They will open earlier than target date if we get enough natural snow early to pack and hold, and will blow snow along with it if the forecast is favorable. They will not simply blow snow to get open early, although I would guess that if the temperatures are favorable for a long enough term, they would. That will be a judgment call at the time, at least IMO. Their snowmaking budget and how they use it is based on their target opening and closing dates, subject to adjustment based on weather. They will stay open later than target date if the conditions are favorable and there's evidence that people will keep coming at a profit. Opening weekends only late season is likely not an option - they will most probably be either open or closed.
They are spending some effort in clearing back the encroaching brush at various points on the hill in order to widen spots that had, at one time, been wider. There will be a bigger effort on this next summer. They know there are serious bottlenecks in spots and will be looking at how to decrease them. Clearing some of the encroachment is their first step in this direction.
They hear the complaints about midweek lift operation, particularly not running the Canyon Quad and South Ridge Triple. I sense no change, however, to planned operation this season. They do have a goal over time of decreasing the number of lifts while maintaining or increasing uphill capacity.
Village plans appear somewhat different from those suggested over the past few years by ASC/Centex. What we saw was the village layout, the phase 1 development area including moving the access road in the area of Rams Head and Snowshed, the overall site plan, preliminary building design and ground level views of various components. If all goes well with the permitting process, 2010 or 2011 is the year they'll start selling. My guess is all will not go well with the process and it will be later. There will be a minimum of two public presentations on the village plans, possibly one on a weekend for folks who live outside of Killington, as part of the initial Act 250 process. My personal impression was favorable but there are a lot of details that need to be worked out.
Their overall strategy is to stress quality over quantity, thus the pricing and operating strategies they're employing. Their goal is to reduce peak day crowding, improve the overall experience, and bring Killington back. I believe it is a worthy goal but I have, over the past several months, come to believe it is a questionable strategy being used to accomplish it. I heard nothing today to convince me otherwise. I am open to being proven wrong and actually hopeful that such will be the case.
On a positive note, we heard no comments relating to parasitic birds eating seeds off the backs of larger animals, nor did we hear anything about eating what is killed.
