Well you heard Bret’s version, now here’s mine.

Mother Nature give and Mother Nature takeith away. Last nights non-frozen precipation took it’s tool on the snowpack. I showed up at Bay 1 at 9 only to find out there was a delayed opening as groomers were putting things back together. Basically skiing today was on Rime. From the bottom of rime you walk up past the port-o- potty’s to great northern then down middle chute-lower bunny to make it top to bottom. As Bret had mentioned, there is a bare section on middle GN that had to be walked. The snow on Rime was decent enough, pretty much  granular throughout.

Here’s the good news! Temps are dropping and it’s Snowing!! It looks like snowmaking temps returns later today and continue through Saturday. No doubt in my mind that with Killington’s snowmaking arsenal, things will be patched up and skiing well by Saturday.

Jonathan Celauro started skiing when he was four and still hasn't quite figured it out yet. After college, he moved to Killington and now 16 yrs later, each comprised of 100+ day ski seasons, he's still trying to grasp the whole skiing concept. At this point he imagines his best option is to just go with the flow. "I still find myself dreaming of big mountain lines and deep powder snow." J.C. Shop Our Online Store

Just got off the hill and it is still top to bottom skiing!  I had one small area above Royal Flush where I had to take off the skis but other than that it was well covered.  The good news is that the temps are dropping right now and there were a lot of snow makers setting up guns getting ready to assault the hill.  The temps are supposed to stay cold for the next few days so by the weekend terrain should expand and coverage will be good.  I did see that there are now 2 umbrella bars set up now which look cool so there has been a lot of progress there.  I am still counting on the Salomon BBR demo to happen this Friday and Saturday based on the colder temp and snow making over the next few days, if there are any changes I will post them.  Also keep in mind the Basin Season Tune Demo on Sunday December 18, you can sign up in advance in the store, all we need is you boot and your season tune card.

Bret Williamson has worked at the Basin since 1993, he has worked every aspect from tuning to buying and is now the hard goods sales manager. Look for him on the hill with his son and daughter teaching them how to ski and converting his snowboarding wife to skiing. Shop Our Online Store

Skiing was decent enough today. I managed to get out for a few runs first thing this morning. Snowdon triple, NRT and K1 were up and running. I havent been out since last Wednesdays powder day so today was a stark difference. No matter, I was chomping at the bit to get out there and make some turns. Did a few off the NRT and a cple off the Snowdon triple before heading to work. Upper east fall was my ROTD. Soft snow, ungroomed and nice bumps. Same with mouse trap. There is a big ol’ bare spot upon the entrance to in, but it’s easily avoidable. I’m a big fan of snoft snow so I was happy with the conditions, but lets get some cooler weather in here and make some snow. Spring can wait, lets ski some winter type snow, man-made or natural, I’m not picky at this point. The snowpack needs to hold for one more day before at least night time snowmaking and resurfacing to resume. In the meantime, do your Ullr dance or sacrifice something to him.

Sorry no pics as I was rushing to get to the hill and forgot my camera today.

Jonathan Celauro started skiing when he was four and still hasn't quite figured it out yet. After college, he moved to Killington and now 16 yrs later, each comprised of 100+ day ski seasons, he's still trying to grasp the whole skiing concept. At this point he imagines his best option is to just go with the flow. "I still find myself dreaming of big mountain lines and deep powder snow." J.C. Shop Our Online Store

Hope you all had a pleasant Thanksgiving Holiday and are as ready as ever to get back to work today. I personally did not ski this morning. I chose to hang outdoor Christmas lights instead. I’d rather do it when it’s 50* out as opposed to when it’s near zero as it seems that is when I always do it. Older and wiser I suppose.  As for the snow, a few employees here managed to get out today and  mentioned that it was beginning to become more springlike than yesterday. The SQ4, NRT, Snowdon poma and K1 were up and running. There were a few bare spots popping up, but that’s to be expected. All and all, it’s top to bottom skiing in warm, spring like temps, what’s not to like? A day or two of resurfacing  and things will be right back to normal. Looks like night time snowmaking temps return on Wednesday for an extended period of time.  I’ll get out there tomorrow and give you a personal report.

Jonathan Celauro started skiing when he was four and still hasn't quite figured it out yet. After college, he moved to Killington and now 16 yrs later, each comprised of 100+ day ski seasons, he's still trying to grasp the whole skiing concept. At this point he imagines his best option is to just go with the flow. "I still find myself dreaming of big mountain lines and deep powder snow." J.C. Shop Our Online Store

Mostly sunny, 45ish degrees - Yay! I can finally write a snow report because I finally got out on the hill and skied.  This is the latest first day I’ve had in a while, but at least I picked a good one. I always try to keep my expectations low, as a rule of thumb, because I find that it dramatically increases my chances of satisfaction. Today, however, I under-expected and was very pleasantly surprised. Lots of terrain, a healthy selection of lifts, light crowds, and good snow. I must admit that I have been paying zero attention to the conditions, since I have not had a chance to ski anyway, and thus had no idea that the Snowdon chairs would be running, or Ramshead for that matter. I managed to ski right onto the chair most runs with no waiting. The snow was great too, varying from a little on the slushy side down low to just slightly firm up in the North Ridge area. My pick for best trail was upper Chute. Just enough thin cover to keep me on my toes. If you are among the 17% of skiers who prefer slamming into moguls, (I made that percentage up) you would have had ample opportunities to slam into them. I know I slammed into some. Since it was my first day and all I tried to take it a little easy but I did hurl myself down Mouse Trap a couple times just to see if I still had it. I didn’t. Still, I had a really good time skiing today; now I remember why I’ve let skiing shape my entire life.

I gotta tell you, it feels good to be back. Good to be back on the hill skiing but, more than that, good to be back writing the report. Thanks to everyone who reads the report and a special thanks to those of you who don’t call Basin Sports regularly and ask to have me replaced. You know who you are. It means a lot to me. I won’t be back writing full time for a couple more weeks, but I am coming back. I’ll try to pop in when I can.

Incidentally, the photo of me down below in my bio, I do not endorse that photo. I do not know where it came from but, judging from the amount of hair on my head, it must be quite old. Also, I’m wearing a suit jacket, which is just plain weird. Clearly I had been to a wedding or had a court date or something. I’d like to get that photo changed to one more representative of my actual appearance but, sadly, I don’t know how to do that. So please, disregard that photo.

Dave Young is a former ski tuner from the Midwest. In fact, he was once assistant to the assistant manager at the biggest tuning shop in the mall. These days he mostly skis, photographs other people skiing, or hangs out in coffee shops pretending to write about skiing. Shop Our Online Store