The Real reason Killington isn't opening....

[Puck it]

I think they are just doing some updating, as the words there now say "You're looking at Killington Peak, the highest lift-served terrain in Vermont at 4,241 feet.." and yesterday it said something like "you're looking at K1".

There is still this cam http://www.basinski.com/livetowercamera.html

It looks like the guns are still on.

 

[o3jeff]

Thanks for sharing this reliable info.

 

[Glenn]

Top secret instant Highway Star ignore link:

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Eeeeeeeeeeexcellent!

 

[Trekchick]

What is this killington place you speak of

 

[drjeff]

What is this killington place you speak of

It's unfortunately rather quickly becoming something akin to that now older superstar athlete who once won many championships and had countless phenomenal "plays" and still has lots of devoted fans, but unfortunately has now been knocked off the top by other players. And while from time to time, you'll still see some isolated flashes of it's oldself, it's quite obvious when looking at it that it's NOT what it once was and probably will never be that again

 

[St. Bear]

It's unfortunately rather quickly becoming something akin to that now older superstar athlete who once won many championships and had countless phenomenal "plays" and still has lots of devoted fans, but unfortunately has now been knocked off the top by other players. And while from time to time, you'll still see some isolated flashes of it's oldself, it's quite obvious when looking at it that it's NOT what it once was and probably will never be that again

Brett Favre?

 

[wa-loaf]

It's unfortunately rather quickly becoming something akin to that now older superstar athlete who once won many championships and had countless phenomenal "plays" and still has lots of devoted fans, but unfortunately has now been knocked off the top by other players. And while from time to time, you'll still see some isolated flashes of it's oldself, it's quite obvious when looking at it that it's NOT what it once was and probably will never be that again

POTD to Dr Jeff!

 

[ta&idaho]

It's unfortunately rather quickly becoming something akin to that now older superstar athlete who once won many championships and had countless phenomenal "plays" and still has lots of devoted fans, but unfortunately has now been knocked off the top by other players. And while from time to time, you'll still see some isolated flashes of it's oldself, it's quite obvious when looking at it that it's NOT what it once was and probably will never be that again

Brett Favre?

It seems like Killington IS like Brett Favre and NOT like the over-the-hill superstar Dr. Jeff describes. It HAS lost its most devoted fans, and it may not be all that it once was, but--like Brett --it still (at least sometimes) delivers the goods.

 

[RootDKJ]

POTD to Dr Jeff!

+1

 

[JimG.]

The more it gets bashed the more I come to like Killington.

I wish my home hill could open on 11/1.

I could care less if SR or SL are open because I'm not driving 7 hours or more to ski on a WROD. That said, I envy those close enough to make that worthwhile.

It wouldn't matter if K opened this weekend because even if it did all you Killington jokers who like to bitch about it would just start complaining about something else (too icy, too crowded, not enough trails, should have opened this, lodge dirty, blah blah blah).

Heh, that ought to keep this thread lively..

 

[Greg]

The more it gets bashed the more I come to like Killington.

I wish my home hill could open on 11/1.

I could care less if SR or SL are open because I'm not driving 7 hours or more to ski on a WROD. That said, I envy those close enough to make that worthwhile.

It wouldn't matter if K opened this weekend because even if it did all you Killington jokers who like to bitch about it would just start complaining about something else (too icy, too crowded, not enough trails, should have opened this, lodge dirty, blah blah blah).

Heh, that ought to keep this thread lively..

It appears this post brought the site down for a while... :lol:

 

[2knees]

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Sorry Greg is a moderator/admin and you are not allowed to ignore him or her.

 

[2knees]

btw, thanks for returning my call. :roll:

can i hijack this thread? yes i can. whats the deal with colorado? i want to book flight and room before dee changes her mind.

 

[mountainman]

Very well put.

It's unfortunately rather quickly becoming something akin to that now older superstar athlete who once won many championships and had countless phenomenal "plays" and still has lots of devoted fans, but unfortunately has now been knocked off the top by other players. And while from time to time, you'll still see some isolated flashes of it's oldself, it's quite obvious when looking at it that it's NOT what it once was and probably will never be that again

Totaly agree Drjeff. Oldself employees old school ideas still at the K. Your lucky at Mt. Snow cause most of the old school is gone and the new owners are open to new ideas and some old ideas the were there that ASC did not want to try.

 

[riverc0il]

....from my source on the ground.

They have new season pass software, with a glitch, so the whole pass thing isn't working.

And they can't get enough ski patrol.

So they just gave up on the lower snowmaking and decided not to open.

EPIC. FAIL.

Any one here someone yelling about a wolf? Can barely make it out... must be my imagination.

 

[bvibert]

Any one here someone yelling about a wolf? Can barely make it out... must be my imagination.

I don't hear anything, you must be losing it Steve.

 

[drjeff]

Totaly agree Drjeff. Oldself employees old school ideas still at the K. Your lucky at Mt. Snow cause most of the old school is gone and the new owners are open to new ideas and some old ideas the were there that ASC did not want to try.

I 100% agree that I am very lucky at Mount Snow. The new owners 1st and foremost priority is to run a ski resort, NOT a real estate company. Also very lucky in that the new owners are treating Mount Snow as the flagship resort of their company. While there's definately mountains with more gnarly terrain and bigger stats (verts, lifts, trails) in New England, there are very few other major players in New England currently being run by companies/people who seem to keep in the forefront of their minds that it's about building and keeping loyal customers with a balance of quality product and excitement

 

[RootDKJ]

I 100% agree that I am very lucky at Mount Snow. The new owners 1st and foremost priority is to run a ski resort, NOT a real estate company. Also very lucky in that the new owners are treating Mount Snow as the flagship resort of their company. While there's definately mountains with more gnarly terrain and bigger stats (verts, lifts, trails) in New England, there are very few other major players in New England currently being run by companies/people who seem to keep in the forefront of their minds that it's about building and keeping loyal customers with a balance of quality product and excitement

And it's working...

I've been skiing at K for the past 6-7 seasons. I get up there for about 15-18 days a season. I'm not heading back there this year. I've noticed (thanks to AZ) what Mount Snow is doing it will be spending some time there this year.

 

[Geoff]

It's unfortunately rather quickly becoming something akin to that now older superstar athlete who once won many championships and had countless phenomenal "plays" and still has lots of devoted fans, but unfortunately has now been knocked off the top by other players. And while from time to time, you'll still see some isolated flashes of it's oldself, it's quite obvious when looking at it that it's NOT what it once was and probably will never be that again

I think this is a little extreme. Chris Nyberg and his KSRP minions run the place far more conservatively than Preston Smith ever did. The season is shorter but the midwinter product is little changed from a decade ago when ASC installed all the new lifts. The place also probably does 25% less skier visits so the overall quality has actually improved.

If your frame of reference is the far better skiing surface of Northern Vermont where you get more natural snow, less thaws, and far less people trashing the surface, Killington has always suffered in comparison. If you're an advanced skier, there's simply nothing south of it in Vermont that can compare.

From a business point of view, Killington has the following issues that have nothing to do with KSRP:
* The Vermont State Police DUI patrol has really put a damper on the apres ski.
* Vermont taxes and business costs make Killington uncompetitive compared to Sunday River
* Many other ski resorts have caught up to Killington's historical snowmaking advantage
* Killington lacks intermediate terrain. That appeals to the majority of the US population that is considerably less fit than 30 years ago. It appeals to families. It appeals to most snowboarders who aren't up to steep bumps.
* The demographic that used to drive Killington was the 20-something share house people. The inflation-adjusted income level of that age group has dropped significantly. The ones with money grew up pampered and are looking for higher quality housing options than are available at Killington share houses.
* The internet has clued people in to other options farther north in Vermont.
* It's gotten way easier to economically ski in the west if you live in metro-NYC. Killington can't possibly compete against Colorado and Utah.

 

[bobbutts]

* The Vermont State Police DUI patrol has really put a damper on the apres ski.

Was this really significant? We're talking about folks that have either been busted or scared away from drinking and driving regularly and no longer patronize those establishments at all?
It just seems like that would be a very small number who actually stopped going given some people still drive drunk undetered and others use a designated driver or public transportation.