Killington Skyride summit
— — the long view from the second-highest peak in the state.
Not only on a wall.
“The K-1 gondola lifts out of the base lodge and climbs roughly 1,650 vertical feet to the shoulder of Killington Peak. At the top the trees thin to krummholz and the wind picks up. On a clear day the horizon holds the White Mountains east and the Adirondacks west, with Lake Champlain a pale strip between. Most visitors walk the short rocky path to the true summit, sit on the rocks for a few minutes, and ride back down without saying much. — from the studio
Killington Skyride summit, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
Killington Peak rises to 4,241 feet in the Coolidge Range of the Green Mountains, the second-highest summit in Vermont after Mount Mansfield. The K-1 Express Gondola, operated by Killington Resort in Rutland County, carries riders from the K-1 base lodge to a station near the summit in roughly ten minutes. From the upper terminal a short rocky footpath leads to the true peak, where the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail run together. The resort runs the lift for summer and fall sightseeing as well as for winter skiing.
Above roughly 3,500 feet the spruce-fir forest gives way to wind-stunted krummholz and bare ledge. The summit sits in the path of the prevailing westerlies, and temperatures at the top can run twenty degrees cooler than the base lodge in Killington village. Visibility on a clean day reaches the Adirondack High Peaks across Lake Champlain to the west and the Presidential Range of New Hampshire to the east. Cloud and ground fog are common in the morning shoulder season and lift through the middle of the day.
The K-1 Gondola runs for the foliage season from late June through mid-October, with weekend operation extending into the fall colour weeks of late September and early October. A scenic ride ticket is sold at the K-1 base lodge; the same lift also serves hikers and downhill mountain bikers. Peak Lodge at the upper station has restrooms, an indoor seating area, and food service. Hikers continue from the summit on the Bucklin Trail or follow the Long Trail north toward Pico Peak.