I'm sure another epic Killington thread will appear within a short while.............

[RootDKJ]

Haha. Check this out. It would be good for you for about 20 minutes. Haha.

http://www.skibluemt.com/SkiBlue/info/mountain/trail-map.aspx

No need to disrepect feeder hills.

I've had great days skiing the same trail all day there.

 

[JerseyJoey]

Shady eh?


That explains a few things :lol:

Shady Maple rules yo!! Joisey style.

 

[RootDKJ]

IIRC IcedTea is in the Shady Maple ski house

Co-op??

 

[icedtea]

Co-op??

First 3 years...Great Pine..off rt. 103 in Shrewsbury...it's just a bunch of friends.

Last 4 years...Shady Maple....same friends except now we all got girlfriends...so we upgraded...this spot was off rt. 103 in claredon.

Both of these were old school cabins rented from a farmer. Extremely cheap for the year...go the job done...although I usually showered at the Ho' Inn after a hot tub poach.


NEXT YEAR though... Right on the hill. Watch out!!!

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

First 3 years...Great Pine..off rt. 103 in Shrewsbury...it's just a bunch of friends.

Last 4 years...Shady Maple....same friends except now we all got girlfriends...so we upgraded...this spot was off rt. 103 in claredon.


NEXT YEAR though... A-3!! Right on the hill. Watch out!!!

So despite Killington going downhill and becoming a shithole..it's good to see people are still supporting the place!!!

 

[2knees]

So despite Killington going downhill and becoming a shithole..it's good to see people are still supporting the place!!!

its just like newark....

 

[JerseyJoey]

its just like newark....

Now that's funny.

 

[icedtea]

So despite Killington going downhill and becoming a shithole..it's good to see people are still supporting the place!!!

ahhh...the only money I spend on the mountain is for my pass. Never buy food, drink or equipment from the mountain.

I've been going to Killington for over 10 years now, first time was when I was a Freshman in high school...ages ago now. I have a bunch of friends up there and know the mountain fairly well...plus it is possible to find new stashes each year..just explore further and further.

Plus like I said I could never spend a whole season at Blue and be content with myself.

 

[icedtea]

If consider pointing it down Blue cruisers skiing? Then I am sure that it fine for you...

 

[mondeo]

So despite Killington going downhill and becoming a shithole..it's good to see people are still supporting the place!!!

That's a bit strong. It still has its natural benefits of terrain, location, and snowfall. I have a feeling the GM would reject the trade offer of those for a 6 pack.

 

[sLoPeS]

So despite Killington going downhill and becoming a shithole..it's good to see people are still supporting the place!!!

ouch.

guess i should of moved to PA.......................LMFAO!

 

[deadheadskier]

ouch.

guess i should of moved to PA.......................LMFAO!

I'm curious why you picked Killington?

Did you already own Real Estate there or have a job lined up?

 

[Geoff]

Is Chris Nyberg responsible for Killingtons downfall?

No. He's a small contributor.

My top 10 list:

* Vermont Act 68 property tax. It made business costs very high. It made share houses expensive to own causing prices to go up and maintanence to be deferred. It basically pushed the metro-Boston market to Maine.

* The Vermont State Police and their constant trolling of the Access Road. You can't have Bourbon Street North when your customers are facing felony DUI convictions.

* The Les Otten financial collapse. The resort slowly decayed from 2000 onwards. That's when the penny pinching started. Employee morale sucked.

* Increased competition where Killington didn't keep up. Killington's brand used to be synonomous with snowmaking. Okemo and Sunday River now own that.

* The internet. It clued the better skiers in to the fact that Sugarbush/Mad River, Stowe, Jay Peak, and Sugarloaf have a better product for them at a much lower price point.

* The change in the US economy. Killington always had a vibrant share house scene with high income 20-somethings who drove the social scene. With all the offshoring of good jobs, 20-somethings mostly have McJobs unless they're in the top 5%. The people making big money can afford better than a decaying Killington.

* Lack of product for the big bucks people. Places like Stowe (now), Loon, Sunday River, Stratton, and Okemo have elaborate slopeside housing. Killington never has. The slopeside housing that exists is in obscure fringes of the resort rather than the heart of the resort. You need the 500 every-weekender families with the huge dollars to create the critical mass to prop up things like good restaurants.

* A useless town government. The biggest problem with Killington is crappy layout and poor public transportation. Instead of building a golf course, the town should have used the money to fix the transportation problem so you can get to Killington from NYC and Boston without a car and get around town easily and comfortably when it's -20F in January. The sidewalk on the Access Road is a minor improvement but there should be enclosed bus stops that have space heaters on the truly cold days. The bus service should be every 5 minutes.

* Act 250 environmental law and state forest controls on leased land that makes it difficult to thin out the trees. Killington should have undergrowth-free boundary-to-boundary tree skiing similar to Jay Peak. It would easily double the number of skiable acres and be a huge attraction. The whole state was clear cut in the civil war era. It's not like trees are sacred or anything.

* And finally, the list of POWDR and Nyberg transgressions. Shortening the season, running too lean with lifts closed, base lodges on limited service, slow recovery after weather events, short staff on holiday periods creating mayhem at Snowshed & Rams Head, jacking up kid program prices, killing off the loss leader for never-never learn to ski, not fixing the food quality problem that ASC caused, killing off the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge party, firing most of the full time employees while staffing with foreign workers at minimum wage, generally providing poor value for increased product prices.

Relative to the other contributing factors, the Nyberg ones are minor and easily correctable. As skier visits and the bottom line continue to decline, it's likely that Nyberg will continue to unwind his rather arbritrary and unpopular operational decisions. He's never going to be able to unwind the damage he did with the town. The residents who worked for the mountain got a hard screwing and they vote.

 

[SkiDork]

nice post Geoff. Karen Lorentz would be proud. Thanks.

 

[thetrailboss]

nice post Geoff. Karen Lorentz would be proud. Thanks.

Love the sarcasm. After reading the last few sensational, I mean descriptive pages of the new Killington Book, in which she allows the management to crow about what it is going to do with fewer paying skiers, I'm sure she would agree....

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

very informative Geoff..

 

[RootDKJ]

very informative Geoff..

+1

 

[sLoPeS]

I'm curious why you picked Killington?

Did you already own Real Estate there or have a job lined up?

I wouldnt live at any other ski are on the east and i wasnt moving out west. ive been coming up here for a long time and have a bunch of friends here. i know the mountain pretty darn good and it truly is one of the best mountains on the EC. if anyone has terrain open and snow its right here. theres good bars and restaurants on the access road. the mountain biking scene is cool. the K1 runs daily in the summer for DH and then there is pine hill and pittsfield for XC. the list of reasons is growing. i do not own real estate but did have job options. vermont is awesome. tomorrow im going to downhill all day til last gondi and then play 9. i also like being within 5 minutes of a chairlift, in my case the K1 at Killington...

 

[ski_resort_observer]

I got this PM from AZs own Jersey Joey..what a nice guy..lol..really good for K-marts vibe...

You think I'm the reason Killington has a bad rap? That's gotta be a joke. You know nothing about Killington and what she was. Nyberg has destroyed the place.

You have no idea what the vibe is up there now among the regulars. None. It sucks, and it doesn't suck BECAUSE OF ME!!! Stick to your little hill in Pa and couch skiing. You know not of what you speak when it comes to K.

Posting a PM is a most dispictable act and shows a Mt Everest of disrespect.

 

[mister moose]

Posting a PM is a most dispictable act and shows a Mt Everest of disrespect.

Agree.

That behavior shouldn't be tolerated by the mods.