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Killington reveals no World Cup in 2025 due to chairlift installation, aims to hold event again in 2026
"The race is expected to return to Killington Thanksgiving Weekend 2026."
New England ski racing fans hoping to get another chance of watching Mikaela Shiffrin at the Killington Cup will have to wait at least one more year.
The Vermont-based Killington Resort announced on Tuesday that because of its upcoming plans to replace the Superstar chairlift, it will not be hosting the FIS World Cup event (as it has done every year on Thanksgiving Weekend since 2016 with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
The chairlift, known as the Superstar Express Quad, runs directly over the racecourse, traditionally held on the ski area’s “Superstar” trail. Because the new, $12 million six-person chairlift isn’t slated to debut until December, race organizers deemed that 2025 would not be viable timing.
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Colorado’s Copper Mountain was announced as a replacement venue for Killington in 2025, though the New England resort hopes to reclaim its signature racing event in 2026.
“Because of the new Superstar lift replacement this summer into early winter, the Audi FIS Ski World Cup will take place at Copper Mountain, Colorado over Thanksgiving weekend 2025,” Killington revealed in its announcement. “The race is expected to return to Killington Thanksgiving Weekend 2026.”
The event has become regionally popular, regularly drawing more than 30,000 fans over the two days of racing (with the best women’s racers in the world competing in both giant slalom and slalom).
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Shiffrin, a former student at Vermont’s Burke Mountain Academy, has always been a popular draw. The 29-year-old, who is already the all-time leader in career World Cup wins (with 99), has won six of the eight slalom competitions hosted at Killington over the years.
In 2024, she was only a few gates away from potentially winning the giant slalom competition for the first time at Killington — and what would’ve been her 100th career World Cup victory — but suffered a crash that resulted in hospitalization. She recently returned to racing, winning gold in the team combined portion of the 2025 FIS Alpine World Championships alongside fellow U.S. skier Breezy Johnson.
While Killington is confident of the race’s return — given its popularity both with fans and athletes — it has not yet been officially agreed to by FIS (the organization that governs the World Cup circuit).
“Killington, US Ski Team and FIS want to host the event at Killington in 2026,” a resort representative explained, “however formal agreement for that to happen has not been signed yet, which is why we communicated its expected return.”
Beyond the implications for the Killington Cup, the Superstar chairlift replacement will also affect the current ski season. Killington is known for annually hosting the region’s longest ski season. This year, the expected closure of the Superstar quad will be on April 13, well before it’s usual ending point (which occasionally stretches into June).
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“While we know spring skiing and riding will look a little different this year, this $12 million investment will elevate the guest experience for decades to come,” said Mike Solimano, president and CEO of Killington Resort, in the announcement. “That said, we’re still committed to hosting the longest ski season in the East and will stay open as long as Mother Nature allows.”
Other lifts, including the Snowdon triple, the Canyon quad, and the North Ridge triple, will remain open “as long as conditions allow.” The K-1 Gondola is scheduled to keep running until May 11.
Killington, after years of ownership by outside groups, was sold to local investors in 2024. The new ownership group has promised $30 million in upgrades, including the new Superstar chairlift. Other improvements include the replacement of aging gondola cabins on the Skyeship lift, and adding 1,000 new low-energy HKD tower and fan snow guns over the next two years.
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