Featured Image: Chandler Burgess
On Tuesday of this week, Vermont’s Killington Resort was given the green light to break ground on the ski area’s new K-1 Base Lodge, which is set to open at the beginning of the 2020-21 ski season. The largest resort in the northeast, Killington’s new K-1 Base Lodge will be over 50-percent bigger than the current lodge, going from 37,000 square feet to 58,000 square feet. But much like Rome—”wasn’t built in a day”—this new lodge won’t be finished in a single summer.
Instead, the upgrade is a two-part project, and the first stage of the new K-1 Base Lodge is already underway in front of the existing K-1 structure, next to the K-1 Gondola. For the 2019-20 season, Killington will continue to use its current K-1 Base Lodge for guests to change, eat and enjoy the classic Vermont views; come Spring 2020, it’ll be torn down to its foundation to make way for the new K-1 lodge.
“We’re excited to begin phase one of the K-1 Base Lodge build. This is a significant step in fulfilling our vision to transform the way guests experience and enjoy Killington for years to come,” says Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort in a recent press release. “In the past two years alone, we’ve set the stage for the next 50 by making more than 60 million dollars in improvements, and we have big plans for Killington moving forward that will continue to solidify us as the Northeast’s hub for year-round adventure.”
Once the new K-1 Base Lodge is up and running–which the resort plans to have ready to host the 2020 Audi FIS Ski Women’s World Cup on November 29 and December 1, 2019–it will feature a full-service bar, farm-to-table food court, a coffee bar as well as additional space and a designated mother’s nursing area. The three-story lodge will also boast 180-degree views of Vermont’s premiere mountain landscapes.
Along with the new lodge, Killington is also replacing its North Ridge triple chair with a four-person, fixed-grip lift and upgrading its and its sister-mountain, Pico Mountain’s snowmaking systems. Low-energy tower snowguns will make snowmaking a more efficient process, resulting in a more consistent, reliable snow base and lessening the ski areas’ environmental impacts.
