Killington Issues Summer 2025 Construction Update
Construction is moving quickly on the Superstar lift replacement project. After the lift spun for its final time on April 13th, crews wasted no time moving in and beginning to dismantle the old lift. The first order of business was to remove the old chairs using a telehandler or “lull.” Each of the 95 carriers was taken down and moved over to Pico, where they will gain a new lease on life on the Golden Express.
The next step was to remove the haul line. This 20-ton piece of rope is metal with a plastic core, meaning it needs to be disassembled to be recycled and required a crane to be removed. Once off the towers, it was cut into pieces and brought down the mountain, where a contractor will complete the process of separating the materials. Though most of the components of the old lift will find a new purpose at Killington, this is one item that is disposed of.
With the line down, the process of removing the sheave trains could begin. These components will be reused on the Snowshed Express, Summit Express and Golden Express, which are all from the same generation and manufacturer as the old Superstar chair. Crews stripped most of the primary electrical components from the lift shack, which will also be reused. They plan to repurpose as much of the lift as possible and recycle the rest.
All 12 current towers will be replaced and they have already begun removing them. Some will get a new life as terrain park features and culverts. With the old towers out of the way, they have brought it in a drill track to start testing the areas where the new footings will be installed. This process involves drilling down to check for ledge – if it is found, blasting will be required. Luckily, they have yet to encounter anything major.
Sheave wheel removal
The new lift will have 11 towers, all of which will have new footings which need to be formed and poured. The beginning of the forms for this can be seen in the Vale lot, where rebar is being bent. Since all the towers will be in new locations, they will not need to remove the old footings, just cut them below grade and bury them.
