icelanticskier
New member
the battle may be back. who will open 1st? the riv opened on october 14th last year. is the beast back?
rog
rog
sunday river or killington
- Thread starter icelanticskier
- Start date
Patrick
Well-known member
We'll see if Killington is going to put money and blow something more than hot air with the Beast is back...for anyone that remember the old days at Kmart, they have fallen pretty far, they need more than a campaign and slogan to actually become the ski area that used to be...until then Sunday-Loaf (early-late Boyne's Maine ski areas) combo will be the season kings.
berkshireskier
Active member
Admin":1uj4dsds said:
icelanticskier
New member
it'd be really nice to see killington bring back the early late season aggressiveness they once had. one year they opened in october and closed like june 14th. 206? maybe more? days of continuous lift served skiing. not too shabby. a few years working at the riv, the white heat lift till memo day, but never had the late season vibe that the beast had. loaf has it, but would never get enough folks to warrant staying open past the 1st weekend in may.
rog
rog
Patrick
Well-known member
icelanticskier":2jsl9qm2 said:
I remember skiing on June 14th, it was in 1997. I wasn't able to make it on my bday that day as I was working and on a contract that was about to expire. They closed the following weekend on June 22nd.
I posted the Kmart open and closing data somewhere on FTO a few years ago.
I have a few pic from 1997 that I posted here maybe 7 years ago, but the pics have disappeared. I eventually want to write some old TR from back in the day Kmart and Sunday River and WhiteHeat just prior to June. YEah, with pictures and all.
WoW...about that boardwalk. That could be interesting!!! :mrgreen:
Mike Bernstein
New member
It's splitting hairs, but my guess is that the walkway is more for early season egress than access. I'd be surprised if they opened w/o a route from the Peak down to the Glades area via High Traverse or some such crossover. The walkway would enable you to walk back, though admittedly could be used for both directions if they couldn't get that run covered.Admin":35kei173 said:
I agree with Mike and have been calling for use of the K1 for access for awhile. It would be better if the boardwalk were a lift, but some have said it would take longer to get a lift approved.
Patrick
Well-known member
Tony Crocker":3jhaaayx said:
Or go back to the 80s K Peak Double...
Sounds like it's time to go in the Hot Tub (one of the numerous movies I watched on my last trip which involved many hours on planes and buses.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TXNEE6SaoI[/youtube]
Marc_C
Active member
Harvey44":sch2b88a said:
Assuming my memory of K-mart is still relatively intact....
Early season skiing (and snowmaking) is in the North Ridge Triple area - some ski distance from and below the K1 gondola terminal. The catwalk eliminates the need for a lot of extra snowmaking on the green connector trail to get there, eliminates a long-ish walk in ski boots on gravel and/or eliminates the need to truck people over to the snow in the back of a pickup truck as they did at one time. The black diamond trails that could be used to accomplish this are kinda gnarly, natural cover terrain that are infrequently open (and certainly wouldn't have cover early-season).
Take a look at the map and esp the Killington Peak inset map at:
http://www.killington.com/winter/mountain/trail_map/W09-10_Killington_Trail Guide.pdf
I don't know if it's a POWDR thing, but Mt Bachelor who has been shortening their season ever since POWDR took over is advertising that they will be staying open about 3 weeks later this year as well. Their closing date had been a MAJOR gripe for people because some of Bach's best skiing is after they had been closing. Maybe POWDR had a corporate change of heart.
riverc0il
New member
The catwalk does not eliminate the need for extra snow making because they need to make snow up there any ways to get the K1 and top to bottom going. K would open top to bottom if they could, temps dictate otherwise so this gives them the upload option from the K1 with a ski down to the North Ridge and a hike back up the Catwalk to get back to the summit to download on the K1. Theoretically, they could have skiers walk down the Catwalk to the North Ridge. But that would piss skiers off (skiers can understand needing to get back up to the K1 but not down hiking) as if they can blow enough snow to open North Ridge, then they have the power and capacity to blow enough snow to open a trail from the summit to Northridge.Marc_C":3aju7fqv said:
Riverc0il has it right. Killington can if chooses, have an early season when snowmaking is adequate at high elevation but not lower down, as it used to with the K1 chair mid-loading. The same catwalk provides an option for Canyon to become the late season spot instead of the more sun-exposed and slightly lower Superstar. This situation is a close analogy to the Snowbird tram providing late season access to Little Cloud, with an end of day hike back up to the tram for downloading.
POWDR Corp claims they let local managements earn their own $ and make operating decisions. Given the massive population base that used to support Killington's shoulder seasons, I think the "change of heart" has a higher probability of happening at Killington than Bachelor.
Probably only 1 week later for Bachelor. The Pole/Pedal/Paddle (former close date) is generally the week before Memorial Day closing. No change yet announced on the restriction of lifts/hours after 3rd week of April. As we know, Mt. Bachelor just lost an Easter Week sale from a recent inquiry here because of that.
POWDR Corp claims they let local managements earn their own $ and make operating decisions. Given the massive population base that used to support Killington's shoulder seasons, I think the "change of heart" has a higher probability of happening at Killington than Bachelor.
Geoff
New member
Tony Crocker":38q3sri8 said:
That's not what we hear. We hear that the operating decisions at Killington about season length come directly from the POWDR Utards. We also hear that a big chunk of the operating profit is getting dumped into Copper. It gets really ugly when John Cumming comes in from Park City. With skier visits off by 1/3 since they showed up, the guy can't eat in a restaurant or buy a newspaper without the locals unloading on him.
riverc0il
New member
I am far from a Killington authority so take my thoughts for what they are worth. Last season, Superstar held snow better than Canyon. Which probably means they blew the piss out of Superstar and not as much on Canyon. But the point is that give Killington closed with Superstar fully covered edge to edge, there is no basis for moving the late season spot to Canyon. This would involve significant increase in expenses with an up/download lift. Additionally, Superstar is a high speed lift right next to a lodge. The tail gating scene at Killington also would not be terribly happy with not being able to simply step out of their bindings and grab a burger and a beer.Tony Crocker":18bwo93w said:
If Killington truly wanted to push late season as long as possibly, then the upper elevation trails of Killington Peak would be an option. But the bottom of the Canyon Quad is not high elevation, very flat, and incurs significant melting. I don't see much advantage with Canyon for late season compared to Superstar for hardly any one. Any such discussion would have to entail Killington actually being interested in late season. After last season's week early closing despite an incoming snow storm during the week they closed, I think we are all just happy to see K at least making an honest effort for early season.
Along those lines, regarding decisions coming from the home office or local, if the decisions are truly being made locally, POWDR should be moving to replace K heads immediately given their horrid management of closing weekend last year. They closed K with multiple trails from Superstar skiing well, Superstar covered edge to edge, and a cool down and incoming snow storm on the way. The decision was made to close instead of at least having a wait and see attitude. Perhaps one of the biggest PR blunders in recent New England skiing history.