By Cindy Phillips posted Aug 23, 2012 I walked into the office break room the other day to find a co-worker cleaning up what appeared to be a volcanic eruption. I knew immediately what had happened - she tried to cook grits in the microwave. A month prior, I had experienced the same catastrophic result…

By Karen D. Lorentz posted May 23, 2012 On April 23, VPR aired a commentary by Bill Mares that confirmed a long held misgiving. Sometimes critics don't give credence to intelligent leaders because the critics have an agenda that is less than totally honest or a passion that is more personal than legitimate. Most Killington…

By Karen D. Lorentz posted Jul 3, 2013 Skier visits near all-time record Vermont just recorded one of its best ski seasons ever, despite a later than usual start for most areas. In fact, it may have been the best season ever if one examines the numbers and accounts for the actual methodology used to…

By Cindy Phillips posted May 2, 2012 If you picked up superstitions or old wives tales from your parents or grandparents, you may believe that some life events happen in threes - one of them being death. I am holding my breath right now after the announcement of Dick Clark's passing, followed the next day…

By Karen D. Lorentz updated Thu, Dec 26, 2013 06:14 PM Powdr Corporation, the parent company of Killington Pico Ski Resort Partners, has donated $50,000 to the Killington Mountain School (KMS) for a project that creates a vastly improved and expanded competitions venue on the Highline Trail at the mountain. Killington Mountain School is an…

By Karen D. Lorentz posted May 23, 2013 Leslie Leete Smith: Killington's first daughter and olympian Some expectant parents play music to their unborn child; Leslie Leete Smith's parents planned a ski area. Born just three months before Killington debuted in December 1958, Leslie literally grew up at the mountain. She recalls the story of…

By Karen D. Lorentz updated Wed, Aug 28, 2013 06:43 PM Chances are you will know some of the people in the book; perhaps you are even in the book! I live on a mountain 2,230 feet above sea level along the spine of the Green Mountains. To get anywhere we descend about 430 vertical…

By Karen D. Lorentz posted Dec 20, 2012 It was 1926 and Santa was stuck. What new toys could he and his elves make for kids and adults in the Rutland Region? "I know," said Mrs. Claus. They have one of those big ski jumps in Springfield, MA, so why don't you and your elves…

By Karen D. Lorentz posted Jun 13, 2012 Editor's note: This is part three in a four-part series that provides an historical perspective on the Killington Village and lack of its completion over a 44-year period. One of the ironies of history is "live long enough" and you see that history has a funny, if…

By Cindy Phillips updated Wed, Mar 7, 2012 09:15 AM As I write this column, news of Davy Jones death is about 24 hours old. Boomers get a dose of reality each time a music legend passes away. The day the music dies is a creepy reminder of our own mortality. We all want to…

By Karen D. Lorentz posted Feb 20, 2013 Fifty-five years ago I visited Vermont on our first ski trips to the state. My dad took my two younger sisters and me on trips to Mount Snow, and once to Bromley and Dutch Hill, before we moved from Connecticut to New Jersey. Fast forward. Thirty-five years…

By Cindy Phillips updated Wed, Feb 22, 2012 10:43 AM Online dating is big business that continues to gain popularity at a rapid pace. Sites like Match.com and eHarmony promise to help you find your soulmate by cross-referencing likes, dislikes and personality traits. Though you may tend to think online dating is exclusive to the…

By Cindy Phillips updated Wed, Feb 8, 2012 12:08 PM A friend recently compared getting old to a roll of toilet paper - the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. What a wonderful analogy about how time is literally running out for some of us. And now to add insult to…

By Cindy Phillips updated Fri, Jan 13, 2012 01:22 PM I was raised by a single mom who mastered the art of stretching a dollar. She would buy a whole chicken and roast it to perfection for a Sunday dinner, accompanied by creamy mashed potatoes and a vegetable. During the week that followed, the dinner…

By Karen D. Lorentz posted Dec 27, 2012 Photo courtesy of Okemo Mountain Resort Rob Bevier was one of the earliest instructors to embrace the new wave of snowboarding in the 1980s and 1990s. "My father wanted a boy." That's how this three-generation story started. And how Gwen Allard came to love the outdoors and…