| Killington Ski Resort | |
| Location: | Killington, Vermont, U.S. |
| Status: | Operating |
| Owner: | POWDR |
| Nearest City: | Rutland – |
| Pushpin Map: | USA#USA Vermont |
| Coordinates: | 43.626°N -72.798°W |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Vertical: | 3050feet[1] |
| Base Elevation: | 1165feet (Skyeship) |
| Skiable Area: | 15091NaN1 |
| Number Trails: | 155 – 28% beginner – 33% intermediate – 39% advanced |
| Liftsystem: | 21 lifts: 2 Gondolas, 5 express quads, 4 quads, 3 triples, 1 double, 6 surface lifts |
| Lift Capacity: | 37,535 per hour |
| Snowfall: | 250inches |
| Snowmaking: | 71% |
| External Link: | Killington.com |
Killington Mountain Resort & Ski Area is a ski resort in Rutland County, Vermont, United States, near the town of Killington. It is the largest ski area in the eastern U.S., and has the largest vertical drop in New England at 3050abbr=off0abbr=off.[2] [3] The mountain has been nicknamed the "Beast of the East."[4]
In 1954, Perry H. Merrill, known as the Father of Vermont's State Parks and Alpine Ski Areas and Vermont State's land lease officer,[5] wanted to see a ski resort developed on Killington Peak, the second highest mountain in Vermont. Preston Leete Smith agreed to work with him to develop this area. Killington opened on December 13, 1958.[6]
The resort expanded in the 1960s at a pace "well above industry standards."[5] Many new trails were created and Smith had beginner trails accessible from every lift. In the 1960s, Killington installed snowmaking equipment, which had been invented in the 1950s, but was considered a banana belt luxury. Several low-snow seasons proved their value.[5]
Killington introduced the ticket wicket in 1963 to prevent skiers sharing lift tickets, while also not damaging ski clothing.[7]
In the summer of 2011, the Killington area was damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in late August, which caused flooding and damage along U.S. Route 4, the road leading into Killington. The resort was damaged by excess runoff from Ottauquechee River, which lifted the Superstar Pub off of its foundation, condemning the structure. Killington has since repaired damaged infrastructure, and is operating at full or near-full potential.
| Date | Owner | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 1958 | Sherburne Corporation | Initial development | |
| November 1984 | Sherburne Corporation a publicly traded was renamed S-K-I Ltd. (Sherburne-Killington-Investments) and became a Nasdaq listed company. | ||
| February 1996 | Originally LBO Resort Enterprises Corporation[8] | ||
| May 11, 2007 | Powdr Corporation and SP Land Company | Park City-based Powdr Corporation is the operator; SP Land Company will do real estate development, including a ski village, probably beginning in 2009. SP Land is an affiliate of Ski Partners LLC, which is in turn affiliated with E2M Partners LLC, a private equity fund.[9] SP Land was formed in 2004 and acquired most of the developable land at the base of the resort.[10] |
Shortly after the acquisition in 2007, Powdr announced that it will stop honoring "lifetime" lift passes issued by the previous owners after two years. A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of about 800 pass holders.[12]
Located in central Vermont, Killington has 155 trails, 21 lifts, and 1509acres extending across six interconnected mountain peaks. A seventh peak, Pico Mountain, was purchased by Killington in 1996, but operates as a separate resort on the same lift tickets. There have been several proposals to connect Killington and Pico with a series of lifts and trails since 1998, however, no plans have been finalized.
The primary mountain is Killington Peak at 4229feet, which has the second-highest summit in Vermont and has the second greatest vertical drop in the eastern United States (3050feet), after Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, New York, at 3430feet.
The mountains that make up the Killington resort separate the town of Killington (with its access road) from the city of Rutland.
The resort offers trails ranging from beginner to expert. Trails include "Outer Limits" a double black diamond mogul trail. Part of the mountain is set aside for terrain parks, with five snowboard and alpine parks. Killington has a learning area for first-time skiers, the "Accelerated Learning Area".
Killington has one of the east's largest half-pipes located at Bear Mountain for a portion of each winter season. There are boarder cross terrain and at least three to five major trails with ramps and jumps.
Famed ski map creator, James Niehues, hand-painted the Killington ski map in 1990.[13]
See main article: Pico Mountain. Pico Mountain is located on a separate mountain, Pico Peak, several miles away from the main resort. It has 57 trails covering 19miles, all serviced by seven lifts. Runs include The Pike, 49er, Summit Glades, Upper KA, Giant Killer, and Sunset 71. There are hotels, condos and restaurants at the base. The mountain is accessible from the main base by car or bus.
Pico was once an independent ski resort called Pico Peak, and was bought out of bankruptcy by American Skiing Company which also owned Killington in the mid-1990s. Upon the collapse of ASC, Powdr Corp. bought both mountains and continues to operate them. Lift tickets at Killington are currently valid at Pico. There have been plans to connect Pico to the main Killington resort since it was purchased. Connector trails have been cut. Combined the two resorts offer over 1977 acres of ski able terrain.[1]
Killington averages 250inches of natural snow each winter, coupled with a snowmaking system that covers 71% of the trails. This has allowed Killington to offer what is often the longest skiing season in eastern North America, which usually spans from late October to late May,[15] over 200 days. It has opened as early as October 1 and closed as late as June 22. Killington had a reputation for being the first ski area every season in the eastern U.S. to open, as well as the last to close, although in recent years the length of the season has begun to shorten. For example, in the 15 years between 1986 and 2001, the resort opened in October in every year but one, and never closed earlier than May 21. But in the five years ending in 2011, opening day has always been in November, and closing day has never made it past May 6. The years after 2011 have reversed this trend slightly with the 2019 season ending June 2nd and the 2022 season ending June 4th. The 2020 season ended early on March 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]
Since November 2016, Killington has hosted the World Cup tour, with women's technical events (giant slalom, slalom) on Thanksgiving weekend, held on the "Superstar" run. American Mikaela Shiffrin won the slalom events in each of the race's first five offerings.
| Season | Date | Giant Slalom Winner | Date | Slalom Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 26 Nov 2016 | 27 Nov 2016 |  Mikaela Shiffrin | ||
| 2018 | 25 Nov 2017 | 26 Nov 2017 | Mikaela Shiffrin | ||
| 2019 | 24 Nov 2018 | 25 Nov 2018 | Mikaela Shiffrin | ||
| 2020 | 30 Nov 2019 | 01 Dec 2019 | Mikaela Shiffrin | ||
| 2022 | 27 Nov 2021 | cancelled due to strong wind | 28 Nov 2021 | ||
| 2023 | 26 Nov 2022 | 27 Nov 2022 |
The base elevation is 1165feet above sea level and the vertical drop is 3050feet.[1]
| Lift Name | Type | Builder | Built | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skyeship Stage I | Gondola 8 | 1994 | 7848 | Starts from Rt.100. | |
| Skyeship Stage II | Poma | 1994 | 5105 | ||
| K-I Gondola | Poma | 1997 | 6453 | Main lift to Killington Summit, new cabins in 2018. | |
| Snowdon Six | 2018 | 4428 | Has Blue Bubbles | ||
| Needles Eye Express | Poma | 1996 | 3590 | ||
| Ramshead Express | Poma | 1996 | 5499 | ||
| Skye Peak Express | Leitner-Poma | 2008 | 4926 | ||
| Snowshed Express | Yan/Poma | 1987 | 3532 | Retrofitted by Poma in 1994 | |
| Superstar Express | Yan/Poma | 1987 | 3395 | Retrofitted by Poma in 1994, new chairs in 2004 | |
| Bear Mountain | Quad | Yan | 1979 | 2825 | |
| Canyon | Yan | 1990 | 3638 | ||
| North Ridge | Leitner-Poma | 2019 | 2295 | ||
| Northbrook | Poma | 1996 | 2279 | ||
| South Ridge | Poma | 2018 | n/a | Relocated from Snowdon | |
| Snowdon | Triple | Heron-Poma | 1973 | 4435 | Has a mid-station |
| Sunrise Village | Yan | 1982 | 3088 | The bottom terminal was moved uphill in 1999 | |
| Snowshed I | Double | Yan | 1987 | 3280 | Used to be 2 doubles, but now only Snowshed I remains |
| Alpine Training Venue | Poma | 2018 | n/a | Originally located in between Snowdon Triple, and Snowdon Quad | |
| Learn-To Carpet | Magic Carpet | Sunkid | 2006 | ||
| Progression Carpet I | |||||
| Progression Carpet II | |||||
Killington has of hiking and mountain biking trails, and an 18-hole golf course. It also has lift accessed mountain biking in the summer with technical trail features, jumps, and other obstacles.[19] In March 2015, the resort successfully applied to the state for permit allowing them to add zip lines and a mountain coaster.[20]