Killington Base lodge collapsed in storm!

Killington Base Lodge Collasped

via Killingtonzone.com

http://www.killingtonzone.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32667#p447815

Stowe is probably going to enjoy some extra business.  Is it good (fewer people) or bad (less capacity) to have a pass to KMart now?

I am guessing they will put up one of those large inflatable tent like structures like they did at the top of the Back Bowls at Vail (after the eco-terrorists torched the 2 Elk Lodge).

Killington Base Lodge Collasped

That's an entire washout underneath the building.  Look at the asphalt and ground, looks like gouging and washout collapse.

I'd worry more about the stability of that whole area, not just the building repair.

Killington Base Lodge Collasped

Is that a vehicle down in there?

Wow. Scary stuff. Good thing all those weather people were camped out on the coast so we could see all their jackets blowing, when the real damage of this storm is going to be from the massive amount of rain and inland flooding of every single waterway. One of the weather sites that I seek out when I actually want facts and non-hyperbolic opinion was saying at least two days ahead of time that the likelihood of massive flooding of the NY transit system from the storm surge was 20 percent or less. Substantial and scary, yes, but hardly the certainty that you would thought from watching the weather "news". I live pretty high up above the Schuylkill, so I knew I wouldn't have issues at my property, but there is a lot of flooding around our area.  Not that they shouldn't have prepared the coastline, but they knew for at least a day or two that the MOST LIKELY lasting impact was going to be the size of the storm and the massive rainfall on already saturated ground leading to enormous amounts of inland flooding, and they really buried that lead because it just isn't nearly as dramatic to watch a small tributary slowly rise and overwhelm a small town as it is to stand watch waiting for the New York City subway system to flood, or to stand on an evacuated boardwalk hoping to get a dramatic shot of a reporter running away from a wave that they are telling everyone else that they shouldn't be anywhere near. Of course, now they are all running to find shots of flooded streets, destroyed small bridges, and homes under water. I have spent a lot of time in New England over the years and I feel for all the folks who are in those beautiful iconic towns with lovely rivers who are just getting slammed by the aftermath of this storm. 

I posted a little about it in the East Coast Don't you wish thread....

Tell me, is this the lodge that was slated to be demolished?  I understand that the Summit lodge is being remodeled and not slated to open yet for this upcoming season, which may leave them in a Lodge issue, eh?

http://rutlandherald.typepad.com/vermonttoday/2011/08/killington-base-lodge-collapses-photo.html

Killington Base Lodge Collasped

More pics via Kzone.

Killington Base Lodge Collasped

Yep, total washout collapse there.  Very nasty stuff.

Finally Jim Cantore from the weather channel gives some national media attention to the impact on Vermont

Quote:

Originally Posted by keniski 

Not that they shouldn't have prepared the coastline, but they knew for at least a day or two that the MOST LIKELY lasting impact was going to be the size of the storm and the massive rainfall on already saturated ground leading to enormous amounts of inland flooding, and they really buried that lead because it just isn't nearly as dramatic to watch a small tributary slowly rise and overwhelm a small town as it is to stand watch waiting for the New York City subway system to flood, or to stand on an evacuated boardwalk hoping to get a dramatic shot of a reporter running away from a wave that they are telling everyone else that they shouldn't be anywhere near.

 

see, now stuff like this really pisses me off.  all this media spin and hype.....when will they (the media) ever learn that reporting the news is more than just ratings and selling advertisements??  (most likely never )
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by crgildart 

Stowe is probably going to enjoy some extra business.  Is it good (fewer people) or bad (less capacity) to have a pass to KMart now?

Bad
 

This is a real tragedy.  Emergency response teams estimate 4 weeks or more to evacuate some of the smaller remote villages in the Rutland (Kmart) area.  They are trying to build a lightweight emergency-vehicle--only bypass around the washed out parts of US 4 from the west to get to Killington in the coming week.  Local gov't has already made it clear that it will take no part in reconstructing vanished roads beyond facilitating emergency vehicle access.  They've passed the buck already ... who says gov't can't act swiftly and decisively?

Given the extensive damage to US 7, US 4, and Vt 100 which cover all approaches to the area, it is not clear that Killington or Pico will be open this winter.  After this devastating event, SP Land will have even more difficulty selling its real estate vision for Killington ... and it's not clear that their partnership with Powdr to run Killington will survive this storm's aftermath.

Ironically, the Killington access road, where the ski shops, bars, and restaurants are, is reported to have weathered the storm reasonably.

I reckon I blew $1k on a season pass for a ski area that may never open again.

Wow, have you been up there? It's hard to picture it being that bad. Sounds like we really got off easy in Stowe, though Waterbury is a real disaster area.

Man oh man. Wonder how the folks in Vermont, and the folks all over who have yet to be flooded by the cresting rivers coming their way, would feel about this:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/29/irene.disaster.response/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Well, I hope they have lots of temporary bridges stacked up someplace.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekchick 

I posted a little about it in the East Coast Don't you wish thread....

Tell me, is this the lodge that was slated to be demolished?  I understand that the Summit lodge is being remodeled and not slated to open yet for this upcoming season, which may leave them in a Lodge issue, eh?

http://rutlandherald.typepad.com/vermonttoday/2011/08/killington-base-lodge-collapses-photo.html

 

No, this was the main lodge and was expected to survive many years more.

3 of the other 5 lodges were slated for destruction

• Peak Lodge (way up top) -- was demolished this summer and was to have been replaced next summer (prior to Irene's budgetary impact)
   
• Ramshead Lodge (family area) -- has flood damage.  The new ski village plans call for it to be destroyed and replaced with housing and shops.  At present, it provides hundreds of parking places very close to lifts.  This parking will be replaced by remote shuttle bus parking about a 15 minute bus drive away under weekend morning winter driving conditions.  
   
• Snowshed Lodge (beginner area) -- has flood damage.  The new ski village plans call for it to be destroyed and replaced with housing and shops.  A new Snowshed lodge, a monstrously longer walk to the lifts, will fill the role of the previous Snowshed and Ramshead lodges.  At present it provides a couple hundred semi-close parking spaces and several hundred a five minute hike up a hill via a treacherously slippery asphalt path.  All of this parking and more will be eliminated and replaced with remote shuttle bus parking.  This elimination of all sane parking is part of a business strategy to jettison their current, merely upper middle class customer base and become the Beaver Creek of New England.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by epic 

Wow, have you been up there? It's hard to picture it being that bad. Sounds like we really got off easy in Stowe, though Waterbury is a real disaster area.

Several folks at Killingtonzone.com are stranded there and posting.  They've posted links to photos of the washed out roads, local gov't responses, personal stories, their lost houses, etc.  There are 2 threads.  The longer one is 8 pages already.  It is a sobering read.

Edit:  Here's a photo of US 4 between Rutland and Killington.  It's typical of the damage photos 

One of the brothers who took me skiing for the first time back in 1977 works at Kmart. I tried calling his house up above Rt.100 above Pittsfield and there is NO phone service or Verizon service.

So I called his dad down here in Boynton Beach, he was able to get a text out from Kmart HQ saying he had his driveway washout and the wife and teens were stranded, home alone. Not sure if they have power or not.

If anyone can get a message to Paul Hurwitz, let him know I'm trying to get in touch.

Called my timeshare manager up at Sugarbush, they fared much better, but she said the Mad River almost tookout the old covered bridge there. It had a propane tank pinned to it for a while.

We put new roofs on last season, replacing the 27 y.o. shakes. Silver lining?

Was told not to expect any VT corn this summer.

I knew when I saw the news this morning and the NY Thruway was closed from 287 to Albany that things were bad, never would have guessed that it could get this bad. Truly amazing when I think about all the 'death marches' we made up the Thruway to VT in whiteout conditions these past 30+ years. The road was never closed.

Al

Terrible damage to ski regions in Vermont and NY

I was reviewing many of the news reports and videos of the Vermont and NY ski areas and am sad to report there was significant damage that may (or may not) impact getting to ski areas this winter. Among the areas damaged:

Hunter - 3 bridges in the town washed out

Windham - very severe flooding in downtown Windham

Stratton - some roads leading back to the mountain washed out

Mt. Snow and Magic - severe flooding in the Rt 100 and Bethel areas, some bridges out

Killington - some damage along the Mountain Rd., many minor roads on the mountain washed out; Rt 4 undercut and collapsed between Rutland and Killington; Rt. 4 severe flooding in Bridewater, Woodstock; Quechee bridge to NH destroyed; damage to Rt 7 and Rt 4 in Rutland

Pico - parking area and base lodge area flooded

Suicide 6 - severe flooding in Woodstock

Sugarbush/Mad River - Rt 100 south of Warren too flooded for reports; very severe flooding from Waterbury to Warren; Rt 100 south of Sugarbush expected to have sustained structural damage, numerous bridges out and roads undercut

Northern Vt areas seemed to have fared better. Hopefully, there will be time to make repairs prior to the ski season.

The alchemist bit the dust as well.

I saw pictures of the Alchemist flooded but it looked like the building survived.

Here in the Mad River Valley there is certainly some devastation - many roads washed out and getting in/out of the Valley at this point requires a certain amount of creativity and a sense of humor. The cool part was how the Valley rallied today and the clean-up efforts that were underway almost before the sun rose this morning. American Flatbread, most or all of the businesses on Bridge Street, the Pitcher Inn and several farms along the Valley floor took hard, hard hits.

Some cornfields are still standing. The crops I saw today that were wiped out were mostly those along the flood plain. Sugarbush and MRG came through fairly ok, just road damage that was mostly slated to be dealt with anyway. We're alive and kicking up here!

On the Killington Base Lodge - the part that collapsed was mainly the SuperStar Bar end - this was built on a separate foundation and thus undermined when the drainage under it, overtook the foundation. I can't see any realistic reason that Killington and Pico wouldn't open this season - roads will (and have to be, for that matter) rebuilt. There hasn't been any declaration by VT government that they're not going to do it. VT was declared a federal disaster area yesterday, so funds should be available to help. Many of the communities south of Rt 4 took super hard hits and are not very accessible at the moment...but give us a week and you'll see what Vermont can do!

FEMA is down to its last $800M and that is mostly already earmarked for tornado recovery from earlier incidents this year.  There is no other federal money in budget for disaster recovery, and federal lawmakers today were in no hurry to change that.

What is left will have to be shared among many Irene-damaged States.  Figure VT's cut generously at ballpark $20M out of an Irene total of around $100M.  That won't build much road when the substrate has been washed away. 

Money from the next gov't fiscal year will arrive after the ground has frozen and asphalt can't be poured.  Colorado's DOT specifies, for example, in CDOT table 401-3 that asphalt layers thinner than 1.5" can not be poured below 60 degrees ambient surface temperature in the shade and even those over 3 inches thick can not be poured below 45 degrees.  I'm not a civil engineer or a contractor but I expect that, as a sister mountain state, Vermont's paving safety rules must be similar.

I use to do a lot of camping up in Maine using the logging roads for access. We would see washouts that would stop anything but my RamCharger, though we would have to do some shoveling in the worst cases. This kind of mass destruction will stop everything but a tank.

Pray that VT goes into drought season from this point on, and that some kind of ski season can be had up there. This economy has caused enough pain and suffering.

Still can't through to anyone in the Killington area.

Tx for the Facebook links.

I'm a former resident of Wilmington (between Bennington and Brattleboro in southern VT).    I received an e-mail yesterday that told me the water level was about 2.5 feet above the record level of the flood in 1938. I can remember there was a water level mark on one of the buildings in downtown Wilmington that was just above chest high.

I'm suspecting that ALL of downtown Wilmington was up to the top of the first floor levels with raging water.  I'm guessing a few buildings by the intersection of Rt 9 and 100 are no longer there.

There is a picture of the "1836 Country Store" on the west end of Wilmington on the MSN home page. The water is up to the roof line.  The river next to it is (guessing) normally about 35' below the bottom of that building.

Having gone through a smaller but similar event there in the mid-70's, I can't even begin to imagine what it must look like there now.

Downtown Dover has to be a mess too.

The pictures from Brattleboro VT are astounding.

Best of luck to all of you up that neck of the woods.

UL