PSEF NEWS: NOVEMBER 2019

Get ready for the best Pico Mountain season ever! With major snowmaking upgrades underway, Pico snowmakers will have access—this winter—to all the water they need to keep Pico Mountain buried from the early season right on through to spring.

Our crew has been working steadily since the snow melted last April, adhering to a tight timeline that will see more than 16,850 feet of water supply pipeline, along with more than 9,000 feet of new and replacement snowmaking pipe, installed ahead of the 2019-20 ski and snowboard season. 

The new pipeline will bring water to Pico’s snowmaking ponds directly from Killington’s water source, eliminating the dilemma that has long plagued Pico snowmakers—running out of water when snowmaking needs are greatest. With access to this new water supply, that problem will be a thing of the past, allowing Pico snowmakers to keep making snow without pause, whenever temperatures allow.

In addition to the new pipeline, Pico snowmakers have 4000 feet of new snowmaking pipe to work with this season, including new pipe on Bushwhacker, a trail that has not benefited from snowmaking in the past. All across the resort, more than 5,400 feet of old, leaky pipe was replaced this summer, including extensive sections of pipe on B-Slope. And the project doesn’t end with pipe either—come springtime 2020, Pico’s primary pump house will receive an extensive upgrade too, including the installation of three new pumps and a new control system. All told, these snowmaking improvements will double the snowmaking capacity at Pico, allowing us to get trails open earlier, keep conditions more consistent throughout the season, and recover faster after challenging weather events.

~Pico Mountain

 It was a great day on B Slope Sunday, November 10.  Many PSC  racers and volunteers  helped  with setting of guns and hoses to get ready for snowmaking.  

Thank you to all who helped.  Also, a big thank you  Killington/Pico Resort,  especially employees Dave Lacombe, Devin and Alex who guided the volunteers through the process.  

  We are sad to announce that our dear friend Fred Coriell passed away peacefully on November 9 after a year-long battle with cancer. He was surrounded by the love of his family and the thoughts and prayers of the many lives he touched during his lifetime.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Fred, like many others from the Garden State, transplanted to Vermont as a young husband and father. Here he found a community and an environment where his love of winter and the out-of-doors could be matched. 

Fred and his wife Denise created Peak Performance, a business that has become a mainstay on the Killington access road, and is known around the world for exceptional service and unmatched knowledge of ski equipment and trends. But, it was for his deep care and kindness that Fred will be most remembered and missed.

A celebration of Fred’s life will be held at the Snowshed Lodge at Killington Ski Resort on Nov. 23 from 3-6 p.m.  In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the TARA Foundation USA, a 501c(3) organization, www.tarafoundationusa.org. Clifford Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. 

 It's MORE than a race. The HomeLight Killington Cup is a celebration of the history and passion for alpine ski racing here in the Northeast. In addition to watching the fastest female ski racers in Slalom and Giant Slalom battle for the top prize on the signature Superstar trail, the weekend is packed full of entertainment including live music, fireworks, parades, movie screenings and the Friday night bib draw featuring top athletes.

General admission and parking for the event are FREE but a limited number of tickets for enhanced viewing and preferred parking will be available for sale beginning August 21, 2019.  Please access the Spectator Information Page for more details on this event.

Join us this Thanksgiving weekend, November 29-December 1, 2019 and help us make history once again by surpassing the attendance record we set in 2018 for a FIS Ski Women's World Cup event in the United States. The HomeLight Killington Cup is also scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend 2020.

If you’ve been here before, you know that the Killington Cup crowd is like no other. If this is your first time, prepare to be awed. The energy of thousands of fans cheering is like nothing you’ve felt before.

~Killington Resort

VIP tickets for the World Cup are available at  https://www.kwcfgivesback.org/tickets

 in partnership with the Killington World Cup Foundation, an organization which supports athlete hospitality and provides grants to bolster winter sports infrastructure and access to winter sports throughout the region.

 In 2018, the KWCF raised $250,000 in grants that they distributed to 21 winter sports programs in seven different states. 

Last May, the KWFC provided PSEF with a grant in the amount of $15,000 for trail improvements enabling us to continue improvements at Pico's Racing and Training Venue. 

Thank you all for your continued support of PSEF in its efforts to revitalize Pico’s ski racing venues for this and future generations. 

  Get ready for the event of the year!!  The 2020 PSEF Silent Auction Fundraiser will take place on February 15th, 2020 at the Pico Ski Club and AML Lodge at Pico Mountain.

Each year PSEF holds a single fundraising event with a goal of raising at least $40,000. Funds raised at the event will be applied towards items and initiatives that the Pico Ski Club needs to run a safe, competitive, modern youth alpine race program; offering a greater level of instruction, athletic training and team-building to children of all ages and abilities.

We are now accepting donations and sponsorships for the event.  Please contact us at info@picoskifoundation.org to make a contribution.