KILLINGTON, Vermont — Killington Resort will open Thanksgiving Day at 8 a.m. for the 2006-07 ski and snowboard season with top-to-bottom skiing and riding off Killington Peak and Snowdon Mountain.

“Thanks to the return of colder temperatures, we’ll be carving turns on Thanksgiving day,” said Dave Rathbun, vice president of brand management for Killington Resort. “At this point, we expect to have a number of advanced and expert trails served by multiple lifts, including the K-1 Express Gondola. I believe our guests will be pleasantly surprised by the amount of open terrain and the conditions at Killington on Thanksgiving Day thanks to the efforts of our snowmaking and grooming teams.”

Killington Resort, which features the most extensive snowmaking system in the world, has been making snow since Friday evening. The number of open lifts and trails for Thursday’s opening day will be determined by the amount of snow produced over the next 48 hours. Updates and lift ticket rates will be posted at www.Killington.com.

Killington will offer more difficult and most difficult terrain from the K-1 Lodge area. In addition, Learn-To-Ski/Ride and beginner lessons will be available at the Ramshead Lodge.

Killington Resort made the first snow of the season in the East on Oct. 30 utilizing HKD Ranger Low Energy Snow guns. Snowmaking production began in earnest on Thursday, Nov. 9 through Sunday Nov. 12, stockpiling snow for the season. However, warmer than normal temperatures prevented snowmaking production until this past Friday when snow making resumed on the upper portion of Killington Peak. Since Sunday, Killington’s snowmaking team has been producing snow on the lower portions of the Killington Peak in anticipation of offering top-to-bottom terrain for opening day.