KillingtonZone.com

Bubba wrote:The lift operating goal of Killington going forward will probably be to improve their lift system so that they can run fewer lifts in the future that will still allow access to all their terrain midweek. That will take a significant redesign of the lift system, the elimination of some lifts and the addition of other lifts where needed. The net effect of this redesign would be to cut operating costs yet improve flexibility to meet additional lift requirements as demand increases on, for example, holiday weeks.

Spring skiing strategy (I think upper mountain makes sense) going forward will need to be evaluated given probable changes in the whole lift operation scenario.

Thanks Bubba, good points. I thought they already had a pretty good lift system in that respect though? How do you think it could be improved to meet those goals?

Highway Star wrote: I could elaborate on this further if there is interest, but I think it would be pretty cool.

Obviously, due to the lack of responses, there isn't any interest, asswipe.

To be quite honest I think the best option for K to have late season skiing remaines blowing the beJezuz out of SS, and going as long as possible.

When they used to be able to access upper mtn terrain off the K-double with only running one lift, that was pretty good for them. They had to have been able to keep costs way down.

As to alternatives to SS, I'm not sure the glades or dipper really hold snow that well. They get alot more sun than cascade/downdraft because they are on the other side of the canyon--think about it--Rime & East fall are more like Royal flush in terms of aspect of the hill, and everyone knows how well that holds snow ;- ).

Thus, I think if they are going to be doing any use the upper mtn to create a signifigantly better spring skiing experience than what they can already do on SS, they will need a T-bar or something from about where the old double's midstation was up to the peak. Perhaps a good engineer could even use the same towers already in place from the K1. That sounds pretty tedious to me though.

I suppose another "pie in the sky" option might be to blow snow on upper downdraft, onto cascade, and use the canyon lift to get people up higher, and then build an elevator (ala summit of whiteface) to get back to the K1. That still presents the problem of getting snow to stick all the way to the canyon lift... easier said than done.

I've always wondered if they could do anything with Pico... nothing seems obvious to me though without major capital improvements of a system that works excellently for normal season skiing as is.

Mid station on the K peak double used to rule!

SkiDork wrote:Mid station on the K peak double used to rule!

Downloading sucked. But was always an interesting ride

gpetrics wrote:To be quite honest I think the best option for K to have late season skiing remaines blowing the beJezuz out of SS, and going as long as possible.

I'm going to have to agree with gpetrics here. If they are willing to blow the snow on it like they used to, then SS is definitely the best option. Great pitch, one fast lift, close to lodging, parking, deck, etc. besides, the latest they have ever been open was during the SS years, not the Downdraft years.

Every other option involves multiple lifts, new lifts, or other weird and expensive ideas.

while i certainly miss the the mid-station on the k double for early season skiing, late season on superstar works much better than downdraft to mid-station ever worked. like gpetrics says, just blow the heck out of ss. i kinda like the whole party scene at the base. it's neat parking at the base do a few runs tailgate repeat. i think you'd lose that scene if the skiing was up in the canyon. i'd certainly trade that scene if the skiing was offered on downdraft down to the canyon quad but i just don't see that happening. that would necessitate adding another lift and having to run 3 lifts to access spring skiing and would just run into too much expense.

skiadikt wrote:while i certainly miss the the mid-station on the k double for early season skiing, late season on superstar works much better than downdraft to mid-station ever worked. like gpetrics says, just blow the heck out of ss. i kinda like the whole party scene at the base. it's neat parking at the base do a few runs tailgate repeat. i think you'd lose that scene if the skiing was up in the canyon. i'd certainly trade that scene if the skiing was offered on downdraft down to the canyon quad but i just don't see that happening. that would necessitate adding another lift and having to run 3 lifts to access spring skiing and would just run into too much expense.

Agree here and with gpetrics and 4 mile . . . also, allowing late season on trails like Skylark and Bitter opens up Spring skiing for a lot more people . . . Superstar is also wide enough for the "extreme" bumpers to have their own area on skier's left . . . which is fun to watch from the chair and the tailgating . . .

MrsG wrote:

skiadikt wrote:while i certainly miss the the mid-station on the k double for early season skiing, late season on superstar works much better than downdraft to mid-station ever worked. like gpetrics says, just blow the heck out of ss. i kinda like the whole party scene at the base. it's neat parking at the base do a few runs tailgate repeat. i think you'd lose that scene if the skiing was up in the canyon. i'd certainly trade that scene if the skiing was offered on downdraft down to the canyon quad but i just don't see that happening. that would necessitate adding another lift and having to run 3 lifts to access spring skiing and would just run into too much expense.

Agree here and with gpetrics and 4 mile . . . also, allowing late season on trails like Skylark and Bitter opens up Spring skiing for a lot more people . . . Superstar is also wide enough for the "extreme" bumpers to have their own area on skier's left . . . which is fun to watch from the chair and the tailgating . . .

how's your golf game? what condition is the course in?

skiadikt wrote:

MrsG wrote:

skiadikt wrote:while i certainly miss the the mid-station on the k double for early season skiing, late season on superstar works much better than downdraft to mid-station ever worked. like gpetrics says, just blow the heck out of ss. i kinda like the whole party scene at the base. it's neat parking at the base do a few runs tailgate repeat. i think you'd lose that scene if the skiing was up in the canyon. i'd certainly trade that scene if the skiing was offered on downdraft down to the canyon quad but i just don't see that happening. that would necessitate adding another lift and having to run 3 lifts to access spring skiing and would just run into too much expense.

Agree here and with gpetrics and 4 mile . . . also, allowing late season on trails like Skylark and Bitter opens up Spring skiing for a lot more people . . . Superstar is also wide enough for the "extreme" bumpers to have their own area on skier's left . . . which is fun to watch from the chair and the tailgating . . .

how's your golf game? what condition is the course in?

We're back in the flatlands and have not picked up a club yet :( . . . trying to get some Spring cleaning done first . . . have been riding the bicycle in the interim . . .

Now, not to hijack this thread . . . Spring skiing is fun!!!!!

Super Star all the way. Aside from the convenience of the lots, tailgates, etc it is the most realistic way to achieve the goal. Snow needs to be made on the headwall in serious amounts. It was done before, it can be done again.

Superstar... no changes in lifts or trails. Simple...

Nevada West wrote:Super Star all the way. Aside from the convenience of the lots, tailgates, etc it is the most realistic way to achieve the goal. Snow needs to be made on the headwall in serious amounts. It was done before, it can be done again.

The trouble with blowing all the snow on SS is the cost in today's world of high cost diesel and high cost electricity. Yes, it's in part a marketing expense but it's still a damn high one.

In order to restore late season skiing on SS and make it profitable, they'll need to add a good deck on which they can gain F&B revenues. They'll also need to find ways to cut the cost of snowmaking on SS from either increasing efficiency, moving the terrain parks over to the area behind KBL so the extra snow the blow for the parks and events can serve multiple purposes as the season winds down, or both.

Bubba wrote:The trouble with blowing all the snow on SS is the cost in today's world of high cost diesel and high cost electricity. Yes, it's in part a marketing expense but it's still a damn high one.

In order to restore late season skiing on SS and make it profitable, they'll need to add a good deck on which they can gain F&B revenues. They'll also need to find ways to cut the cost of snowmaking on SS from either increasing efficiency, moving the terrain parks over to the area behind KBL so the extra snow the blow for the parks and events can serve multiple purposes as the season winds down, or both.

The marketing expense goes beyond just late season skiing though. The large amounts of snow are made in the peak season times (Feb/Mar). They were usually consistently blowing good qaulity snow making SS one of the best runs on the mountain. This high quality snow brings people back during the main season as well.

I like your idea of having park features over there. It would make sense to have the aerials there as well given the amount of snow they blow for that. Right now they are blowing all that snow, at the larger expense you state, and let it sit and melt over at Bear after early april. Not very efficient planning there.

Each year, the technology improves with snowmaking to provide more and more efficient systems. The low-e guns are a good example.