Welch Village, MN
Welch Village is restructuring facilities on the west- ern side of the mountain for both beginners and terrain park users. The slope previously used for the park was deemed too flat for jumps, but perfect for a teaching area. The terrain served by the old beginner lift, a 1967 Hall double, was too steep for small children, but perfect for a park run. To make the switch, Skytrac is supplying a new quad chairlift for beginners, and the park tow is moving one trail east. Welch expects to have both lifts operational by Halloween. In April, Welch’s in-house team removed both exist- ing lifts. Skytrac arrived in May, excavating for both chairlift stations and four line towers. By late May, excavation was complete, and the concrete founda- tions were set to be completed in June. The new quad rides lower to the ground, with no ski-under clearance. The belief is that this will help young families feel more comfortable during their
first chairlift experience. The bottom drive, bottom tension machine will run 1,041 feet, with a 121-foot vertical rise. The main drive is 40 horsepower, turning the lift’s 44 carriers at 400 feet per min- ute. Due to the lift’s small size, Skytrac included a battery-electric evacuation motor rather than a traditional combustion evacuation drive. struction commenced the very next day. Killing- ton’s lift maintenance team salvaged most of the drive components for use on other lifts at both Kill- ington and Pico. They also removed sheave assem- blies from every tower, and saved chairs for use on the Golden Express at Pico. Removal of the old lift was a team effort, with Doppelmayr spooling the haul rope, Killington helping tug towers over, and Fall Line Construction demolishing portions of the terminals that weren’t salvageable. G.W. Tatro Con- struction and Maine Drilling & Blasting excavated and blasted foundations for the new lift’s 11 towers. The state of Vermont prescribed strict protocols to protect the endangered Bicknell’s Thrush: blast locations required double matting, and helicopters utilized long-roping to mitigate downwash while removing towers. Erosion prevention and sediment control was “intense,” the resort said, with weekly reporting to the state. Simultaneously, Killington is working to upgrade snowmaking capacity on the Superstar trail. The project includes upsized pipe, new valve stations, and a horseshoe configuration at the bottom so the resort can hammer the headwall with snow when the Killington Cup event returns in fall 2026. Killington also trenched power to the top station; the old lift was bottom drive, but the new lift will be top drive.
Welch Village and a local excavation company regraded the slope for the new terrain park, which will be about 650 feet long and 300 feet wide, with room for jumps and rails. Fixed snow- making guns and lights are planned, though next winter may see use of portable guns.
Killington, VT
A top priority for the new independent owner- ship group at Killington was to replace the aging Superstar Express, a 1987 Yan-Poma detachable quad. This workhorse opened as early as October each season, and ran through May or even June for spring skiing. How important is this lift? Kill- ington leadership decided to pause the Killington World Cup race (which is held on the Superstar trail during Thanksgiving weekend) while the con- struction is completed. Doppelmayr is installing the replacement six-pack, capable of transporting 2,700 skiers per hour. The UNI-G series machine will rise 1,191 vertical feet with 56 carriers.
Superstar, typically the main late-season trail, closed earlier than normal on April 13, and con-
Spring rains posed challenges. It was so wet that parts of Killington’s golf course washed out and closed, while mountain biking was delayed beyond Memorial Day. Further, trails surrounding the proj- ect remained open for skiing until May 10, so crews had to work around guest traffic. Despite the chal- lenges, the $12 million project was slightly ahead of schedule as of late May, with completion targeted for early November.
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