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25-614: In 1954, Perry H. Merrill, known as the Father of Vermont's State Parks and Alpine Ski Areas and Vermont State's land lease officer, wanted to see a ski resort developed on Killington Peak , the second highest mountain in Vermont . Preston Leete Smith agreed to work with him to develop this area. Killington opened on December 13, 1958. The resort expanded in the 1960s at a pace "well above industry standards." Many new trails were created and Smith had beginner trails accessible from every lift. In

50-421: A Grand Summit Hotel , a condominium-hotel in which investors were to buy a quarter of a year ownership of the hotel room units. The income from these condo quarter-shares was intended to be key to finances of the company. By the time the new millennium rolled around, Les Otten had left the company amidst a huge debt crises; their earnings had not kept pace with their growth. William (BJ) Fair took over as CEO. As

75-566: A location in Vermont is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . American Skiing Company American Skiing Company was one of the largest operators of alpine ski , snowboard and golf resorts in the United States . Its resorts included Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine , The Canyons in Utah , Killington , Mount Snow , Haystack , Heavenly and Steamboat . In

100-602: A new venture to operate the two mountains. In June 2007, ASC announced plans to sell Sunday River and Sugarloaf to Boyne Resorts . Finally in July 2007, it was announced that American Skiing Company's last remaining and flagship resort, The Canyons had been bought by the Talisker Corporation for $ 100 million. This was the final resort sold by the American Skiing Company, in preparation for

125-623: A reputation for being the first ski area every season in the eastern U.S. to open, as well as the last to close, although in recent years the length of the season has begun to shorten. For example, in the 15 years between 1986 and 2001, the resort opened in October in every year but one, and never closed earlier than May 21. But in the five years ending in 2011, opening day has always been in November, and closing day has never made it past May 6. The years after 2011 have reversed this trend slightly with

150-552: A revised application for what is referred to as the Overall Subdivision. Shortly after the acquisition in 2007, Powdr announced that it will stop honoring "lifetime" lift passes issued by the previous owners after two years. A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of about 800 pass holders. Located in central Vermont , Killington has 155 trails, 21 lifts, and 1,509 acres (6.1 km) extending across six interconnected mountain peaks. A seventh peak, Pico Mountain ,

175-572: Is a lodge near the peak which is complete with a restaurant and bar with panoramic views. In 1763, the mountain was known as Pisgah . Killington (a.k.a. Sherburne) lodging situations have changed over the years, from sleeping on barroom floors and barns on the mountain road, traveling up from nearby Rutland or Woodstock , to the present day, in which the vicinity has over 120 inns, lodges, and condominium complexes. Their sleeping capacity brings this Central Vermont region's tourist population to 60,000+ on prime winter weekends. This article about

200-609: Is a stop on the Long Trail , which here shares its route with the Appalachian Trail . Traveling southbound on the Trail, it is the last 4,000-foot (1,200 m) peak close to the trail until Virginia. A ski resort , Killington Ski Resort , nicknamed "the beast of the east", is located on the mountain. A gondola transports skiers and non-hikers to the summit in winter, summer, and during fall leaf peeping season. There

225-483: The 1960s, Killington installed snowmaking equipment, which had been invented in the 1950s, but was considered a banana belt luxury. Several low-snow seasons proved their value. Killington introduced the ticket wicket in 1963 to prevent skiers sharing lift tickets , while also not damaging ski clothing. Extensive investment in the mid-1990s by American Skiing Company gave Killington a modernized lift system, similar in footprint to what exists today. Killington Peak

250-546: The 2019 season ending June 2nd and the 2022 season ending June 4th. The 2020 season ended early on March 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Since November 2016 , Killington has hosted the World Cup tour, with women's technical events ( giant slalom , slalom ) on Thanksgiving weekend, held on the " Superstar " run. American Mikaela Shiffrin won the slalom events in each of the race's first five offerings. Prior to 2016,

275-537: The Ramshead and Snowshed base areas. Killington has one of the east's largest half-pipes located at Bear Mountain for a portion of each winter season. There are boarder cross terrain and at least three to five major trails with ramps and jumps. Famed ski map creator, James Niehues, hand-painted the Killington ski map in 1990. Pico Mountain is located on a separate mountain, Pico Peak , several miles away from

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300-543: The Superstar Pub off of its foundation, condemning the structure. Killington has since repaired damaged infrastructure, and is operating at full or near-full potential. The last mention of the development of Killington Village was in February 2014 when SP Land Company, LLC. filed its Act 250 permit application for the $ 133.4 million Phase 1 of development, along with the conceptual Killington Village Master Plan and

325-709: The early 2000s, the company sold all assets and shut down in 2007. In 1980, Les Otten , the son of a German immigrant, purchased the Sunday River resort for $ 840,000 from the Sherburne Corporation. Sunday River included one double chair and a couple of surface lifts at the time. Sunday River slowly grew to become New England's second most popular resort in the 1990s. In 1994, Otten formed LBO Resort Enterprises Corp and purchased Attitash Bear Peak in New Hampshire . By 1995, Sugarbush , Vermont

350-570: The eastern United States (3,050 ft (930 m)), after Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, New York , at 3,430 ft (1,045 m). The mountains that make up the Killington resort separate the town of Killington (with its access road) from the city of Rutland . The resort offers trails ranging from beginner to expert. Part of the mountain is set aside for terrain parks, with five snowboard and alpine parks. Killington has several learning areas for first-time skiers, mainly located around

375-595: The huge debts racked up, ASC was forced to sell Heavenly to Vail Resorts, Steamboat to Intrawest , and Sugarbush to a group of investors. In January 2007, rumors surfaced that ASC might be in the process of selling Killington and Pico to Powdr Corporation , and Attitash and Mount Snow to Peak Resorts . It was later confirmed in a letter to the All For One pass holders that Mount Snow and Attitash had been sold to Peak Resorts and that Killington and Pico had been sold to SP Land Company, LLC, who would join with Powdr in

400-433: The main base. Other lift installations in this era included the Ramshead and Needles Eye express quads, and a quad connecting Needle's Eye with the top of Snowshed. In the summer of 2011, the Killington area was damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in late August, which caused flooding and damage along U.S. Route 4 , the road leading into Killington. The resort was damaged by excess runoff from Ottauquechee River , which lifted

425-478: The main resort. It has 57 trails covering 19 mi (31 km), all serviced by seven lifts including two high-speed quads. Runs include The Pike, 49er, Summit Glades, Upper KA, Giant Killer, and Sunset 71. There are hotels, condos and restaurants at the base. The mountain is accessible from the main base by car or bus. Pico was once an independent ski resort called Pico Peak, and was bought out of bankruptcy by American Skiing Company which also owned Killington in

450-417: The mid-1990s. Upon the collapse of ASC, Powdr Corp. bought both mountains and continues to operate them. Lift tickets at Killington are currently valid at Pico. There have been plans to connect Pico to the main Killington resort since it was purchased. Connector trails have been cut (and are often used for maintenance purposes), and it is possible to ski from Pico to Killington when natural snow allows. Combined,

475-568: The most recent World Cup races in the eastern U.S. were in March 1991 at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire ; the last in Vermont were in March 1978 at Stratton Mountain . The base elevation is 1,165 ft (355 m) above sea level and the vertical drop is 3,050 ft (930 m). Killington has 45 miles (72 km) of hiking and mountain biking trails, and an 18-hole golf course. It also has lift accessed mountain biking in

500-476: The summer with technical trail features, jumps, and other obstacles. In March 2015, the resort successfully applied to the state for permit allowing them to add zip lines and a mountain coaster . Killington Peak Killington Peak is the second highest summit in the Green Mountains and in the U.S. state of Vermont . It is located east of Rutland in south-central Vermont. Killington Peak

525-464: The two resorts offer over 1977 acres of skiable terrain. Killington averages 250 inches (20.8 ft; 6.4 m) of natural snow each winter, coupled with a snowmaking system that covers 71% of the trails. This has allowed Killington to offer what is often the longest skiing season in eastern North America, which usually spans from late October to late May, over 200 days. It has opened as early as October 1 and closed as late as June 22. Killington had

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550-643: Was added to the portfolio of LBO resorts. In 1996, Otten purchased Mount Cranmore in the Mount Washington Valley of New Hampshire. Later that year, Otten sought to purchase S-K-I Ltd. , owners of Killington , Mount Snow , and Haystack , Vermont, Waterville Valley , New Hampshire, and controlling interest in Sugarloaf, Maine. Because of monopoly concerns, the company was only allowed to purchase Killington, Mount Snow, Haystack, and Sugarloaf. Upon acquiring S-K-I Ltd., LBO Resort Enterprises

575-605: Was once accessible by the original three-stage Killington Gondola and Killington Double. The Skyeship Gondola replaced the first two stages of the Killington Gondola, running from the Skyeship base near Route 4 through the Needle's Eye area and up to Skye Peak, but not on to Killington Peak. The K-1 gondola replaced the earlier Killington Peak double chairlift in the same alignment, significantly increasing capacity out of

600-417: Was purchased by Killington in 1996, but operates as a separate resort on the same lift tickets. There have been several proposals to connect Killington and Pico with a series of lifts and trails since 1998, however, no plans have been finalized. The primary mountain is Killington Peak at 4,229 ft (1,289 m), which has the second-highest summit in Vermont and has the second greatest vertical drop in

625-698: Was renamed the American Skiing Company By 1997, the company expanded west, buying Wolf Mountain in Park City, Utah . It quickly was transformed into The Canyons, now the largest resort in Utah. In 1997, the company, now known as American Skiing Company went public on the New York Stock Exchange and purchased Heavenly , California and Steamboat , Colorado from Kamori International. All American Skiing Company resorts have

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