Killington Makes Snow

AlpineZone

AlpineZone

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I don't subscribe to the "Drift", but a member on our forum indicated he received the newsletter from K stating they blew snow on Cascade last night. They also mention a November opening...
 
AlpineZone":3cppsime said:
I don't subscribe to the "Drift", but a member on our forum indicated he received the newsletter from K stating they blew snow on Cascade last night. They also mention a November opening...
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According to the K site, they did blow snow on upper cascade last night. I didn't see the mention of a November opening.
 
From the K site:

WE MADE SNOW!


The most extensive snowmaking system in North America has been tested and it passed with flying colors! The color was white. Come up this weekend and see it with your own two eyes. The contrast with Fall foliage is quite a sight!
 
JimG.":1whuvoxn said:
According to the K site, they did blow snow on upper cascade last night. I didn't see the mention of a November opening.
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The following I saw quoted from The Drift in another venue:
"Cascade was the lucky trail and while we'll be open for skiing
and riding in November, I can't help but get really excited. Can
you?"
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And so another season is born :D :D :D :D :D 8) !
 

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Yep, until recently this would've been opening day. The feeling is still fresh as yesterday, we the Cult of Opening Day watching the weather and just *knowing*, confident that our fellow Cult members at K were of exactly the same mind. Many times we headed up pre-dawn before the official opening announcement and we always got it right. I remember how much we howled in laughter at the Sugarbush photo-op ploy and how proud we were that K was doing it for real. After all, even if the guns do need "testing", it doesn't require laying down a skiable surface.

The K opening day conditions were always great, despite last year's backtrack from their own longtime boasts of same to ridicule the earliest openings as a "patch of almost-snow". Having said that, I'll repeat my season-end opinion that I'd gladly trade the novelty opening days for a serious effort to keep it going in the spring. Unfortunately, the trend has been going the other way to a strict Thanksgiving-Easter (give or take a week) doctrine. Sadly, the corporate attitude seems to boil down to their seven words in the thread resulting from their hastened closing of last season: "Why does it have to be Killington?"

Never forget!

CD
 
And it's almost insulting for them to blow Upper Cascade, which can't possibly be the first trail they will actually open. They should at least put the snow somewhere on the Glades triple where it might actually get used with cooperative weather.

But I also am not in favor of them blowing anything if near-term forecasts indicate that it won't stick. Based upon watching past year's reports, I think the target should be around Nov. 1, with Glades/Canyon being the targeted terrain with Gondola for transport and food service.
 
The only way they will start opening the Glades area for early season skiing again, is if they build a 4 star hotel + sushi bar at the base of the Glades Triple, and maybe a few condominiums. Unfortunately, the kind of people who have the kind of cash to fork out for a place like Killington don't take interest unless those basic amenities are available....

Sven
 
I carry the hardcore banner for later skiing too, but these ski areas are businesses and have to get their $$$ while they can. People are always looking for skiing as early as posible and are willing to pay anything for it (so it seems). When spring does come, unfortunately, the money-speding hordes are in full fledged warm-weather mode and the areas just aren't as profitable. Who really tries to ski until May? Mosly it's just the hardcore (usually season pass-holders). The areas already got that money.

On that note, however, there's nothing worse than tearing apart bases on crappy early conditions. A "truce" is a fantastic notion that would be a great compromise. But in the vicious free-market attitude of Eastern skiing, it's not likely.
 
Tony Crocker":2fqkmjb3 said:
And it's almost insulting for them to blow Upper Cascade, which can't possibly be the first trail they will actually open. They should at least put the snow somewhere on the Glades triple where it might actually get used with cooperative weather.

But I also am not in favor of them blowing anything if near-term forecasts indicate that it won't stick. Based upon watching past year's reports, I think the target should be around Nov. 1, with Glades/Canyon being the targeted terrain with Gondola for transport and food service.
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Glades & ski out down Snowdon via Great Northern to Lower Bunny Buster. Takes too much snow to get East Fall going and they're more interested in putting more intermediate terrain online.

They've been blowing a snow patch up on Cascade that subsequently melts out for at least 20 years. It's also very easy pickup truck access for the snowmakers.
 
maybe if they put a little effort into marketing skiing in april and may and made a commitment to maximizing the conditions for those months during jan and feb, then they might see a return.. amybe not.... but why not try it.. which they haven't done?
 
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