Back to the King of Spring debate

[Conrad]

You mean the king (of spring) Pine lift.

Of course! :smile:

 

[SIKSKIER]

Killington 115 acres....Sugarloaf 979

 

[Angus]

is Killington staying open daily past 4/28 when Sugarloaf will suspend ops on weekdays? Earlier I've argued that amount of terrain does matter but Killington should be recognized and given credit if they will be running the lifts daily.

as an aside, it is interesting to note saddleback's closing with 100% open and wildcat's decision to close as well. i'm guessing wildcat's decision was based upon skier visits rather than snow on mountain. i'd speculate wildcat was hurt by 1) cold weather this past weekend and 2) SR's free day on sunday in terms of paying customers.

 

[Puck it]

Killington 115 acres....Sugarloaf 979

Superstar has 8 to 10 feet of snow on the mid section. I think they will be the latest to close but the weather is staying cold at night so Sugarloaf may give them a run for their snowmaking money.

 

[Gilligan]

is Killington staying open daily past 4/28 when Sugarloaf will suspend ops on weekdays?

"The Superstar Express Quad will be open daily through May 5, 2013, and weekends only starting May 11, 2013"

 

[Gilligan]

Killington 115 acres....Sugarloaf 979

And Killington is the farthest South of any ski area still open in the East. Why all the Killington hate?

 

[steamboat1]

I think I said it before in this thread. Killington still has lots of snow on sections of the mountain they closed so it's not counted in their acreage count. Snowdon & snowshed still have plenty of snow but are closed. I drove over to Bear this past Saturday to take a look & Outer Limits is still covered top to bottom, side to side but is closed. Even Devils Fiddle still looked skiable. Not knocking Sugarloaf as I've had many excellent spring days there but I think their acreage count is over estimated.

 

[Conrad]

And Killington is the farthest South of any ski area still open in the East. Why all the Killington hate?

Oh great! Here we go again.

 

[Conrad]

as an aside, it is interesting to note saddleback's closing with 100% open and wildcat's decision to close as well. i'm guessing wildcat's decision was based upon skier visits rather than snow on mountain. i'd speculate wildcat was hurt by 1) cold weather this past weekend and 2) SR's free day on sunday in terms of paying customers.

Probably similar reasons for Saddleback. Definitely Sunday River's ski mania day, but I'm not sure about the cold weather theory since I'm pretty sure it was mostly spring-like at Saddleback.

 

[Edd]

And Killington is the farthest South of any ski area still open in the East. Why all the Killington hate?

Just think of it as a law of physics. There will always be Killington hate. Accept it.

BTW, I just skied it today for the first time in years.

 

[JimG.]

Just think of it as a law of physics. There will always be Killington hate. Accept it.

BTW, I just skied it today for the first time in years.

The lightning rod of eastern skiing.

How was the snow today?

 

[Edd]

The lightning rod of eastern skiing.

How was the snow today?

No sun. A mix of soft and ice. Visibility was variable up top. Seen a lot of that the last couple of weeks. Happy to be out on the slopes.

 

[dlague]

I think it is funny - the King of Spring debate is really a customer thing than a resort thing! I think that all resorts that are still have lifts spinning are in that category! The resorts that are still open have higher traffic compared to others further north - Saddleback may have been at 100% but they are a hike! Where has Killington being further south can draw from states further south Jay Peak pulls from Montreal, VT, NY, MA and NH, Sugarloaf well they draw from ME and farther away and most stay for the weekend! Wildcat and Saddleback with their snow do not have the same ability to draw visits!

Here is a resort point of view (Jay Peak) from last year and the year before from FaceBook around the end of April in 2012 and middle of May 2011:

End of April 2012

Jay Peak Resort Here's the deal: We are going to operate daily with as much terrain as possible through Sunday. After that, well, it depends on coverage; if we have it, we will be open. And props to The Beast for pushing the VT ski and ride season with us; nice work Killington. (Last wekend for Jay was May 5th)

May 11th 2011

Jay Peak Resort Def not banging on the Loaf (or being falsely modest), just saying that titles aren't our thing and we're not going to overpromise about what we'll be able to do in the future. Just happy to have one last weekend to use the lift ourselves.... (last weekend for Jay Peak was May 15th)

Can't we all just get along? Killington blew a boat load of snow on a single trail so they paid for it! It is their turn! Congrats to the resorts still spinning the lifts!

 

[MadPatSki]

End of April 2012

Jay Peak Resort Here's the deal: We are going to operate daily with as much terrain as possible through Sunday. After that, well, it depends on coverage; if we have it, we will be open. And props to The Beast for pushing the VT ski and ride season with us; nice work Killington. (Last wekend for Jay was May 5th)

Jay's last day turned out to be April 29. However the 2011 date is correct.

MadPat, the skidata analyst, historian and geographer.

 

[Angus]

The one "early" closing that's bugging me is Wildcat. Definitely think they could have gone another week - looking at their webcams but assume they elected to close due to economics.

I wonder if from their perspective, they figure the demographic wanting to ski this late is going to arrive in Pinkham Notch and ask "Tuckerman's or Wildcat?" and go with the Ravine.

I've had great days of late spring skiing at Wildcat where you had to cross patches of dirt and gravel...so kind of sad, they didn't push it. Looking out at Mt. Washington and Tuck on a warm spring day is very good for the pysche!

I've also skied SuperStar in late April over the last couple of years too and it's been good too but will say diversity of terrain (Sugarloaf) does help.

Finally, I guess this thread reflects our national character...to quote and take General Patton out of context "All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. America loves a winner. America will not tolerate a loser.... Americans play to win." 5/17/44

 

[SIKSKIER]

On another note...Killington groomed most of Superstar last night.

 

[gmcunni]

On another note...Killington groomed most of Superstar last night.

is that good or bad?

 

[dlague]

Stand corrected! We were there on the 22th last year (our last day of the season 2011-2012) and I knew they were open past that.

However, I think they might have a hard closing date this year due to construction.

 

[JimG.]

No sun. A mix of soft and ice. Visibility was variable up top. Seen a lot of that the last couple of weeks. Happy to be out on the slopes.

Heh...sounds just like the weekend.

 

[JimG.]

is that good or bad?

I wish they would just groom a swath in the middle and leave the rest of it alone.