Rainy day rumble

By Ariel Kent
Saturday rides for me always start out the same at Killington. I’ve got two hours to get as many runs in as possible before I have to head back to work. This past Saturday I arrived early, got the first chair and hoped that the impending rain storm would hold off. I got three runs in on Snowshed before the rain hit — I was clearly unprepared with my T-shirt and shorts combo. The rain came an hour earlier than expected and I wasn’t about to stop riding—I still had an hour!
So there I am riding up the Snowshed Quad in my T-shirt and shorts shivering my butt off and it hit me — I have it way better than the lift operators. They have to stand at the top and bottom of the lift all day, rain or shine, hauling heavy mountain bikes on and off the lift. Not only that but they have to listen to all the happy-faced people talk about how amazing the trails are. That must be painful, man, I could never be a liftie!
That day, in particular I really appreciated what Killington’s lift operators do. While I get to take lap after lap they have to stand there loading bikes in the rain. Granted they have the protection of the lift loading areas so they’re not getting completely pelted by rain but it still isn’t the most ideal situation. For that I’m thankful for the hard working people at Killington Resort. Even in the worst conditions they’re still smiling, handing out high fives and doing their jobs well.
This coming weekend we have another lift opening: K-1, which means off-the-peak mountain biking as well as operations seven days a week. I cannot wait to put in some serious hours on the downhill bike and cannot wait to see more smiling faces up there. Next time you’re up at the mountain taking runs, just take a moment and tell the lefties “thank you,” after all, if it weren’t for them you wouldn’t be able to enjoy lift-served mountain biking.