The season started off strong with some early snowfall that allowed Killington to open the weekend of November 7, 2009, but that didn’t last as rain and warmer temperatures forced them to close over the Thanksgiving weekend for the first time in their history. They managed to re-open the mountain on December 2, 2009, but snowfall was much less than expected and it pretty much remained that way throughout the season, even as the rest of the Northeast experienced record snowfalls.

In fact, the 2009/2010 total snowfall of 203″ was the worst the mountain has seen since the 2005/2006 season. And, the 18″ of snow from March 1 onward is a record low.

Combine the low snowfall with the unseasonably warm temperatures over the past 3 weeks and you’ll see why the mountain has been decimated. In fact, the K1 gondola closed on April 2, and temperatures that following weekend reached 78 degrees. It was fun skiing in shorts, but no amount of snowmaking could make up for the rate at which the snow was melting.

All these factors combined to only give us 153 ski days. And yes, that is also another worst on record.

There’s always next year!

(Source: Killington Historical Snowfall and Statistics)

We’ll have to see how the resort base holds up.  We’ll keep you updated…

Today’s opening will see the K-1 Gondola and North Ridge Triple serving 13 runs.  190 snowmaking guns will continue blowing in the hopes of opening more terrain this weekend.  You can check out an overview of the mountain that they posted on YouTube yesterday:

The entire Northeast ski industry has been struggling with the warmer temperatures, but Killington has been one of the few mountains to open already.  With their extensive snowmaking, they were open November 7-8, 11, 13-15, and the 21-22. Hopefully with today’s opening, they’ll be open continuously through the rest of the season.

Restaurant.com is having a special sale today that allows you to purchase a $25 restaurant certificate for only $2.  Simply enter the coupon code SAVE at checkout and the normally priced $10 certificates are only $2.  This makes a good deal even better!

There are a number of participating Killington area restaurants, including:

• Grist Mill
• Wally’s American Grill
• Outback Pizza and Tabu Nightclub
• Casey’s Caboose
• Noel’s
• Charity’s
• Santa Fe Steakhouse and Saloon
• Hemingway’s

The only restriction for most of these certificates is that it is for dinner only and the minimum bill must be $35, which should not be a problem given their normal prices.

Hurry up though as the offer ends today!

A ski share is a great way to take advantage of the winter season.  If you’re not familiar with a ski share, it is basically a way to have access to a house throughout the season.  You share the house with various other young professionals from the New York, Boston, Vermont and Connecticut areas.  Our group ranges from the late 20s to the early 40s, is a mix of skiers and snowboarders, and is about 70/30 singles to couples.  Most people do not know each other before the season and a lot of people join on their own.  It’s a great chance to make some new friends and we’ve even had a few marriages too!

In addition to that, with access to a house, you can get a lot more skiing or snowboarding in for the season. Plus, it’s also very economical – the nightly price is probably the cheapest way to stay on the mountain, many people carpool, and we often cook dinners rather than going out.

The house is just off the main Killington access road and less than 2 miles to the slopes, so we have location, location, location!

Email info@snowdaze.com for more info.  Hope to see you this season.

From today’s press release:

Intrawest and Powdr Corp Announce a Definitive Purchase Agreement for Copper Mountain in Colorado

Popular Rocky Mountain Super Pass Suite of Products will be Honored at Copper Mountain, Steamboat Resort and Winter Park Resort for the 2009-2010 Winter Season

VANCOUVER and PARK CITY, UT, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ – Intrawest and Powdr Corp today announced they have entered into a definitive purchase agreement to sell Intrawest’s interests in Copper Mountain to Powdr Corp. The transaction is anticipated to close in December 2009 and the agreement is subject to regulatory approvals including the issuance of a U.S. Forest Service special-use permit to Powdr Corp.

This winter season it is business as usual at Copper Mountain. Once the transaction is finalized Intrawest and Powdr Corp have committed to work together to ensure that all of the multi-mountain season pass products, vacation reservations and joint marketing initiatives will be honored for the 2009-2010 winter season. This includes the Rocky Mountain Super Pass suite of products that provide skiers and riders with access to Copper Mountain, Steamboat Resort and Winter Park Resort. In addition, vacation packages, season passes and lift tickets for all three mountains will continue to be available online at www.skicolorado.com.

About Powdr Corp
Powdr Corp is one of the leading mountain resort owners and operators in the United States. Headquartered in Park City, Utah, Powdr Corp currently owns and operates seven ski and snowboard resorts including Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah, Killington Resort and Pico Resort in Killington, Vermont, Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Oregon, Boreal Resort and Soda Springs Resort, both in Donner Summit, California, and Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Powdr Corp also operates Gorgoza Park, a lift-served tubing park, in Park City, Utah.

About Intrawest
Intrawest is a leader in the development and management of experiential destination resorts. The Company has a network of resorts at North America’s most popular mountain destinations including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world. In addition, Intrawest markets and sells real estate at its resorts in North America. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Brand New, a blog that focuses on providing opinions on corporate and brand identity work, is giving the new Killington look a glowing review:

… While other ski resorts in the region have gained ground on the market, Killington is going with a new marketing campaign, and identity, created by Factory Design Labs to cement back its position as the leader, and with this vintage tag line revived, “The Beast of the East,” their work has been cut out for them.

Ski resort identity is not something that gets me pumped up every morning when I think about what to write for Brand New, but I have to say that this new logo is pretty darn cool. The new icon comes in the shape of a traditional shield but is executed in a contemporary way with simple, bold lines that make a “K” on its side. The black triangle is a mountain, the white space above it is snow, then green and blue for trees and sky. Simple and, well, badass if you ask me. The script logo could be seen as an odd choice, but I think it has enough of a wink to make it an ironically conscious choice. I would have personally looked for a less generic script but, for matters of concept, this works. So there you have it, our first review of a ski resort.

Check out the comments on their site too – they all seem to be very positive.  Just as we thought…

(Oh yeah, the Factory Designs Lab site is pretty slick too. We’re sure Killington spent a good amount for this work.)

UPDATE: And yet another design blog weighs in on the redesign.

Thanks to their extensive snowmaking system and recent upgrades, they have four open trails (Rime Reason, Upper East Fall and a combination of Great Northern Upper/Middle/Middle Chute/Lower Bunny Buster trails) served by two lifts – K-1 Express Gondola and the Northridge Triple.  And all of this is despite record high temperatures in Vermont this week.

If you missed opening weekend, Killington has also posted some new videos on YouTube:

Check out the videos and  photos from Killington below:

[View with PicLens]

More photos are available on the Killington Facebook page.