Heavenly Receives Snow and Fires Up Snowmaking
Heavenly Mountain Resort, Lake Tahoe, Calif./Nev. – October 25, 2010 – South Lake Tahoe locals awoke this morning to a fresh dusting of snow cloaking Heavenly Mountain Resort (www.skiheavenly.com). High pressure on the tail end of the storm has brought cold temperatures which will allow the resort to begin making snow tonight. The combination of these two events signals that the Lake Tahoe snowsports season is just days away if temperatures continue to cooperate. An unusually wet October and the West Coast’s largest snowmaking system give Heavenly’s guests confidence that they will be skiing and snowboarding on the best snow surfaces at Lake Tahoe on Heavenly’s opening day, scheduled for Friday, November 19, weather and conditions permitting.
Under optimum conditions, Heavenly can cover 73 percent of its trails in machine-made snow, by far the most in the Lake Tahoe basin. In more visual terms, Heavenly can produce three-and-a-half feet of snow over one acre in an hour. That’s enough snow to blanket a football field with eight-and-a-half feet during an average three-hour game.
“This great snowmaking weather has allowed us to fire up the guns a week earlier than expected, which should give us extra time to ensure our guests experience the best and most consistent snow surfaces that Lake Tahoe has to offer,” said John Wagnon, Heavenly’s vice president of marketing and sales.
Heavenly will begin making snow at the top of the Gondola and on California Trail tonight.
With the combined power of Mother Nature and the West Coast’s largest snowmaking system creating excellent early-season conditions, it is the perfect time to purchase Lake Tahoe’s best snowsports value – the $379 Heavenly season pass. Heavenly is also offering its “Refer a Friend” program (www.skiheavenly.com/friend), open to all adult Heavenly Pass holders, as well as Heavenly College Pass holders. It offers $20 in “mountain money” redeemable at all on-mountain dining and retail establishments for each referred friend who purchases a Heavenly Pass, Heavenly College Pass or Epic Pass. And everyone benefits: The referred friends receive a $20 discount on the $379 Heavenly Pass, reducing the price to just $359. Pass holders can refer as many friends as they want, and will be paid for each successful purchase in a one-time payout, sometime in mid-January. Referred friends cannot have owned a Heavenly Pass in the last two years (2008-09 or 2009-10).
Heavenly is also offering its popular “Half-Off Heavenly” vacation package (http://bit.ly/dzp5HJ) where guests ski or ride four days and stay four nights starting at just $52 per person, per night. This offer is valid November 21 through November 25, 2010, and November 28 through December 16, 2010.
For information on booking a snowsports vacation package or purchasing a Heavenly season pass, or to monitor the snowmaking process via Heavenly’s web cams, visit www.skiheavenly.com.
B-ROLL ALERT: SNOW FOOTAGE AVAILABLE
- Broadcast-quality footage shot today, October 25, 2010, will be available by 12:30 p.m. PST upon request or by visiting https://public.me.com/vail.resorts and accessing the “Heavenly” folder.
- Ideal snowmaking video conditions should occur around 7 a.m. PST on Tuesday, October 26, 2010. Video crews are invited to cover the event. Please contact the Heavenly PR department to arrange a visit.
PHOTO ALERT
- Snow photos snapped this morning will be available around 12 p.m. on October 25, 2010.
About Heavenly
Heavenly Mountain Resort is a world-class destination offering guests a one-of-a-kind combination of scenic beauty and exhilarating on-snow experience. Heavenly is a subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc., the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. In addition to Heavenly, Vail Resorts, Inc. owns and operates the Colorado mountain resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The Company's subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages casually elegant properties across the United States and in the Caribbean. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com. For more information on Heavenly, please visit www.skiheavenly.com or call 1-800-HEAVENLY.
About Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. The Company's subsidiaries operate the mountain resort properties of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone mountain resorts in Colorado, Heavenly Mountain Resort in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The Company's subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages casually elegant properties across the United States and the Caribbean. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN). The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and the consumer website is www.snow.com.