I write to you now from my apartment basking in post snowboarding glow. The first Snow FIEND Mission to Killington went off without a hitch. With a solid mix of guests and crew on the bus, everyone was so excited to shred. We arrived at the mountain early, got our lift tickets, geared up, and set out for the first OvR mountain time of the East Coast season!
It was a beautiful day in the low 40’s with mostly clear skies. The mountain wasn’t even that crowded… except for the other Snow Fiends, which added even more hype to the day. With absolutely no line for the gondola, we all piled in and celebrated the first runs of the 2015/16 OvR On-Snow Season with some obligatory beers.
It really wasn’t until we arrived at the top that everything really hit me. The night before, the drive up, even the lift ride, none of it felt like the true start of the season. It felt like none of it was actually happening, then there I was… I was actually up there, back at the top of The Beast in the East! Once you can feel the snow crunch under you, and the rush that comes with barreling down mountain… it really feels like the start.
The snow was surprisingly fun and forgiving. I was expecting just a whole bunch of ice and dirt patches with some blown snow scattered about but this is Killington we’re dealing with after all. The trails had good coverage and snow wasn’t too hard, and there were plenty of side hits to mess around with. I think almost everyone in the crew hit a few 180’s (I went for a back three but sadly did not land it).
The park was open, I considered hitting a few of the features but I held back, knowing that I needed to give myself a day or two of riding before I really start going for it. That, and the fact that there was probably a lineup of about 20-30 local riders at each feature. Those guys were really throwing down and I didn’t think attempting a mere 50-50 would be worth it. Brother Shredmond thought differently, went for it, and almost pulled it off but it resulted in a quasi yardsale of his beanie and goggles.
By the end of the day the crew was equal parts psyched, drunk, and tired so we all headed back to the bus to sleep it off. It was a great first day and my earliest of the season to date. This is just the beginning folks, I’ll be up at Killington again next Sunday to meet up with the Thanksgiving weekend trip we have running up there.
This is Jeremy Mountain! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!