Killington Insider

More terrain, SPE load testing

On Friday we'll open addition terrain, including the new section on Upper Bittersweet (photo with snowmaing below), Blue Heaven, Upper Chute and Easy Street top-to-bottom. Snowmaking is underway on Lower Superstar and we should be skiing under the guns there by Saturday morning. We're also making snow on the lower section of Cascade and will be setting up the entire trail with guns and getting that going later tonight. The Canyon Quad is also schedule to spin Friday through Sunday.

Chairs have been hung on the new Skye Peak Express and we're finishing up the excavation work at the top terminal (see photo below). We'll begin load testing next week along with final preparations as we cet closer to the Dec. 19 scheduled opening.

Additional Terrain for Thanksgiving Weekend

We "weathered" Tuesday's forecasted rain event very well with 13 inches of snow, and gained a great base of wet snow.  In addition, the forecast is calling for snow and snow showers throughout the weekend.

 

The forecast going forward has fairly low humidity's during the daytimes which will result in some opportunity for aggressive snowmaking to add addditional terrain for this weekend, including the following:

 

- Launch Pad

- High Traverse

- Lower Superstar: We are currently setting up and production on that trail will begin as we complete Upper Bittersweet.  Lower Superstar should be skiable by Friday at some point or Saturday for sure.

- Bittersweet: should be skiing Thursday.

- Easy Street: We started production there, and although we don't have the greatest temperatures at this point, we hope to see this open sometime Friday. 

- Lower Cascade: We expect this open maybe Saturday  if not Sunday.

Lifts will be open at 8 a.m. through the weekend.

 

Snowmaking Update

Snowmaking continues in the Ramshead area on Caper, Lower Great Northern and the Snow Play Park. We'll have Ramshead open for the season beginning Thanksgiving Day - a full nine days ahead of schedule. That means we'll have skiing for all ability levels for the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend.

On Sunday we opened Superstar Headwall and Middle Superstar. On Monday we opened Lower East Fall and the Cascade Runout. Look for Upper Bittersweet, including the new portion of the trail, to open Monday or Tuesday.

Depending upon the weather Tuesday, we'll either move into re-surface mode or expand snowmaking onto Cascade, Bear Trax and Lower Superstar.

Opening For The Season Wednesday, November 19

We’re kicking off the 2008/09 ski and snowboard season once again on Wednesday at 9 a.m. with 1,700 vertical feet of top-to-bottom skiing - the most open vertical in the Eastern United States.

Terrain off of Killington Peak will be served by the K-1 Express Gondola and the Northridge Triple. We’ll have up to eight trails open and more to come for the weekend as snowmaking continues around the clock and complements the more than eight inches of natural snow we have received since Sunday. For the latest conditions and operational updates, check out the snow report.

Here are some pics from the mountain today:

 

  

 

Full power

The World's Most Extensive Snowmaking system is reaching full power this morning with 171 guns firing on Rime, Reason, Upper East Fall, Killink, Upper Mouse Run and Great Northern from the peak down to the Mixing Bowl. We received a few inches of snow overnight and light flurries continue. As temperatures continue to drop, we'll continue to bring more guns online. Heading into tonight, we expect to have well over 200 guns in action.

The forecast looks very promising for foreseeable future, with highs in the teens and 20s and lows in the single digits and teens for the next seven days. With opening day coming on Thursday, we'll continue to build base depths in the Northridge area and down to the base of K-1, and then go into expansion mode onto Snowdon, followed by the Canyon area.

Mountain improvements continue today as well with the new haul rope for the Skye Peak Express being strung and snowmaking installation continuing on the new Great Northern Trail.

Snowmaking continues, SPE drive installed

We recently purchased 124 new Low Energy snow guns (bringin our total to 433), most of which are currently being used up on the mountain today. The new Low E Ratnik Baby Giant I snow guns are producing an impressive amount of snow on Upper Great Northern, Cascade headwall, Upper Double Dipper and Reason. The Baby Giant’s look very similar to the K3000 and K2000 guns developed here at Killington many years ago, however, looks are really the only thing they have in common. These new guns use approximately 16gpm and a lot less air than the K3000 and K2000, allowing upwards of 200+ guns in operation at one time.

Snowmaking will continue into Wednesday night and very early Thursday morning until the next weather system approaches. However, the forecast looks favorable to us to resume snowmaking Sunday and throughout next week as we prepare to re-start the 2008-09 ski and snowboard season.

The last major piece of the new Skye peak Express was installed today. The 37,000-pound drive motor was hauled up the mountain by two skidders and hoisted into place at the top terminal this afternoon. We'll start running the haul rope on Saturday and then prepare to hang the chairs next week.

 

  

  

 

Snow and Snowmaking

Light snow is falling and we are currently making snow on nine trails, including Great Northern down to the bottom of Upper Bunny Buster (Mixing Bowl area) with 204 snow guns. Most impressively though, 190 of the snow guns in operation are Low E guns, which means we're not only making a lot of snow and building deep base depths, but we're making very efficient (and low cost) snow!

So when will Killington re-open for the season?

We’re focused on producing “efficient” snow and building deep base depths on the upper portions of the mountain, especially the Northridge area and Great Northern from the peak as far down as we can go. The current weather forecast calls for outstanding snowmaking temperatures – especially – from 3,000 feet and higher – through Thursday morning. Then, freezing rain and just plain old rain move in Thursday night through Saturday. Cold temps return again Sunday night and that’s when we will begin to make the push back to the bottom.

As we look forward into next week, we’ll have deep base depths on the upper portion of the mountain that will be able to sustain any curveballs thrown by Mother Nature, thus allowing us to focus on expansion once we do open again for the season and remain open.

In the meantime, we’re working on finishing $8.4 million in on-mountain improvements, including the new Learn to Snowboard Magic Carpet at Snowshed, and stringing the haul rope for the new Sky Peak Express.

Mountain updates

As we wait for the temperatures to drop and snowmaking to resume, we still have a number of projects to complete on the mountain.
The upper terminal of the new Skye Peak Express has been installed. Communication and electric cables have been strung and installation of the new haul cable will begin next week. Once the cable is up, chairs will be hung and then the entire lift will undergo testing and certification. Opening day for the Skye Peak Express is scheduled for Dec. 19.
For the most part, The Stash and many of the new trails on Skye Peak are complete. Crews are putting the finishing touches on snowmaking installation in those areas, but for the most part, the heavy lifting is done.
If you made turns here the past couple of days, you may have noticed some new snowmaking fan guns in the lower K-1 lot. Those are demo guns that will be used in a snowmaking test next month. In conjunction with Efficiency Vermont, we'll be testing fan, tower mount and ground based snowmaking equipment in a head-to-head format from numerous manufactures to gauge output, energy and water consumption. More later …

 

Skiing and riding through Thursday

Spring skiing anyone?

We'll operate through Thursday and then focus our efforts on returning the World's Most Extensive Snowmaking System to full power as soon as temperatures permit. Current forecasts have snowmaking temperatures returning Sunday night.

We are committed to providing our guests with a quality top-to-bottom skiing and riding experience as weather and snow conditions permit.

The Northridge area is loaded with snow, but the lower section of Bunny Buster and some portions of Great Northern are starting to melt off. However, with deep base depths up high, it won't take much to get things up and running again once snowmaking temperatures arrive.

In the meantime, break out the sunscreen and enjoy the warm temps and soft snow on Wednesday and Thursday!

Opening day 11-2-08

Sunshine, freshly made snow and smiling faces all over the mountain this morning as we kicked off the 2008/09 season.
Thanks to the hard work by our mountain operations team, and that extra hour of snowmaking last night, we were able to open the K-1 Gondola at 9 a.m., a full hour earlier than we had planned. Skiers and riders were greeted by top-to-bottom turns off the gondola and three trails in the Northridge area.
Snowmaking continued throughout the day and more will take place tonight on Rime, East Fall and the Downdraft Headwall, which may be open soon.
We'll keep things going daily unless the weather warms up too much later this week. As of this afternoon's forecast through, things are looking good with cold temperatures returning later in the week and throughout next weekend.
Enjoy the video below ...