Killing it at
Killington
PRINOTH helps Killington
Resort stage a World
Cup to remember
By Jim Timlick
The eyes of the ski world were on Killington Resort in
central Vermont’s Green Mountains last month when
it hosted one of the preeminent events on the 2019-20
World Cup calendar.
The Audi FIS Ski World Cup took place November 30 and
December 1, and featured some of the top female skiers from
around the globe competing in slalom and giant slalom races.
This year marked the fourth straight year Killington was
chosen to host the prestigious event. It is one of the most-watched
events of the international ski season and is broad-cast
to more than 60 nations along with national coverage
across the U.S. It also attracts nearly 40,000 spectators to the
ski area and generates millions of dollars in economic activity
in Vermont. It’s the only World Cup event to be hosted in the
Eastern U.S. since 1991, and the first in Vermont since 1978.
Needless to say, there was considerable pressure on event
organizers, including Killington’s grooming team, to ensure
the event went off without a hitch.
“The pressure’s definitely on,” said Killington’s grooming
manager Dave Wright, who has worked in the resort’s groom-ing
department for the past 15 years.
“It’s important to make sure we put on the best show pos-sible.
From a grooming point of view, we want to make sure
we have the best surface conditions for the athletes to train
on and race on,” he said, adding that preparations for this
year’s World Cup began almost a year ago. “We’re known as
the ‘Beast of the East.’ We set the bar high with everything we
do at Killington. If we’re going to do a World Cup event, it has
to be the best it can be.”
As if that didn’t pose enough of a challenge, consider that
Wright and the rest of Killington’s grooming team also had
to contend with fickle Mother Nature. Since the World Cup
happened so early in the season, temperatures were mild and
18 January 2020 | snowopsmag.com
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