The K-1 Lodge (nee "Killington Base Lodge") was the starting point for Killington. The original lodge, built in the 1950's was torn down the spring of 2022, and a replacement lodge is scheduled to open Thanksgiving Weekend 2022, in time for the World Cup races.
Parking
The parking lot is tiered into "bays". Bay 1 (nearest the lodge) requires special parking permits on weekends and peak days. It can be a schlep to get from some of the lower bays up to the K-1 Lodge. All the bays fill up quickly when it's crowded, and you may end up parking on the access road (and taking an extra-long schlep).
Services
(These were available with the old lodge. I will update with new information when the new lodge opens.-- Editor)
Lift Tickets
- Rentals
- Retail
Lifts
The K-1 Gondola is the obvious lift, departing from next to the lodge. Lines here can be impressive (and frustrating). K-1 is the only way to Killington Peak. Non-skiers can buy tickets to ride the K-1 Gondola to the peak to take in the view and expensive food and drink. Downloading is permitted on the K-1 gondola to return patrons to the base lodge.
Immediately next to the K-1 Gondola is the Snowdon Triple, aka "Old Reliable". It's slow and it's old, but it runs in all weather, so it's open when ice storms have closed everything else (or when the crowds get large). The triple serves a nice mix of intermediate and advanced terrain on Snowdon Mountain.
To the left of the lodge (as you look uphill) is the Superstar Quad, which services intermediate and advanced terrain, including the Superstar trail. The Superstar trail and lift are usually the last lifts to close in the eastern USA -- usually around Memorial Day weekend.
While not immediately next to the K-1 Lodge, the Snowdon Six-Pack can be reached by skiing down past the Snowdon Triple. "The Six" is the highest capacity lift on the mountain -- it eats lift lines for breakfast.
Terrain
There is no beginner terrain available from the K-1 Gondola. (There used to be a route that was marked "green", but that was more of a marketing thing, and left many beginners terrified, frustrated, and exhausted.) You should be comfortable on light-blue terrain before attempting to ski down. Other than that, you can get to nearly every trail at Killington from Killington Peak. For the first week or so of the season, Killington offers skiing on North Ridge only. During this time, skiers ride K-1 to the peak, then walk or ski down to North Ridge. To return to the lodge, you must walk up the "Stairway to Heaven" to the Peak Lodge, then ride K-1 back down.
The Snowdon Triple and Snowdon Six serve a variety of intermediate and expert terrain, and provides access to the Canyon (advanced) and North Ridge (intermediate) areas.
The Superstar Quad serves a variety of intermediate and advanced terrain, and provides access to the Needle's Eye and Bear Mountain areas. There are a few green runs from the top of Superstar.
Tips
A common routine for old hands is to park at the far side of the Killington lot, boot up in the car, then cross over the stream to the Great Northern trail (the bridge is not marked, but it is near the parking booth at Bay 1). Then they can don skis and slide down to the Snowdon Six.