Question: Killington trails and instructors

[Sierra]

I am looking for guidance on Killington, which will be my home mountain this year

I am an intermediate skier who finds the range of difficulty of blue trails a bit disconcerting. Because I ski alone, I am afraid of getting in over my head, which happens from time to time.

I visited Killington a couple of times last year and stayed mostly in the Ramshead area (no problem there. Those blues were easy for me).

I did a few runs in snowdown which was ok but crowded and confusing (started on a blue, ended up in a black? Did not like it at all.

I see that Sky Peak has a bunch of blues. how would you rate them?

any suggestions of not to be missed mellow blues?

I am also looking for any suggestions on instructors. If I wanted to take a private lesson, is there anybody in particular you would recomend??

many thanks

 

[tcarey]

Sierra,
I ski Killington often but I just cant remember what alot of the blues are like.I can tell you that they do offer more challenging terrain than the likes of Okemo.

An instructor that I can think of off the top of my head is Keith Hopkins.He is a PSIA examiner and alot of fun to ski with.If you would like to ski with him I would advise you to book in advance!

T

 

[RachelV]

The blues off of the North Ridge Triple are nice... Rime, Reason, Upper East Fall, etc. They're definitely a bit harder than the blues on Ramshead, but it tends to be less crowded up there, and you don't have the trail congestion issues you have on the stuff around the Needle's Eye quad.

The stuff off the Needle's Eye quad is really fun, though -- Cruise Control, Needle's Eye, Bittersweet -- and a bit easier than the stuff off the North Ridge Triple, probably. If you can hit that area early before it gets crowded and bumped up you'd probably really enjoy it. Maybe start there and then move up to the North Ridge area if you feel comfortable on those trails, but they start getting crowded.

In general 8am-10am is the time to ski Killington. Days we ski there we try to be out by 8am, have an early lunch so we're skiing 12-2 when everyone else is eating, then wrap it by 3. It's really a good mountain, there are just a lot of places where trails converge in awkward ways and result in skied-off conditions and crowds. Once you get a feel for how everything is laid out you'll like it a lot.

 

[Kiragirl]

Hi Sierra,
I ski Killington all winter, and yes, try the Northridge area, you can "warmup" at the top of Snowdon on Bunny Buster and others then cut over to Northridge via "Killink." [Ramshead area really consists of upper-Green trails.] The SkyePeak blues are nice, make sure if you get off the Skye Gondola you cut underneath the gondola to the right to hit trails such as Cruise Control, Skyburst, and those in that area.

Also, over in the Southridge area there are some really nice trails that not many people hit. And don't forget about Bear Mt. area, nice blues there, too.

Most of the locals move around the mountains depending on conditions, but don't get frustrated, check out a variety of trails.

If you want to get together, give a shout!
Kiragirl (Katie)

Think

 

[OuiSkiToo]

Hi Sierra --

Kiragirl beat me to it recommending South Ridge area - really nice cruisers, some steep if you want it, and never a line at the chair. After skiing South Ridge, from there you can head to Bear or over to Sunrise & have a nice lunch @ Noel's at the Sunrise Condos, then you just hop on the triple & head back through Bear.

Also, really nice, long blue cruising down to the Skyeship.

 

[Sierra]

awesome! Thanks for your all your replies! I will try the North Ridge and the South Ridge (see? it is confusing!!). No steep for me, thanks... I am still learning to be comfortable in the blues.

Kira, thanks for the offer! I will give you a shout once the season is on its way

 

[Kiragirl]

cool, talk soon I hope.

another hint: study the trail map and make a plan, not being a smart a** here, it really helps