Here's a Powder article via msn. Killington talked about doing the replacement and World Cup when they announced the replacement. Perhaps reality set in.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/why-the-2025-killington-cup-is-cancelled
Why the 2025 Killington Cup Is Cancelled
Story by Ian Greenwood 2/19/25
Over the past eight years, the Stifel Killington Cup has become a fixture on the World Cup circuit, bringing the world’s best female ski racers to Vermont each Thanksgiving Weekend. Next winter, though, Killington won’t host the popular women’s World Cup races.
The Vermont resort is undergoing several capital improvements, including replacing the iconic Superstar Express quad with a high-speed, six-person chairlift this summer.
Due to the construction of the new Superstar lift — which services the Stifel Killington Cup course — Killington can’t host the World Cup as it has in the past.
Next season, those races will instead be held at Copper Mountain, Colorado, alongside male racing events, according to Mike Solimano, the president and CEO of Killington, who spoke in a recent video update from the resort.
Solimano said that the following year, in 2026, Killington expects to host the World Cup once again.
According to the U.S. Ski Team, next winter's Copper Mountain World Cup races will include women's slalom and giant slalom, as well as men's super-G and giant slalom. The event is still pending final FIS Council approval.
"Although I’ll miss racing at Killington this Thanksgiving, I am so excited that World Cup ski racing is coming to Copper Mountain for men and women!" said American racer Mikaela Shiffrin in a press release shared by the U.S. Ski Team. "It’s so exciting to see Copper as a true World Cup race venue, and I’m particularly excited because it’s so close to home, I can sleep in my own bed and my community can come and experience it."
The Killington Cup draws a huge crowd of spectators each year. Fans will have to wait until 2026 to see the world's best female skiers return to Superstar. Photo captured in 2018. Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Superstar’s replacement has led to another major operational adjustment for Killington.
The lift, historically, has served as Killington’s late-season home base, operating into May or June thanks to mountains of man-made snow blown on the accompanying Superstar trail.
With the removal of Superstar beginning just after April 13, though, the ski resort is changing course this spring, instead stacking snow in the Double Dipper, Downdraft, Lower East Fall, Rime, and Reason areas to extend the season.
The Bear Mountain lifts are scheduled to remain open through mid-April, Snowdon Six Express and the Ramshead Quad are scheduled to remain open through April 20, and the K-1 Express Gondola is scheduled to remain open through May 11.
Beyond May 11, the Snowdon Triple will provide access to the Canyon Quad Friday through Saturday as long as conditions allow. Per a map of late-season operations shared by Killington, the Northridge Quad will join the Snowdon and Canyon lifts in offering spring turns.
“We’re still committed to skiing as long as possible,” said Solimano.
Killington announced the replacement of the Superstar Quad last fall.
The new lift will be the ski resort’s first six-person UNI-G Doppelmayr model. The replacement has an estimated cost of $12 million.
“Upgrading to a six-person chairlift is mostly about comfort,” said Solimano in a fall news release from Killington. “We want to provide the best possible experience for our guests, so this new, roomier lift made a lot of sense. The heavier chairs also help with the wind, which is an added bonus.”
Killington anticipates opening the upgraded Superstar in December 2025.
