Vail Resorts announced today that the Company plans to invest approximately $175 million to $180 million in the guest experience in time for the 2019-20 winter ski and snowboard season across its network of 18 resorts.
Here are the planned improvements for Vail mountain, Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Keystone.
Keystone:
Keystone is now poised to re-enter the running to be the first resort to open, not only in Colorado, but the United States, each season.
Pending approval by the U.S. Forest Service, an enhanced, state-of-the-art snow-making system will allow Keystone to open by mid-October, with the ability to have snow-making operations complete before to Christmas.
The resort will be aiming to open more than three weeks earlier, with a goal to be offering skiing and snowboarding access on all three of Keystone’s peaks by the Thanksgiving holiday, weather permitting.
Vail Mountain:
At Vail Mountain, pending approval by the U.S. Forest Service, snow-making upgrades will allow the resort to move opening day one week earlier. This would ensure a pre-Thanksgiving opening each year.
The proposed plan would involve expanding snow-making equipment on the upper mountain in the Mid-Vail area, in order to open the Mountain Top Express Lift.
Breckenridge:
At Breckenridge’s Peak 8 base, completely new slope-side, guest-service facilities will be added in more than 22,000 square-feet of space just steps away from the Colorado SuperChair and Rocky Mountain SuperChair.
Included will be a new Children’s Ski & Snowboard School, daycare, ticket and pass office, and a new ski and snowboard rental concept.
Beaver Creek:
An expansion of Beaver Creek’s snow-making system at Red Buffalo Park is also being pursued to ensure more reliable, early-season terrain in a key ski school and beginner area of the upper mountain. The end goal would to open more than 3,300 vertical feet of top-to-bottom skiing and riding on opening day each year.
The Beaver Creek Children’s Ski School will be completely renovated to improve the experience for the entire family, from sales and registration to rental equipment fitting.
