By Mike Solimano, President & General Manager
The season is right around the corner, and Killington can’t wait for the Longest Season in the East to get started. Over a month ago we sent out our Winter Operations Plan and although it included a lot of detail, there were still some unanswered questions to address today. You will find high-level information below and we encourage you to click the links to our website for all the details.
Our continued goal is to ensure the wellbeing of all, and an important part of Operation Stay Safe is managing the number of people on property at any given time. Doing so will enable appropriate physical distancing so that you may stay safe and have a great, fun-filled Killington Resort experience.
Parking reservations are an important part of us ensuring all at the resort are able to appropriately physically distance. The parking reservation system will be in place every day of the season and parking spaces must be reserved before arriving to the resort to ensure availability. Starting Thursday, November 5, at 10 a.m. you can book up to seven advance days throughout the season. Once the season begins, you will also be able to book an unlimited number of days in the immediate rolling 7-day window. As your advance days fall into the rolling 7-day window, you can book additional advance days, only reserving up to seven at any given time. See more details and examples to better explain how it works here.
We will continue to ask guests to treat your car like a base lodge and, if you can, boot up at your car. After further consideration and feedback from you – our core guests – we understand that for some access to the lodge to put boots on in the morning is needed. We will allow guests to boot up in a lodge (if building capacity allows); however, bags cannot be left in the lodge and bag check will be moved to a new location that can be accessed at the end of the day from outside.
Although we announced our anticipated opening dates at Killington and Pico this date continues to be dependent on having top-to-bottom skiing and riding with access to multiple base area lifts. If Mother Nature does not allow us to achieve this, we will delay our opening date. From opening day through Sunday, Nov. 22, access to the mountain will be reserved for Killington Season Passholders and Ikon guests only. Express Card Holders, day tickets, buddy passes, vouchers etc. will be accepted starting Monday, November 23, and will be on-sale beginning Friday, Nov. 6. Per state of Vermont guidance, guests can travel to Vermont only from approved counties on the Vermont Travel map or need to quarantine for 14 days prior to their arrival. This travel map is updated on a weekly basis, every Tuesday and we expect this policy to be in place throughout the season.
For more information about what to expect this season, visit 20/21 Winter Operations. As a reminder, these plans are subject to change once the state of Vermont issues and approves ski resort restart guidance. We look forward to a great, fun-filled ski and ride season.
As I stated in my last update, while there is always a competition to open first, we believe winning this year means all of us doing our part to put into place thoughtful plans and follow guidelines and best practices to keep one another safe, so that we may enjoy a full season of skiing and riding. I trust our commitment to continuing our candid communication gives you confidence in our plans for the upcoming season. I know everyone is continuing to adapt in their own way and I wanted to make sure you know how we continue to adjust.
If you still have questions we haven’t answered yet, please submit them here.
I look forward to seeing you on the trails.
Has Killington MTN either expanded funding for the bus or is it providing additional shuttles? I’m guessing no which would make their comments of taking a shuttle to the mountain ridiculous. You can not point your customers to an alternative form of transportation that has limited capacity without funding.