KILLINGTON, VT — As part of Rage Weekend May 25-27, the Memorial Day Triathlon on Sunday, May 26, ushers out winter at Killington and welcomes summer with open arms. The challenging event includes skiing or snowboarding, mountain biking and trail running. The weekend begins on Saturday, May 25, with course preview clinics and a women's clinic.

Then the 12th Annual Killington Triathlon takes place on Sunday and is the largest event during Rage Weekend. It is a three-part race that makes a perfect segue from winter into summer. The test of endurance and skill begins at 10 a.m. with a skiing or snowboarding run down the Superstar Trail. Next, racers trade their boards for mountain bikes and ride a typically muddy 5.5- mile cross-country course on Killington's mountain bike trails. The last leg of the competition is a 2.5-mile trail run. Athletes are competing for an assortment of prizes from Rage Weekend Sponsors, and everyone who enters gets a commemorative Killington Triathlon T- shirt. The race is limited to the first 500 competitors and costs $35 for season pass holders and $45 for non- season pass holders before May 15, 2002, and $55 and $45 after May 15, respectively. Call 802-422-1700 to request registration forms or log on to www.killington.com for more information.

Triathlon participants and spectators can enjoy a bar-b- que and music on the Killington Base Lodge deck. The party on the deck continues all weekend long along with other activities including mountain bike fun rides with bike rentals available at the Killington Mountain Bike Shop, a women's fun clinic, as well as hiking on Killington's network of trails with the Killington Hiking Center, golf, and a climbing wall.

And if that's not enough to satisfy the extreme in any athlete, the Killington Klimb will help use up the rest of that extra energy. On Monday, May 27, it's a race to the top of 4,241-foot Killington Peak starting at 10 a.m. The fastest climber will have his or her name engraved on the trophy and receive some great prizes. Entry fee is $10/person.

Rage weekend officially opens summertime programs and activities at Killington—the adventure continues all season long. This summer Killington will offer: scenic rides on the K1 Express Gondola; a mountain bike center with rentals and 45 miles of lift-serviced mountain bike trails; the Killington Hiking Center with self-guided hikes; and golf. Killington has its own 18-hole championship golf course, and there are 270 holes of golf in the Killington region. In addition to all of these activities families will love the Killington/Pico Adventure Center including two water slides (open in July), an outdoor climbing wall, an in-line skate and skateboard park plus, at Pico, an alpine slide (open in July), mini-golf and the Bungee Thing.

Killington is an American Skiing Company resort. Based in Newry, Maine, American Skiing Company is the largest operator of ski, snowboard and golf resorts in the country. Other resorts include: Sunday River and Sugarloaf/USA in Maine; Mount Snow in Vermont; Attitash Bear Peak in New Hampshire; Heavenly in California/Nevada; Steamboat in Colorado; and The Canyons in Utah. For more information, visit Killington's website at www.killington.com.

— Posted by Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Staff