Spring skiing expected at Killington through Memorial Day

KILLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Believe it or not, skiing and riding at Killington Mountain is still going strong.

Tie-dyes, sunglasses, and short sleeves — there is a bit of a dress code for skiing in May at Killington. The “Beast,” as it’s known, prides itself on being the first to open and last to close on the East Coast.

“You really need to see it to believe it. You got to go live it,” said Lake George, N.Y. resident Bill Dutcher. In between runs on soft round moguls, Dutcher and his buddies relaxed in style by the RV on the access road. “I didn’t know it. I was a winter skier and now I understand why everybody loves it. It’s wonderful.”

This year’s ski season in the Northeast ran hot and cold. After a strong start, mild temps moved in for the heart of the season, and then a huge dump in mid-March.

At Killington, it was also the year the new K1 base lodge opened. “Slow start to the year but overall worked out great. Had some decent snowfall in the end and we are still skiing,” said the resort’s Amy Laramie.

And not just traditional skiing, we found out. A multi-tasking crew from New York had a full picnic set up at the bottom of the mountain’s one open run. “Dual day. We are skiing this morning and we are waterskiing this afternoon,” said Adam Smith of Waterford, N.Y. offering a video of last year’s dual day as evidence. “Because you can, right? It’s 80 degrees, the mountain is still open and awesome. And then you can go waterskiing because the lake is unfrozen,” Smith said.

Apparently, water references are a big part of the spring skiing lingo. “Because it’s warm and the water is too cold to surf,” said Dan Stahura. The Virginia beach resident has been coming to Vermont his whole life. “This is the place I come to — Lake Bomoseen, Castleton — what a better beautiful place you can have in the world.”

Mountain officials say they will likely be skiing here through Memorial Day weekend, just in time for the mountain biking and golf to open.

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