Killington is located in central Vermont, 191 trails and 30 lifts extend across seven mountain peaks. The main peak, Killington Peak (4,241 ft, 1293 m), is the second highest in Vermont and has the second greatest vertical drop in the east (3,050 feet, 930 m) after Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, New York (with 3,430ûfeet (1,050ûm), 1045 m). Six of the peaks of Killington are interconnected. The seventh, Pico Peak, operated as an independent ski area until 1996, when it was purchased by Killington. There have been plans to connect Killington and Pico with a series of lifts and trails since 1998, but have not yet happened. The mountains that make up Killington separate the town of Killington (w/ the access road) from the city of Rutland. In fact the mountains are so large, you can ski out of bounds (discouraged and dangerous) and get to Mendon in the south or Rutland in the west (Killington and Chittenden are in the East) The resort offers a variety of trails from gentle to expert. Trails include "Outer Limits" a double black diamond mogul trail that is the steepest mogul run in all of New England. The longest trail in the east is the 6.2-mile (9.9ûkm) "Juggernaut." Part of the mountain is set aside for terrain parks, with five snowboard and alpine parks. Killington has a teaching area for first-time skiers, the "Accelerated Learning Area". Killington has one of the east's largest half-pipes located at Bear Mountain for a portion of each winter season. Additionally, there is lengthy boarder cross terrain and at least three to five major trails with ramps and jumps. Snowshed: A section on the mountain devoted for the beginners, Snowshed is serviced by three lifts. It is an open slope, with a lodge and restaurant at the bottom. The Adult ski school is located at Snowshed. Most condos and the Grand Hotel are located at the bottom of Snowshed. Rams Head: Rams Head has beginner and intermediate trails serviced by an express quad lift. It is serviced by a cafeteria. The Ski School for children and teenagers is located at Ramshead base lodge. The Squeeze Play trail is used for learning tree skiing. It has wide gaps between trees. The ski school is split into four groups: the First Tracks program for 1-3 years olds, the Ministars for 4-7 year olds, Superstars for 8-12 year olds, and the Snowzone program for 14-18 year olds.
Snowdon Mountain Snowdon provides a variety of Beginner, Intermediate and Expert trails. Among the trails are Conclusion, a double black diamond and Great Northern, a beginner trail. There are two chairlifts (a triple from K-1 and a quad from end of Caper- careful both are slow and cold) and a Poma. Trails for advanced skiers include Vagabond and North Star. Killington Peak: Part of Killington Peak, the "Canyon Area", is the steepest part of the mountain. There are many double black diamond trails including: Cascade, Downdraft, Double Dipper, and the Big Dipper Glade. Cascade is used to develop advanced skiers. It is a double black and steep. It is serviced by the K1 gondola and the Canyon Quad. Two shorter runs here include Rime and Reason, accessible from the North Ridge Triple chair. Easier trails (Great Eastern and Great Northern) can connect with the rest of the mountain. There is a restaurant and lodge at the summit and base of Killington Peak. The peak was once accessible by the original Killington gondola (once the only gondola on the mountain). The origin of the original gondola started at the current location of the Skyeship loading station, just off of U.S. Route 4. The original gondola had three segments between stations, while the Skyeship, erected in 1994, has two. The third original segment ran from Skye Peak to Killington peak - the structure housing the original unloading station is still intact and visible at the peak. The same structure houses the peak's restaurant. The K1 gondola was built soon after to replace the Killington peak chairlift. Skye Peak: All types of terrain. Trails include Ovation, a black forming into a double black when it becomes Lower Ovation, the steepest trail on the mountain, and Superstar, a black diamond that is wide and has lots of snow. There are trails for beginners and intermediate skiers. It is serviced by the Superstar Express Quad, the Skye Peak Express Quad, and the Skyeship Express Gondola. Bear Mountain: Home to Outer Limits, a very steep double black diamond mogul run, and Devil's Fiddle, another double black diamond (although Devil's Fiddle is infrequently open due to sheer ice and rock cover). Bear Mountain also features many terrain parks, including a superpipe. It is serviced by two lifts and has a lodge and restaurant. Bear Mountain also frequently hosts large scale competitive racing and freestyle events.
Sunrise Mountain Sunrise Mountain is serviced by one lift and is all beginner terrain. It was developed in the early 1980s, but due to its low elevation (at least compared to the rest of Killington), the lower portions of Sunrise had difficulty maintaining snow cover, so they were removed from the trail system. The triple chair, which originally extended further downhill to the southern corner of US-4 and VT-100 in W. Bridgewater, was shortened, and the "Northeast Passage" entrance to Killington ceased to exist in the late 1990s. Lift towers still stand below the existing chairlift. Another reason for the demise of the larger Sunrise Mtn. area was its intended use that did not some to fruition. Killington originally opened Sunrise with the intent of expanding skiing trails and lifts southeast into an area known as Parker's Gore. When these plans were halted due to concerns for bear habitat, Sunrise lost its purpose as a base area to access this terrain, and the costs of snowmaking and maintaining terrain at such a low elevation were not justified by the few skiers utilizing it.
Pico Mountain Pico is located on a separate mountain, Pico Peak, away from the main resort. It has 50 trails covering 17ûmiles (27ûkm), all serviced by 6 lifts. Popular runs include: The Pike, 49er, Summit Glades, Upper KA, Giant Killer, and Sunset 71. There are hotels, condos, restaurants at the base. It is inaccessible from the main base, except by car or bus. Lift tickets at Killington work at Pico, and there have been thoughts of connecting the two for over ten years. Pico History: Pico was once an independent ski resort called Pico Peak. Killington bought Pico Peak out of bankruptcy in the mid-1990s. There have been plans to connect Pico to the other Killington mountains since it was purchased. Connector trails have been cut; however, the more expensive lift and snowmaking systems that would make such a connection possible have not been installed as of 2007, and many of the building permits for this expansion have expired. Killington averages 250ûinches (6.4ûm) of natural snow each winter. That, coupled with a snowmaking system that covers 71% of the trails, has allowed Killington to offer what is often the longest skiing season in eastern North America, typically lasting from October to May. It covers more terrain with snow than most resorts have terrain. Also, Killington experiences a lot more snow than areas around it.
Sugarbush Resort is a ski resort located in the Mad River Valley in Warren, Vermont. It is one of the largest ski resorts in New England. The resort encompasses 4000 total acres (16ûkm?), 508 acres (2.06ûkm?) skiable, 53 miles (85ûkm) of trails, and 16 ski lifts. Sugarbush has 111 ski trails, 11 additional marked wooded area, substantial off-piste skiing and riding, a summit elevation of 4083 ft (1,244.5 m), and a vertical drop of 2600 ft (790 m). Sugarbush has two mountain areas separated by Slide Brook Basin. The south side of Sugarbush, Lincoln Peak, is the resort's main mountain area. Most of the resort real estate is located at Lincoln Peak, including the new Claybrook condominiums and hotel. Lincoln Peak has 2,400 vertical feet and a summit elevation of 3,975ûfeet (1,211.6ûm), with 72 of Sugarbush's 111 runs. Also at Lincoln Peak are several other smaller peaks: Gadd Peak, Castlerock Peak, and North Lynx Peak. Castlerock Peak is known to for its steep, narrow, winding, New England-style runs. It is also the only peak of Sugarbush that does not use snowmaking, although there are several runs such as Paradise and Domino not in the Castlerock area that also do not incorporate snowmaking. To the north, separate from Lincoln Peak, is Sugarbush's other mountain area called Mt. Ellen. Mt. Ellen's top elevation is 4,083 feet (tied for third highest in the state with Camel's Hump), and it has one of the largest continuous vertical drops in Vermont at 2,600ûfeet (790ûm). Several states and southern Quebec are visible from the summit of Mt. Ellen. Formerly an independent resort (founded by Walt Elliot in the early 1960s), Mt. Ellen has Sugarbush's steepest run, FIS. Mt. Ellen also has a secondary peak, Inverness Peak, which is home to the Green Mountain Valley School's (GMVS) racing slope, Inverness. Mt. Ellen is also home to Sugarbush's terrain park and half pipe. Although some terrain features can be found all over Sugarbush, the primary terrain parks are behind the base lodge at Mt. Ellen and on Mt. Ellen's Riemergasse trail. The half pipe is located on the Riemergasse trail which is named after deceased partner Joe Riemer. Sugarbush receives an annual average of 262ûinches (6.7ûm) of snow, but this past winter of 2006/2007 it received 314ûinches (8.0ûm) during the 150 days it was open. Sugarbush has approximately 70% snowmaking capacity, but some areas are intentionally devoid of snowmaking systems. The resort switched much of its snowmaking equipment to low energy nozzles. Sugarbush's Mt. Ellen was also the first resort to operate all of its grooming equipment on bio-diesel. The entire resort now runs all of its diesel equipment on bio-diesel.