Killington Community Rallies to Support Killington Search & Rescue

Back on November 19th, 2025, just one week into our winter season, a number of Killington Resort staff members met with members from Killington Search & Rescue (KSAR) to establish a more formal communication structure between the two organizations. KSAR, the all-volunteer team formed over a dozen years ago, serves the backcountry and recreational community of Killington/Pico, responding to incidents involving hikers, skiers, hunters, and others in distress. Their stated mission is to “locate, stabilize and transport patients to a higher level of care,” and our goal with the meeting was to make that job a little easier through better communication and coordination.

That meeting paid off in a couple of ways. First, the small number of deployments needed this winter were handled quickly and effectively, with all parties guided to safety by KSAR volunteers or Killington staff. Communication between the two teams stayed smooth throughout the season, allowing KSAR and, when timing allowed, our own Patrol staff to respond quickly whenever needed.

Second, the meeting helped get the wheels turning on a fundraising effort, with our Killington Giving Fund stepping up as one of the main contributors. That partnership kept building throughout the season and culminated in a lively line dancing fundraiser on Thursday, April 2nd.

Before we got our dancing shoes on, we had some business to attend to. In January of this year, KSAR conducted a major training exercise after resort operating hours along with members of our staff. A snowcat brought approximately 20 KSAR volunteers up to the top of our Snowdon Six, with our nearby Patrol hut being used as their “operation command center” during the training. The team executed a rescue operation that fully simulated what a similar situation would look like during the wintertime. Once completed, our staff brought everyone back down the mountain in the snowcat along with the “rescued” skiers.

At the end of February, we teamed up with KSAR once again to produce an instructional video on proper uphilling practices at Killington & Pico. Topics covered included all the steps needed to prepare for any uphill journey, including communicating your planned route and timeline for returning to a significant other, friend, or family member. Important items to pack were also discussed, including food, water, extra clothing, headlamps, and perhaps most importantly, a cell phone with plenty of battery life.

Josh Eckler, Director of Killington Search & Rescue, also talked about what to do in case you run into an issue while uphilling or in the backcountry. “Call 911 and call 911 early,” he said. “It takes time for these teams to assemble and get to you.” The passage of time while uphilling means lighting and weather conditions potentially changing for the worse, plus the loss of important phone battery. Acting fast when you come across an issue on your uphill journey is crucial to the success of any potential rescue operation.

Still image above from Killington/KSAR instructional video from February 2026.

On March 4th, our fundraising effort truly kicked off with our social media post to commemorate National Backcountry Ski Day. As well as sharing many of the same photos you’ve seen here from that January training session, we announced our campaign to match all donations made to the KSAR Foundation by April 2nd up to $5,000. Happily, the message was positively received, as the post received some of the highest engagement of any post on Killington’s social media channels this winter.

As donations started coming in, we teamed up with our old friends at the Wobbly Barn and came up with another idea: a special edition of their weekly Thursday night line dancing to cap off the matching donation period on April 2nd. Proceeds earned during the night would go directly to the KSAR Foundation, all helping fund the group’s entirely volunteer-led efforts. Bolstered by additional support from the Karr Group, we called on the Killington community to show up for the volunteers who are always there for our mountain community.

Photo above from a line dancing night at the Wobbly Barn during winter 25-26.

And show up they did! In likely the most well-attended night of line dancing this winter, the Wobbly Barn was packed to the brim with cowboy-hatted, boot-cladded dancers, who graciously helped make the event a rousing success. This group effort inspired many notable community members and businesses to make larger individual donations of their own—Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO), The Karr Group, and Base Camp at Bear Mountain all donated $1,000 each towards the cause.

After rugs were cut and the line dancers finished the last of their two-steps, the support was too great to ignore. At the end of the night, we increased our commitment from $5,000 to $10,000, bringing the final fundraising total to over $24,000! This level of backing wouldn’t have happened without the gracious collaboration with local businesses and our entire community’s great efforts. It’s not every day that a large-scale event like this comes together on relatively short notice and draws this kind of support, but we’re incredibly grateful that it did.

Killington Resort's Amy Laramie presenting our donation check to members of KSAR at the Wobbly Barn line dancing fundraiser.

“As a longtime Killington skier who spent many days exploring the backcountry around Smith Peak, I always thought that a dedicated Search and Rescue team would be essential in Killington as alpine touring and backcountry skiing grew exponentially,” said Steve Malone, Vice President of Development for Base Camp at Bear Mountain.

The work of this team is indeed essential, and we’re happy to have played a role in making sure that work can continue. Funds raised through the campaign will support critical equipment and advanced training for KSAR, helping ensure the team can continue to operate effectively in remote terrain and emergency situations.

Though our uphilling season is over, we look forward to our continued partnership with KSAR heading into next winter and beyond. Visit ksarfoundation.org if you’re interested in supporting the vital work done by Killington Search & Rescue.