Killington Resort well worth the ride from Boston

I hadn’t been to The Big K since my college days in Vermont in the mid-’80s, so I jumped at the opportunity to head north with a friend on Dec. 17 for a vertical adrenalin rush on some of the best ski and snowboard trails in New England.Admittedly early in the season – only 42 of the roughly 140 trails were open that Friday – conditions were fantastic from top to bottom and trails perfectly groomed with a base over a foot. At peak season the base is typically anywhere between 60 and 80 inches.Killington Resort stretches across six mountains and features 22 lifts, including nine quads and the K-1 Express Gondola with spacious cars that carry up to six skiers and snowboarders up to the 4,241-meter Killington Peak summit.There are trails to suit skiers of all abilities from the summit, from wide-open cruisers to the steep and narrow classic New England runs. Killington also has the longest mogul slope in the East and for snowboarders a 500-foot long superpipe.This particular weekday early in the season there was no wait at all for any of the lifts, and we got about 20 runs in before 1 o’clock.Tom Horrocks, Killington’s communications and public relations manager, expects all trails and lifts to be open by mid-January, if not sooner.”With the upgrades we’ve made to our snowmaking operations and grooming, we offer a great product despite a challenging start to the season with some rain early on,” Horrocks said. Killington has invested more then $6.5 million in snowmaking equipment upgrades over the past five years.Killington’s lodges have also greatly expanded since my years at Norwich University, with a wide variety of luncheon foods available. A great aspect of the lodges – on this day we were in the K-1 Lodge – is the free bag check for skiers, which makes the floors much easier to navigate and tables easily accessible.Horrocks also touted the new vista deck on the Great Eastern Trail that offers a spectacular view of the Connecticut River Valley.Lift tickets at Killington are reasonable for all the resort offers, $39.50 for adults (19-64) mid-week, $63 on weekends and $64.50 on peak days. There are plenty of great deals to be had with Ski-and-Stay packages, available through www.killington.com or by calling 1-800-621-MTNS, with steep discounts on lift tickets. Ski rentals are also in line with other major resorts at $40 for skis, boots and poles, and available at the K-1 Lodge.Horrocks noted January is also Learn to Ski and Snowboard month at Killington with some great deals for beginners.”If anyone brings a friend or family member up and pays full price for a lift ticket, their friend or family member will get a free Learn To Ski / Learn to Ride lesson, which includes lift ticket, rentals and the whole bit,” he said. “It’s a great way to get people into the sport and that’s what we’re about, getting them on the snow.”Other highlights this season will include the 2010-11 Winter Dew Tour Jan. 20-23, with top freeski athletes from around the world competing in slopestyle and superpipe disciplines for the highly covered Dew Cup, which will be awarded at the Toyota Championship at Snowbasin Resort in Ogden, Utah.”We’re expecting 25,000 to 30,000 people for the Dew Tour. And it will be on live television on NBC and Universal Sports,” Horrocks said.The season at Killington typically runs through the end of April.About a three-hour drive from Boston, Killington Resort is located in central Vermont at the junction of US 4 and VT 100 North in Killington, 11 miles east of Rutland. From the Killington sign on Route 4 (across from Bill’s Country Store) drive 3.6 miles up the Killington Road to Snowshed Base Area on left. Most of the group ticket sales outlets and related services are located in the Snowshed area.Check out Killington Resort this season and I guarantee you’ll be hooked. I know I won’t let another 25 years go by between visits to The Big K.