(I'm going to combine the last two days into a single story. Less true, more coherent.)

We wake up to another beautiful day on Killington Mountain.

We take Ella to ski school and go explore.

We pick Ella up for lunch and head over to a yurt in the woods (that you have to ski to - no walking or driving).

We drop our skis in the snow bank and head inside.

The first day we go, it is so crowded that we have to wait for a spot at one of the communal tables.
While we wait, we have some wine and very fancy hot chocolate with sprinkles.

We loved it so much, we want back the second day, but a little earlier.

We basically had the place to ourselves.
They tow supplies in on a snowmobile, then tow the dirty dishes back down the mountain to be washed.
But what they do here (food, ambiance) is awesome!

On Monday, we take the last gondola up

to the very top of the Skye Mountain.

We're excited, but nervous. You see, we took the last lift. We wanted to take it halfway up, then change lifts to go back to our side of the mountain. With all the lifts closed, we had to go higher up the mountain to cross over to where we want to end up.

That means we have to tackle harder slopes than we anticipated.
Fortunately, several mountain guides are there to help us navigate the descent.

After lunch the next day, we take more time to make a better plan.
she's able to recite the plan back to me.
The result is a drama-free day.

It ends at the roller coaster.

We each board,

then get towed up the mountain to be dropped down a gravity-fed track.
There goes Jill!

It goes on twists and turns, but no loops!

Here I come!

As we wait for our table at dinner, we watch part of a raptor presentation in the hotel basement.
It wasn't the best presentation, but it was one of our more interesting ways to wait for a table.

Back at the condo, we drop our clothes to warm up

while we crash.

We did a pretty good job at covering the mountain!
It was a great, belated 40th birthday trip!
Yay!!