Vail Mountain’s 2013-2014 Winter Season Officially Underway Today
Media Note: More Vail snow photos and broll can be downloaded via Dropbox here. Please credit the photographer listed on the file and Vail Resorts.
A fresh four inches of snow greeted skiers and snowboarders as Vail Mountain opened the slopes for the 2013-2014 winter season today with more than 170 acres of terrain. The majority of skiing and riding is currently taking place in the Lionshead area, and the Vail Ski Patrol was even able to open portions of two additional trails mid-morning today – Minnie’s and Pickeroon – creating a nice opening day surprise for guests and bringing the total number of trails open up to 10. Early season storms have provided for great conditions across the front side of the mountain, and with a little more natural snow and some cold temperatures for snowmaking to help fill in gaps on connector trails, guests can anticipate more terrain to open soon.
In addition to excitement for the first turns of the season at Vail, guests can also look forward to new investments on the mountain in the form of two new chairlifts, including the replacement of one of the most recognizedand highly utilized chairlifts in North America, the Mountain Top Express Lift (#4), with a new six-passenger chairlift. Serving as a major access route from Mid-Vail to Vail’s legendary Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin, uphill capacity of the lift will increase by 33 percent, dramatically reducing lift lines and building upon the success of the newly built state-of-the-art Gondola One.
The Gopher Hill Lift (#12) in Golden Peak will also be upgraded this season from a double chair to a triple chair, better serving beginners and Vail’s youngest ski school guests. Both the new Mountaintop Express Lift (#4) and Gopher Hill Lift (#12) will continue to build upon Vail's preeminent position in delivering the best experience in the ski industry worldwide. Additionally, Vail will continue to host world-class athletes this winter during the U.S. Ski Team early-season training sessions in Golden Peak, the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships March 5-8, 2014, and the future 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships.
In addition to excitement for the first turns of the season at Vail, guests can also look forward to new investments on the mountain in the form of two new chairlifts, including the replacement of one of the most recognizedand highly utilized chairlifts in North America, the Mountain Top Express Lift (#4), with a new six-passenger chairlift. Serving as a major access route from Mid-Vail to Vail’s legendary Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin, uphill capacity of the lift will increase by 33 percent, dramatically reducing lift lines and building upon the success of the newly built state-of-the-art Gondola One.
The Gopher Hill Lift (#12) in Golden Peak will also be upgraded this season from a double chair to a triple chair, better serving beginners and Vail’s youngest ski school guests. Both the new Mountaintop Express Lift (#4) and Gopher Hill Lift (#12) will continue to build upon Vail's preeminent position in delivering the best experience in the ski industry worldwide. Additionally, Vail will continue to host world-class athletes this winter during the U.S. Ski Team early-season training sessions in Golden Peak, the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships March 5-8, 2014, and the future 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships.
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About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. The Company's subsidiaries operate the mountain resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada; Canyons in Park City, Utah; Afton Alps in Minnesota and Mt. Brighton in Michigan; and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Company's subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages casually elegant properties. 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.