Vail Resorts announces new offerings, upgrades for coming ski season

BROOMFIELD, Colo. – Sept. 17, 2019 – Temperatures are dropping, leaves are beginning to change and the hum of snowmaking is right around the corner. Incredible snow conditions provided Epic Pass holders with one of their longest Colorado ski seasons ever last year – Breckenridge only closed their lifts exactly 100 days ago – and, Vail Resorts is ready to ski again.

Beginning with the start of the winter season and ending with bedtime on your deepest powder day, exciting improvements across Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte promise to make this winter another season to remember.

UNPRECEDENTED FLEXIBILITY FOR MOUNTAIN ACCESS

·         New for the 2019-20 season, Vail Resorts launched the Epic Day Pass allowing guests to ski world-class resorts for up to 50 percent off of lift ticket window prices. Starting at as little as $106 for one day of skiing or riding at any of Vail Resorts’ North American resorts, the Epic Day Pass is perfect for those skiers and riders who may not need the unlimited skiing offered by traditional season passes. For guests looking to ski more days in a season, the Epic Pass and Epic Local Pass continue to offer the best value and variety for unlimited skiing and riding.

·         Also introduced for the 2019-20 season are the Keystone Plus Pass and the new Keystone Crested Butte 4-Pack. For $369, the Keystone Plus Pass, with certain holiday restrictions, provides unlimited access to Keystone, unlimited late spring skiing at Breckenridge starting April 1, 2020, and five days at Crested Butte. The Keystone Crested Butte 4-Pack offers any four total days between Keystone and Crested Butte, with holiday restrictions, for only $249.

IMPROVEMENTS ABOUND FOR YOUR SKI DAY

·         For the first time ever, this year guests can enjoy one of the longest ski seasons in the country at Keystone and Breck, with skiing and riding operations planned to kick off at Keystone in October and run through Memorial Day at Breck, as weather and conditions permit. This summer Keystone Resort has been hard at work upgrading snowmaking on its opening terrain to a state-of-the-art, automated, energy-efficient system that will assist the resort to operate more productively in narrow early-season snowmaking windows. This investment in snowmaking will also help to position Keystone to be one of the first resorts to open in Colorado and the U.S. each season. With Keystone getting the season started, Breck will close it out with late spring skiing and riding throughout May for Breck’s Spring Finale. Combined, the extended seasons will provide even more value to Epic Pass holders.  

·         After a brief hiatus, Crested Butte’s new Teocalli Lift, a fixed-grip quad, replaces the former fixed-grip double chair. The new Teocalli Lift was installed this summer and will increase uphill capacity by more than 50 percent, providing an enhanced level of convenience for guests looking to access the front side of the mountain or lap some of Crested Butte’s sweetest trees. A slight realignment of the lift line moves the top terminal closer to the top of the existing Red Lady Express Lift, improving egress to the can’t-miss, Uley’s Cabin as well as the base area.

·         The heart of Breckenridge Ski Resort gets a new beat this season with the transformation of the Peak 8 Base Area, elevating the overall guest experience at the primary portal to the mountain. This winter, guests will be greeted with a whole new look and feel as they arrive at Peak 8, welcomed by new escalators to help guests move between street-level and plaza-level; brand new skier services headquarters including new locations for resort ticket and season pass sales, the Breck Ski & Snowboard School, and Breck Sports retail and rental store; as well as other guest amenities including an outdoor ice skating rink, coffee shop, new public restroom facilities and new town transit stop for easy and convenient access into town.

·         Vail is deep underway with the first phase of an ambitious snowmaking expansion project – the largest in Vail Mountain’s history – that will enhance the skiing experience beginning with the 2019-20 winter season by allowing for more diverse terrain to be open earlier, creating more reliable early and late-season conditions, and improving existing snowmaking technology to be more energy and water-efficient. Vail’s extensive snowmaking upgrades and expansion taking place this summer will help to ensure a pre-Thanksgiving opening day each year. Nearly 200 acres of new and enhanced snowmaking terrain this season (in addition to our current 431 acres of snowmaking terrain) will provide guests with earlier access to higher elevation terrain, a broader variety of trails, access from three base areas, and improved early season ski school terrain.

·         With the expansion of Beaver Creek’s snowmaking system at Red Buffalo Park, a newly renovated Children’s Ski School, and a remodeled Village, family experiences will start on Opening Day at Beaver Creek Resort. Beaver Creek Resort is enhancing its early-season terrain offerings through the snowmaking expansion in Red Buffalo Park. The additional snowmaking capabilities at Red Buffalo Park will ensure more reliable early-season terrain in a key dedicated learning area of the upper mountain, with the goal of providing more than 3,300 vertical feet of top-to-bottom skiing and riding on opening day each year. An interior renovation of Beaver Creek’s Children Ski School facilities will improve the guest experience for the entire family, from sales and registration to rental equipment fitting. Additionally, a newly remodeled Village will welcome families for one-of-a-kind events and experiences throughout the season.

RECHARGE TO CHARGE AGAIN

·         Gravity Haus Breckenridge is the adventure destination and social haus for the modern adventurer. Replacing the former Village Hotel at the base of Breckenridge Ski Resort’s Peak 9, the renovated and tech-forward ski-in/ ski-out boutique property will debut in December 2019. Designed to activate a community of like-minded outdoor enthusiasts year-round, Gravity Haus offers ongoing insider experiences ranging from athlete-led mountain expeditions to backcountry hut trips. Onsite amenities at Gravity Haus include Dryland fitness and sports recovery center; Backcountry discovery center; a super trampoline; StarterHaus, a new co-working space by Jim Deters; farm-to-cup Unravel coffee; locally-inspired food and drink at Cabin Juice; Japanese-inspired onsen and more.