Fall foliage is still near its peak across Vermont, but Killington Resort is already giving the Green Mountains their first artificial taste of winter.
Killington fired up six snow guns Tuesday, Oct. 6, during its first significant snowmaking test of the 2026-27 season. The resort ran four fan guns near the bottom of Superstar and tested two newly installed machines on Mouse Trap and Lower Skyeburst as temperatures dipped low enough for crews to put the system through its paces.
Killington emphasized it was a test rather than the beginning of sustained snowmaking for opening day. The resort has not announced a 2026-27 opening date, but said the test allows its snowmaking team to make sure equipment is ready when a longer stretch of favorable temperatures arrives.
Killington Added New Snowmaking Equipment This Summer
Two of the machines running Tuesday were new SMI Super Puma fan guns installed during the offseason as part of roughly $185,000 in snowmaking improvements.
Killington placed the new guns on Mouse Trap and Lower Skyeburst, where wide trail intersections can make efficient snow coverage more difficult. The machines sit on automated hydraulic swing arms more than 15 feet long, allowing operators to change their direction and throw depending on wind and snowmaking conditions.
The resort also completed snowmaking pipeline work at Bear Mountain as part of a larger collection of offseason improvements.
Snowmaking capacity has long been central to Killington’s strategy. The Vermont resort regularly competes to be among the first major ski areas in the East to open and among the last to close, requiring crews to build durable bases that can withstand weather swings and heavy skier traffic.
Few trails demonstrate that approach better than Superstar.
Superstar Requires An Enormous Amount Of Snow
The Superstar trail is not just one of Killington’s signature spring skiing runs. It also serves as the race venue for the Killington Cup, which brings the women’s Alpine World Cup back to Vermont over Thanksgiving weekend.
Preparing the trail for international racing requires far more snow than covering an ordinary ski run.
According to Killington, crews can spend around 100 hours making snow on Superstar and use more than 15 million gallons of water to create a race surface approximately 3 to 5 feet deep. More than 150 snow guns can operate on the trail at the same time when conditions allow.
That massive snowmaking effort also helps explain why Killington has historically been able to keep Superstar open deep into spring after the World Cup has come and gone.
Tuesday’s test, however, was not the start of that process.
Killington Is Still Waiting For A Real Snowmaking Window
Killington plans to conduct additional equipment testing as temperatures allow, but sustained snow production will depend on a colder and longer-lasting weather window.
That makes the timing of Tuesday’s test particularly striking. The mountain is still operating firmly in fall mode, with scenic gondola rides and other autumn activities continuing while foliage remains prominent across the resort.
Killington’s current mountain operations have the K-1 Gondola scheduled for fall sightseeing through Oct. 12.
Last season, Killington did not open for skiing and snowboarding until Nov. 12 after crews took advantage of an early-November cold spell to rapidly build terrain.
There is no opening date yet for 2026-27, and six snow guns running for a test should not be mistaken for the start of a full-scale push toward opening.
But with Killington’s snowmaking system coming to life while Vermont’s mountains are still covered in fall color, the transition toward winter has officially begun.
