Killington: Summer Lift Construction Continues

The mountain ops team has been busy making moves to say the least. Here is what the Director of Mountain Operations, Jeff Temple said with only 45 days until snowmaking begins!

LIFTS

"Lift construction is in the works. As stewards of the environment and our playground we could not start upper mountain construction until the nesting period of the Bicknell thrush was over on August 1. Construction is now underway on the upper terminal and towers of the South Ridge Quad and the new Snowdon Six Express bubble chairlift. 

"The new haul rope for the K-1 Express Gondola has arrived and installation will begin the week of September 10. The new K-1 cabins are being manufactured in Europe and we will hear soon about the shipping date.

"Storage facilities for the new 6-person bubble chairs and the K-1 Express Gondola cabins are in the last stages of design and construction will begin shortly. 

The Swirl Racing Venue lift route is laid-out and being cleared.  The work will begin shortly on installing the lift. In the meantime, a few mountain bike trail segments are being re-worked on both Ramshead and Snowdon to accomplish the lift/ski trail work and to keep these signature bike trails open through the fall as much as possible."

SNOWMAKING

"We are replacing and adding 44,000 feet of snowmaking pipe. Replacing deteriorated pipe is important in our goal to protect our environment so we can Play Forever and be energy efficient.  Leaking air or water is not efficient; along with the replacements, we are reconfiguring some pipelines for better operational efficiency. We are also adding snowmaking to trails at both Snowdon and South Ridge areas to enhance skiing and riding experience. Upper Bunny, Upper Chute, Upper Cruise Control, Lower Pipedream and additional areas at Snowdon are all locations snowmaking pipe work is in progress."

TUNNELS

"Tunnels are being installed to enhance the skier experience in four locations to provide more top to bottom runs on key intermediate terrain. The Skyeburst Tunnel has footings being installed and is about ready for concrete.  The actual tunnel installation is a couple of weeks away.  The Upper Bunny Tunnel and the Lower Chute Tunnel are being dug out and will be ready for tunnel installation by early September. The Great Bear Tunnel will be the last location we work on due to the amount of trail cutting and grade work required for this site."