How to Watch the World Cup

The best women racers in the world. Free live concerts from Guster, Michael Franti, KT Tunstall and more. Movie premieres from TGR and Warren Miller. A festival  village. Freestyle skiing tricks going on on the sidelines. And, oh yes, more than 30 trails open and skiing well.  Yes, Vermont’s biggest ski party is gearing up for this weekend. Herwig Demscharr, chair of Killington’s World Cup Local Organizing Committee called the weekend a “party not to be missed.”

From November 23 to November 25, the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Tour will come to Killington for the third year in a row. Close to 100 women representing 21 countries are expected to participate in slalom and giant slalom races on Killington’s Superstar trail. In the past, as many as 34,000 fans have converged on the mountain to cheer on superstars like Mikaela Shiffrin and local skiers like newcomer Abi Jewett of Ripton, Vt.

Spectating is free but get there early if you want to park in site of the Superstar course. Otherwise, the will be plenty of free shuttles from lots farther down the Mountain Road. The races will be broadcast live to an audience of 2.1 million people in 60 countries worldwide, and Killington president and general manager Mike Solimano says the mountain expects another record-breaking turnout for the race series.

In the U.S., NBC will air live coverage.Solimano says he’s excited to see the turnout for this year’s World Cup event. “The Northeast has an incredible passion for world-class alpine skiing and we are thrilled to once again offer free-access viewing areas so we can continue to inspire the next generation of alpine ski racers.” Killington got FIS’ approval of its racing surface on November 15.Although the event is free and open to the public, buying a ticket gets you varying degrees of better access to the course. Free shuttle buses will be available to help spectators get around the venue and jumbotron screens will be installed in the base area to help everyone get a good view of the course.

A Grandstand ticket ($40) earns you space at the base of Superstar with elevated grandstand seating. For a little more ($100) you can get a Premier Grandstand ticket, which offers access to the highest five rows of the grandstands. A SuperFan ticket ($125) includes standard grandstand seating plus a redeemable adult lift ticket voucher for the 2018-2019 Killington season. a 4241′ Finish Pavilion ticket gets you access to a semi-heated tent and continental breakfast, plus all-you-can-eat barbecue from Peak Lodge at skier’s left of Superstar.

Tickets are for sale at www.killington.com.

Free Concerts

This year, Killington is bringing a world-class music lineup to match the world-class athletes it will be hosting.

On Saturday, both KT Tunstall and Michael Franti, frontman of Spearhead, will both offer free concerts. Tunstall is expected to take to the stage around 11:15 a.m., after the second Giant Slalom Runs conclude. Franti is expected to start playing at 2:30 p.m.

For Guster fans, Sunday’s concert will be one not to miss, following the conclusion of the first Slalom runs at about 11:30 a.m. Two of Guster’s four band members are from Vermont—Ryan Miller (see our interview with him) is from Williston and an avid snowboarder, and Luke Reynolds hails from Addison County. All concerts will take place at the Festival Village at the K-1 Base Area at Killington Resort.

If you are looking to have an athlete sign an autograph, plan to arrive early and potentially be turned away, as participating athletes are available for limited windows of time and long lines are expected.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2018