Killington, Vermont — This spring was different than usual at Killington Resort. With the Superstar Express currently being replaced with a new detachable high-speed six-pack chairlift, the Superstar trail can’t be used for the traditional late spring skiing setup.
This meant the Canyon was the place to be this spring, which didn’t exactly go to plan. Lots of snow was blown on the Great Northern, Downdraft, Upper & Lower Double Dipper, Upper and Lower East Fall, and Spillway trails to make these pistes last until May.
The initial goal was to make it to the middle or later portion of May, but several inches of rain in May and a warm spring led to an early closure of daily operations. Killington decided to reopen for one final day: Saturday, May 10th.
Killington had the K-1 Gondola to get skiers up to the summit. From there, guests used the Peak Walkway, which is typically used during early-season operations. After putting on their skis or boards, guests then skied the Great Northern and East Fall trails. Guests had to take their skis or boards off to return to the Canyon Quad’s bottom terminal. To conclude the day, guests could either ski/walk parts of the runout, Spillway, back to the base area, or take the Peak Walkway back to the K-1 Gondola, and then download from there.
Conditions were… interesting. Avid skier and artist Carrie Pill captured the scene, which showed guests walking through the mud to reach the base terminal. Killington didn’t shy away from what could be interpreted as unsavory conditions, as they shared Carrie’s reel on the stories of their social media pages.
Killington eventually opened up Lower Double Dipper, but getting to the snow looked like a pretty spicy experience.
Killington’s closing day shows how resilient New England skiers and riders are, even if they need to walk through some mud to get to the chairlift.
Image/Video Credits: Killington Resort, Carrie Pill Art, Ski The East (@taydel25)
