Killington, VT 1/10 and Okemo, VT 1/11

T

Talisman

New member
Brrr it was cold this weekend, but the snow was good and crowds were light, so I'm glad I bundled up and skied. <BR> <BR>Killington was chosen for a ski location because of the gondolas and different mountain aspects in case the wind came up. The summit high temp on Saturday was -22 F, but the cold air was dry and the sunny views of mountains in NY and New England were spectacular. This was a day when no flesh could be exposed and face masks or a neck & nose gaiter combination were mandatory unless you wanted frost bite. <BR> <BR>Killington had made a lot of snow and the conditions were fabulous on Double Dipper, East Fall, Cascade, Superstar and Outer Limits. The snow on OL was like talcum powder and a joy to ski with no ice, forzen granular or even packed powder. Crowds were light and the lifts were ski on except for the gondolas. The wind came up in the afternoon and I packed it in at 2:30 PM after skiing non-stop since 7:45 AM. <BR> <BR>Okemo on 1/11 was a little warmer and warmed up to +15 F on the summit. The snow was the typical of Okemo buffed to perfection for high speed cruising except for Noreaster and Sels which had bumps. Not many people were skiing on Sunday even though temperatures were some what milder.
 
Yeh, I was Okemo Sunday ($27 for CT Ski Club members), en route to a personal record for vertical in one day, given the incredibly fast conditions, zero lines, and high speeds running at full speed for a change. Got at least 10K vert in first 10 minutes. <BR> <BR>Then, out of now where, POW, a snowboarder (just reporting, no bias) completely blind-sides me while skiing a simple dead-straight line on a flat off the South Face Quad. First collision I've ever had without seeing anyone before hand. Scary part is I was kind of standing up, but moving pretty fast, and he gets my right shoulder and back in a hit that would have made jck Tatum (Oakland Raider's legend) proud. I'm lying there, convinced I've got a separated shoulder, asking a by-stander what the H had happened. So I figure it be a decent idea to get up and out of the way before a buddy of his comes to finish me off. So I depart the scene, leaving the antagonist still dusting himself off, and finally more or less recover enough to drive the 3 hours back to CT. <BR> <BR>Guess I learned never to take anything for granted on the hill, even on a sunny, deserted, freezing day. <BR> <BR>Rick
 
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