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Killington
Vermont Where the Long Ski Season Lets Families Experience Endless
Adventure on Some of the Highest Peaks in the East
December, 2002
While skiing is a passion for our family and a great winter activity we
enjoy doing together, one of the drawbacks of the sport is that the
season, at least in our part of North America, is shorter than we would
like.
Having heard all the superlatives used to describe Killington, located
in Central Vermont, including the fact that it has the longest ski season,
the highest peaks and more snowmaking than any other Ski Resort in Eastern
North America, coupled with the fact that the Boys wanted to try out their
new Snow Blades as soon as possible, Killington presented a very
attractive subject for a www.hotelfun4kids.com
"Visits..." a Ski Resort. In fact Killington's longest ski
season was in 1996/97 when it ran from October 14 to June 22 with 301
inches of snowfall - you could almost go from shorts to ski wear and back to
shorts again without missing a beat - imagine that. For families
though, its best to visit Killington by late April when most of the
trails are still open. Late season is popular with advanced skiers
and riders with usually just one lift and about 10 trails still
operating. There
are seven mountains at Killington (that's including Pico Mountain) with
200 trails, giving skiers and boarders over 87 miles of trails with 31 lifts, including
2 gondolas and 12 quad lifts, 6 of which are high speed. All that can accommodate over 50,000 skiers an
hour and that's just some of the
staggering facts. To help plan a family vacation to Killington start by
learning all you can and here are some of our tips:
-
Check out the web site for Killington at www.killington.com
- its a great place to start planning and the best place to find
out about vacation packages - which is also the the best value for
visiting Killington. The site also details promotions
for free skiing for children under 6, free lift tickets for children
under 12 with the purchase of a 5 day adult ticket and the online mE-ticket
discounts.
-
Request
the brochure and trail map so you can study it
ahead of time.
-
Booking your tickets, accommodations and lessons
on-line can save you up to 30% or you can call 1-800-621-MTNS.
-
Reserve
lessons,
children's programs and daycare before you arrive to be sure you won't
be disappointed. Prepaid Reservations are required.
-
Lift tickets included in
accommodation packages include arrival
and departure dates.
-
There is a wide range of accommodations including
lodges, inns, condominiums (some with ski-home convenience), hotels
and motels with varying prices, accommodation styles and
amenities. Some even have access to the Slope Shuttle.
-
Plan on taking a free Mountain Tour that is offered
Monday through Saturday starting Mid-December until the end of
April. These two hour tours start at 9:45 am slopeside on
Snowshed Mountain and explore the peaks on novice terrain. This
is a great way to learn your way around with a guide.
Packing for ski vacation
takes a certain amount of organization. For some tips on
packing for a family ski vacation go to Winter Holidays - Ski
Vacation Tips. |
As soon as we arrived at Killington we headed to the
slopes for an afternoon of skiing. All that pre-planning paid off
because we already knew where to start and had packed our equipment within
easy reach. |
TIP: We added a rooftop carrier to hold all our skis and
poles this year. |
Rams Head Family Center Rams Head
is THE PLACE TO START for families. This is where all the children's
programs meet and where the daycare center is located. Pico Mountain
also has a Children's Center. |
|
Beginning our
ski adventure here allowed us to check out the arcade area on the third
floor - where the boys wanted to start - and grab a quick lunch before we
started skiing. |
Mitchell and
Stephen had some quarters to finish off so I took a quick peek
around the lodge. |
The fully licensed Friendly Penguin Nursery and Day Care for ages 6
weeks to 6 years is located in the lower level of the Rams Head Base Lodge.
Pre-registration is recommended. |
This program includes age appropriate toys,
indoor and outdoor
activities and lunch for full day participants |
Contact information
for babysitters is available at the Center.
Killington's Perfect Kids™ Ski Programs
Located on the second floor of the Rams Head Base Lodge
is the registration and ticket center for the Perfect Kids™ Ski
Programs.
Since the
boys were joining the Superstars program for skiers and snowboarders aged
7 to 12 for one morning, I took a few minutes to confirm our
reservations, checked which ability level and where the boys
needed to go for their lessons before we left the lodge. It's usually pretty busy in the mornings so it is a good
idea to do this ahead of time.
TIP: Every level of the Perfect Kids Program has a
designated meeting and pick up area and specific ability levels for the
participants. It helps to check this out ahead of time and be ready
for the lessons. Children receive a Progress Card on the completion
of their lessons based on their ability level. Full day program includes
lunch. |
The Magic Snow Play Park with handle tows and Magic Carpet
are part of this great beginner program.
|
Killington's Perfect
Kids™ Ski Program's First Tracks for ages 2 to 3 years, with rental
equipment and lift ticket included in the cost, runs out of the lower
level of the Rams Head Base Lodge in conjunction with the Day
Care.
Ministars/Lowriders (ages 4 to 6 years)
meet on the second floor with a complete rental and play area just for
them.
|
Snowzone for ages 13
to 18 meet on the third floor of the lodge. |
On the Slopes
While it is a big ski resort, we discovered some great ways to explore
it as a family without getting lost or losing anyone. First off, we
decided as a family that we would ski together and try not to get
separated. Just in case we did separate, our plan was to meet at the
lift base where we were last together. We also reminded the kids of
where they were staying and that if they had any concerns to look for a
Killington staff member or an Ambassador. An Ambassador is a
volunteer - there are over 150 of them - recruited to assist guests and can be identified by bright red jackets
with
"Ambassador" on the back. With our tickets
attached, we were now ready to hit the slopes, beginning with the Rams Head
and Snowshed Mountain novice trails. Since this
was our first time on skis and blades this season we wanted to take
advantage of the gentle terrain on these mountains to practice and warm up
before taking on Killington
Peak and the rest of the resort the next day. The Beach Terrain Park on Showshed gave the Boys
a chance to practice some jumps with their new Snow Blades too. Rams
Head and Snowshed Base Lodges are connected by tunnels under the road that
make it easy to use these areas for beginners and families. Snowshed
Mountain is also the home for Killington's Perfect Turns, a unique
program where beginners age 13 years and over are introduced to skiing and
snowboarding.
The plan for our first full day at Killington was a
family ski day. I want to pass along a strategy for first timers at
Killington we learned from some locals, but don't tell anyone
else. It's a wonderful way to ensure you see all that Killington has
to offer and make it back to your car before the lifts close at 4:00
pm. |
|
We started off at the Killington Base Lodge and rode up
the K-1 Gondola for a six minute ride to Killington Peak, one of the
highest skiable summits in the Northeast. The view on the way up is
great, including the
double black diamond runs, which was the only way I was going to see them
- skiing them was not in my plans. |
A short jaunt on Great Northern
brought us over to Juggernaut, the longest run at the resort and our
favourite run of the day. |
|
We
wound our way down the side of Killington Mountain and took Juggernaut Too
to finished this
run at Sunrise Mountain, "11 miles from Pico Mountain at the other
side". At the top of the Sunrise Village triple we weaved our way
over to the Bear Mountain Base Lodge and headed inside for lunch.
There is a food court at every base lodge at Killington. |
|
After lunch we were ready to ride up the Bear Mountain Quad for a spectacular view of "Outer Limits",
considered to be one of the premier mogul trails in New England. At
this point we connected with the lower half of Great Eastern
following it all the way down to the Skyeship Base
Station. |
The Skyeship Express two stage gondola is over
12,000 feet long, giving us plenty of time to rest our legs before
disembarking at Skye Peak |
|
|
A short run on the middle part of Great Eastern
led us to Snowshed
Crossover, where I had a brief race with the boys on this gentle slope,
(we always ski in control) and back over to the Killington Base
Lodge. |
TIP: The trails are all well marked and signs
indicating which lodge the run is headed will help ensure that
you make it back to the parking lot on time. Certain trail signs also
remind skiers and boarders when to take returning trails. |
We ended our
day a little early so we could stop by the Rams Head Lodge to enjoy the Magic
Show, one of the many ski week activities at Killington. |
|
TIP: Check out the Ski Week Activities ahead of time so
you won't miss any your family might be interested in and plan
your days ahead of time. Activities include Magic Shows, Sleigh
Rides, Tubing, and more. Some activities are an extra charge. |
|
On
our final day at Killington the
boys participated in the half day Superstars Program. This program
meets outside and we were glad we took the time to find out before
hand. |
While the boys were having their fun, we took in some of the more challenging blue and black runs for some
exhilarating skiing. Turns out that the boys mastered some of
the same hills we did as part of their lesson. The Kids Only Terrain Park and
an opportunity to meet and ski with other kids were added benefits
of the lessons. Lodgings
at Killlington Resort Villages While there are plenty of choices for
accommodations at Killington, some of the most popular are part of the
Killington Resort Villages, which are a group of lodges, inns, hotels and
condominiums located closest to the ski resort. Each complex
within the Killington Resort Villages has its own facilities and the
Killington Grand Resort Hotel even has on-site day care facilities. A
quick stop at Killington Golf Clubhouse for the lodging check in and we
were all set with our keys, tickets and a resort map. Our package included a
two bedroom condo located in the Pinnacle. |
As luck would have it
(although we did make a request) we were in the same building as the
recreation room and just a short walk from the Spa and
Jacuzzi. |
|
|
With two bedrooms, living room and a dining area,
we had plenty of room to spread out and relax. |
A fully equipped
kitchen, two bathrooms and the washer/dryer provided all the comforts of
home. |
|
Dining at Killington For dining we opted
to have breakfast and afternoon snacks in the room, which made use of the
fully equipped kitchen. While there is a small grocery store located
not far from the slopes, we brought our food along so that we wouldn't
waste any ski time grocery shopping (it's a little less expensive that way
too). |
|
Lunches were slopeside, including one at Killington Peak
Restaurant - not to be missed. |
On Wednesday evenings a popular Ski
Week Activity is Dinner at the Peak - a buffet where children under 5 eat
free. Reservations are recommended. There are a mirade of choices for dinner along the
Killington Road and at the many Hotels and Inns. Here are just a few
of our favourites: Casey's Caboose: Located midway
on the Killington Road, this railway themed restaurant has an actual circa
1900 railroad snowplow car as part of the dining area. Casey's specializes in fresh seafood,
including Maine Lobster and steak. The Children's Menu offers
smaller meal portions including shrimp and crab legs for kids 12 and
under. |
We dined in
the raised observation deck where the engineer controlled the plow - they
looked like they had fun. Get there early if you want to dine
in the snowplow. |
|
Outback
Pizza: This restaurant is outback of The Nightspot
near the top of Killington Road and features an Australian theme with
create your own and specialty pizzas. Take out and pizza by the
slice are also available. Wobbly Barn Steakhouse:
This restaurant came highly recommended to us as one of "The
Places to Go in Killington" and we weren't disappointed. The
signature meal at the Wobbly Barn is the BEEF. The decor is
BARN with shavings on the floor and stables all around. It's a fun
place to eat and our prime rib dinners fit the bill after a full day of
skiing. All meals come with Wobbly's Soup, Salad and Bread
Bar. Children's meals for under 12 include an option for the Soup,
Salad and Bread Bar only - our pick - as dinner portions are generous
enough to share. Apres Ski There is
plenty of off-slope activities in Killington in addition to the Ski Week
Activities. Most lodgings feature hot tubs to soothe tired muscles
and some, like ours, have arcade rooms and indoor or outdoor pools. While
not ready during our visit, Killington opened a new Winter Adventure
Center on December 24, 2002 that offers tubing, snowshoeing and an arcade
room at the Killington Golf Course. |
|
Indoor Rock Climbing is
available at the Snowshed Base Lodge and in Rutland provided by
Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center. You can also book guided rock
and ice climbing trips with this company. |
At the Killington
Base Lodge kids can try riding a mini-snowmobile around a track offered by
Killington Snowmobile Tours. This company leads scenic tours
by snowmobile for all levels into Vermont's backcountry. Getting
There Killington is just a half hour from Rutland in
central Vermont and an hour from Interstate 89, making it accessible
from most major cities in the Northeastern United States and Montreal,
Quebec within 3 to 4 hours. Fly
& Ski packages from most major cities are available through gateway
airports. Rail & Ski are offered with Amtrak from New York City
to Rutland. Packages include round trip fares, shuttle, lodgings and
lift tickets. |
Our "Visit..." to Killington
proved to be a great family ski vacation and the earliest in the season we
have ever been able to enjoy. Maybe next time we will check it out in
late April, in fact the lifts are open until Memorial Day weekend and sometimes
even into June. There's plenty of time for families to explore the over
200 trails and fabulous facilities that this premier ski resort offers. For more information on Killington Ski Resort,
including contact information go to Vermont Ski Resorts www.hotelfun4kids.com"Visits
..." is an unique opportunity that encourages you to ask us
questions about the Visit location. Go to www.hotelfun4kids.com/contactus.htm
to submit your question and we will do our best to answer
it.
By
Maureen Hall
|
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What's New
at Killington - 2004-2005, Vermont
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