Killington, Vermont, Diamond Ski Trails

Located 15 miles east of Rutland in central Vermont, the Killington ski area --- nicknamed "The beast of the East" --- is the largest ski area in the eastern North America. End-to-end, Killington is the size of Manhattan. Because 39 percent of Killington's 140 trails are deemed "most difficult," avid skiers looking for the challenge of advanced and challenging black diamond ski runs can choose among a variety of trails.

  1. Killington Peak

    • With an elevation of 4,241 feet and the highest peak at the resort, Killington Peak offers several opportunities for expert skiers, including its steepest area, the Canyon. Advanced skiers train on Cascade, a steep and narrow double black diamond trail. The Peak also offers other challenging double diamond runs, such as Downdraft, Big Dipper and Double Dipper.

    Snowdon Mountain

    • Snowdon Mountain, with an elevation 3,592 of feet, provides a variety of choices for the expert skier. Diamond and double black diamond runs include Conclusion (lower) and North Star, and such tree skiing trails as Patsy's and the Throne.

    Bear Mountain

    • With a peak at 3,295 feet, Beat Mountain offers mogul and groomed trails for the expert skier. Outer Limits, a double diamond run, is the steepest mogul trail in New England. For its steep initial drop off, the double diamond Devil's Fiddle offers quite a thrill for expert skiers.

    Skye Peak

    • Ascending to 3,800 feet, Skye Peak offers a variety of terrain for the black diamond skier: The Ovation run turns into a double black diamond when it becomes the Lower Ovation, and it continues to get steeper as it descends into Killington Basin. Superstar is a wide, black diamond trail with abundant snowmaking. If you want the challenge of black diamond tree skiing, try the Nowhere and Somewhere trails.

    Additional Resort Information

    • Killington Resort comprises six mountains that offer diverse terrain for all levels of skiers: gently sloping green beginner slopes, wide-open groomed trails, narrow runs and expert steep and mogul trails. The area has an average annual snowfall of 250 inches, and the resort has 1,500 snow-making snow guns covering 600 acres. In addition to downhill skiing, wintertime visitors to the area can snowmobile, cross-country ski and snowshoe.