Beaver Creek Opens for the 2014-2015 Season Wednesday, Nov. 26 with 558 Acres of Terrain Including Rose Bowl
Beaver Creek, Colo., Nov. 24, 2014 – Beaver Creek Resort will open on Wednesday, Nov. 26 with 558 acres of terrain on the main mountain including Rose Bowl, as well as Bachelor Gulch. Thanks to plentiful storms which have blanketed the slopes with 15 inches of fresh snow in the past two days and five feet this month, this is one of the best openings in the past decade with 30 percent of the mountain opening.
New this winter, the Centennial Express Lift, now a combination lift, will provide skiers with alternating 10-person gondola cabins and six-passenger chairs, increasing uphill capacity by 35 percent. Commemorative pins celebrating the new lift will be handed out to opening day skiers and snowboarders while supplies last and a public ribbon cutting ceremony will take place when the lift opens at 9 a.m. Opening day skiers and snowboarders will also enjoy hot cocoa and morning Cookie Time as well as the traditional Beaver Creek Chocolate Chip Cookie Competition that begins at 2 p.m.
Investments into a new state-of-the-art snowmaking system on Gold Dust trail, one of Beaver Creek’s most utilized trails, allowed snowmaking crews to finish their work well in advance of previous years. For skiers and snowboarders, they’ll notice a softer snow surface that will be “refreshed” several nights a week in the heart of the season. With the help of 24 automated fan guns, the Gold Dust refresh process spreads a powdery layer of snow out across the entire trail after groomers prepare fresh corduroy.
“This is a huge winter for Beaver Creek and we’re very excited to debut our new lift and snowmaking system as well as other improvements, which will be on display to the world during the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in February,” said Doug Lovell, chief operating officer for Beaver Creek Resort. “Thanksgiving holidays guests can enjoy terrific skiing conditions along with our traditional holiday events in the village.”
Skiers and snowboarders will be able to access all levels of terrain on opening day beginning at 9 a.m. from the following lifts.
The Centennial Express Lift provides new loading options for skiers and snowboarders. The gondola lift line is located on the east side of the bottom lift terminal while the chairlift line loading area, served by a moving conveyor and a gate to help time entry, will be from both sides as in prior seasons. Guests have the option of removing their skis or snowboards and riding in a gondola cabin or keeping their skis and snowboards on and riding on a chair.
Terrain
On the main mountain, Gold Dust, Latigo, Centennial, Willy’s Face, Double Diamond, lower Buckboard and 1876 will be open as well as all terrain accessed from Cinch Express Lift (#8) except Centennial/Spruce Face and Zoom Room. Rose Bowl terrain includes the trails C Prime, Stone Creek Meadows, Ripsaw, Cataract and Spider. Sawbuck trail in Bachelor Gulch will be accessible by riding the Strawberry Park Express Lift (#12) and skiing across Primrose trail from Beaver Creek Village. The Bachelor Gulch Express Lift (#16) will also open for the season and for now the terrain will ski like a bowl and skiers will need to return to Beaver Creek Village via shuttle.
Ski School
The Beaver Creek Ski & Snowboard School will be open on Wednesday offering group and private instruction for adults and kids. New this winter, private lessons now include complimentary ski valet service, exclusive lift line privileges at designated lifts as well as the option to enjoy a fine dine ski-in, ski-out lunch at SaddleRidge. The Small World Play School Nursery will be open to care for non-skiing children. Guests can register online at www.beavercreek.com.
Dining
Spruce Saddle Restaurant at the top of the new Centennial Express Lift will feature a variety of healthy lunch options including wraps, salad bar station, soups, sushi and more traditional heartier fare such as the Epic Burger, pizza, pastas and other offerings.
Cookie Competition
At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the 11th annual Beaver Creek Chocolate Chip Cookie Competition gets underway in the village. After making some turns on the slopes, skiers and snowboarders can head to the village to sample five different cookies and vote for the resort’s Official Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe for the season. Five finalists will each bake and serve 1,000 cookies each for opening day and the winner will be announced at 3 p.m. Cookie Time is Beaver Creek’s signature guest service program. At 3 p.m. every day, Cookie Time Chefs greet skiers and snowboarders at the foot of the slopes with warm chocolate chip cookies. More than 500,000 cookies are served each season.
EpicDay Lift Tickets
New this winter, Vail Resorts is making it more convenient for guests to purchase their EpicDay Lift Tickets in advance at the lowest guaranteed price or up-to-the-minute from a new online and mobile platform. While buying early provides the best prices with up to 25 percent off from the walk up window rate, the new platform also now enables guests who purchase tickets less than seven days in advance to pick up their tickets at the resort from a new EpicDay Express Ticket Pick-Up Lane, bypassing the traditional ticket window line. For more information visit www.beavercreek.com.
New this winter, the Centennial Express Lift, now a combination lift, will provide skiers with alternating 10-person gondola cabins and six-passenger chairs, increasing uphill capacity by 35 percent. Commemorative pins celebrating the new lift will be handed out to opening day skiers and snowboarders while supplies last and a public ribbon cutting ceremony will take place when the lift opens at 9 a.m. Opening day skiers and snowboarders will also enjoy hot cocoa and morning Cookie Time as well as the traditional Beaver Creek Chocolate Chip Cookie Competition that begins at 2 p.m.
Investments into a new state-of-the-art snowmaking system on Gold Dust trail, one of Beaver Creek’s most utilized trails, allowed snowmaking crews to finish their work well in advance of previous years. For skiers and snowboarders, they’ll notice a softer snow surface that will be “refreshed” several nights a week in the heart of the season. With the help of 24 automated fan guns, the Gold Dust refresh process spreads a powdery layer of snow out across the entire trail after groomers prepare fresh corduroy.
“This is a huge winter for Beaver Creek and we’re very excited to debut our new lift and snowmaking system as well as other improvements, which will be on display to the world during the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in February,” said Doug Lovell, chief operating officer for Beaver Creek Resort. “Thanksgiving holidays guests can enjoy terrific skiing conditions along with our traditional holiday events in the village.”
Skiers and snowboarders will be able to access all levels of terrain on opening day beginning at 9 a.m. from the following lifts.
- Buckaroo Express Gondola (#1)
- Rose Bowl Express Lift (#4)
- Centennial Express Lift (#6)
- Cinch Express Lift (#8)
- Strawberry Park Express Lift (#12)
- Bachelor Gulch Express Lift (#16)
- Five surface lifts
The Centennial Express Lift provides new loading options for skiers and snowboarders. The gondola lift line is located on the east side of the bottom lift terminal while the chairlift line loading area, served by a moving conveyor and a gate to help time entry, will be from both sides as in prior seasons. Guests have the option of removing their skis or snowboards and riding in a gondola cabin or keeping their skis and snowboards on and riding on a chair.
Terrain
On the main mountain, Gold Dust, Latigo, Centennial, Willy’s Face, Double Diamond, lower Buckboard and 1876 will be open as well as all terrain accessed from Cinch Express Lift (#8) except Centennial/Spruce Face and Zoom Room. Rose Bowl terrain includes the trails C Prime, Stone Creek Meadows, Ripsaw, Cataract and Spider. Sawbuck trail in Bachelor Gulch will be accessible by riding the Strawberry Park Express Lift (#12) and skiing across Primrose trail from Beaver Creek Village. The Bachelor Gulch Express Lift (#16) will also open for the season and for now the terrain will ski like a bowl and skiers will need to return to Beaver Creek Village via shuttle.
Ski School
The Beaver Creek Ski & Snowboard School will be open on Wednesday offering group and private instruction for adults and kids. New this winter, private lessons now include complimentary ski valet service, exclusive lift line privileges at designated lifts as well as the option to enjoy a fine dine ski-in, ski-out lunch at SaddleRidge. The Small World Play School Nursery will be open to care for non-skiing children. Guests can register online at www.beavercreek.com.
Dining
Spruce Saddle Restaurant at the top of the new Centennial Express Lift will feature a variety of healthy lunch options including wraps, salad bar station, soups, sushi and more traditional heartier fare such as the Epic Burger, pizza, pastas and other offerings.
Cookie Competition
At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, the 11th annual Beaver Creek Chocolate Chip Cookie Competition gets underway in the village. After making some turns on the slopes, skiers and snowboarders can head to the village to sample five different cookies and vote for the resort’s Official Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe for the season. Five finalists will each bake and serve 1,000 cookies each for opening day and the winner will be announced at 3 p.m. Cookie Time is Beaver Creek’s signature guest service program. At 3 p.m. every day, Cookie Time Chefs greet skiers and snowboarders at the foot of the slopes with warm chocolate chip cookies. More than 500,000 cookies are served each season.
EpicDay Lift Tickets
New this winter, Vail Resorts is making it more convenient for guests to purchase their EpicDay Lift Tickets in advance at the lowest guaranteed price or up-to-the-minute from a new online and mobile platform. While buying early provides the best prices with up to 25 percent off from the walk up window rate, the new platform also now enables guests who purchase tickets less than seven days in advance to pick up their tickets at the resort from a new EpicDay Express Ticket Pick-Up Lane, bypassing the traditional ticket window line. For more information visit www.beavercreek.com.
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; Park City and Canyons in 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.
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; Park City and Canyons in 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.
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