We got there at 7:30 in the morning, a good 90 minutes before the lift was scheduled to spin and discovered an already developed line. Skis and snowboards were laid on the ground, one right after the other, in a line that would eventually extend from the Superstar Quad around the Umbrella Bar and K-1 Lodge all the way to the K-1 Gondola. At 7:30 a.m., we were right at the entrance to the Umbrella Bar and able to borrow some of their Adirondack chairs to relax while we ate our breakfast.
Even in the depths of the line, we found our people. They are our people because we always end up at the mountain in the same places at the same times without even a bit of planning. You could just feel the giddiness in all of us because Killington’s grooming team had pulled off a miracle of sorts. I always say you have to believe, but after seeing the snow spread out and melting all week long, it was really hard to believe that the team could make a skiable stripe out of that melty mess.
But we were here, with our rock boards, ready to belay down the ropes anchored to the groomers at the top of Superstar and then ski whatever it was they had made for us. The beauty of June 1 skiing isn’t that the skiing is amazing mid-winter conditions; it’s that the snow is there at all. It’s a celebration of a season that brought ups and downs and that we rode those waves and still had a blast. And so here we were, waiting in line for our commemorative t-shirts.
Holy crap, the snow was amazing!!
If you have ever thought that the Killington grooming team is not the best in the business, this past week proved you wrong. Those boys built an amazingly thick and deep stripe of beautiful white snow about three groomers wide that skied ridiculously well all. Day. Long. Even if it did get a little dirty in spots. They peeled snow from every inch of that trail to make a path for us to play on. That fancy new “measure the depth” tool Solimano has been bragging about — well, that obviously works. There were no scrape marks on the grass from digging too deep, just a beautiful white stripe that you didn’t have to just survive, you could throw ‘em sideways and have your way with it.
Killington, you impressed us all.
You could play! You were free! You were skiing and riding in June! And holy crap you wanted to take another run but by the time you got to the bottom, except for the long line. How glorious that so many people love skiing and riding so much that they just cannot let go of the season? That they have to get in a day of June glissé. June! And you know what, I was honored to take that one beautiful run and share the trail with so many others that wanted to ski. Yes, I took more runs, but after everyone had their turn.
Instead, I went to a real estate showing and then spent an hour hiking the trails with a trash grabber in hand, as part of the first annual Mountain CleanUp. Besides providing the seriously best lunch, Killington gave us the opportunity to love our mountain back. As we gathered for the Last Chair Celebration at the top of Skye Peak, we talked about cleanup rather than skiing. Of how proud we were to have done even a little to give back to our mountain and help keep it beautiful.
So the snow season has ended. But today we can ride bikes and paddle and hike and golf and run and fish and garden and chuck wood and take motorcycle rides over the Ticonderoga ferry … There are so many things to do in and around the Killington area that we seem to forget while we have our noses buried in the snow. And now that we have skied on June1, I think I am ready to actually start doing those things.
Thank you, Killington Resort, for making the commitment to the longest season possible, to investing in the snowmaking and grooming teams to allow them to be the absolute best in the world. Thank you to the employees who worked so hard so that we could play, providing the structure necessary so that we can build and strengthen our snow sports community. Thank you to everyone who came out this past Saturday and all season long; filled with love for winter, the feel of the glissé and for this community. I cannot wait to see you all as early as possible on the Stairway to Heaven this fall. Until then, may your dreams be filled with powder, your hearts be filled with snow and your schedule filled with dryland training!
Merisa Sherman is a long time Killington resident, town lister, Development Review Board member, Coach PomPom and a local realtor. She can be reached at: [email protected].
