Killington will Open Before Sunday River This Season

[jaybird]

Killington will open earlier, again, and will offer consistently better conditions all year long.
Closing latest don't matter as much any more to many.
Once you get past 100 days in a single season, time to kayak.
Think Snow :beer:

 

[skiersleft]

Since K no longer leads the way early or late season, can you say that is really a factor any more? Folks sticking with Killington are doing so despite the length of the season, not because of it. It has been a long time since K had a really long season like it used to and it is getting beat at both ends excepting last year's first to open tie.

I really respect your opinion, so I will assume that you were not able to drive home the point that you wished to drive home.

K regulars most definitely care about what you call "the length of the season". And they also care about opening first and closing last. Note - as I'm sure you do - that these are three different things.

Killington used to be the king of all three. They had the longest season in the east. They also opened first. They also were the last to close. Today they no longer are assured to open first. SR has opened first more often the last several years. But usually K is close behind. Today it's no longer the case that they always close last. Jay and Sugarloaf have taken the title often as of late. K is usually close behind.

However, Killington continues to indisputably have the longest season in the east. Easily. And that's what you were talikng about. I repeat your words - "length of the season".

Do passholders care - as you asked - about the length of season at K? They most definitely do. One of the reasons people buy a pass there is they know they will ski early in November and late into April. No other ski season in the east consistently offers that.

Did their season use to be longer? Yes. Do many people wish it were still that way? Yes. Does SR open earlier sometimes? Yes. Do other ski resorts close later? Yes. Does anyone else in the east have a longer season? NO. Never had. Does that matter to K pass holders? Yes. Are first to open last to close bragging rights cool? Of course. Would we rather have skied more days than others have skied at any other hill? Definitely. Killington - with all its flaws- is still the king of eastern skiing. As you call it - their "length of the season" is unmatched in the east. And has been that way for decades. Does it matter for a substantial number of people? In a word - YES.

 

[steamboat1]

For those who know K yes they were slacking for a few years. Last year they blew a substantial base on the signature trails off the superstar lift. The top of the headwall on Supe had more snow than I can remember. It was a hike just to get over it most of the season. Lower Skylark, which is not normally known for late season skiing was right there to the bitter end with abundant snow. K did there job trying to keep late season skiing open but the heat killed them, just like everyone else. Can't blame them for that.

Not blowing snow all winter on other terrain (especially the Canyon area) is another story which I'm not talking about. If the weather cooperated a little more I think they were pushing for a later season but it just didn't work out because of the exceptionally warm weather late March into April. No one in New England made it to May. I hope they don't get discouraged by what happened to late season skiing last year & push the envelope again this season.

Without the constant resurfacing they had to do last year just to to keep the majority of the mountain open it would have been another story. And yes thank god the Dew Tour is gone.

 

[AndyEich]

...Killington continues to indisputably have the longest season in the east. Easily...

Is this true? I don't have stats at hand, but it seems unlikely to me. Last year was good for K, but I thought SR beat them at least some of the last several years. Here's a press release that indicates SR thinks it won in 2010/11:
http://www.sundayriver.com/Corporate/Media/PressReleases/Present/2011/Closing_Date.html

 

[Vortex]

We keep moving the goal posts.

The game, boys and girls, is first to open. It's pretty simple. First one who opens wins. It's not first to open -- then stay open the whole season. That would be moving the goal posts. Races and games should be simple. You can't layer it with so many rules and exceptions. IIRC, K was all set to open early in 2010, even the SR regulars had conceded it. Then, SR pumped snow for 18 hours and opened to beat K. And yeah, conceding defeat by sending a case of beer then saying that you lost because you wanted to offer a superior product is hypocrisy. That's losing then criticizing the other team because they won ugly. Heck, I'd rather win ugly than have a moral victory.

Could SR have remain open for the week after opening? I'm sure they could. But, why spin the lifts when there's no one there? That would be pissing away good money.

And another thing, I'm glad that K went as late as they could last year. Could SR have done so too? Based on what we were skiing on that last day, definitely. There was enough snow that there were pipes and jumps all over. We even had naked teeners doing group backflips in the park. And, oh yeah, it was free.

Lastly, why is it that SR skiers don't criticize SR management for opening early then closing midweek? We're a happy group.

You write like a Dean or Law college prof. We will have none of that. Only thing I would like to add is if there is competition we all win.

 

[andyzee]

Is this true? I don't have stats at hand, but it seems unlikely to me. Last year was good for K, but I thought SR beat them at least some of the last several years. Here's a press release that indicates SR thinks it won in 2010/11:
http://www.sundayriver.com/Corporate/Media/PressReleases/Present/2011/Closing_Date.html

Yes, but how many days were they open, There is a difference between, span (months) and number of days. Kind of like a marathon runner taking the subway for 10 miles out of the 26 and saying he completed a 26 mile race.

 

[Vortex]

Yes, but how many days were they open, There is a difference between, span (months) and number of days. Kind of like a marathon runner taking the subway for 10 miles out of the 26 and saying he completed a 26 mile race.

I look at Weekends open mostly early and late season. Some of us have pushed for 3 days weekends. Can't always get what you want. Can't complain when you ski in October regularly. Events get planned around it.

Both approaches are valid marketing points.

I really on care about how it effects my season. The SR approach gives me the most days on the hill. I take my vacation days when there is plenty of open terrrian, I. E. mid week non holiday days. SR mid week plan is perfect for me. Hard to find a Sr skier who feels different.

 

[JimG.]

So we have one moderator admitting he is a troll stirring the pot, and another mod pretending to know what's going on from his base out in Utah. Typical AlpineZone BS.

You need to lighten up...stirring the pot and trolling are two completely different things. I'm not attacking anybody or making false statements about ski areas or management. That's trolling.

All I'm doing is challenging some of the statements and assertions made here. I find some of these to be hilarious. So I'm stimulating conversation. That's called debate.

I'm guessing you don't like to be challenged so you revert to name calling. Very mature.

 

[AdironRider]

You need to lighten up...stirring the pot and trolling are two completely different things. I'm not attacking anybody or making false statements about ski areas or management. That's trolling.

All I'm doing is challenging some of the statements and assertions made here. I find some of these to be hilarious. So I'm stimulating conversation. That's called debate.

I'm guessing you don't like to be challenged so you revert to name calling. Very mature.

You've been called out for this before by the by.

 

[ScottySkis]

We should bet a six pack of beer for how many pages this thread gets to. I day 420 pages.

 

[thetrailboss]

You write like a Dean or Law college prof. We will have none of that. Only thing I would like to add is if there is competition we all win.

Hey man, he is the Professor of Powder you know. And he is bringing that Pow with him to Utah this Christmas! :lol:

 

[andyzee]

I look at Weekends open mostly early and late season. Some of us have pushed for 3 days weekends. Can't always get what you want. Can't complain when you ski in October regularly. Events get planned around it.

Both approaches are valid marketing points.

I really on care about how it effects my season. The SR approach gives me the most days on the hill. I take my vacation days when there is plenty of open terrrian, I. E. mid week non holiday days. SR mid week plan is perfect for me. Hard to find a Sr skier who feels different.

Agreed, getting the turns is number 1. In my case that early in the season it's only weekends anyway. But, just getting into the debate. :lol:

 

[JimG.]

You've been called out for this before by the by.

A few times yes...all in Killington threads. Doesn't bother me and it certainly won't stop me unless Nick, the site owner, tells me to stop. And if that happens I will out of respect for him, unlike many others I have seen here who continue to post drivel after they were asked to back off.

I'm allowed my opinions too, just like any other forum members. And someone who resorts to name calling to express their displeasure with this simple fact is only displaying for all to see who the real troll is.

 

[AdironRider]

A few times yes...all in Killington threads. Doesn't bother me and it certainly won't stop me unless Nick, the site owner, tells me to stop. And if that happens I will out of respect for him, unlike many others I have seen here who continue to post drivel after they were asked to back off.

I'm allowed my opinions too, just like any other forum members. And someone who resorts to name calling to express their displeasure with this simple fact is only displaying for all to see who the real troll is.

Whatever floats your boat. I'm not one to hold back an opinion either, but perception does sometimes equal reality. But to say you are just stirring the pot kinda implies you think your shit doesnt stink.

I realize I fit this perception as well.

 

[JimG.]

Whatever floats your boat. I'm not one to hold back an opinion either, but perception does sometimes equal reality. But to say you are just stirring the pot kinda implies you think your shit doesnt stink.

I realize I fit this perception as well.

Well stated.

I guess we all have our own definitions for these kinds of things.

Because of this I will try to be more sensitive even though I think this is the most fun you can have on a skiing website.

 

[steamboat1]

From the Drift.

Killington Resort will open for the winter season early November.
Lift hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. midweek and 8:30 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. weekends and peak* days.

 

[Nick]

So we have one moderator admitting he is a troll stirring the pot, and another mod pretending to know what's going on from his base out in Utah. Typical AlpineZone BS.

Can a mod not have an opinion just because they are a mod?

I think Jim said he was stirring the pot but reading his post it's more just him putting his opinion out there. From what I've seen on the boards here, I don't think there is any way to talk about Killington WITHOUT stirring the pot :lol:

From my perspective, I think Killington is a great mountain and have always enjoyed skiing there. It's where I grew up skiing. It's where I held season passes every year in college in the late 90's / early 2000's. It's been a few years since I have been there but I think as others have mentioned on a ski board like this you are going to have the hardcore skiers. I mean we have people that put in 60+ days a year on the board here - that's a LOT of skiing.

Your typical non-hardcore skier that makes up 80% of the skiing population doesn't start thinking about skiing until around Christmas and stops thinking about skiing the first day that the temperature hits mid 50's.

PS: All statistics are pulled completely out of my ass.

 

[Nick]

Also, I think Snowmonster has it right, we need to compartmentalize a bit if we want to provide superlatives to mountains .


"First to Open" - simple, first to open. Doesn't matter if it's 1 trail, half the mountain, or if it was crap snow or not. First lift served skiing = first to open.

"Last to Close" - well, same thing. Last one to keep the lift running.

"Longest season" - simple too, right? Most days open in a ski season.

Other arguments about quality, etc. are subjective right.

 

[Gilligan]

You need to lighten up...stirring the pot and trolling are two completely different things. I'm not attacking anybody or making false statements about ski areas or management. That's trolling.

All I'm doing is challenging some of the statements and assertions made here. I find some of these to be hilarious. So I'm stimulating conversation. That's called debate.

I'm guessing you don't like to be challenged so you revert to name calling. Very mature.

You not only got caught trolling, you openly confessed to it. What you are doing now is called back peddling. As others have stated, this is not the first time you have been called out for this sort of behavior. Name calling? Right, I'm the one calling people names. Now that is hilarious.

It truly saddens me when I search for something in the archives here and see all the characters that used to post on this forum just one or two years ago, but have since left. Nick, you seem like a great guy, and I think your posts are very fair and honest, but it is long past time to do a little housecleaning with your moderators. They troll and they flame at will, and if anyone fights back they come out, guns blazing. It just is not fair to the rest of us.

 

[AdironRider]

You not only got caught trolling, you openly confessed to it. What you are doing now is called back peddling. As others have stated, this is not the first time you have been called out for this sort of behavior. Name calling? Right, I'm the one calling people names. Now that is hilarious.

It truly saddens me when I search for something in the archives here and see all the characters that used to post on this forum just one or two years ago, but have since left. Nick, you seem like a great guy, and I think your posts are very fair and honest, but it is long past time to do a little housecleaning with your moderators. They troll and they flame at will, and if anyone fights back they come out, guns blazing. It just is not fair to the rest of us.

On the flip side, internet is not serious business.