the doubts have been put to rest. “We’re
known for our snowmaking and
operations team,” says Mike. “If anyone
can handle it, we can.”
A Vermont Event
“This isn’t just a Killington event,” says
Mike. “It’s a Vermont event.” Thousands
of Vermonters attend the event, as do
visitors who love Vermont. Spectating is
free, although there are ticketed areas and
VIP areas, as well. The majority of specta-
tors don’t pay, and they enjoy live enter-
tainment and music before and after the
racing—and during breaks in the action.
Meanwhile, locals are crucial to putting
the event together. In addition to the
Killington team and the organizing
committee that hails from all over the
United States, as well as Vermont, without
the efforts and expertise of local on-snow
volunteers, the event wouldn’t succeed.
According to chief of volunteers Meg
Horrocks, the on-snow race crew consists
of 125 members who come from race clubs
all over Vermont. To understand what’s
happening on the hill, keep in mind that
Superstar is a steep, expert, black-
diamond trail. Organizers inject the snow
on a World Cup course with water and
they pour calcium chloride—also known
as road salt—on the snow surface.
Different from a road, however, where the
goal is to make things less slippery, the
point of salting a racecourse is to cause
melting and refreezing in order to create
the hardest, slickest, most bulletproof
surface possible—a surface capable of
withstanding run after run after run of
speeding, slicing, skidding, razor-
sharpened race skis. Also, bear in mind
that on all sides of the course are safe-
ty fencing, netting, hoses, snowmaking
hydrants, signage, tools, race gates, and
other equipment and gear. Not only do
racecourse crewmembers need to have the
knowledge and experience to maintain the
course, judge the competitors, and keep
the athletes safe, they also need to be
top-flight skiers themselves to navigate the
icy snow surface and the myriad hazards.
The athletes are amazing, but also im-
pressive are the highly skilled volunteers
standing to the side and making the
on-hill event happen.
VTMAG.COM HOLIDAY 2019 11