great show. Can't wait to see him and the boys again someday.
BladeGirl
09-24-2003, 10:08 AM
I spent the first 18 years of my life in NYC. I grew up on 98th & West End Avenue. A girlfriend was raped in the park 1.5 blocks away in broad daylight. Apartment broken into. Mom mugged in elevator. I was mugged in 6th grade waiting for the school bus to go home. Another girlfriend assaulted by 4 youths with knifes in front of her house. Saw a car being stolen. 1977 blackout --> massive looting of neighborhood stores. graffiti. dog poop. filth in the streets. Without rent control we wouldn't have been able to afford to live there.
On the other hand, there was always something to do, for kids of any age. ping pong and bowling till midnight. neighborhood use of olympic pool in nearby hotel. tons of restaurants of all kinds. classmates from around the world. After school sports in Central Park. Free museums and galleries. Simon & Garfunkle concert in Central Park and tons of other concerts, dances and plays. Club hopping and dancing all night. etc. Not a bad place to grow up, overall.
On the third hand, I had not discovered :skifemcool: , so how good could it be?
-BG
kfarrar
09-24-2003, 10:21 AM
Grave Diggerrrrr
When you dig my grave
Dig it shallow
So I can feel the rain.
DMB Rocks!
DRPHIDDLEPHOS
09-24-2003, 11:43 AM
The life of the lifty can be surreal at times, but you are correct little cashola, incentive lies within your free seasons pass. I waited tables and bartended to make bank, the pass was the primary objective of employment. One year I was Raul the burrito boy! You know the little shack on the snow at the midpoint of skyship, or highship as most know it. That was the gig of all gigs up there! and as for she-she's, lifty issues tend to be how the hell am i going to survive 12 hours on my feet in the freezin cold. Raul on the other hand was all about the :tmchandshake1: :bum: when Wanita turned her head :D
TenSeven
09-24-2003, 12:01 PM
Bannick
Ottawa was alot of fun too spent 5 years in university there from 90-95. Which University did you go to in Ottawa?? I'm a Gee Gee myself.
TenSeven
09-24-2003, 12:03 PM
Bannick...ever spend time at the Laff??
Bannick
09-24-2003, 12:34 PM
I would tell you what school I went to but those pesky alumni donation people might then be able to find me. :mad:
I went to Carleton....but I am ok, really. Spent alot of time at the Laff and the dominion and zaphods and montreal.
elwood
09-24-2003, 12:37 PM
DRPHIDDLEPHOS:
The life of the lifty can be surreal at times, but you are correct little cashola, incentive lies within your free seasons pass. I waited tables and bartended to make bank, the pass was the primary objective of employment. One year I was Raul the burrito boy! You know the little shack on the snow at the midpoint of skyship, or highship as most know it. That was the gig of all gigs up there! and as for she-she's, lifty issues tend to be how the hell am i going to survive 12 hours on my feet in the freezin cold. Raul on the other hand was all about the :tmchandshake1: :bum: when Wanita turned her head :D Raul...LOL. Funny, I was Sakai-san the sushi boy at Snowshed...
BladeGirl
09-24-2003, 01:29 PM
elwood:
[QUOTE] Funny, I was Sakai-san the sushi boy at Snowshed... Oh, Sushi Boy....!
;)
-BG
If anyone wants to listen to what DMC is watching right now, the DMB central park concert is on AOL webcast:
http://channelevents.aol.com/concert_schools/liveevent.adp
M@
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