Killington, Vermont - New England Ski Area Expansions

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Killington
Killington, Vermont

Overview

Killington Peak - 1959 - Open

Killington Peak as seen on the 1960 Killington trail map

After opening in 1958-59 on Snowdon Peak, Killington expanded upward to near the summit of Killington Peak proper for the 1959-60 season. Initially accessed via a Poma surface lift in the Glades area, the summit Poma double chairlift opened later in the season. With the expansion, Killington was able to claim the highest lift served area in New England.

Circa 1970, the Killington Gondola, a 1968 Carlevaro & Savio 4 person gondola, was completed, allowing for direct access from US Route 4 to the summit of Killington Peak. The first two thirds of the lift were replaced with a new Poma 8-person gondola ("Skyeship"), however the top portion to the summit was not built. The top terminal of the original gondola is now the summit lodge.

The North Ridge Triple (formerly the Glades Triple) (2006)

In 1972 the Glades Pomalift was replaced with a new 2,290 foot long, 587 vertical foot Heron-Poma triple chairlift. Early and late skiing would revolve around this high altitude area.

In 1975 the summit double chairlift was relocated to Needle's Eye and replaced on Killington Peak with a brand new, 5,998 foot long by 1,639 vertical foot Hall double chairlift.

In 1992 the Canyon Quad, a Yan lift from Colorado was modified with Poma parts, was installed, increasing uphill capacity to the Killington Peak area. Access to this upper mountain lift was improved in when the K1 Gondola, a 6,453 foot long by 1,642 vertical foot 8 person Poma, was installed in 1997.

Killington Peak as seen on the 2009 Killington trail map

The former top terminal of the Killington Gondola (2010)

The Canyon Quad (2006)

The K1 Gondola (2005)

Ram's Head - 1962 - Open

Ram's Head as seen on the 1990 Killington trail map

In trying to push Killington into "big league" status, a complex was planned for a peak north of Snowdon called "Ram's Head."

Initially called "North Peak," Ram's Head's dedication was on January 31, 1963, including an open house and a broadcast on ABC's "Discovery 63" television program. Billed as an intermediate area, it opened with 4 miles of trails, serviced by 1.25 mile long double chairlift.

A few additional sections of trail would be added between the 1970s and early 1980s, however the complex would remain largely unchanged until the mid 1990s.

Ram's Head as seen on the 2009 Killington trail map

In 1996, the double chairlift was replaced with a new Poma high speed detachable quad, rising 1,073 vertical feet and running 5,499 feet.

While the lift allowed the complex to be family friendly with increased capacity and better access to novice trails, it was also noticeably shorter, as over two hundred vertical feet at the top of the peak were abandoned. The abandoned terrain, as well as the increased lift capacity were also seen as first steps in connecting Killington to Pico.

Looking up the former Horn trail (2006)

The former Header trail/upper lift line (2006)

Killington East - 1970 - Open

The original Killington gondola

On November 7, 1967, Pres Smith announced a massive, $5 million expansion, called Killington East. At the time, the project was marketed as making Killington the largest ski area in the world, with plans to grow the area to 21 lifts and 32 miles of trails.

The centerpiece of the project was the world's longest lift, a three-phase 4 person Carlevaro & Savio gondola. The lift would also become the achilles heel of the project.

2.5 miles of the gondola were expected to open for the 1968-69 season, however construction hit some snags. Top to bottom trails, featuring a 3,000 foot vertical drop, were opened to skiers in February of 1969, if they arranged for their own transportation back to the existing ski area.

According to Pres Smith, the gondola was originally expected to be a $875,000 project. Complications and overruns pushed the cost ballooning to $3.5 million which, according to Smith, resulted in the bankruptcy of Carlevaro & Savio and near-bankruptcy of Killington.

The lift finally opened top to bottom during the 1969-70 season.

For the 1994-95 season, the lower two thirds of the original gondola were replaced with a new 8 person Poma gondola. With individual gondolas artistically designed under the watch of Deena Prestegard, the 1,200 feet-per-minute high speed lift opened in December 1994.

The Killington gondola in the 1970 Killingon trail map

The Skyeship base area (2005)

The abandoned upper third liftline from the gondola (2005)

South Ridge - 1977 - Open

The South Ridge Triple after the midstation loading area removal

The South Ridge complex originally opened as "Eagle Ridge" with three trails in the 1977-78 season. Located below Killington Peak, the new area was served by a unique, new Yan 875 vertical foot triple chairlift.

The chairlift initially featured a midway loading station and, with it, a triangular lift line of sorts. The midway loading station was intended to allow for early season skiing, however it was not successful and was soon removed, resulting in an oddly shaped lift with a lift line longer on the uphill side than on the downhill.

With the development of Bear Mountain and removal of the top section of the Killington East gondola, the South Ridge Area has seen less use on recent years. The South Ridge triple chairlift was removed after the 2010-2011 season.

The South Ridge area in the 1978 Killingon trail map

The South Ridge area in the 2010 Killingon trail map

The South Ridge Triple

Bear Mountain - 1979 - Open

The Outer Limits (2006)

As Killington continued to grow at a fast pace, movement was made toward what would become Sunset and what was to be Parker's Gore. After building the South Ridge area, expansion plans moved eastward.

In 1979, Killington developed its 8th "complete ski area" and fifth "interconnected mountain" with Bear Mountain. A new Yan 2,858 foot long by 1,184 foot vertical triple chairlift was installed on the Outer Limits trail. The new peak, as well as related developments, would see Killington's trail count boost from 60 to 72 trails from 1978-79 to 1979-80.

Consisting of over 1,000 vertical feet of expert terrain, Bear Mountain quickly became a popular place for bump skiers. The Outer Limits lift line trail would become the site of the first annual Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge in the spring of 1980.

In 1983, increasing demand on the area, thanks in part to the development of the Sunrise complex, resulted in the installation of a new 2,979 foot long by 1,081 vertical foot Yan triple ("Devil's Fiddle"). The lift would be removed twenty-five years later.

The following season, transport from Bear Mountain to the main mountain was greatly improved with the installation of the 4,964 foot long by 1,515 vertical foot Skye Peak Yan fixed grip quad chairlift. The chairlift would be replaced in 2008 with a new Leitner-Poma high speed detachable quad.

Bear Mountain on the 1984 Killington trail map

Bear Mountain on the 2009 Killington trail map

Bear Mountain (2010)

The Bear Mountain Quad (2010)

The Skye Peak Express Quad (2010)

Sunrise - 1982 - Open

Sunrise on the 1984 Killington trail map

Killington continued its move to the south in 1982 with the development of the Sunrise area. Also referred to as the Northeast Passage, the new area provided Killington with what seemed to be a convenient base area adjacent the junction of Route 100 and US 4. The new complex would increase Killington's advertised vertical drop to 3,150 feet and provide a strategic anchor for the proposed Parker's Gore area.

Serving the area was a new 9,243 foot long by 1,436 foot vertical Yan triple chair, the longest in New England. Being a fixed grip lift, it was also a very long ride.

At the bottom of the area was a base lodge, while near the top of it was the Sunrise Resort. The $80 million proposal included hundreds of housing units, an inn, and recreational facilities.

Circa 1998, the area was significantly truncated due to a variety of factors including poor snow quality (the lowest elevation terrain at Killington), terrain (rolling topography), lift ride time, cancelling Parker's Gore, and wanting to focus on a Pico interconnect (a proposed land swap). The Northeast Passage Triple would be renamed to the Sunrise Village Triple and serve the upper portion of the complex, adajcent the village. The former base lodge would become a snowmobile rental area.

The truncated Sunrise on the 1999 Killington trail map

The former Northeast Passage-Sunrise base area (2010)

The former Sunrise base lodge (2010)

The former Northeast Passage-Sunrise base area (2010)

The Sunrise Village Triple (2010)

Abandoned lift towers below the Sunrise Village Triple (2010)

Parker's Gore - 1980s-1990s - Cancelled

Parker's Gore (to the left of Sunrise and Bear Mountain)

The construction of the Sunrise area was considered to be the first phase of a larger expansion into an area south of Killington proper known as "Parker's Gore."

Killington purchased over 1,000 acres of land in the Parker's Gore area from International Paper Company in 1981. Initial plans called for a trail network served 8 to 10 lifts.

Short term plans called for two triple chairlifts. The plans were approved by the Mendon Planning Commission, however the Mendon Zoning Board of Adjustment would later reject them.

Killington also negotiated an agreement with the National Park Service in 1983, allowing for development in the Appalachian Trail corridor. After strong opposition, the scaled-down agreement was reached in 1989 (which was met with further opposition).

A further roadblock was put in place when the State of Vermont determined the area to be a sensitive black bear habitat.

By the late 1990s, after over a decade of legal challenges, the new ownership (American Ski Company) was acquiring Pico and determined connecting the two areas to be a more important project. As such, 3,000 American Ski Company owned acres in Parker's Gore were exchanged with the state of Vermont for 1,073 acres closer to Killington Peak.

Killington-Pico Interconnect - 1990s-2000s - Cancelled

The Killington-Pico Interconnect as seen in a 2001-2002 trail map

The connector trail as seen from Killington Peak (2005)

In the midst of the colossal spending spree by the American Skiing Company, Pico Peak ski area was purchased in December of 1996. Formal plans to connect the two areas were immediately pursued. Initial estimates put the cost of the connection project at $7 million.

Plans to connect the two ski areas, from the Ram's Head complex at Killington to the upper mountain at Pico, included two trail pods and two lifts. Also known as the "Ultimate Connection," the trail network would have further cemented Killington's claim as the largest ski area in the Northeast.

The first trail in the new network was cut in the late 1990s, departing from the Summit Glades trail at Pico and passing near the Ram's Head complex, prior to heading down toward the Killington access road. A pipeline was buried and the trail graded and seeded.

The connector trail (2006)

In 1999, the Appalachian Trail, previously crossing through the proposed connection area, was rerouted to west of Pico.

Though the American Skiing Company started to hit significant financial problems by the turn of the millennium, the proposed connection trails were still displayed on trail maps in the early 2000s. However, as debt grew and stock prices tumbled, talk of the connection quietly faded away.

SP Land Company, LLC purchased the assets of Killington and Pico in February of 2007. Their ski area operator, Powdr Corp, has not disclosed any formal plans to continue with the interconnect project.

The connector trail (2006)

Resources

Killington - NewEnglandSkiHistory.com

Killington Official Site

Killington - Chairlift.org

KillingtonZone.com

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