The whales are pretty impressive! I'm thinking that with another night of blowing they will be able to open. There are some thin spots in between the whales, but I was able to go from the top to within 30 ft of the bottom. Sunset was nice also.
Nicely done Mark! I'll be over there with my family on Sunday assuming they are open.
The weather hasn't been kind for either snowmaking or for retention of the snow that was already made. I heard that opening day will not be this Saturday or Sunday and probably some TBD mid-week date next week. Again, that's based on local chatter. I know nothing that is authoritative.
I was up on the hill today making some repairs to the patrol sled shack. I would not recommend attempting to earn turns at this point, the whales are completely bulletproof on the surface.
I have not heard anything to contradict Joshua on the opening date.
The whales were slightly bulletproof when I was there on Monday with my rock skis that haven't been sharpened in years. And the flat light 1/2 hour after sunset didn't help. I will 2nd that earned turns are for experts only until more snow is made.
Any reports from the hill on snowmaking this AM? If yes, would love to know which trails....CM communication has been spotty at best, nonexistant at worst as we try and get into the season.
No snowmaking this morning. Walked to summit with my dogs today, would not have made it without good micro-spikes. Probably not a great place to earn turns unless you really like side slipping down very frozen surfaces. There is still a lot of snow 'whalehoused' on the hill awaiting a final push to open. Probably not Friday or Saturday, mid next week might be a reasonable expectation given snow on the hill and temp forecasts.
The main snowmaking pond is now overflowing the dam and the backup pond is about 3 feet below high water line, so expect a major effort when temps do get to an appropriate level and a bit more terrain than usual.
Dopplemeyer was at the mountain today reportedly tuning the rope to rail transition at the summit of the Rocket. With all the effort on that lift this year it looks like we should be getting fast smooth rides all the time.
Hopefully the website will be catching up soon... in the meantime I did see s few snowflakes today on the CM summit where the temperature was 31 degrees at 1 pm..
Looks like CM preparing to not open this week....I always am skeptical once a mtn starts hedging and talking about another delay. Unsure which forecast they are seeing but they look to be in a pretty nice 6-8" and on edge of 8-12" zone from the below NWS map from this AM
Attitash isn't open either. They hope for Dec. 15th. I'd rather wait for some good conditions than ski on hardpack.
"We’re working on giving you the best conditions possible opening weekend, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit at home. Wildcat and Mount Snow are open, and are offering some of the best terrain in the East. Our season passes are reciprocal, so there’s no excuse for not getting out there. If you don't have a pass, you can get yours at peakpass.com. If you’re between the ages of 18-29, and you like saving money, the Drifter pass is only available until December 15th, so grab yours ASAP."
ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
We've got our opening date set for Friday, Dec 15 with lifts spinning 9:00 am-9:00 pm. Terrain will likely be advanced only from the Summit, but we're going to make snow and ride out tomorrow's weather before we make the final calls on trails and lIFTS AVAILABLE.
I took two earned-turns runs on Solstice Glade today (12/12/2017) for a grand total of 800' of vertical and hit no rocks and no stumps. I went slowly and deliberately, not knowing what I might encounter. I suspect with a little traffic, it would have become quite good. It was not soft powder.
In hiking up I made three stupid mistakes:
1. I didn't velcro my skis together so I was using extra effort to hold them together.
2. I didn't use snowshoes for the climb. I was sinking in a lot on some of the whales and it was sucking the energy out of me. (I don't know how old the whales are, but they hadn't drained or set up yet and would turn to death cookies if groomed too soon.)
3. I held the skis in my hand or on my shoulder rather than tying them on a backpack. Again, energy draining.
Hiking is fine, but nothing like hiking to remind me how cheap lift tickets really are!
There is very solid dry stuff deeper in the whales, micro spikes were required before the Saturday snow. Hopefully they will get all the pods of whales spread out to dry once the dampness is past - giving it time to dry while they pour dry freshies on top with the coming cold. Both ponds are full which was enough water to do the early opening trails from scratch in 2 days in the earlier years using 5 of the 6 pumps.
Did you notice the new 'big toy' in the lot below the maintenance building... the rumored PB400 winch cat is now on site awaiting tread, blade & tiller attachment.
I've heard, why does Crotched need a Winch.... it's cool, it is another much needed groomer and can put snow back on Jupiter Storm, Satellite Summit & upper Pluto's... but has anyone thought outside the box? ... can it do the ledges??? Who do we dare?
There is very solid dry stuff deeper in the whales, micro spikes were required before the Saturday snow. Hopefully they will get all the pods of whales spread out to dry once the dampness is past - giving it time to dry while they pour dry freshies on top with the coming cold. Both ponds are full which was enough water to do the early opening trails from scratch in 2 days in the earlier years using 5 of the 6 pumps.
Did you notice the new 'big toy' in the lot below the maintenance building... the rumored PB400 winch cat is now on site awaiting tread, blade & tiller attachment.
I've heard, why does Crotched need a Winch.... it's cool, it is another much needed groomer and can put snow back on Jupiter Storm, Satellite Summit & upper Pluto's... but has anyone thought outside the box? ... can it do the ledges??? Who do we dare?
...
Can't wait for Friday. As much as I enjoy Killington, the drive is starting to get to me.
I didn't notice the winch cat. One of the groomers was telling me a few years ago that there are a lot of spots where they could do a better job if they weren't worried about losing their machines into the woods.
Does CM even own the land on which the Ledges are located?
I don’t think they own that land, when making it more skiable we were told to keep it under wraps because it not owned by the ski area or condo association. On another note new glade signs have been installed on Uranus, Hellions Gate and Popcorn. Now Nelsbeer will know where to fetch people and Joshua will no which is which.
That new groomer should be pretty nice addition...Often I have found the surfaces to be pretty uneven on Jupiter's so hopefully this helps.
Does anyone know if CM is blowing on the carpet area to get that open for this wknd? My older son will be in the Tigers program starting Sat but I'd like to get my 2 yo some carpet laps if possible.
They are blowing snow today (Weds., 12/13/17) on the carpet area. IMO, there is more than enough snow there to open it, but I suggest you call ahead to make sure it is open before you come up.
I skinned up today for a run. Lots of guns going on Launch Pad, Galaxy, Meteor, Moon Walk and Satellite Summit.
It should be the best opening CM has had in the 10+ years I've been here.
Guns are off today (Thurs., Dec. 14) for some reason. There seems to be plenty of water in the pond. Guns have been moved to Super Nova, but as of this AM, they were not connected and I didn't notice hoses deployed with the guns.
Galaxy was nicely groomed from the top of Valley to its intersection with Meteor. Meteor was being groomed out. It looked like Moon Walk was groomed and they started on Satellite Summit, but I didn't go beyond the top of the Valley Chair.. Cosmic Blast is also partially groomed. Launch Pad has plenty of snow on it. If they groom it, it should be fine for the beginners if they run the Magic Carpet. The rest is pretty much natural snow. Certainly it would have been open and skiable in a bygone era, but I doubt it will be tomorrow or the weekend.
As of 10 pm groomers were still working. Lower Meteor has much wider coverage than usual. Guns were still being moved. There is still time to get a bit mode open for the weekend if they fire up guns tonight with these temps.
You'll be perfect as the "Carpet Guy". I don't know if you remember the late Abe P., but in essence that job is almost that of an auxiliary instructor, facing literally hundreds of people who have never been on a lift before, who think they have ascended to the top of Mt. Everest!
Thank all of you locals and insiders for keeping this thread updated while preseason info from the mountain has been spotty at best. Looking forward to getting out there with my daughter after school this afternoon. Good comment on the carpet, she still looks forward to summiting everest once on the first day despite the fact that her skiing has far surpassed launch pad.
If no one else mentioned it yet, that fancy new web cam is working. It is pointed up Meteor. Don't anyone work anymore? Speaking of that, I haven't seen the boys come by yet. Must be in for lunch.
I may have to wear makeup now, when I get back on skis that is.
ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
If you don't count Solstice Glade, there are legitimately two ways T2B: Moonwalk to Galaxy and Satellite Summit to Meteor.
It was really cold this AM but is rather comfortable. We'reopen until 9PM, so if your're within an hour from here, you can still have a full day of skiing.
Conditions started as corduroy and are now loose and frozen granular.
Did CM blow last night? Plenty cold enough and pond is full. Need to get more terrain open ASAP. Meteor and Galaxy were beat up quickly yesterday AM. Why not get milky way open to link to supernova and Comet?
Mtn seems well staffed this yr but needs to tell corporate they have to blow snow to make $
Comments
Unsure which forecast they are seeing but they look to be in a pretty nice 6-8" and on edge of 8-12" zone from the below NWS map from this AM
Attitash isn't open either. They hope for Dec. 15th. I'd rather wait for some good conditions than ski on hardpack.
"We’re working on giving you the best conditions possible opening weekend, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit at home. Wildcat and Mount Snow are open, and are offering some of the best terrain in the East. Our season passes are reciprocal, so there’s no excuse for not getting out there. If you don't have a pass, you can get yours at peakpass.com. If you’re between the ages of 18-29, and you like saving money, the Drifter pass is only available until December 15th, so grab yours ASAP."
OPENING DAY FRIDAY!
We've got our opening date set for Friday, Dec 15 with lifts spinning 9:00 am-9:00 pm. Terrain will likely be advanced only from the Summit, but we're going to make snow and ride out tomorrow's weather before we make the final calls on trails and lIFTS AVAILABLE.
On another note new glade signs have been installed on Uranus, Hellions Gate and Popcorn. Now Nelsbeer will know where to fetch people and Joshua will no which is which.
If no one else mentioned it yet, that fancy new web cam is working. It is pointed up Meteor. Don't anyone work anymore? Speaking of that, I haven't seen the boys come by yet. Must be in for lunch.
I may have to wear makeup now, when I get back on skis that is.
Mtn seems well staffed this yr but needs to tell corporate they have to blow snow to make $