Commentary on plans for the new lodge on Killington Peak

Commentary on plans for the new lodge on Killington Peak

Late last week, Killington-Pico Ski Resort Partners, better known as the Killington Ski Resort, announced a long overdue project to completely rebuild the guest lodge at the top of Killington Mountain. The condition of the lodge at Killington Peak has been the "elephant in the room" at the resort for the last several years. The resort has big plans to change that picture.

The building was originally constructed in the late 60's as the terminal to the Killington Gondola, which ran from Route 4 to Killington Peak by way of Sky Peak. Because the original use of the building was as a gondola terminal, a significant portion of the building is both hollow and open to the elements. Anyone who has gone hiking to Killington Peak in the summer has had a clear view of the decaying guts of the building from the gondola piers facing Skye Peak at the base of the lodge. In recent years, high winds on Killington Peak have quite literally ripped the side curtain walls off the building, exposing the steel girders, floor trusses, and other building components to the elements. It was just such a storm in early December of this ski season that tore 2 exterior walls off of the structure. Instead of once again patching up the building and making due, the resort is taking the bull by the horns and replacing the whole structure.

Killington Peak Lodge Pictures of the current structure in desperate need of repair and the Architects concept of the new lodge. Click image to stop rotation. Click again to resume rotation.

Replacing the Killington Peak Lodge will be an ambitious project. The architectural firm of Robert Carl Williams Associates in Pittsfield, Vt. has been retained for design and planning. Estimated construction costs announced by the resort will approach $7 million. Once permitting is in place, expected early this summer if all goes well, the project will span multiple years. This summer, the resort is planning to remove the old structure and complete the necessary infrastructure and foundation work for the new building. Next summer (2012), the resort would complete construction of the building and outfit it for public use. If all goes according to plan, the new facility will be completed for the Christmas Holidays in 2012.

Those of us who live in the area and spend a significant time on the mountain know that the environment on Killington Peak is very demanding. The weather can be the roughest found on the planet. One only needs to look a little east of Killington to Mount Washington Weather Observatory to get a listing of the weather events that happen on mountain peaks in the Eastern US.

Mary and I are excited about the project. Undertaking this project makes a statement by KSRP and their parent companies that they are investing in the future of Killington, and that they are in it for the long haul.

The new peak lodge is long overdue and, when it is completed, will be a welcomed addition to the Killington Resort community.