Of course it's IKON

[Southside_Bobby]

The place is overflowing on just about any given Saturday. Cars are lined up a half mile down Route 4 from Skyeship. All main lots full. K1 queue sprawling up the hill above the corral.

Without fail. someone remarks, "But it can't be 'cause of IKON. The days are limited".

Gimme a break. Of course it's IKON.

How many thousands of mega-passers have to show up at your mountain five Saturdays a season, before y'all stop dismissing their contribution to massive overcrowding as inconsequential?


It's like the old Pat Moynihan quote about spending.

[Low Rider]

IKON definitely plays a role in the crowding no doubt about it.

IKON is a bad deal for those of us who have a non-unlimited IKON resort as our primary mountain.

Sugarbush and Stratton passholders get access to our mountain, but as passholders at Killington we don't get access to theirs, even though our pass is considerably more expensive? Who negotiated that deal?

[KingsFourMan]

Stratton, which is unlimited on the Ikon base pass, must be a complete and total zoo on par with Okemo on the Epic pass.

[RustyK]

Just like Jackson Hole used to say:

IKON stand it anymore!

IKON wait to see you go!

[Stormchaser]

Saturdays are getting unbearable. Cars are parked both sides of the access road almost to the Lookout. Overflowing shuttle buses. Lift lines are getting nutty. Traffic so bad it's faster to WALK to Snowshed from my condo. I'm happy K is getting the business, but they need to put more effort into managing the extra load on the community. It's frustrating that Killington doesn't seem to care about the impact or want to do anything about it.

[daytripper]

I've pretty much given up on skiing Saturdays.

[easyrider16]

Sugarbush and Stratton passholders get access to our mountain, but as passholders at Killington we don't get access to theirs, even though our pass is considerably more expensive? Who negotiated that deal?

It's a great deal for the people who negotiated it. Killington gets more visitors who buy beer, rentals, overpriced food, etc. along with Ikon revenue-sharing. Meanwhile all the K passholders are stuck here so K gets their beer money, too.

I know the Beast pass is more expensive, but it takes care of this problem because it comes with Ikon. If you do the summer stuff it's a great deal, but I understand not everyone is into golf/mountain biking/etc.

[boston_e]

Sugarbush and Stratton passholders get access to our mountain, but as passholders at Killington we don't get access to theirs, even though our pass is considerably more expensive? Who negotiated that deal?

It's a great deal for the people who negotiated it. Killington gets more visitors who buy beer, rentals, overpriced food, etc. along with Ikon revenue-sharing. Meanwhile all the K passholders are stuck here so K gets their beer money, too.

I know the Beast pass is more expensive, but it takes care of this problem because it comes with Ikon. If you do the summer stuff it's a great deal, but I understand not everyone is into golf/mountain biking/etc.

The Beast pass is a big jump up in price for those families who will not use (or not extensively use) the bike park, golf etc.

I also get it is pretty frustrating to see that our Killington passes alone are considerably more expensive than an Ikon pass... and yet we get zero additional benefits to other resorts (not even the western resorts in Powdr's portfolio - which would seem like it should be a no brainer), but we still ge the negative of the additional crowding that comes with Ikon.

[Stormchaser]

I've pretty much given up on skiing Saturdays.

I can deal with the on mountain bodies. Singles lines and open woods helps a lot. BUTT, the vehicle traffic is a problem. Covid pushed people into driving and away from public transportation. Low demand for shuttles pushed K towards reduction in those services. Killington should be encouraging shuttle use again, by adding back the free (Killington subsidized) shuttle system to all condo properties on the access road and east mtn road and upping the number of buses and drivers on the hill. One bus for all of Pinnacle, Mtn Green, Cascade Lodge, the Mountain Inn, and stragglers from the upper Snowshed lot on a busy Saturday isn't enough capacity. It's bad for the condo developments and it's bad for Killington customers. MIKE, HELP!

[Killington_Lover]

Ill bet not a lot here go to snowshed, I’ve been doing a run or two a day there since recovering from ACL injury and the quad continually will have empty chairs going up. Both the RFID gates not working, being too close to the loading spot and groups waiting for a stuck member, as well as no one calling out to each group of noobs to GO. You think it is common sense but these are the folks that need to be told when to get out to the line! Absolute mayhem every Saturday at that maze.

[MrsG]

Ill bet not a lot here go to snowshed, I’ve been doing a run or two a day there since recovering from ACL injury and the quad continually will have empty chairs going up. Both the RFID gates not working, being too close to the loading spot and groups waiting for a stuck member, as well as no one calling out to each group of noobs to GO. You think it is common sense but these are the folks that need to be told when to get out to the line! Absolute mayhem every Saturday at that maze.

Had time to kill on way to Yurt last Friday and made the mistake of taking a run down Snowshed It was exactly as you described - people falling both at bottom and top - chairs going up empty - many with only two - people turned around in line to talk to friends - any form of recommendations were ignored! It was our own fault, so all we could do was smirk

[throbster]

It seems that all ski areas are enjoying more business. There is pent-up demand, snow in people's backyard and the "Covid effect" of people wanting to get outdoors. Plus you are talking about a Saturday in January.

I think it is a good thing that more and more people are getting to enjoy a sport we all love. Are we entitled to Kmart and they are not?

[rogman]

868B4872-7750-491D-932D-6B73F63FD681.jpeg (41.93 KiB) Viewed 17725 times

7 resorts in the Northeast for all the IKON pass holders. Heard reports of over 1 million sold. Guessing how many of them are at Killington on a given Saturday requires a bunch of swags, but it’s not hard to come up with a few thousand on a random Saturday.

[boston_e]

It seems that all ski areas are enjoying more business. There is pent-up demand, snow in people's backyard and the "Covid effect" of people wanting to get outdoors. Plus you are talking about a Saturday in January.

I think it is a good thing that more and more people are getting to enjoy a sport we all love. Are we entitled to Kmart and they are not?

Indeed, the lack of January snow has contributed to the crowds as well since there is pent up demand.

Nobody is saying we are entitled to Killington, and they are not, but it is reasonable to point out some of the negative aspects of these "mega passes". It is also reasonable to question if the pricing structure is really fair to Killington's most loyal followers.

[Downdraft]

This is such a new topic and never discussed before. Thank you for bringing this to all our attention.