New England Killington closed

[KevinF]

I went to Mt. Snow this morning... I was hoping the Bluebird bubble chair would make the lift ride survivable and that thing is big and heavy enough to not be affected by the wind. I pulled in and found that the Bluebird wasn't even on the cable... bad sign.

I hung around until around 11ish to see if the wind situation would change, but it became apparent that nothing would change, so I left. Just walking back to the car was brutal with the wind blasting through the base village area.

 

[tch]

You must have been lucky to NEVER experienced a weather related closure (or significantly limited skiing). This happens A LOT in early season, particularly during the Christmas-New Year holiday period. This isn't something new this year.

The almost "standard practice" is always a voucher for the unused/unusable lift ticket.

What "adjustment" do you have in mind on that policy that you want the mountain management to think about?

Probably just what happened at most areas it seems -- vouchers, credits, reduced prices. I was just curious about how places deal with this. I seem to have been mis-taken for a critic of K-ton, etc. Not at all. Perhaps I have just been lucky, but I have NOT personally experienced this situation in my 30 years skiing in New England, and I was interested in seeing how it would play out. I merely observed that the no-refunds policy on paper, if strictly enforced today, would come across as pretty draconian. As I said, any resort worth its management will work something out -- and it seems they did.

I agree with Philpug that transparency is key. I'm fine if I know what the situation is. That said, I thought it was interesting that Mt. Snow never said anything about the situation on their website except to note that some lifts were on wind hold and state the lifts that were open (I had the time and luxury of going onto their snow report b/c I was hunkering down safe and warm inside). If you read the official snow report and didn't catch the lift alerts, it all sounded pretty hunky-dory, albeit cold. And in their afternoon wrap-up they never mentioned any issues or addressed an accommodations. That seems just a bit disingenuous to me.

This discussion is relevant b/c a lot of areas are encouraging online buy-ahead purchases. And, for example, when you buy a ticket on Liftopia, it is for a specific day. If I bought a ticket for Sat. Jan. 6 last week and arrived to find the area closed or SIGNIFICANTLY reduced in services, I'd be bummed. And I'd be hoping for some kind of accommodation.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Being of the last skiers off the mountain on Friday I can not find any fault with the decision but still am disappointed as I can’t remember the last day Killington failed to open. A grade of F is reserved for such a day as this. My brother in law and I drove to Stowe to stock up on Heady Topper. Still an awesome day in Vermont even if I didn’t get any on slope time.

 

[James]

You could actually get to the top of Okemo today. The 6 pack bubble was closed but the fixed grip quad Glades chair was open. Jackson Gore bubble was open. Not many out. But some. There was some very nice snow.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

You could actually get to the top of Okemo today. The 6 pack bubble was closed but the fixed grip quad Glades chair was open. Jackson Gore bubble was open. Not many out. But some. There was some very nice snow.

Glades chair was been the go to ride forever in tough weather at Okemo. Use to love lapping all the great woods off the South side when Rim Run was the outermost trail. Then they cut all those trails and put a Quad in and the side country that was my great private stash became public trails. Really miss those old Okemo storm days.

 

[Bob.Z]

Killington has apparently decided to close today because of cold weather.

I Applaud Killington's management for making a responsible safety decision, even thou I'm sure the Mtn. accountants would not agree.

As you know, Christmas - New Years week was disastrous in New England, because of the Arctic Temps & very little skier/rider turn-out. Ski Areas count on this Holiday income to support their bottom Line & operations for the rest of the season.

For Killington to make this tuff decision immediately after a poor Holiday week, I'm impressed.

Live to Ski/Ride another Day ! ! !

 

[skidrew]

I kind of agree with you here. On one hand, I would be upset if I made travel arrangements to be in Killington and after paying for hotels, tickets, not even being able to ski would be upsetting. At the same time, if they were open, it would probably be a couple of bunny lifts because the main lifts would probably all be on wind hold. If I were a day tripper, I would rather get a credit to come back another day than show up and only be able to lap the bunny hill / lower mountain.

+1. I've certainly had the other experience - a place keeps one lift running that serves only a small % of the mountain - and basically says "well, you can ski, so no refunds".

 

[James]

As you know, Christmas - New Years week was disastrous in New England, because of the Arctic Temps & very little skier/rider turn-out. Ski Areas count on this Holiday income to support their bottom Line & operations for the rest of the season.

I don't know about this "disaster" you speak of. There was good snow, good coverage, and it only came down liquid two days before Christmas. Pretty good actually.
Some areas might have made more money as people stayed in and bought food and booze.
Christmas day was quite nice. Bonafide powder day, not brutally cold nor heavy winds.