Most people know that our family loves sports. We play them, we watch them, we watch our kids play them. What’s cool is that sports and recreation has become the ultimate equalizer for people with disabilities as well. State-of-the-art adaptive equipment, highly trained volunteer instructors and having a mountain for a playground in our backyard allows people with disabilities to enjoy what we sometimes take for granted. That’s why we love partnering with Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports. Their state headquarters is right here at Pico Mountain and for 25 years they have been a leader in adaptive sports and recreation in the East and the nation. Last year we partnered with them to create the first annual century ride and this year the amazing talents and resources of Long Trail Brewery have stepped up to become the title sponsor of the ride. Killington is the other anchor and between us, we are planning an amazing day of cycling, après-riding, live entertainment, and good food for the Long Trail Century Ride to Benefit Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports on Saturday, June 23, 2012. The ride starts and ends at the Brewery on Route 4 in Bridgewater Corners. There are three courses: 100-mile, 50-mile and 20-mile. We’re hoping to get a Lookout Tavern team to ride together, complete with custom cycling shirts, and do some out-of-the park fundraising—and then simply have a great day cycling here in Vermont in June. Wanna join us on the team? Email Phil at lookoutvt@gmail.com and let’s get this team going! You can learn more about the ride at www.longtrailcenturyride.com.

That is the question, posed every year around this time, as people start to wonder whether or not Killington will go the distance. Nearly 20 years ago, the rumor-mill churned with June dates fueled by mid-May snowstorms that would drop a foot of snow one day and be gone the next. Guessing that date now is a bit more tricky, this year even more so as we guestimate how much snow Killington made throughout the season coupled with the natural snowfall (or lack of until last week’s big storm). Forecasters are calling for another storm Wednesday night and all day Thursday and March is always the snowiest month of the year for us here in Killington. Superstar’s whales are back. So we’re going to start a little guessing contest going. Email us with your name and the date you think Killington will close this season. After the resort closes, we’ll put all the correct answers into a hat and draw one winner for a $25 gift certificate to the Lookout. Email lookoutvt@gmail.com. Good luck and happy spring skiing!

All of us here at the Lookout will be welcoming our friend Jack Daniel’s back to the Killington for the 21^st Annual “Taste of Tennessee Ski Week” February 23-26.

It is a week filled with special Jack Daniel’s sponsored events, contests, games and excitement. Almost every restaurant and tavern on the mountain gets “in the spirit” when Jack stops by for his yearly visit and the Lookout is one of Jack’s favorite spots.

We will be hosting a Jack Daniel’s Après-Ski Party on Friday, February 24, starting at 4 p.m., and you’ll want to be here for a chance win some great Jack “Swag” and meet the Jack Daniel’s girls.

The highlights of the week are the restaurant contests which include the “Dine Around Town” entrée contest, the “Paint the Town Jack” statue decorating contest and the Jack Daniel’s Drink Competition. The Lookout will be looking to win all three this year to add to our trophy case!

As you may already know, the Lookout is the reigning champion in the entrée category and you can bet that Chef “Sneaky” Pete has a trick or two up his sleeve as he looks to defend our title! Last year’s Jack Daniel’s Surf and Turf, featuring a Teriyaki Sirloin Steak & Maple Jalapeno Salmon was a favorite of Head Judge Lynne Tolley (Jack Daniel’s Great Grandniece) and we promise that this year’s entrée will be even tastier!

Thanksgiving is next week – yikes! Time to get our game on. Things are looking good here at the Lookout. We have an all-staff meeting tomorrow to kick off the 2011-2012 season, we’ve updated our website to a new cooler look (we even have a mobile site to match now!), we’re going to attempt to keep this blog updated with some news about the Lookout as well as what’s going on in the Killington area (we may have some guest posts, too). And, we’ve redone our menu this year, which I think you’ll like.  We changed about 30% of the menu to new items but didn’t do the basic “freshening up.” We actually worked with a lot of the recipes to make them healthier – reducing calories without compromising the quality and taste of what you know and love. It sounds easy but it was pretty tricky. You’ll find less calories in our salad dressings and sauces among other things, but the same great taste. Let us know what you think and stop by for a bite!