Killington History

Agree with Coach Z---Rams head was likely designed correctly, for the purpose intended.    


The next 200'-0 of vertical at Rams is very steep for the type of skier they wanted to be on that hill.    They would have to have moved a lot of rock or cut much longer trails etc to get light blue trails.    

Anyway, from what I understand you are still welcome to hike it.  



Benny--you are absolutely, but sadly, correct.     No new money coming to Kmart---just like her namesake, the different levels of irony.   Makes me sad to see the place rotting away. Independent business owners are spending just enough money to make their place survive.  I will continue skiing there, esp in early winter and late spring.  But killington ilk like me are getting old.  I hope there is a rebirth but honestly don't see it.  Maybe it's biking? The winter cow has been milked.  They are just putting a bow around her neck each winter.  Let's hope they start tying it soon, seems cold enough.      

I hear ya'.  That took a long time just to ignore.

I:)skiing wrote

The next 200'-0 of vertical at Rams is very steep for the type of skier they wanted to be on that hill.    They would have to have moved a lot of rock or cut much longer trails etc to get light blue trails.    

Anyway, from what I understand you are still welcome to hike it.  

Nope, not welcome, but, there are ways..........

Man, you get to the top, and look out on what would be a whole new experience there towards Pico. Too bad.

I was always a fan of Pico...only skied K on weekdays...but still, both are nice...long runs...but a better vibe at Pico

There were always hearsay rumors about the top of Rams Head. One was there was some kind of deal made to keep the top of the chair away from the Appalachian Trail when they did the land swap. Another was they needed room to put the Pico connector chair at the top of Rams Head.

I always thought it was silly they did not go to the top. The only "steep" trail was Header right under the lift. The trails that went around each side were no harder than the rest of Rams Head. Horn was even graded green.

The reason Rams Head never had any traffic was because it had a long, slow, double chair that served a lot of acres. It was 6500 ft long and 1300 vertical feet.

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

Benny Profane wrote

I hope someone read this. Probably took awhile to type up.

I read it  and appreciated it . . . this is the kind of knowledge/info/backstory that I (as a relatively new skier (e.g., 2007)) find valuable about this forum.

Petronio

I read it too, Benny usually had something to add about the financial angle and something cynical to make it fun

Hudsonhiker wrote

Skied Killington when they had just pomas. No snowmaking. Was fine skiing too.

I'd like to see some pictures or stories from this era

Petronio wrote

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

Benny Profane wrote

I hope someone read this. Probably took awhile to type up.

I read it  and appreciated it . . . this is the kind of knowledge/info/backstory that I (as a relatively new skier (e.g., 2007)) find valuable about this forum.

Petronio

The natives have circled the wagons and are bitting and anyone not in their circle

I read it and appreciaed it despite already knowing most of what he wrote.  I also still chuckled readimg HPD's wise response. Lol.  All is good and copacetic, my friends.

I'm on killingtonzone and from what I heard, is that the interconnect is still on the upgrade list and it will include a 6-pack on Ramshead when it is built.  The new lift will go to the top of Ramshead and that terrain will be part of the interconnect.  I think that it was the original plan as well to have the upper Ramshead terrain be part of the interconnect.

Doesn't the company that sold PCMR to Vail own Killington?

It would be very ironic if the proceeds from that then pays for the Pico Killington interconnect!

I'm guessing that they would really want Park City back, with the cheap lease. That was a cash cow.

I'm wondering if Killington ever came up in any kind of negotiation during this Talisker thing. Vail: "Well, sure, if you want us to back off, maybe we can talk about one of the most popular ski hills in the east that you guys own".

Thacheronix wrote

Hudsonhiker wrote

Skied Killington when they had just pomas. No snowmaking. Was fine skiing too.

I'd like to see some pictures or stories from this era

There was a guy by the name of Bob Perry who shot tons of pictures, and some film of Killington from almost the start. His pictures were in all the lodges and in places up and down the road when I first started skiing there. I actually bought one of his images  that hung up in the top of the mountain lodge on a lark, just calling him up. He died about ten years ago, and all Google could tell me is that somebody bought all of his archives, which I think is huge, and handed them off the the Sherburne public library. They seem to be very possessive of the stuff, and nothing is on the internet, which is sad. Just collecting dust in a cabinet. Needs to be digitized and out there.

His company was called Reflections of Killington. Maybe NELSAP can convince them to release some stuff, since they are the internet historians of eastern skiing.

Seemed appropriate to note the passing of Killington's first employee here.  Royal Biathrow, who died 10/25/17 at 86, was Killington Ski Area’s first employee in 1957.  The article includes of a few stories of the early days.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/articles/one-of-killingtons-mountain-men-dies/

How did I miss this thread??

Benny, NELSAP's curator, Jeremy, (along with his website and his many published books) is the Historian of all things about LOST New England skiing. Hence the name, New England Lost Ski Area Project.

Killington, thankfully, is not lost.

Edit: Apparently I didn't miss it... I replied on page 2.  

(Harvey, why don't posts have the year they were written?  Didn't they used to? )

Well, yeah, sure, but, if you think of it, 60s Killington is lost to history. It's a vastly different place.

Interview with Dave Lacambe, long time head of Killington snowmaking, which pretty much makes him the top snowmaker in the world- also a great guy to have as a boss by the way.
http://mountaintimes.info/meet-dave-lacombe-snowsurface-manager/?

I miss Locos absolutes. He loves to throw out personal opinions like righteous claims with confidence that everyone should agree with him. That stuff is funny. I can't help to F with him a little on that on his Facebook page. I wish he'd still post in here.

I haven't skied at Killington since the 80's. I remember that really long gondola ride from the bottom to the top. It was weird to see that they closed terrain over the years. I'd be bummed if I had a property below Sunrise that was no longer slopeside.