ALPINEZONE CHALLENGE SPECIAL: Chris Nyberg, President & GM, Killington/Pico

[Greg]

Chris Nyberg, President & General Manager for Killington/Pico Ski Resort Partners, LLC has agreed to take the 2007 Alpine Zone Challenge! This is your opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions, or say some praise to the men and women who are in charge of the Northeast's Ski Areas. Please post some suggested questions in this thread and we'll select ten to present for official responses.

Please don't be offended if we edit/change your question for grammar, tone, or some other minor thing. In order to get in all of the questions we MAY merge some but we'll do our best to keep the substance of your question.

SPECIAL NOTE: Obviously, Powdr has made some changes to the operations at Killington that have not been popular this summer. Addressing and asking about these changes is fine, but please be respectful of Mr. Nyberg and keep it civil. If you plan to use this opportunity to post any sort of ranting, condescending complaints that immediately would put Chris on the defensive, don't even bother as we won't be forwarding them on to him. Please take some time and carefully craft your questions with respect and civility.​

Also, please refrain from asking specifics about skier visit numbers, financials, demographic information, etc. Killington/Pico needs to be discrete about certain information. Chris reserves the right to not respond to any questions that he feels are inappropriate.

We are honored to have Chris join us for this year's AZ Challenge as it simply would not have been complete without his participation. Please take advantage of this special opportunity and let's try to make this a positive experience for all involved.

Killingtons Profile

 

[2knees]

What is your vision for killingtons "brand recognition" for the future. Killington has made its reputation on a long season, tons of snowmaking and maybe even its access road nightlife. With the reduction in season length and the reduced operating schedules for some mtn areas, it would be difficult to see killington as different then other areas in terms of season length and resort size. What would you like people to view your area as now? what will differentiate you from the others.

 

[Greg]

What will Killington's mogul philosophy be this season, specifically Outer Limits? OL was once touted as the "longest, steepest mogul trail in the East." In the mid-90's I remember substantial side-to-side snowmaking which allowed good bumps to form across the entire width of the trail. In recent years, there's been a groomer pass right up the middle, in my opinion sucking the soul out of this once great run. Much of the feedback I've read lately indicates the groomer passes were done on the section of the trail that received the most snowmaking. Therefore, the bumps that did form on far skier's right were on inadequate cover. Do you plan to blow adequate side-to-side snow on Outer Limits and let it bump up more often than not this season? What will be your approach to (not) grooming terrain around the rest of the resort?

 

[Hawkshot99]

In the past Killington has always had some great Ski and Stay packages. Under the new ownership will the prices of these stay around the same or go up dramatically. As a college student short on money that was always a deciding factor on why we chose Killington.

 

[SkiDork]

Killington was always the beast of the east, mainly for the length of season. This was accomplished regardless of the actual seasonal conditions, mainly by blowing a HUGE pile of snow on Superstar to be distributed later by snowcats. One of the greatest attractions was the very late season closing - "Sometimes into June" as they used to say. You would be amazed at how many people look forward to this, and are very disappointed at the prospect of losing it.

Are there any plans at all to reclaim the Beast of the East title, through creative snowmaking, or something similar?

 

[tree_skier]

In terms of image do you see Killington striving for "the skiers mountain" image or "the cruiser" image?

The past few seasons have seen half of outer limits groomed, Bear mountain overrun with parks and thus some pretty good terrian lost, the curtailing of early/late season, limited or no snowmaking on Ovation, the destruction of the big dipper glade (by putting the quad in) which I thought was the best run Killington had.

If you are trying to return to "the skiers mountain" image how are you going to proceed?, will it be a continuation of the above actions or are you looking change direction?

Do you have any intention of bring back the top of rams head?

Being a big racing nut what is you view of competitions? Would you like to pursue any world class competition events, ie world cup, jeep king of the mountain or perhaps X-games (which just rocked mount snow a few years ago).

 

[boston_e]

One of the long time problems at Killington has been the lack of uninterupted long runs. Many if not most of the trails at Killingon have problems with merges / intersections / trail crossings etc. Many of these are not only dangerous, but also can often interupt a great run.

Are there any plans to evaluate and solve this issue through elimination of some of the crossovers or oterwise?

 

[nycskier]

Any plans to run a ski bus from New York City to Killington on the weekends?

One of the biggest barriers to skiing at Killington for many New Yorkers is how to get there! I know there are weekend bus services that go to Okemo, Stratton and Mount Snow but currently there are none that run to Killington.

Other than Amtrak (which is an extremely slow and long ride) the only way to get to Killington is by car and since a lot of New Yorkers are car-less (like me) getting rides up there can be difficult.

Have you given any thought to starting a bus to Killington and maybe combining it with a ski and stay program?

 

[MrMagic]

First off thank you for taking the challenge, I have been a long time Killington skier and I really appreciate taking time to answer the questions ok;

Killington has a massive amount of lifts, many over the years have either become “antiqued” while others have been falling into disrepair, what if any are your plans for upgrading/ adding/removing lifts in the future?


yet another killington thread ha ha, "alpinezone.com now with more killington talk than killingtonzone.com"

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Chris -

Thanks for stepping into the firing line. Since its purchase by POWDR, Killington's words and actions indicate that it is pursuing the higher end visitor. This is confusing in that resorts such as Okemo and Stratton have a 20-30 year head start and that this is precisely the market that the previous A41 pass and current childrens program pricing would tend to scare away. In short, your apparent strategy seems like a long-term gamble with many short-term uncertainties. In the inteirm, your organization has provided the marketplace with a consistent drumbeat of bad news in the form of announcements and/or leaks. These all indicate that while pricing will be increasing across the board, the service provided in return will be shrinking in return, be it in terms of length of season or available lifts, vertical, base lodge and terrain options. In light of this, what exactly are Killington skiers supposed to hang their hat on with respect to being optimistic about the future?

POWDR has articulated no long-term plan for on-mountain improvements, saying only that the mountain will essentially "eat what it kills" from a profitability standpoint. Given that Killington is generally recognized to be a consistent source of profits on an EBITDA basis, why shouldn't loyal Killington skiers be skeptical about the short-term belt tightening and lack of an articulated plan for the future?

 

[pepperdawg]

I'll be the one to ask the question regarding Killingotn-Pico interconnect - any plans to push forward?? or is it "on hiatus"? (read:dead)

Thx

Late season (defined as late april/early May) - is the 'hard closing' date given set in stone or variable based on conditions?

Thx

 

[millerm277]

Thanks for taking the challenge.

Many of my questions have been asked by others already, but what are your plans for improvement in the future? (We'll assume that Killington continues to make money).

Other than that, are you really planning to keep the closing date of April 13th? The long season is one of the few things that really set Killington apart from the rest of the pack, and is one of the main reasons we started skiing there in the first place.

 

[deadheadskier]

It has been documented that POWDR desires to reduce traffic on the slopes to improve the skiing experience. What sort of reductions do you have in mind? What does POWDR have in mind for a goal of total skiers on the snow on the weekends and for that matter total skier visits for a season.

 

[Highway Star]

Can you please just build the interconnect already? Do it cheap, with one lift (Pico side) and no snowmaking (mid winter only).

Please!!!

 

[tcharron]

Since Pico and parts of the mountain are planning to be closed midweek during non-peak vacation weeks, does Killington plan on having any other sort of attractions for the midweek vacationers who choose to take their ski vacations during the typically non-busy weeks?

The current pricelist shows only a 3$ difference between midweek prices, and weekend prices, yet it would appear that terrain choices will be limited midweek. This becomes an even larger differentiation with Pico no longer being an option midweek.

 

[MrMagic]

Im surprised no one asked about the plans for the village at the base of rams head yet! Just kind of a general question about the base village plans please feel free to add on,

The long awaited and talked about base village, was a key aspect in the news when killington was sold, what are the future plans on this village? Will the village consist of lodging or just retail/restaurants? Will there be a village lift like tramblant or whistler ?

 

[RIDEr]

The Killington vouchers have been eliminated for the 2007/2008 season for ski councils in the Northeast (for me the New Jersey and New York area). Can you let me\us know the reasoning behind it? Are there intentions to re-add this feature in the future?

Thank you.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Will there be May skiing on Superstar???

 

[Rogman]

In the last few years Killington has closed or curtailed usage to miles of terrain: the Northeast Passage and the top of Rams Head are no longer lift serviced, and South Ridge, Pico, and lower Skyeship are all seeing significantly less operation. In short, Killington has become a much smaller area. In the same period of time, a number of competing facilities in the North East have managed to grow their business and expand their terrain, and by all accounts have been profitable and increased market share at Killington's expense while doing so. Clearly the skiing experience at Killington has suffered as a result of these changes. How do you explain to a skeptical public that continuing to move in this direction is the right strategic choice? Do you foresee a point when this shrinking trend will reverse? Under what circumstances would you consider operating an under-utilized lift, merely to improve the overall Killington experience for your guests?

 

[BeanoNYC]

In the last few years Killington has closed or curtailed usage to miles of terrain: the Northeast Passage and the top of Rams Head are no longer lift serviced,

Ohhh, thanks for reminding me.

I realize that wind was a big factor in eliminating the charlift to the top of Ramshead. Is there any plans to put in a t-bar to the top of Rams Head for those looking for something a little bit more (a-hem) challenging while they are skiing Ramshead with their family?