SkyeShip Gondala > Number of busted chairs..

[snoloco]

Skyeship has literally nothing to do with the village. So why is even basic maintenance on hold because of it? This is not a valid excuse at all.

[rogman]

Both the lift and the snow making are in poor shape. It will require a significant investment of capital to restore it to its glory. On top of that, it’s an expensive lift to operate, it requires a lot of manpower, more than a conventional chair or bubble lift. No doubt POWDR has mixed feelings about the expense, even if local management does not. The recent refurb of Skyeship base would seem to make it “safe” for now, but the continued expense has to rankle Utah, sunk costs and all.

[hillbangin]

I saw Mike and bunch of other executive level looking folks waiting at the mid-station for an empty gondola cabin. Looked like they had 5-6 in their group, and by the looks on their faces as we went by, it seemed they had been waiting considerably longer than they expected for an empty cabin to come up from the bottom. It was mid week, and not crowded, so I’m pretty sure he understands that issue is real.

The entire mid-station area is an eye sore, the loading area is ancient, and seems dangerously dilapidated, including metal grates that are totally bent up and obviously past their time, barn doors and other infrastructure that look seriously neglected.

Even the pitiful signs they hang on the broken cars are old and broken. I count on stage 1 most of the ski season, and it is really saddening to see the utter neglect.

Hopefully they can get some money together to get it updated, but I have a feeling there is nothing but mulch on order until the village plans are more solidified.

He probably left there and went to the fairly new K1 gondi to hand out cookies - staring at the new lodge - the cabin barn they don't use - the new bubble - and the new peak lodge - thinking 'if I could just close that Rt4 thing I could build a real resort up here...........

[newpylong1]

No one wants to close Route 4, and it will never be closed. Can you imagine the headlines of Killington now being 1900 vertical instead of 3000? Like a fart in church... That's on top of the fact that the value of all of those properties clustering 4 Mile and GE would be slashed. They would face open revolt, just like they did when they wanted to remove Northeast Passage entirely and Sunrise said not so fast.

The issue is Killington is all about eye candy. The World Cup, both new lodges, and now this village should be plenty of evidence of that. So while Route 4 is a vital link, it's by no means glamorous and does not get the investment it deserves and requires. If K wants to remain a World Class resort they need to start acting like it. Sorry Powdr but Boyne would not allow that lift continue to operate so deficiently.

[jimmywilson69]

yeah Boyne is killing it corporate wide. Powder would never let Snowbird or Copper look like that either...

[easyrider16]

I think the reason Powdr doesn't spend money on Skyship is pretty simple. Their focus is the basin, K1, where the majority of people go, where the village will be sited, where the snow lasts the longest and is least impacted by climate change. I'm sure they want to keep Bear and Skyship operating for all the reasons discussed above, but it's not their priority and probably won't be going forward. If climate change continues along its current path, there's a fair chance making snow down to Skyship base becomes untenable in the not-too-distant future. If you're a ski area owner staring that problem in the face, would you throw money at the infrastructure most likely to be affected?

That said... can it really be that expensive to fix the doors on those broken gondi cars? That seems like an easy win.

[Downdraft]

Get rid of all that crap below bear. No more skyship. No more trails. Focus on the stuff where people go. Like mentioned above, who is going to invest $15m on new stuff that low in elevation that gets minimal use. Scale back!

[snoloco]

Regardless of how much use any lift or terrain gets, I believe that every ski resort has a responsibility to keep their infrastructure in a state of good repair, and Killington just isn't living up to that.

[newpylong1]

Get rid of all that crap below bear. No more skyship. No more trails. Focus on the stuff where people go. Like mentioned above, who is going to invest $15m on new stuff that low in elevation that gets minimal use. Scale back!

Yeah, they should keep scaling back. Might as well get rid of everything East of Skye Peak too. By that token they should get rid of South Ridge. Why not just scale all the way back to just K-1? That's where all the people go isn't it?

You have the same argument every time this comes up. If no one used it those two lots wouldn't fill and cars wouldn't be parked up and down Route 4 on weekends. Where are those cars/people going to go if not there, somewhere else YOU go. Think past your nose.

[Stormchaser]

Get rid of all that crap below bear. No more skyship. No more trails. Focus on the stuff where people go. Like mentioned above, who is going to invest $15m on new stuff that low in elevation that gets minimal use. Scale back!

Plenty of resorts have access gondolas/lifts that only serve to get you to skiable terrain...

[G-smashed]

Get rid of all that crap below bear. No more skyship. No more trails. Focus on the stuff where people go. Like mentioned above, who is going to invest $15m on new stuff that low in elevation that gets minimal use. Scale back!

Why don't we just get rid of you and your senseless trolling. The skyeship is part of Killington's legacy that makes it unique among all NE ski areas. The run from the peak to route 4 (I will not call it peak to creek out of respect for Whistler.) is not challenging but it is interesting and fun besides being an important entry to the rest of K from the east. I also miss NEP and liquid lunches at the Back Behind. It's all about variety.

[Mister Moose]

If climate change continues along its current path, there's a fair chance making snow down to Skyship base becomes untenable in the not-too-distant future. If you're a ski area owner staring that problem in the face, would you throw money at the infrastructure most likely to be affected?

Do you even read what you write? You're saying Okemo, Loon, Attitash, Gunstock, Cranmore, Sunday River, Pleasant Mountain, and every area in the Berkshires (all lower base than Skyeship) might as well stop maintaining their lifts and infrastructure?

Of course they will continue.

[easyrider16]

If climate change continues along its current path, there's a fair chance making snow down to Skyship base becomes untenable in the not-too-distant future. If you're a ski area owner staring that problem in the face, would you throw money at the infrastructure most likely to be affected?

Do you even read what you write? You're saying Okemo, Loon, Attitash, Gunstock, Cranmore, Sunday River, Pleasant Mountain, and every area in the Berkshires (all lower base than Skyeship) might as well stop maintaining their lifts and infrastructure?

Of course they will continue.

Did you read it? Because I didn't say that. I never said they would stop maintaining Skyship. I just said it's not going to be the priority moving forward. Your straw man regarding other areas entirely misses the point.

[Mister Moose]

If climate change continues along its current path, there's a fair chance making snow down to Skyship base becomes untenable in the not-too-distant future. If you're a ski area owner staring that problem in the face, would you throw money at the infrastructure most likely to be affected?

Do you even read what you write? You're saying Okemo, Loon, Attitash, Gunstock, Cranmore, Sunday River, Pleasant Mountain, and every area in the Berkshires (all lower base than Skyeship) might as well stop maintaining their lifts and infrastructure?

Of course they will continue.

Did you read it? Because I didn't say that. I never said they would stop maintaining Skyship. I just said it's not going to be the priority moving forward. Your straw man regarding other areas entirely misses the point.

I read it several times, and took stock of all the if/maybe language, and challenged you to support the foundation of your question. The other resorts are not a strawman, they face the same question.

Are you saying Killington will throw money at Skyeship, they won't, which appears to be your assertion, or are you saying you have no opinion?

[easyrider16]

I read it several times, and took stock of all the if/maybe language, and challenged you to support the foundation of your question. The other resorts are not a strawman, they face the same question.

Are you saying Killington will throw money at Skyeship, they won't, which appears to be your assertion, or are you saying you have no opinion?

It's not a black and white situation. I don't think Killington is going to prioritize spending on Skyship for the reasons I stated. I'm sure they will try to spend as minimally as possible to keep what is there running at a basic level, but I doubt you'll see new lifts or a major overhaul.

On the other hand, you will likely see continued spending on the basin area, where the village will be, as we have already seen with the Snowdon Six and K1 lodge. Mike has already stated that the next major lift upgrade will be Superstar. To me, that suggests they are prioritizing the basin area, and areas like Skyship will be neglected apart from the most basic required maintenance.