Killington Open Until May 2

[Rogman]

The reason they are closing Saturday instead of Sunday is that everyone is on vacation for the month of May starting Sunday. I got that direct from Tom Horrocks.

 

[bigbob]

I think you're far too high in that estimate.

The electric bill...

A high speed quad has around 100-150 hp DC motor driving it. 1 horsepower = 746 watts. Motors are quite efficient but you lose 10-20% along the way through heat and converting AC to DC. Figure 100kW per hour of electricity consumption. The CVPS residental rate is around 12 cents per kWh. I have no idea what rate Killington pays. Commercial accounts usually pay more but Killington is a huge electricity buyer and can probably negotiate a more favorable rate. Conservatively, figure $20.00/hour for electricity.

You need 3 people to work the lift and scan tickets. You need one ski patroller. You need one person to sell lift tickets. Anything else you do in the base lodge like bartender and cafeteria is optional. Let's call it 10 hourly employees at $10.00/hour to make the numbers easy. Killington also has a boat load of full time employees and can opt to push some of those over to fill some of those slots.



For a 9 to 4 day, the cost to operate one lift and minimally staff a base lodge comes in at around $1,000. Ignoring the benefits of increased season pass sales, you'd have to sell 30 day tickets at $35.00/day to cover your expenses. Even if my cocktail napkin calculation is off, I still don't see how you can get to your $5,000 to $10,000/day number.

Geoff, thought your horse power was a little low. More like 800 HP !, also, I think a lift mechanic has to be on site. Go get another napkin.

http://skilifts.org/images/resort_images/vt-killington/superstar/superstar.html

 

[Geoff]

Geoff, thought your horse power was a little low. More like 800 HP !, also, I think a lift mechanic has to be on site. Go get another napkin.

http://skilifts.org/images/resort_images/vt-killington/superstar/superstar.html

It still doesn't add up to $5K.

 

[mondeo]

It still doesn't add up to $5K.

Even if it did, 30x$35 isn't breaking a sweat when there's only one place for any skier in the east to find lift served. You don't need pent up desire, you just need a monopoly. Heck, on any given weekend, they could count on probably 15 day tickets from the members of this site alone.

And damn, lifts are inefficient people movers. The SS quad's useful output is only 25hp (may have been kW, did the calculation this morning.) Must be a ton of friction when you add in the weight of the haul rope and chairs.

 

[skiadikt]

Does Killington plan on grooming lower superstar daily?

that's another thing i'm afraid of ... we're gonna have 3 trails and they're all gonna be brutally groomed to death. just leave supe alone!

 

[thorski]

Historically is a matter of the samping period I suppose. But I wouldn't use the term completely uninformed. That just screams of highwaystar level ignorance. We don't own Killington. The people who do, have made a business decision. Do you REALLY think that the people who run a multimillion dollar resort are total idiots?

I don't know if people who run multimillion dollar resorts are idiots, But they can easily suffer from a disconnect and irrelevance for their customer base.
Ski sundown is a mountain that listens to their customers. Guess what I'll get a pass there next year. Still on the fence with K. Blackout or unlimited? For me it depends on if i have to drive an extra hour to ski sugarbush again this year on the last day.
This year i had a blackout pass with K and went to sugarbush and sundown on the holidays. How is that for voting with my wallet starbuck?
As for everything else- Geoff is right on.

 

[Geoff]

The reason they are closing Saturday instead of Sunday is that everyone is on vacation for the month of May starting Sunday. I got that direct from Tom Horrocks.

Vacation? They're gonna have a swell time. Where are they going this year? POWDR renting a cruise ship for the month?

The people I know who work for the mountain could kinda use the money. They used to be full time employees with benefits. They now do the same or more work as *cough* part time *cough* workers with no benefits.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Vacation? They're gonna have a swell time. Where are they going this year? POWDR renting a cruise ship for the month?

The people I know who work for the mountain could kinda use the money. They used to be full time employees with benefits. They now do the same or more work as *cough* part time *cough* workers with no benefits.

But they're living the dream..living and working at the northeasts premier ski resort..

 

[billski]

If you can't open first, you can at least close last. Just looking to bump up that season total bragging rights....

 

[2knees]

that's another thing i'm afraid of ... we're gonna have 3 trails and they're all gonna be brutally groomed to death. just leave supe alone!

thats the one overwhelming fear i have myself. If i take a bluebird weekday off and drive up there to find a groomed out superstar and skye(whateverthenamesare), i'm gonna shit myself.

 

[Geoff]

thats the one overwhelming fear i have myself. If i take a bluebird weekday off and drive up there to find a groomed out superstar and skye(whateverthenamesare), i'm gonna shit myself.

I can see Superstar out my livingroom window. All you need to do is ask.

 

[2knees]

I can see Superstar out my livingroom window. All you need to do is ask.

nice. i'll take you up on that for sure.

 

[skiadikt]

I can see Superstar out my livingroom window. All you need to do is ask.

they can groom skye lark & bittersweet to within an inch of their life but pu-leeeeze leave supe alone. and if it takes 'til noon to soften so be it. but let's bring bumps back to k ...

 

[mondeo]

they can groom skye lark & bittersweet to within an inch of their life but pu-leeeeze leave supe alone. and if it takes 'til noon to soften so be it. but let's bring bumps back to k ...

Few things here:

Not sure what the point in grooming it would be. With soft snow and one of three available runs, it's not going to be a groomer by noon anyways. O.L. was groomed Sa

IF they do decide to groom it, at least just do half. It's plenty wide enough to do a couple cat widths groomed and the rest ungroomed.

The groomer-happy crowd are the ones surprised when I tell them I'm still skiing in April. If they're going to be skiing late-April, they can handle a few bumps.

But dear lord, just leave it ungroomed.

 

[2knees]

Few things here:

Not sure what the point in grooming it would be. With soft snow and one of three available runs, it's not going to be a groomer by noon anyways. O.L. was groomed Sa

IF they do decide to groom it, at least just do half. It's plenty wide enough to do a couple cat widths groomed and the rest ungroomed.

The groomer-happy crowd are the ones surprised when I tell them I'm still skiing in April. If they're going to be skiing late-April, they can handle a few bumps.

But dear lord, just leave it ungroomed.

problem with half grooming is that they would groom right up the middle of lower supe, leaving us with that stupid fall away on skiers left. ASC groomed it out on closing day their last year and the middle never formed any good lines other then right up against the lift where they hadnt gone with the groomer. and that was one line wide.

 

[Greg]

A lot of people call what forms in one day of skiing a groomer moguls. I call them slushy push piles. Just doesn't compare to an existing bump field that softens and then gets skied by some rippers.

 

[ozzy]

A lot of people call what forms in one day of skiing a groomer moguls. I call them slushy push piles. Just doesn't compare to an existing bump field that softens and then gets skied by some rippers.

We've always just called them Jersey Bumps around here

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

A lot of people call what forms in one day of skiing a groomer moguls. I call them slushy push piles. Just doesn't compare to an existing bump field that softens and then gets skied by some rippers.

Slushy push piles are perfect for goose stomping...that's the way Superstar was 420 weekend..of 2008

 

[sLoPeS]

Slushy push piles are perfect for goose stomping...that's the way Superstar was 420 weekend..of 2008

those couple of days absolutely rocked.

 

[Tyrolean_skier]

I spoke with Chris Nyberg on Saturday and specifically asked him why they are closing on May 2 (Saturday) instead of May 3 (Sunday) and his response was that May 3 starts a new pay period. The accountants are ruling here.

BTW, if any of you want to read more about our conversation go to this link:

http://www.killingtonzone.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26312