It’s Official: Killington enters its independent era

It’s official! Killington Resort and Pico Mountain have been sold to a group of local, independent investors. The new ownership group, led by Phill Gross and Michael Ferri, is committed to reinvesting all profits into capital improvements for the foreseeable future and has pledged $30 million in capital improvements over the next two seasons.

“We are all looking forward to a bright future of independence, which would not be possible without many successful years under the POWDR umbrella,” says Killington President and Chief Executive Officer, Mike Solimano. “POWDR’s investment and management set the tone for the great years to come.”  

The resort will have a new Board of Directors, including influential local businessman and director of Casella Waste Management, John Casella, owner of the Snowed Inn, Carolyn Kepcher, and long-time local and KMS Board Member, Mike Hone.

A total of 16 investors makes up Killington Independence Group including POWDR and Great Gulf.  

“It puts together a great group of smart people to think about what the best investments are moving forward,” says Phill Gross, who has strong local ties to organizations including the Killington World Cup Foundation, Yes Kids and more.  

While the group is looking forward to a bright future with continual investment in improvements, Gross explains, they plan to keep the things that are working well, such as the management and front-line teams as they are.

“The management team, we’re not going to tell them how to run the mountain, we’re just going to let them do their jobs. We’re going to make sure the resources are there to upgrade the facilities and make the mountain the best, best place it can be and support the local community,” says Gross.  

Ferri says the opportunity to become involved in Killington and Pico was one he could not pass up.  

“My family and I have been part of the Killington Pico community since 1970 my children learned how to ski here. The fabric of Killington and the community really runs deep through our family's roots, and we really consider Killington to be our home. And so when the opportunity came up for us to be involved financially in the future of this mountain, we jumped at the chance,” he says.

Moving forward, Mike Solimano will be taking on the title of President and Chief Executive Officer. This change, suggested by our new owners, acknowledges the broader responsibilities he will now oversee as one of the largest independently owned and operated ski resorts.

In addition to Mike’s title change, we are updating the titles of our Resort Leadership Team (RLT).  Matt Kinsman will step into the role of Chief Financial Officer, and Scott Harrison will take on the title of Senior Vice President of Hospitality. These promotions are well deserved and recognize their expanded responsibilities and continued commitment to Killington and Pico.

Additionally, the titles of our RLT Directors will change to Vice President, which better reflects the scope of their roles and the increasing complexity of leading our resort.

It’s also the right time, with big things, such as the new village from Great Gulf on the horizon.

“The timing of what’s going on here is really exciting: the timing of the village and the new housing in conjunction with investment in the mountain itself. I think it’s really going to be great to see over the next several years,” says Michael Ferri.

With the closure of the sale, which is notably completed with zero net debt, the resort will begin to undertake a number of projects to improve the guest experience. Planned capital investment projects for the next two seasons include: 

With the new ownership, our signature terrain parks will be revitalized with the Kparks brand. Though we will be rebranding our terrain parks, including Reds Backyard and Peace Park, we remain committed to offering terrain parks and features rooted in progression, fun and safety. Although we will be saying good-bye to the Woodward Killington partnership, our existing Killington terrain park team will continue delivering an amazing experience including the signature early season terrain park on North Ridge. The Peace Park name will no longer be on the map, but we will offer unique shapes and a wide variety of rails in its place. And we’re thrilled to announce the return of Rails to Riches!

The new investment group is also passionate about environmental stewardship and plans to expand on what the resort is already doing in that area.  

“We're definitely going to create some initiatives that try to support the idea of sustainability, reducing our carbon footprint right away,” says Gross. "We're investing in low energy snow guns that'll save a lot of lot of energy, a lot of power, and get the snow on the mountain without expending as much as much carbon.”

More details on each capital improvement project are forthcoming. It should be noted the Superstar lift replacement will affect spring skiing this season and potentially the 2025 Stifel Killington Cup.  

“We do plan to make more snow in North Ridge to extend the season in the Canyon this year and are working with the lift manufacturer to finalize the construction plan for the lift before making the call on the Killington Cup,” Solimano says.

Additional details on each capital improvements project will be announced within the next month. 

No, we will be rebranding our terrain parks, including Reds Backyard and Peace Park, however we remain committed to offering terrain parks and features rooted in progression, fun and safety. Although we will be saying good-bye to the Woodward Killington partnership, we will be bringing back the KParks brand. Our existing Killington terrain park team will continue delivering an amazing experience including the signature early season terrain park on North Ridge.  The Peace Park name will no longer be on the map, but we will offer unique shapes and a wide variety of rails in its place.

Yes, the November 2024 Stifel Killington Cup event will proceed as planned and members of our new ownership group are proud supporters of the US Ski Team. We plan on replacing the Superstar Express Quad with a new six-pack which may impact our ability to host the Killington Cup in 2025. More information will be released in the future as we finalize the replacement plan with the lift manufacturer.

The highlight of our snowmaking revitalization project is the purchase of 1,000 new HKD low-energy snow guns, the majority of which will be tower mounted. 490 guns are being installed ahead of the 24/25 season and will mostly be replacements/upgrades for existing tower guns with older technology to improve energy efficiency. A small number of additional land guns are included and will feature a new tripod base to improve versatility on steep terrain. Cruise Control, Needles Eye, Outer Limits, Swirl, Timberline, Great Eastern, Blue Heavan, Bear Trax, lower Skyeburst, upper Bittersweet and Panic Button are all slated to receive new snow guns. Lastly, 4 new fully automated fan guns will be installed along the lowest section of Superstar trail.  

The remainder of the new guns will be installed during summer 2025, the majority of which will be new tower guns. In addition to improving our energy efficiency, these new tower guns will allow us to be nimbler and more efficient with our trail opening and resurfacing efforts. Our snowmaking system currently relies heavily on land-based equipment which needs to be moved from trail to trail for expansion and resurfacing.  

Yes, we will be unable to replace this lift without having an impact on spring 2025 skiing and riding or the World Cup. Exact details on the installation schedule aren’t finalized with Doppelmayr, the lift manufacturer, but we do plan to make more snow in the North Ridge and Canyon area to offer late spring skiing and riding. We are committed to the longest season in the East and would offer late spring skiing and riding elsewhere on the mountain for one season.  

There are a number of factors, but this lift is a relatively short ride which makes having bubbles on the lift less impactful, especially considering the added complexity of needing a storage barn for overnight storage of bubble chairs.  

We haven’t finalized these details but we do expect minor modifications to the path for the new lift. 

Will the new cabins and storage barn improve the reliability of the Skyeship Gondola?  

Yes, many of our current operational challenges with that lift can be attributed to the older cabins.  The challenges are exasperated by not being able to store the cabins in a heated building causing door opening and closing mechanisms to become frozen overnight.  

Yes, the new cabins will look similar to the current K-1 Gondola Cabins.  

Are there any other planned capital investments?

We are working with Gravity Logic Mountain on our bike expansion plan that they laid out for us a number of years ago. We will be evaluating our options and what mountain bike investments make sense for the future.