A little over a month after it was first revealed, the sale of Killington Resort and Pico Mountain by ski-area operator POWDR to a group of local investors has officially been completed.
The announcement of the deal — which occurred Sept. 27 — was made Monday in a release issued by Killington. The Vermont ski area said that the new ownership group, led by Adage Capital Management co-founder Phill Gross and auto maintenance franchise owner Michael Ferri, has promised to spend $30 million on mountain-specific improvements.
It’s official! We’ve been bought by group of local passholders who've pledged $30M worth of capital investment, including 1,000 new snow guns, a new six-pack lift on Superstar, new Skyeship cabins and bike trails. Follow along #BeTheBeast
— Killington Resort (@KillingtonMtn) September 30, 2024
Learn More: https://t.co/u2Pd71OopQ pic.twitter.com/Q2aLWQC4h0
Killington did not disclose the final sale price, nor the complete list of the 16 investors who make up the Killington Independence Group aside from Gross and Ferri. POWDR and Great Gulf (a residential development company that simultaneously revealed a new plan to build a “village” of at least 200 ski-in/ski-out properties) are listed as investors. While the price of the sale was not provided, Killington did claim that it was “notably completed with zero net debt.”
The prominent details of Killington’s post-sale plan include changes to two of the current lifts.
The Superstar Express Quad will be replaced in the summer of 2025 with a high-speed six-pack lift.
The Skyeship Peak gondola also will get a facelift. The ski area will replace all 116 gondola cabins in the summer of 2025, as well as build a new storage “barn” to house the gondolas. Per the announcement, the new cabins will “look similar to the current K-1 gondola cabins.”
In addition, 1,000 new snow guns will be added at Killington and Pico over the next two years, and expansions will be made to the summer mountain-biking trail network.
The replacement of the Superstar quad with a six-pack lift could impact the capacity to host the annual Killington Cup event in 2025 or handle the usual spring skiing scene earlier in the year.
“We will be unable to replace this lift without having an impact on spring 2025 skiing and riding or the World Cup,” said the Killington announcement. “Exact details on the installation schedule aren’t finalized with Doppelmayr, the lift manufacturer, but we do plan to make more snow in the North Ridge and Canyon area to offer late spring skiing and riding.
“We are committed to the longest season in the East and would offer late spring skiing and riding elsewhere on the mountain for one season.”
In the short term, the new ownership will keep much of the current personnel group in charge.
“The management team, we’re not going to tell them how to run the mountain, we’re just going to let them do their jobs,” Gross said. “We’re going to make sure the resources are there to upgrade the facilities and make the mountain the best, best place it can be and support the local community.”
One area that will be changed is the resort’s board of directors. The new board will include local business leaders John Casella (of Casella Waste Management), Carolyn Kepcher (owner of the Snowed Inn), and Killington Mountain School board member Mike Hone.
Hayden Bird can be reached at hayden.bird@globe.com.