Staff report
For Will and Alexandra Chou, Killington mountain is their backyard.
“Walking the dog is going for an amazing hike in the woods,” Will said.
The couple from New Jersey bought a ski-in, ski-out property at Sunrise Mountain Village in Killington in April — a rare find for the area. The Chous are making the most out of their lifestyle.
“In the summer, I can play golf at 7 a.m. and be back by 9 and Alexandra and I go for a hike with the dog, then go to Woodstock, then hang out and cook in the house,” Will said.
In the winter, they ski as much as possible and make pit stops at their house throughout the day.
“We have après ski, which for us involves cooking and hanging out,” Will said. “We’ll play Wii with the family. We do a lot of cooking up here. It’s nice to put your boots on in your own place, sit down and pop a beer in your own living room.”
Alexandra is a physiatrist while Will leads a biotech company with about 80 people in New Jersey. They come to Killington about once a month year round. They mountain bike, hike and ski from their doorstep. They come seeking serenity.
“It’s harder to get to any place where you really feel like you’ve gotten away in New Jersey —away from roads, away from a lot of people,” Alexandra said. “We loved feeling like we had Killington to ourselves over the summer.”
Unlike other mountains, Killington’s ski in, ski out property is almost nonexistent.
“The demand is very high,” said Heidi Bomengen, the owner of Prestige Real Estate in Killington. “There are only a couple of developments that can brag ski In, ski out.”
Bomengen said she loses customers to competing markets, especially nearby Vail-owned resorts — Okemo and Stowe.
Okemo Mountain in Ludlow was recognized by Forbes for its ski-in, ski-out experience in 2021. Forbes boasted the number of condominium neighborhoods on the mountain including Kettlebrook, Solitude, the Mountain Lodge, Southface, Trailside Village, Winterplace and Jackson Gore.
Meanwhile, Stowe Mountain has a number of luxury ski-in ski-out units at Tree House and Tollhouse —some of which are selling for $20 million.
New developments might soon change the Killington landscape. Steve Malone and his partner Richard Saunders of Ottauquechee Realty Advisors and Killington/Pico Ski Partners are one of the leaders of change. They are seeking permits for a development called Base Camp at Bear Mountain.
Base Camp would offer a true ski-in ski-out experience, according to Malone. The vision is to build 104 ski-in ski-out units. Twelve duplex buildings will be constructed in phase one, offering 24 townhomes. Multi-family homes will be constructed in phase two, totaling 72 units. Six single family homes, totaling about 4,000 square feet each, will be constructed in phase three.
Prestige is now accepting non-binding reservations for the right to enter into a purchase agreement with a $10,000 fully refundable deposit. Pending permit approval, phase one of construction is slated to start this spring and will take about two years to complete.
“There’s been a lot of interest in them,” Bomengen said. “Once it does get permitted we’ll see a spurt of activity because people will have a far better idea of when they might be able to see the home that they’re buying.”
All the homes will have a mid-century modern design with neutral colors and neutral-colored roofs with low-lighting fixtures.
“They are truly ski in, ski out, you don’t have to get in the car, you don’t have to walk anywhere. It’s a rare opportunity in Killington,” Bomengen said. “The design and the location have been very well received. People like the layout, they like the location.”
Killington voters also approved a $47 million tax incremental financing district bond in March to build the Six Peaks Village — a decadeslong vision for Killington, which will include luxury homes.
Aside from the lack of housing, Killington is ranked the 11th best resort in the country according to the American Ski Index, which analyzed over 450 ski resorts across the nation on annual snowfall, cost of ski passes and ratings from skiers and riders.
More property will only make the mountain more attractive.
“Ski in, ski out has always been a very desirable feature and we just haven’t had it here in Killington,” Bomengen said. “It simplifies getting on and off the mountain. If there’s a wide range of what time people like to get out on the mountain within a certain household, anyone can go out whenever they want.”
People go home for lunch, they go home to go to the bathroom — simple pleasures of not having to go into a lodge.”
Bomengen said the demand for a getaway like the Chous is especially high with more people working remotely in the wake of the pandemic.
“They can come on a Thursday and leave on a Monday,” Bomengen said. “The weekends have gotten a lot longer. There is a lot more general acceptability of working remotely that there ever was prior to Covid. That certainly has helped people justify buying something because they’re going to be able to spend more time there.”
