Killington: Last Call

Superstar

I am always reflective on the last day of the ski season. Seasons begin and end and begin again in one big blur. Some ski days are epic, others not so much. One day becomes the next until all of a sudden you’ve stopped appreciating the magic that can be found whenever you are on the snow.

But I always appreciate the last day of every season. I always remind myself not to take it for granted, after doing just that for every other day during the season. It is hard to be reflective when you are engaged in the madness, desperate for that next powder day.

The madness subsides and things slow down a bit by May. My health prohibited me from hiking to Tuckerman Ravine for end of season turns in June or July. But it doesn’t matter where or when the last day of the season happens, the feelings are still always the same.

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Killington: Superstar

Killington

After weeks of waiting for the perfect spring corn weekend, I realized it may not happen before the season ends. Warm t-shirt weather and perfect spring corn bumps are more rare than a powder day during any given season. But that doesn’t mean that the skiing won’t be fabulous without the warmth, sun, and perfect corn. The late season was passing me by while I awaited perfection when I realized the perfect turn can still be found in less than ideal circumstances.

Those perfect turns were found hammering down Preston’s Pitch, the steep finale to Superstar. I kept finding that perfect line and letting the skis go full speed, bashing the bumps for direction and speed control, more the former than the latter. I kept saying one more run but then I’d find myself turning right back onto the lift rather than turning left towards the lodge. Back up again, trying to find that same line that felt so good during the last run. And failing to find it until that last pitch… and there I was again hitting the same bumps even faster than the last time.

The coverage on Superstar is amazing for mid-May thanks to two weeks of cold and cloudy weather with temperatures well below seasonal norms. The snow was nearly edge to edge and absolutely top to bottom with several sections of Superstar featuring base depths as deep as the chairs moving uphill. Significant amounts of snow were stockpiled at the top and bottom of the run. Memorial Day is almost certainly going to happen. June is a possibility with a little help from the weather.

Superstar