Vail’s 51st season has its grand opening tomorrow, November 22, at 9am. It is looking to be a strong opening weekend, as the skies in the last few weeks have dropped a hefty 54” of snow on the mountain. In addition, snowmaking crews at Vail have been busy augmenting this fresh fluff with a sturdy layer of snow in high traffic areas, and grooming it to Vail’s typical perfect corduroy. All of these forces combine to make for a fantastic formula for opening day!
This season’s opening day will have 4 lifts running: Gondola One, Born Free #8, Little Eagle Lift #15 and the Eagle Bahn Gondola. In addition to wide-open trails, the Born Free Terrain Park will be open for little rippers and shredders who need a fix. In addition, beginning on Friday the Lionshead Adults and Children’s Ski & Snowboard School offices will be open for all ability levels, and the Vail Village Ski & Snowboard School office will be open for private lessons. Small World Nursery at the Golden Peak Children’s Center will be open for childcare 8:30-4:30.
There is so much else to look forward to with Vail events in November and December! The mountain is receiving significant upgrades with 2 new lifts. Chair 4, which had been the high speed quad connecting Mid-Vail to PHQ and is the most frequently used lift on the mountain, will be replaced with a Doppelmayr high-speed six-passenger chairlift. This will increase capacity by 33 percent to 3,600 people per hour – the same capacity as Vail’s new gondola, One, and will help handle the capacity of skiers unloading from Gondola One to get them to the top faster than ever. Secondly, the old double chairlift #12 servicing the beginner area at Golden Peak will be replaced by the old Rose Bowl lift from Beaver Creek and will increase the capacity by 50%, making learning to ski at Vail faster than ever.
Get ready for a fun few weeks coming up, as the 2 weekends after opening will host the most exciting events of the year in ski racing at Beaver Creek. November 29-December 1, the women will test drive the new Raptor downhill course in the first women’s races ever at the Beaver Creek Birds of Prey World Cup venue. The following weekend, the men take the stage at Beaver Creek from December 6-8. On Saturday December 7, don’t miss the huge free party and public bib draw for the men’s races, at Solaris Plaza starting at 5:30.
The next weekend, Vail starts gearing up for the nonstop fun of the holiday season with Snowdaze, the largest early- season winter music bash in North America. The Expo Village at the base of Gondola One starts up the festival atmosphere December 13-15, and live free concerts grace the Ford Park stage December 13 and 14. Friday December 13, music from Rebelution with opener MiM0SA begins at 6:30pm. On Saturday December 14, native Colorado legends Big Head Todd and the Monsters, with Matisyahu, spin their brand of alternative rock beginning at 6:30pm. For more information please visit vail.com.
Then right around the corner, the fun festivities of the Christmas and New Year holidays begins with Holidaze, December 20-22 and December 31! This annual celebration brings ice-skating performances by world-champion ice skaters, tree lighting and the New Year’s Eve Torchlight Ski Down and fireworks. More music is on tap at Vail New Year’s Eve 2014, where DJ Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys along with DJ Logic will spin their magic for the biggest New Year’s Eve fete in Vail! Book your Vail condominium vacation rentals now to enjoy all Vail has to offer during this spectacular time of year. It’s going to be a busy fun ride during November and December in Vail, mark your calendars, get set, go!
