Posted on 01/04/2005 5:44:00 PM PST by paltz
Thanks for the update. It was a very unfortunate accident.
It's been about ten years since I've skied Killington. My memory is telling me that there weren't any where near the number of double diamond trails on Killington peak as there are shown on the current map.
I skied most of the trails at Killington, and the only DD I recall is Devil's Fiddle. Is my memory wrong, or have these trails been uprated?
Well, as most skiers have seen, the ratings of trail difficulty can be somewhat arbitrary, or at least relative to the rest of the hill. Some DD trails on Killington would be single diamond or even double blues out west. Double Dipper is one of them. When one goes to Jackson, Snowbird, Alta (yes, in one month!!!) etc., they find out what a DD trail really is. ;-)
The Double Dipper trail was made about 10-12 years ago, when they put in the Canyon quad alongside the Big Dipper glade area. As you ski down, Big Dipper (has always been there) is skier's left of the chair, and Double Dipper is skier's right. They both have a nice, long, continuous, fairly steep pitch to them. Big Dipper is gladed area, and Double Dipper is a wide (50 yds?) slope. I'll often ski the extreme left edge of DD, right along the rope next to the chair and get decent snow.
The steeper pitches at Killington are probably Ovation (Ovulation to the locals), and the top of Fiddle which is never open anymore. Ovation is one of those trails where they'll open it, and then they close it because some people couldn't ski it, fell, and had a very nasty slide to the bottom. I have to admit, that management is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to these decisions, particularly when accidents like this happen.
BTW, Double Dipper was closed for the day after the accident. It was perfectly fine to ski on. Icy? Yes, very, but this is the east. Close icy trails and you might as well watch football.
It's been so long now that it seems like another lifetime. I'll have to get back into it soon. My son is going to be four this year.
Back when I used to ski Killington, I stayed at the Pile Inn for a few years. What a blast that was.
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