BEAR MT. MOGUL CHALLENGE IS BACK

Killington re-instituted the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge this year and I was lucky enough to attend, along with Olympic Gold Medalist and Current World Champion mogul skier, Hannah Kearney. Brought Back by Popular Demand, Killington hosted with 200 Bumpers, and provided Live Music, and a cook-out on the Bear Mountain Deck. The Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge was the biggest party at Killington in past years. I was looking forward to some excellent spring skiing and seeing some great skiing in the bumps from some of the East’s top amateur mogul skiers.

 

Accommodations
I was staying at the North Star Lodge on the Killington access road, just a few minutes from the slopes of the best ski area in the East. I have stayed at this lodge several times and always feel at home at this ski lodge. They provide 36 guest rooms, as well as 17 deluxe suites complete with a full modern kitchen, all cookware, and serving utensils included. My room has a king-size bed, TV and all the amenities that a skier requires including shuttle service to the slopes, and complementary coffee and donuts in the morning and friendly comradery in the bar at happy hour. In addition, there is an Outdoor Heated Pool, Men’s and Women’s Saunas, Pond-side Charcoal Grills, Coin-operated Laundry, Arcade and Game Room, Vending Machines, and Free Wi-Fi. Rates are very reasonable starting at $75 per night. Call (800) 422-2296 for a reservation and tell them that you read about them in the Ski Bum News.

 

The Event
After picking up my lift tickets at the Killington Base Lodge, I headed over to Bear Mountain to do a little skiing and watch the mogul competition. It was colder that I expected (the Weatherman lied) but it was sunny and the skiing was excellent. I had fun skiing the firm snow on Wildfire, Bear Claw and Outer Limits at Bear. The snow was in really good shape and I had a great time skiing and watching the event. Where at the top of the course, the skiers took off at the starting gate and made turn after turn down a tough bump run with two jumps before hitting the finish line.

In addition to the on-snow action, Killington kicked off the weekend with the Start Order Party Friday, April 5 at Sushi Yoshi, located on the Killington Access Road, from 7:00-11:00 p.m. Qualifiers began Saturday, April 5. Radio Nashville and Garden State Radio took the stage for live performances that started at 11:00 a.m. The Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge After Party was held at the Pickle Barrel Night Club at 8:00 p.m that evening.

Skiers tackled Outer Limits in ten different age categories for both men and women. Skiers were judged on turns and line (50%), air (25%) and speed (25%). The top 32 men and 16 women will returned to compete in a dual format on Sunday where pairs of competitors ran the course with a sudden death format.

For the women, it was Abigail Mills who took 1st place, Amanda Forgione was 2nd, and Cheril Jordan was 3rd in Saturdays individual mogul event. For the Men, John Witt earned top honors with J.P. Ricci in 2nd and Aaron Solomon in 3rd place.

 

Spectators had fun watching the event from the porch where some of the men had Killington carved into their hair by the barber who was there to amuse onlookers by providing crazy haircuts.

 

Dual Moguls were held on Sunday with Kevin Clifford taking 1st place, Jason Beaudet was 2nd, P.J. Ricci was 3rd and John Witt was 4th. The women’s event saw Sharon Maloney take 1st place, Samantha Anderman placed 2nd, Amanda Forgione was 3rd and Jody Keefe was 4th.

 

I was able to make many runs down some of my favorite runs at Killington on Saturday and Sunday. The grooming crew had the slopes in great shape and I made high-speed turns all the way down Wildfire and Bear Claw, until I encountered the moguls where I needed to take a more careful approach. After the events, I headed back to Killington Peak and did my thing on Superstar, Skilark and Great Eastern which took me back to Bear Mt.

 

I’ve attended the Bear Mt. Mogul Challenge for may years and have always had a good time. Killington prides itself by offering some of the pest spring skiing in the east. Often they are the last ski area in the East to close, so if you are looking for some excellent spring skiing, head up to Killington.

Ian Fehler
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