Killington details $7 million investment in snow guns

Nearly 500 snowmaking guns are being added this season between Killington and Pico. (Killington Resort)

When Phill Gross and Michael Ferri were announced as the lead investors to purchase a majority stake in Killington, the resort said there would be $30 million in capital improvements over the next 16 months, including 1,000 snowmaking guns.

This year’s allotment will include 36 HKD Snowmakers Phazer portable guns and 454 HKD Impulse and Phazer R5 tower guns.

At Killington, they will be located on Cruise Control, Upper and Lower Needle’s Eye, Outer Limits, Alpine Training Venue, Upper Header, Timberline, Upper and Lower Great Eastern, Blue Heaven, Bear Trax, Skyeburst, Upper Bittersweet, Panic Button and Superstar. Superstar also is receiving four HKD Diablo fan guns.

Pico is receiving 44 tower guns that will be placed on 49er, Swinger, Ace of Clubs and Upper and Lower Pike.

Next season, there will be 510 new HKD Impulse and Phazer R5 tower guns installed on Cascade, Middle Chute, Lower Dreammaker, Lower Downdraft, Lower East Fall, Easy Street, Bear Cub, Great Northern, Highline, Upper and Lower High Road, Kilink, Launch Pad, Mouse Run and Mouse Trap, Upper Pipe Dream, Northbrook Trail, Snowshed Crossover, Upper and Lower Skyelark, Spillway, Snowshed Slope, The Stash, Upper and Lower Wildfire and Upper Yodeler.

The 964 tower guns will more than double the number of tower guns at Killington and Pico to 1,695 and give the resorts 2,459 guns for the 3,500 hydrants at the two ski areas.

The new guns will cost $7 million and will lead to a reduction in electricity usage, diesel fuel and labor, according to the resort.

“This is the most transformative snowmaking project since Killington expanded over to Bear Mountain in the late ’70s,” Killington snowmaking manager Greg Gleason said in a statement. “It’s great to see the resort investing in low-energy snow guns. Not only will it save on costs, it will allow us to expand terrain at a much faster rate in the early season, while still providing a quality product to our guests.”

Next season, Killington will transition to a new control and hydrant tracking system — HKD ISno and HKD’s hydrant tracker — to monitor production, automate controls and ensure maximum efficiency of the entire system at both resorts.