Killington Just Flew In the Last Towers for a $7.2 Million Fixed-Grip Quad
Helicopters set the final 10 Snowdon Quad towers on Sept. 22. Killington kept the lift fixed grip for capacity and storm-day reliability.
Killington hit a major construction milestone on Sept. 22 when helicopter crews installed the final 10 of 19 towers and crossarms for the new Snowdon Quad. Four sheave trains moved into place separately. The Vermont flagship lists the Doppelmayr project at $7.2 million and expects the lift to open during the 2026-27 winter.
The new quad follows the same alignment as the Snowdon Triple it replaces. Crews also pulled three old Triple towers off the line. Killington plans to reuse some as terrain-park features or scrap the rest. The build sits beside the Superstar Six corridor that already anchors race and high-volume skier traffic on the front face.
Why it stays fixed grip
Killington is not chasing top speed here. The resort says it wants dependable fixed-grip access through New England weather, when detachable systems can face more downtime. Snowdon Quad will run slower than the nearby Snowdon Six Express, but Killington says it will deliver 33 percent more capacity than the former Triple and a slightly quicker ride than the lift it replaces. A backup generator is designed to run the chair at full speed during a power outage.
That framing matters for everyday guests more than for Instagram. Snowdon is a workhorse zone for intermediates and advanced skiers moving around mid-mountain. Extra seats and storm-day redundancy beat a faster detachable that sits idle when ice and wind stack up.
Ikon days and November racing
Killington and neighboring Pico remain on the Ikon Pass for 2026-27 (shared day caps and blackouts apply by tier). Passholders heading east for Thanksgiving week will also see women's World Cup giant slalom and slalom return to Superstar on Nov. 28-29, weeks after the Snowdon towers landed.
The racing calendar is a separate story from the lift itself. For trip planners, the practical takeaway is capacity and reliability on a core Killington pod before the busiest holiday weekends. Soft close: browse the Killington resort page for terrain notes and pass pairing. Construction details come from Killington's Sept. 23 announcement as covered by Ski Racing.