May Madness at St-Sauveur celebrating the spring skiing. Live music, night skiing… Killington hasn’t mentioned June, but it’s traditionally been their goal.
Since 2011* St-Sauveur has closed on Victoria Day weekend 6 times, closing on the Holiday Monday 4 times. St-Sauveur made to this long weekend 8 times (67%) versus 9 (75%) for Killington. Basically liftserved skiing has happened this weekend every season except one (92%).
LIST OF LAST 2 SKI AREAS OFFERING SKIING THIS WEEKEND
St-Sauveur QC – May 22 (Saturday-Monday)
Hill 70 West
Saturday: 9am to 10pm
Sunday-Monday: 9am to 5pm
Online: $59.99CDN (Sat-Sun), $44.99 (Mon)
Killington VT – June 4 (tentative – Friday-Sunday only + Memorial Day, tentative one more weekend after)
Superstar
Fridays + Memorial Day: 9am to 5pm
Saturday-Sunday: 8am to 5pm
Online (currently): $78 to $86US.
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Previous years:
St-Sauveur, Québec
Average closing date May 14.3*
2006: April 30
2007: May 6
2008: May 11
2009: May 3
2010: May 2
2011: May 22 – closing this weekend
2012: May 6
2013: May 19 – closing this weekend
2014: May 19 – closing on Holiday Monday
2015: May 10
2016: May 23 – closing on Holiday Monday
2017: May 13
2018: May 27 – still open
2019: June 8 – still open
2020: March 15*
2021: May 2
2022: May 21 – closing on Holiday Monday
2023: May 22 – closing on Holiday Monday?
Killington, Vermont
Average closing date May 14.6*
2006: May 1
2007: May 6
2008: April 20
2009: May 2
2010: April 25
2011: May 1
2012: April 22
2013: May 26 – still open
2014: May 18 – closing this weekend
2015: May 25 – still open
2016: May 29 – still open
2017: June 1 – still open
2018: May 26 – still open
2019: June 2 – still open
2020: March 14*
2021: May 16
2022: June 4 – still open
2023: June? – still open
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My relationship with Victoria Day skiing
1980s Teenager growing up in Montréal, I remember that now defunct Gray Rocks would often aim to make their ski season last until at least Victoria weekend. Once I turned 18 I started to look also across the border at other May long weekend options like Killington and Tuckerman Ravine.
While aged 18 to 34 (1984-2000), this long weekend was another opportunity for me to get another great Spring skiing long weekend; skiing 14 years out of 17 (82%). Most (12) of these being at Killington, with lone visits to Gray Rocks and Tuckerman Ravine.
The first few Killington Canadian May Long weekend experiences were on Killington Peak making turns down Cascades and Downdraft. Late season late season operations as it is now got moved to Superstar on Skye Peak back in Spring 1989.
The environment has changed greatly in the new millennium; Gray Rocks no longer offered late season skiing and totally shutdown in late March 2008, Mont St-Sauveur had the monopoly in late season destination in Quebec.
In 2004, after offering Canadians 26 consecutive Victoria Day weekends, Dark clouds move over Killington to shrunk down the Beast. Kmart’s Dark Ages lasted 9 years, closing earlier, heck over half the time they didn’t make it beyond May 1 which was a first since 1974. For at least 6 of those years (no data for 2004 & 2005), they weren’t the last in New England or most times not even last in Vermont.
Kmart had lost sight of the late season Holy Grail; reduced operations in late season, no longer pushed to have the longest season in the East and limited it towards the weekend. However a few years ago the Beast came back, although not offering daily skiing in May, they refocused on to spin as late in the season as possible. We’ve seen that since 2013*, making to this weekend every year except one, being last to close in New England every year and last to close in the East 7 times versus 3 times for St-Sauveur.
Unless the World gets shutdown at the beginning of a pandemic like in March 2020, liftserved skiing has happened this weekend every season except one (92%) in the last 12 full seasons; 78% since 1977. As for myself, this has also been time to go skiing, skiing 25 times (63%) in the 40 years since I turned 18. Although that rate has gone down to half of the years since 2011. I have bought a lift ticket online for tomorrow Friday May 19, so the odds are pretty good that I’ll get some liftserved skiing with walking required south of the border.
Go skiing.
*excluding 2020 Covid shutdown.
Written and published on a damn phone. 😉
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