A
Anonymous
Guest
It was a good weekend of skiing. Allow me to preface by stating I was surprised I was even able to ski this weekend, as a recent trip to the Caribean left me sick as a dog! Hotel reservations couldn't be canceled, so I was going skiing! It slowed me down, but didn't stop me.
1/2 day (PM) at Pico. Parking lot was nearly full. Beautiful sunny day. It was my first time at Pico. I have been meaning to try it for a long time, as I have heard great things. Two high speed quads service the majority of the mt., with a few secondary peaks served by a handful of an older double and triple (certainly worth a look for additional interesting terrain..some quite steep). It's a really interesting mix of classic New England style trails (Upper/Lower KA and Upper Sunset) and intermediate cruisers (mostly off the lower mt. highspeed quad). Quite a few great bump runs with good snow. For the most part, the bumps were left untouched. I'm not sure why, as they were really quite good. Upper Pike (under the summit quad) was half groomed with excellent bumps on skiers right. Longest lift line was less than five minutes. Trails got a bit crowded (keep in mind, I used to ski Burke on a regular basis...100 people is a crowd!) and scraped around 2:30.
Lifts are looking rough. Lots of basic maintenence seems overdue. It's hard to imagine this place is so close to Killington, and offers something totally different. Certainly a "locals mt." Why people bother with the Saturday crowds at Killington when you can ski Pico is beyond me!
Sunday AM, I headed straight for the skyship gondola. Arrived at 7:45, got spot less than 100 ft. from the lift, booted up, and was on at skye peak by 8:10. This is the way to go...don't battle the access road and parking attendants! First runs on Needles eye and skyeburst. Fast conditions. I felt grooming could have been a bit better. Skied all over the mt, avoiding crowds succesfully. I was skiing with my girlfriend who is an intermediate skier (she really wanted to try Killington), so we took it easy. I've never been a big fan of Killington. Too big, no constant vertical, crowds, $$$. More of the same, but we did have an enjoyable day. I was particulary impressed with the intermediate glade (Squeze play) on Ramshead. Great place to introduce rookies to the glade experience. Bumps on Outer Limits were not impressive. Killington Peak steeps looked really thin. One thing Killington does have is steeps. I had forgotten how steep some of it is. The problem is, I've never had great snow on it! Glades off racers edge (The throne, Chop Chop) looked really nice, but didn't get the chance to sample.
It really started to blow around noon. Lots of windblown, high traffic trails got pretty slick. Bumps didn't look too appealing. More snow will do them good this week. It's pretty thin in places. Jan/Feb. must have been pretty ugly this year. We never really waited in lines all day, but went out of our way to plan the day to avoid them. I think Killington has broken the record for menu prices in the cafeteria. $8.00 for a cheeseburger! Hey, someone needs to pay for the lifts to be repainted at Pico!
I gave Killington one last chance. I had an enjoyable day, but would still take Stowe, Wildcat, Jay or Burke any day.
1/2 day (PM) at Pico. Parking lot was nearly full. Beautiful sunny day. It was my first time at Pico. I have been meaning to try it for a long time, as I have heard great things. Two high speed quads service the majority of the mt., with a few secondary peaks served by a handful of an older double and triple (certainly worth a look for additional interesting terrain..some quite steep). It's a really interesting mix of classic New England style trails (Upper/Lower KA and Upper Sunset) and intermediate cruisers (mostly off the lower mt. highspeed quad). Quite a few great bump runs with good snow. For the most part, the bumps were left untouched. I'm not sure why, as they were really quite good. Upper Pike (under the summit quad) was half groomed with excellent bumps on skiers right. Longest lift line was less than five minutes. Trails got a bit crowded (keep in mind, I used to ski Burke on a regular basis...100 people is a crowd!) and scraped around 2:30.
Lifts are looking rough. Lots of basic maintenence seems overdue. It's hard to imagine this place is so close to Killington, and offers something totally different. Certainly a "locals mt." Why people bother with the Saturday crowds at Killington when you can ski Pico is beyond me!
Sunday AM, I headed straight for the skyship gondola. Arrived at 7:45, got spot less than 100 ft. from the lift, booted up, and was on at skye peak by 8:10. This is the way to go...don't battle the access road and parking attendants! First runs on Needles eye and skyeburst. Fast conditions. I felt grooming could have been a bit better. Skied all over the mt, avoiding crowds succesfully. I was skiing with my girlfriend who is an intermediate skier (she really wanted to try Killington), so we took it easy. I've never been a big fan of Killington. Too big, no constant vertical, crowds, $$$. More of the same, but we did have an enjoyable day. I was particulary impressed with the intermediate glade (Squeze play) on Ramshead. Great place to introduce rookies to the glade experience. Bumps on Outer Limits were not impressive. Killington Peak steeps looked really thin. One thing Killington does have is steeps. I had forgotten how steep some of it is. The problem is, I've never had great snow on it! Glades off racers edge (The throne, Chop Chop) looked really nice, but didn't get the chance to sample.
It really started to blow around noon. Lots of windblown, high traffic trails got pretty slick. Bumps didn't look too appealing. More snow will do them good this week. It's pretty thin in places. Jan/Feb. must have been pretty ugly this year. We never really waited in lines all day, but went out of our way to plan the day to avoid them. I think Killington has broken the record for menu prices in the cafeteria. $8.00 for a cheeseburger! Hey, someone needs to pay for the lifts to be repainted at Pico!
I gave Killington one last chance. I had an enjoyable day, but would still take Stowe, Wildcat, Jay or Burke any day.
