Vail, Beaver Creek open more terrain after huge week of snow

Skiers in Vail’s Back Bowls on Wednesday (Andrew Tayor, Vail Resorts photo).

Vail and Beaver Creek are now both open for the 2014-15 ski season after more than 6 feet of snow fell on the Vail Valley in the past three weeks, including nearly 3 feet since Saturday. Vail opened parts of the Back Bowls on Wednesday with more back-side terrain on the way.

“We have a lot to be thankful for every year in Vail, but this year is extraordinary. It’s rare to have conditions this good, this early in the season,” said Chris Jarnot, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Vail Mountain. “We’ll be talking about Thanksgiving 2014 for years to come. Our crews have been working incredibly hard literally around the clock to open terrain as quickly as possible. With Chair 5 now open, we hope to open China Bowl next, possibly yet this weekend.”

Snow riders now have access to more than 2,700 skiable acres of terrain at Vail, including the following lifts: Gondola One, Avanti Express Lift (#2), Wildwood Express Lift (#3), Mountain Top Express Lift (#4), High Noon Express Lift (#5), Riva Bahn Express Lift (#6), Game Creek Express Lift (#7), Born Free Express Lift (#8), Highline Express Lift (#10), Northwoods Express Lift (#11), Gopher Hill Lift (#12), Little Eagle Lift (#15), Eagle Bahn Gondola (#19) and the Cascade Village Lift (#20).

Vail anticipates opening the remainder of its lifts and terrain, including Blue Sky Basin in early December.

For more information about Vail Mountain visit www.vail.com or call (970) SKI-VAIL (754-8245).

Beaver Creek Resort opened Wednesday with 558 acres of skiable terrain on the main mountain including Rose Bowl and Bachelor Gulch. After more than 5 feet of new snow this month, this is one of the best openings in the past decade with 30 percent of the mountain opening.

The following lifts are open to snow riders: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) and five surface lifts.

For more information visit www.beavercreek.com.

A few inches of new snow is possible Sunday night into Monday, according to Opensnow.com, with another shot of snow Thursday of next week.