Killington is going to open before Sunday River this season.

[Geoff]

sounds like you will be joining highway star at a different mtn next season? i know i would go somewhere else if i felt there were better options.

I'm kind of locked in with real estate that is pretty much unsellable in this market. With POWDR killing off 30% of the skier visits and the overall recession, Killington real estate is a mess. If I were going to stay in Vermont, there's no way I'd every buy real estate in the state again. It's a sucker play.

 

[Geoff]

There aren't too many that do.

The only thing I can see that Killington has on SB is the apres ski scene. Yes it is larger, but....

In a lousy year, the infinite water supply and big snowmaking budget from all those skier visits gives Killington an advantage. It's not the surface most of us would prefer to ski on but it's better than "trail closed" and "think cover".

When Killington offered a reliable 7 month season, the value proposition was better. When Superstar and Steins close on the same day and Jay Peak runs a week later than Killington, the only advantage in an average or good year is in November and December when Killington can run 3x more snow guns. If you're buying day tickets once everything is open on natural snow, points farther north in Vermont are the better option.

 

[jerryg]

I'll be walking up those stairs in a couple months....will you?

If Sunday River isn't open and those stairs are built, sure. Not sold on a permit meaning inevitable 2010/11 construction just yet though. Didn't they get the permit for the interconnect years back?

 

[deadheadskier]

Even if the Heavenly Stairwell is constructed this year, I'll wait for SR to open.

Killington's early season pricing the past couple of years has been a total rip off. What was it last year? $65 for their WROD product? Think I paid $25 for the same at SR. Maybe it was $35, but no more than that. Either way, what's the incentive for anyone in the Boston market to pay double for the same product?

 

[mondeo]

Even if the Heavenly Stairwell is constructed this year, I'll wait for SR to open.

Killington's early season pricing the past couple of years has been a total rip off. What was it last year? $65 for their WROD product? Think I paid $25 for the same at SR. Maybe it was $35, but no more than that. Either way, what's the incentive for anyone in the Boston market to pay double for the same product?

I had to park in the Vale lot once or twice last year those first few weekends. If they charged any less it would've been completely FUBAR on the mountain.

 

[sLoPeS]

If Sunday River isn't open and those stairs are built, sure. Not sold on a permit meaning inevitable 2010/11 construction just yet though. Didn't they get the permit for the interconnect years back?

haha, the interconnect.

 

[Greg]

Killington cant hold a candle to Sugarbush terrain/conditions/crowd-wise. HOWEVER, it is an hour closer and for me that's the difference between a day trip and an overnight. So...I like 'em both.

 

[deadheadskier]

I had to park in the Vale lot once or twice last year those first few weekends. If they charged any less it would've been completely FUBAR on the mountain.

Mainly season pass holders? Lots of NY/NJ plates?

I really can't see how anyone from the Boston market would choose K over SR for early season skiing.

 

[gmcunni]

i can't do a day trip from SNE to SR so if K is open and i want to ski that's where i'd be, regardless of price.

 

[sLoPeS]

Mainly season pass holders? Lots of NY/NJ plates?

I really can't see how anyone from the Boston market would choose K over SR for early season skiing.

there are still quite a few boston folks that head this way.

that said, the Loaf/SR/Loon combo is pretty sweet...

 

[frankm938]

Killington cant hold a candle to Sugarbush terrain/conditions/crowd-wise. HOWEVER, it is an hour closer and for me that's the difference between a day trip and an overnight. So...I like 'em both.

im not saying i dont like sugarbush, its one of my favorite eastern mountains. my brother has had a house there for 20 years and ive spent a lot of time there and have been a pass holder. the main reason i switched to killington is there arent as many bad days due to the snowmaking. every mtn is fun when it snows, but when the weather is bad, killington has the firepower to make the trails skiable.
they get the same amount of natural snow (250" per year)
sugarbush has better OB tree skiing. the inbounds is a wash. (they both are great if you know where to look)
sugarbush has more classic new england trails like rumble (which is one of the best in the east) but overall killington is steeper.
killington used to be better for bumps, bush passed them when powder took over. powder has since changed their mind about bumps... they are grooming less and seeding a number of trails
the crowds have been down at killington in the last few years but its still less crowded at the bush
bush has MUCH better lodges, killington has better nitelife.
so bottom line...
mid-week powder day both are great
wknd powder day... edge-sugarbush
hasnt snowed in a couple weeks... killington

 

[Greg]

im not saying i dont like sugarbush, its one of my favorite eastern mountains. my brother has had a house there for 20 years and ive spent a lot of time there and have been a pass holder. the main reason i switched to killington is there arent as many bad days due to the snowmaking. every mtn is fun when it snows, but when the weather is bad, killington has the firepower to make the trails skiable.
they get the same amount of natural snow (250" per year)
sugarbush has better OB tree skiing. the inbounds is a wash. (they both are great if you know where to look)
sugarbush has more classic new england trails like rumble (which is one of the best in the east) but overall killington is steeper.
killington used to be better for bumps, bush passed them when powder took over. powder has since changed their mind about bumps... they are grooming less and seeding a number of trails
the crowds have been down at killington in the last few years but its still less crowded at the bush
bush has MUCH better lodges, killington has better nitelife.
so bottom line...
mid-week powder day both are great
wknd powder day... edge-sugarbush
hasnt snowed in a couple weeks... killington

Reasonable observation. Not sure about 250" thing though. SB usually "feels" like there is more snow. Throw MRG into the mix and in a good season, the MRV is still my favorite.

 

[Newpylong]

Killington get's an average of 200 inches per year, Sugarbush is 260 inches...

im not saying i dont like sugarbush, its one of my favorite eastern mountains. my brother has had a house there for 20 years and ive spent a lot of time there and have been a pass holder. the main reason i switched to killington is there arent as many bad days due to the snowmaking. every mtn is fun when it snows, but when the weather is bad, killington has the firepower to make the trails skiable.
they get the same amount of natural snow (250" per year)
sugarbush has better OB tree skiing. the inbounds is a wash. (they both are great if you know where to look)
sugarbush has more classic new england trails like rumble (which is one of the best in the east) but overall killington is steeper.
killington used to be better for bumps, bush passed them when powder took over. powder has since changed their mind about bumps... they are grooming less and seeding a number of trails
the crowds have been down at killington in the last few years but its still less crowded at the bush
bush has MUCH better lodges, killington has better nitelife.
so bottom line...
mid-week powder day both are great
wknd powder day... edge-sugarbush
hasnt snowed in a couple weeks... killington

 

[Geoff]

How so? It's 160 miles or so from Boston to Killington and about 175 from Boston to Sunday River. The roads are slower so you're about 20 minutes longer going to SR. Not really a deal breaker though...

Southern New England is not Boston. That's as far east as you can get in Southern New England and Sunday River is still longer with significantly more secondary roads from there.

 

[Geoff]

Killington get's an average of 200 inches per year, Sugarbush is 260 inches...

Where did you dream that number up from?

 

[frankm938]

Reasonable observation. Not sure about 250" thing though. SB usually "feels" like there is more snow. Throw MRG into the mix and in a good season, the MRV is still my favorite.

ya, a mid-week powder day at mad river is about as good as it gets in the east. i stay away from the place on wknds (the line at the single chair can be brutal)
the snow totals for killington and the MRV are very close.
many AZers put sugarbush into the mix with jay peak and stowe when it comes to snowfall and it just doesnt get as much snow as the places further north.

 

[frankm938]

Killington get's an average of 200 inches per year, Sugarbush is 260 inches...

over the last 25 years killington has 200 or less inches only 4 times.
on average they get 250". sugarbush may get a few more inches per year but not a significant difference to say one is better than the other in terms of powder. jay gets the eastern pow award every year

 

[riverc0il]

over the last 25 years killington has 200 or less inches only 4 times.
on average they get 250". sugarbush may get a few more inches per year but not a significant difference to say one is better than the other in terms of powder. jay gets the eastern pow award every year

I don't know about that. As a powder hound myself, I am always trying to analyze mountains for the best snowfall in various storms. If choosing between the two based on natural snow only, I would choose Bush nine times out of ten (occasionally, Killington does line up with something that hits them with more snow than Bush). Bush has a lot of skiing at elevation where the snow is deepest and they get a good amount of lift whereas I just don't see K getting the same type of lift and not much of their terrain is way up off the summit (and the trails that do come off the summit are not their best whereas a lot of Bush's best stuff is up high). Add in opportunities to escape the crowds which can preserve natural snow and OB/off map, and I think Bush is hands down a better powder mountain than Killington in every way. I don't have the total averages but I read enough reports and can read between the lines enough that I see a lot of times when Bush skiers report epicness when K is merely really good.

 

[Newpylong]

Southern New England is not Boston. That's as far east as you can get in Southern New England and Sunday River is still longer with significantly more secondary roads from there.

I saw that he wrote Southern NE and not Southeastern MA right after I posted, so I deleted the post I made. So yeah, he is right....

 

[Newpylong]

Where did you dream that number up from?

I got the wrong number, you don't need to be a dink about it. 250 inches it is for Killington - per their page. 262 for Sugarbush.