Killington: Another Year, Another Round of Capital Improvements

As with last summer’s projects, this $25 million investment will go a long way, covering upgrades to lifts, snowmaking, food and beverage, Bike Park trails, summer attractions, online trip planning, and more. We’re excited to share with you everything our crews are working on this summer and beyond.

In case you hadn’t heard yet, we’re in the process of replacing our Snowdon Triple with a new, fixed-grip quad chairlift manufactured by Doppelmayr, the same folks who built the Superstar Six. The new Snowdon Quad will remain a fixed-grip lift as part of our long-term strategy to maintain fixed-grip lift access across the resort. Though the ride will be a bit slower than the nearby Snowdon Six Express, fixed-grip lifts generally provide more reliable lift access during any potential weather events that Mother Nature throws at us. The new lift will also provide a 33% increase in capacity and a slightly faster ride than its predecessor, plus a back-up generator that can run the lift at full speed in case of a potential power outage.

Construction work began back in April and is coming along smoothly, with all the Snowdon Triple’s old lift towers and terminals already removed. In late May, crews were out blasting holes in the earth where the new lift’s towers and terminal foundations will live. This approximately $7.5 million lift project is expected to be completed near the start of winter 2026-27, and we’ll share more exact details as that time gets closer.

Last fall, we announced an upcoming expansion to the Jerk Jamaican Mountain Grill, our slopeside dining option whose popularity has outgrown its current physical footprint. Many of those details are still the same—the new building will have more indoor seating (increasing from 26 to 160), an expanded deck with 100 outdoor seats, additional indoor bathrooms, full bar service, and improved food preparation and storage spaces for staff, all in a space that’s 4x the size of our current building. The ski-on, ski-off flavors of the Jerk will remain, but once completed, this building will take on a new name: the Needle’s Eye Lodge. 

Since this is a big project, most of this summer’s work will be about getting the site ready for the larger changes coming next year. Crews will soon begin building a retaining wall around the project’s full footprint, which will help set the stage for the new building to start going up in summer 2027. And don’t worry, access to the Jerk Jamaican Mountain Grill is expected to remain unaffected during the 2026-27 winter season. The full $8.5 million project is currently projected to open during winter 2027-28.

Along with these large lift infrastructure projects at both Killington and Pico, we’re investing an additional $1.3 million in lift maintenance projects. This summer’s work includes targeted projects on the Needles Eye Quad, Skye Peak Quad, Skyeship Gondola, K-1 Gondola, and Bear Mountain Quad, as well as the Summit Quad at Pico Mountain. Maintenance work will focus on acceleration and deceleration systems, drive and brake upgrades, tower work, and other key components, all aimed to boost lift reliability and the guest experience. These investments are designed to strengthen lift performance all across the resort while supporting more consistent access to terrain each winter.

Hopefully, you haven’t heard enough from us about snowmaking upgrades yet, as more are on the way! After once again delivering the longest season in the East, supported in part by the full implementation of 1,044 new low-energy snowguns, we’re continuing to double down on the snowmaking infrastructure that helps make long seasons possible. Alongside the Snowdon Quad project, we’re installing new pipelines and around 23 more new low-energy snowguns along Conclusion, a trail that hasn’t seen active snowmaking in around a decade. Additional work includes ongoing pipeline replacements at Bear Mountain, a project that will soon deliver increased snowmaking reliability to trails like Upper Wildfire. Two higher capacity fan guns are also set to be installed this summer on Mouse Trap and Skyeburst, replacing the existing fan guns on both trails that will be re-located in the future.

In our Snowshed Lodge, a new AI-powered checkout process has been implemented this summer that will see year-round usage going forward. To pay for your food and drinks at Snowshed, simply place all your items within the view of our new 3D cameras, and our software will quickly and accurately total the whole purchase for you. All that’s left is to scan for your season pass discounts (if applicable) and pay with a quick tap of your card or smartphone! Simple transactions can now only take a few seconds, while the overall checkout process is up to 400% faster than a traditional point-of-sale location. 

Just over the hill at Pico Mountain, we sadly had to say goodbye to one of the mountain’s mainstays this past winter, as the Outpost Double suffered a mechanical failure that unfortunately could not be repaired. After reviewing all our possible options since then, we’ve got a two-part replacement in the works. First, to provide lift access to all of Outpost’s terrain during winter 2026-27, we’re installing a temporary rope tow that will bring skiers & riders from the intersection of Prospector and That A Way to the top of Bronco, located near the unload station of the retired Outpost Double.

Second, looking ahead to winter 2027-28 (Pico Mountain’s 90th anniversary!), we’ve got more good news: permitting and lift procurement are underway for a new chairlift that will be constructed in the footprint of the previous Outpost Double, with a target opening during the 2027-28 winter season. More details on the chairlift’s capacity and manufacturer will be announced at a later date, but we’re excited to maintain lift access to the classic Vermont terrain at Outpost, both for this upcoming winter and beyond. 

Next up in summer operations, we’ve also invested $237,000 towards our Trail Crew’s new best friend: a remote-controlled Moritz crawler carrier from German manufacturer Pfanzelt. What is a Moritz, exactly? Built to operate on steep and sensitive terrain, this compact machine can access areas that are difficult for larger equipment while using specialized attachments for trail construction and maintenance. Our specialized attachment of choice is the trail crusher, so if you see us talking about our trail crusher this summer and beyond, this is the machine we’re talking about. 

The Moritz was first showcased last summer at the 2025 NSAA Downhill Bike Park Summit hosted at Killington and is due to arrive later this summer. Once in use, the machine will immediately support our Bike Park maintenance and trail development. Our first task for the trail crusher is slated to be Easy Street, as we look to further improve the riding experience on one of our signature beginner trails. Overall, this machine will help our Trail Crew more efficiently restore washed-out sections of trail, build new lines, and clear, shape, open, and maintain Bike Park trails throughout this summer and beyond, all while limiting disruption to the surrounding terrain.

Looking just slightly ahead on the calendar, the Ramshead Express will open to service our Bike Park beginning on Friday, July 12th, and we’re doing all we can to prepare that terrain quicker for all our guests. We’ve enlisted additional third-party trail building support to assist with some of our most popular trails on Ramshead. Working alongside our own Trail Crew, this added support will help us prepare Black Magic, our premier 2+ mile long jump trail, as well as Blue Magic, another one of our most popular trails. Using this additional assistance, we’re looking to get both trails opened to the public around early July this summer.

Beyond improving the mountain bike trails we’ve already got, we still have a new Bike Park trail that’s on the way! Though we previously announced this new trail, permitting delays prevented us from beginning trail work last summer, but that wait is almost over. Work is set to begin later this month on a blue, single-track hybrid trail accessible from Lower Blue Magic on Ramshead. The approximately 1.5-mile trail will be built entirely in-house by Killington’s Trail Crew, with more info on the trail’s name and expected opening date to be announced in the future. For the time being, you can check it out on our new trail map.

The Ramshead base area will also feature a new dual slalom course and jump line this summer, both to also be built by our own Trail Crew. For more updates on the opening timelines for both, make sure to follow our Bike Park Instagram page. The dual slalom course will soon be featured heavily in our newest mountain bike event, Full Send Fridays, taking place on Friday, August 21st.

Summer at The Beast is much more than just construction season these days, and we’re spending the money to prove it. $215,000 has been invested in summer attractions alone, one of our largest investments in summer activities in the past decade. First up, the Adventure Center will add two new attractions that we’ll look to open ahead of July 4th weekend this year: Beast Tower and Climbing Wall. Along with an incoming new Trampoline Jump, the number of attractions available with Adventure Center access is now up to nine.

Additionally, our Roaring Brook Mining attraction is now double its previous size after being extended by 20’ while now offering a more convenient nearby option for purchasing gem bags. Free attractions already available to all guests include three new lawn games and an upgraded Kick Start track, our bike loop in the Snowshed Base Area designed for small children to ride using our complimentary balance bikes. We also have a new and improved playground on the way that will also open ahead of the Fourth of July.

As you’ve hopefully noticed while reading this, we also have a new website! Our new killington.com debuted just last month, built in partnership with Burlington, VT-based company Eternity. We’ve got a host of fun new features, including a dedicated search bar at the top of each page, helpful links on several key pages, and an upgraded AI chatbot. Feel free to poke around and see what you find!

Everything here was designed with our guests in mind, and these changes should make it easier for anyone and everyone to find information and plan their own visit. This project especially reflects our ability as an independent resort to work with a local company and implement guest experience improvements that were tailored to our specific needs. For all the Pico fans out there, Pico Mountain’s website is also set to receive a similar upgrade from Eternity at the end of this month.