Passholders purchase Killington and Pico

What does independent ownership mean for Killington Resort, community?

By Polly Mikula

Thursday, Aug. 22, Killington Resort announced that Powdr will be selling Killington Resort and Pico Mountains to a passionate group of local passholders.

Phill Gross and Michael Ferri are the lead investors of the group and will be joined by a yet-to-be-determined additional number of minority investors. The group of investors is officially called Killington Independence Group, LLC.

“We’ve already raised the capital to close this transaction,” said Ferri. “But we believe now that the word is out, we’re going to get another few phone calls from other people interested.”

All the investors have strong ties to Killington and are committed to “building relationships on shared values and goals for the resort, and maintaining the community spirit that’s forged Killington’s identity,” according to a statement from the resort. All investors have the same goal: “Keep Killington independent and invest in the Resort as if it is our home, because it is.”

The purchase and sale agreement was signed on Wednesday, Aug. 21, with the deal expected to be finalized by the end of September, pending standard closing conditions and necessary approvals.

No sales price has been publicly announced. In 2007, Powdr and SP Land Company purchased Killington and Pico from American Skiing Company for $83.5 million.

The sale will include all of Killington Resort properties, including: Pico Mountain, the Wobbly Barn, Killington Sports, Killington Golf Course, the
Adventure Center, the Killington Grand Hotel, the employee housing locations, wastewater treatment facility, etc. The resort occupies 3,000 acres and boasts 92 miles of diverse snow sports terrain spread across six peaks served by the most expansive lift network and snowmaking system in eastern North America. In the summer, Killington offers 30 miles of mountain biking and  15 miles of hiking trails.

What does this mean for Killington Resort, its community?

“For starters, everything you love about Killington and Pico is staying the same,” stated Killington Resort on its Insider Blog post titled “A new era of independence begins at Killington Resort.”

“Killington season pass offerings will have no changes and we will remain on the Ikon Pass. Guests can expect daily operations to be business as usual, with a continued focus on offering unsurpassed year-round mountain adventure grounded in hosting the longest winter season in the East and hosting the Killington Cup, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2024. Killington Resort, the town of Killington and Great Gulf’s partnership will continue to build out the new mountain village. There will be no changes to the leadership, management or front-line teams, ensuring continuity and stability in our operations,” the blog post continued.

“Both of these investors have been in the community for decades,” said Mike Solimano, president and CEO of Killington Resort and Pico Mountain in a resort video. “What does this mean for the community? I would say it’s all positive. The staff stays the same, the management team stays the same. Whether you’re a business owner in this community, a season pass holder, or an employee, we’re going to have the resources to continue to improve the resort… we’re going to continue to open early and have really long seasons. We’re looking to have a really smooth transition and the future is bright!” Solimano said.

“It’s big news for the mountain, for the people that work there, for the skiers and the community,” said Ferri in an interview Thursday, Aug. 22. “It’s exciting to be involved in it. Phill’s and my job is really to support what the management team comes up with.”

How independent ownership came to be

Phill Gross has a long history in the winter sports community serving as a board member of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association and the World Cup Dreams Foundation and as a founder of Share Winter Foundation and the Killington World Cup Foundation. He and his family have been Killington homeowners since 1986.

“A long time ago, when Powdr bought Killington in 2007, they were considering (as part of the slim-down measures) shutting down the Skyeship Gondola,” Phill Gross explained in an interview Thursday. “So I reached out to John Cumming, who’s the head of Powdr (he’s a fellow U.S. Ski Team board member). We started talking about keeping that lift open, which they did… Since then, I’ve kind of been off and on in touch with John… So when the other alternative transactions fell apart last fall, he called me up and said, ‘You know, Killington doesn’t really fit in with our plans, I’d like to sell it to the to the locals (well, actually, he said ‘I’d like to sell it to you’) and I said, ‘I can’t do that, but I’ll try to put a group together to do it.’ And that was the start,” Gross said.

“Phill’s first phone call was to me,” Ferri added. “Phill and I’ve known each other for years.”

Michael Ferri has been involved in skiing and ski racing since he was a boy coming up to Killington in the winter. He and his family have owned a home in Killington since 1970. Ferri is a partner and owner of Valvoline Instant Oil Change franchises on the East Coast and has served as a Killington Mountain School trustee since 2008.

In February, Gross and Ferri met Cumming in Utah and they’ve been working to put the deal together ever since.

“In addition to Killington, Powdr is selling three other mountains [Mt. Bachelor, Eldora Mountain in Colorado and SilverStar Mountain Resort in British Columbia]. Killington Resort was originally going to be part of that group,” Gross explained. “We really owe a debt of gratitude to Powdr and John Cumming for sticking with the local group. It’s pretty clear that they probably could do better financially if they would go with one of the conglomerates. It’s really, really great that he decided to stick with us,” Gross said.

“Powdr is a big company with different capital constraints and requirements and, you know, their motivation for selling really wasn’t our business, right? It’s their business. It just meant we’ve had the opportunity to do it. They’ve been terrific through all of this,” Ferri added.

Powdr retains a minority ownership stake in the new entity and will have a seat on the board of directors, reflecting the company’s continued belief in the future of Killington.

Justin Sibley, CEO of Powdr said, “We are proud of all that we have accomplished with the team at Killington over the last 17 years to enhance the skier experience with investments in new lifts, tunnels, and snowmaking, all while delivering the best customer service in the industry. Over the years Killington celebrated the opening of two lodges: the Peak, and most recently the K-1 Base Lodge,” Sibley continued. “We will miss the entire team there, but cannot wait to see the amazing things that lie ahead.”

Locally funded and governed

“All of the equity investors are Killington families,” Ferri added. “There is no private equity money in this. There’s no third party money. It’s all Killington-vested families, every single dollar. And that was our strategy to begin with. That was our goal… that gives us the ability to execute our vision of reinvesting just about every dollar we make into this mountain through the long term.”

Gross echoed the same. “We’re gonna just plow everything back into the mountain for the next decade or so and then see what we have,” Gross said. “I think we’ll have a really valuable asset. There will be a new village, a new Crystal Lodge, a new Bear Mountain Lodge, all the lifts will be upgraded … we’ll see what we have.”

“I think, automatically, when you tell somebody that all you’re doing is plumbing the money back in the mountain for a decade. You get everybody all on the same page,” he added. “That’s as simple as you can put it. You’re not going to get somebody who’s trying to make a profit, right? At least, short-term profit. It’s going to be somebody who lives here and wants it to be a better place, and if the investment happens to have some decent returns down the road, then so be it. Automatically, you get people that are culturally and strategically aligned.”

“Phill and my job is to support Solimano and the management team, to provide any resources they may need. It’s really up to them. He [Solimano] knows where the needs are and where it makes sense to invest,” said Ferri.

“From governance perspective, it’s really going to be a very, very narrow group that will formulate decisions with the leadership team at the resort,” said Gross. “Operationally, we’re just going to let them run the resort. Most of the board level decisions are going to be around capital spending, moving those projects forward. We expect to have at least three independent board members [non-investors], and then there’ll be four or five other members, depending on who else comes into the deal,” he said.

“Solimano and his team know how to operate the resort day to day,” Gross added. “We’ll leave that to them and try to support them the best we can, while accelerating capital improvement plans to pave the way for a better future.”

Village development

The local investor group plans to invest profits back into the mountain. “This dovetails nicely with the village coming about,” said Ferri. “They’re about to spend a couple billion dollars to build a village out over the next 10 years, just as we invest our money (or the profits from the mountain) in the infrastructure and the skiing experience and enhancing those — the two couldn’t be timed better!” he said.

“I know it’s been a stop-start scenario for 20 years, but the group that we’ve gotten to know — the people that run Great Gulf —  they’re a very big company, very professional, and they have a handle on this, and they’re going to do it,” he added. “They didn’t show up here not to, they’re going to execute this right.”

Gross agreed. “One of the things I don’t think people understand is how likely the village is to be developed by Great Gulf. We would put a 99% probability that that’s all going to happen. Part of our due diligence was looking into that, and we really believe that Great Gulf is the right partner, and they’re going to execute on it. And then the lift plans that we have are absolutely all going to happen as well. So everything’s really in place.

“We look at things 10 years out, absolutely everything in the village will be done by then. So we don’t care if it happens in two years or it happens next week. We know that at the end of that 10 year period, everything’s going to be done in the village and with the lifts,” he added. “That’s the way we look at it.”

Community reactions

“When I heard news of the sale, I was excited,” said Ed Herson, an associate Real Estate Broker with Killington Pico Realty. “I have been impressed with Powder Corp’s investment in Killington. We’ve thrived under Mike Solimano’s excellent management. We have come along way since I was a ski instructor here in the late ‘80s. As a Killington community we need and deserve the infrastructure and leadership that a world class team can deliver. With our new local owners, veteran Killington management, and Great Gulf as our developer, I see new energy, a passion for Killington and a clear vision for a great future.”

Dave Manning, owner of Black Dog Sports, said, “Having Killington owned by a group of passionate local investors is a really great thing. I have learned in life one the only thing that is constant is change. Not to diminish the many great things that powder corporation has done for Killington but I personally feel that this is definitely a change for the better.”

Julie McGuire, a long time spring skier from New York, chimed in, saying: “I think that whenever Killington has changed ownership, the concern among the diehard skiers has been, ‘How will this impact spring skiing?’ It’s not profitable to keep the mountain open that late. It’s something that’s done for the people who don’t want to stop skiing and for bragging rights to be the last to close. My questions for the new owners are will they try to remain open until June and will they still offer their affordable spring pass?”

Kelly Anthony, from Long Island, New York, added. “This sale is a total shock! It feels like this sale came out of left field! Why would Powdr sell Killington? …[It] will be worth so much more once the base village is done… This sale will have huge effects on thousands of skiers. We don’t want to lose the amazing mountain operations and vibe that Killington has!!!”

Many others echoed similar sentiments about being cautiously optimistic, anxious about changes to the mountain and culture they love, hopeful for future investments and relieved to know Solimano will remain at the helm.

Columnist and die-hard Killington skier Merisa Sherman writes about her choice to “embrace this new change of ownership with enthusiasm and encouragement,” on page 33.

Victoria Gaither contributed to this reporting.