Dear International Media Partner,
Welcome to the Vail Resorts Media Guide! Within this site you will find information describing the unparalleled winter vacation experiences our world-class resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado and Heavenly in California and Nevada. From facts and figures to signature events to new resort improvements, these guides will inform and excite you and your audiences for the 2008-2009 ski and snowboard season. If you need more information or photography, please contact us or one of our in-market representatives who are a valuable resource to provide you with answers in a very timely manner. To tempt you to explore further, here's a sneak peek of what's new at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly. Vail
Like nothing on earth. With 5,289 acres (2,140 ha) of diverse terrain, Vail is the largest ski mountain in the United States, featuring seven legendary bowls spanning six full miles (9.7 km). Over 1,500 acres (607 ha) of corduroy means the most groomed terrain on the planet. With a yearly average of 348 inches (8.8 m) of snowfall and 300 days of sunshine, Vail will change your idea of a good time, permanently. And, there’s nothing like Vail Village for world-class dining, shopping, galleries, après ski, nightlife and spa services, all just steps from accommodations. Vail Mountain remains one of the most celebrated and visited ski resorts in the United States. Vail’s 46th season begins November 21, 2008 and skiers and snowboarders will benefit from a number of significant improvements across the Town of Vail. After a state-of-the-art renovation, Manor Vail - centrally located at Golden Peak - is set to re-open for the 2008-2009 season. Work also continues on the Four Seasons Residence Club scheduled to open late 2009 and the Ritz Carlton Residences in 2010.
The new ultra-luxury Arrabelle at Vail Square in LionsHead Village at the base of Vail's Eagle Bahn gondola is in full swing for the 2008-2009 ski season. This premier property offers a unique hotel experience that combines Old World charm and the timeless elegance of Europe’s grand resorts with the romance and world-class style of Vail’s alpine heritage. The Arrabelle features 36 luxury hotel rooms and up to 50 additional condominiums that are based on the Biedermeier design style, an early 19th century German architecture movement that evokes simplicity, elegance and functionality. Additionally, the resort boasts a traditional Germanic Glockenspiel that will feature a celebration of snow. Amenities include a 10,000-square-foot (929-square-metre) full-service RockResorts SpaTM and signature dining at Centre V, a French-brasserie inspired mountainside restaurant. New skier service facilities, including children’s ski school, ski rentals, ski storage and the resort information center, will be located in the Arrabelle. For more information, visit www.arrabelle.com. Vail is a member of Leading Mountain Resorts of the World, a global organization with a partnership of diverse, highly rated mountain resorts located around the globe. Members include: Queenstown, New Zealand, Bariloche in Patagonia, South America, Vail, Colorado in North America and Val Gardena of the Italian Dolomites in Europe. Each resort is recognized as offering fantastic year-round holiday experiences. We invite you to learn more about the organization and the partnering resorts at http://www.leadingmountainresorts.com/. For more information, visit http://www.vail.snow.com
Beaver Creek
Not exactly roughing it. Reminiscent of a secluded European alpine village, Beaver Creek combines the polish and refinement of a five-star resort with a relaxed, family atmosphere. The resort's village-to-village ski and snowboard experience is complemented by a mountain-top snowshoe and cross country ski park, world-class spas, a year-round outdoor ice rink, sleigh ride dinners, family programs and more. Beaver Creek is famous for pampering its guests from start to finish and lives up to the motto “not exactly roughing it.” The National Ski Area Association has awarded Beaver Creek the elite distinction of Best Overall Customer Service Program for two consecutive years. Over 200 paid and volunteer mountain hosts provide a seamless vacation experience for families by greeting skiers upon arrival, carrying equipment, distributing grooming maps and snow reports, leading free Mountain Welcome Tours and offering tailored assistance on and off the slopes. After each day on the mountain, Cookie Time chefs treat guests to freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. This season Beaver Creek introduces The Ranch, a state-of-the-art children’s ski and snowboard school that will revolutionize the way kids learn to turn. The 4,000 square foot, on-mountain center is located at the top of the Buckaroo Express Gondola and is surrounded by premier beginner learning terrain. The center’s picture windows will allow parents to discreetly view their kids learning to ski and ride on customized slopes designed to facilitate the correct body movements. Parents can also rest easy knowing their kids will have healthy and fresh food options at lunchtime. All natural Coleman meat, Horizon organic dairy and a yogurt bar will be served as part of Vail Resorts’ Appetite for Life initiative. For more information, please visit http://beavercreek.snow.com/info/winter/ss.children.asp Discerning travelers will find a sophisticated, luxury, boutique hotel experience just steps from the chairlift this winter. The Osprey at Beaver Creek, A RockResort, formerly known as the Inn at Beaver Creek, is undergoing a $7-million transformation this summer and will be re-launched as RockResorts’ newest addition in time for the 2008-2009 ski and snowboard season. The 41-room hotel, owned by RockResorts, is situated in the heart of Beaver Creek Village and is the closest hotel to a chairlift in North America. The lobby and public spaces will also be renovated to reflect a mountain-chic style along with a new tapas bar offering an extensive wine list and casually elegant atmosphere. The outdoor pool will be enhanced with an après ski deck boasting breathtaking mountain views. The hotel also will have a ski concierge to help guests with their skis, snowboards and boots, as well as store and tune them overnight. For more information, please visit http://ospreyatbeavercreek.rockresorts.com
Beaver Creek has also expanded activities for family with new programs and events. The fun at Beaver Creek continues after the lifts close with a new disco ice skating party and storytelling and s’mores around Beaver Creek Village’s new outdoor fire pits. Glow stick ski-downs, rail jams, fireworks displays, kids’ tubing and figure skating shows round out an exciting line-up of complimentary activities offered nightly throughout the winter. Hungry for more? Sleigh ride dinners, family cultural performances, world-class spas, a teen video arcade and year-round outdoor ice skating deliver added excitement. And don’t miss the ultimate kids’ extravaganza from Cookie Magazine and Beaver Creek; tune in for children’s concerts, special activities and much more during the new Cookie Kids Fest, March 12-14, 2009. On the mountain, take a family ski or snowboard lesson and document the fun with a personal video to take home or tackle 13 of the mountain’s most challenging runs in one day with the Talons Challenge.
Once again Beaver Creek will be hosting the World Cup Birds of Prey, December 4 – 7. Watch the best of the best thunder down the only World Cup Men’s Downhill course in North America.
For more information, visit www.beavercreek.snow.com
Breckenridge
Perfect mountain. Perfect mountain town. Who doesn't love Breckenridge? Rising high above "the perfect mountain town," Breckenridge Ski Resort was rated by the BBC as one of the world's top five winter resort destinations in October 2006. With a family-friendly atmosphere, world-class races and events, expansive terrain parks and one of the nation's top Ski Schools, Breckenridge has it all. Building on the momentum of the last few seasons generated from the new BreckConnect gondola and Imperial Express, North America’s highest chairlift at 12,840 feet (3,914 m), Breckenridge is moving toward a new era. During the 2006-2007 season, the resort set a new skier visit record and became the most popular resort in North America.
Breckenridge is known for having the best terrain parks and pipes in the world. Breckenridge has designed a multi-level park pod that will feature a beginner park and pipe, an intermediate park, as well as the famed expert superpark and pipe on Freeway. The resort has committed to adding a snowmaking system on Peak 8’s Park Lane, which sits next to Freeway Park, and to turning the entire 3,500-foot (1,067 m) long run into a mid sized, intermediate park. With parks and pipes for all three levels in one place, skiers and snowboarders can develop from beginner park riders to pros.
At Breckenridge, we want to turn kids into lifelong snow lovers. This year, the resort is launching Mountains of Discovery, which turns children’s ski school into an adventure by using the entire mountain for class. The conventional method uses a specific lesson plan that is taught in a designated teaching area, not allowing for too much discovery beyond the fence. Instructors get the kids out of the ski school yard and teach the fundamentals on different areas of the resort while building a love for the sport.
The much anticipated Crystal Peak lodge opens its doors for the first time this ski season for ski-in/ski-out lodging right at the base of Peak 7, with access via the new seasonal BreckConnect Gondola. Also underway is the development of One Ski Hill Place, located at the base of Peak 8. Scheduled to open next winter, One Ski Hill Place is also luxury ski-in/ski-out accommodation, just steps from four chairlifts for easy access to Peaks 7, 8, 9 & 10 and to the charming Town of Breckenridge via the BreckConnect Gondola.
One Ski Hill Place will be the centerpiece of the new Breckenridge Peaks, a lively village offering a variety of lodging, dining and entertainment options. The Breckenridge Peaks' proposed amenities include a sunny slope side skiers' plaza, skier restaurant, après-ski bar, owner’s ski lounge, 5,000-square-foot (465-square-metre) conference center and heated underground parking. Also proposed are two movie lounges, a game room, a fitness center with sports massage rooms, steam room and a sauna and an aquatics center with two swimming pools, indoor hot tub, outdoor hot tub and outdoor fireplace. Learn more at http://oneskihill.rockresorts.com/index.asp.
For more information, please visit www.breckenridge.snow.com
Keystone
It’s all here. A transformation began at Keystone five years ago and the improvements are not over yet. The resort continues to evolve and develop its new look and feel this season. Keystone has a new chief operating officer, a new state-of-the-art RockResorts SpaTM at The Keystone Lodge & Spa and the recently opened, state-of-the-art River Run gondola. The new 8-person gondola replaces the old 6-person gondola. The key component of the new gondola however is the loading point being in the River Run Village. This significantly enhances the guest experience not only for River Run destination guests but also day visitors parking in the village, as the distance on foot has been decreased. Call it an “extreme makeover.” More than ever before, a visit to Keystone will certainly leave you thinking “It’s all here”. With a focus on “wow-ing” the guest, Keystone continues to increase skier and impress the industry with top rankings for its A51 terrain park, restaurants, golf courses and conference center. See for yourself – check out the new snowcat-accessed Independence Bowl, innovative terrain park rails, renovated ski and snowboard school facilities, new on-mountain kids’ areas and the Keystone classics: the top-rated mountaintop Alpenglow Stube restaurant, the famous holiday chocolate village, sunset skiing/riding and world-class groomed trails.
Keystone continues to "wow" guests with the high adventure of its in-bounds “backcountry-type” terrain with more than 1,000 acres (405 ha) of trees, chutes, bowls, ridges and powder in Bergman and Erickson bowls, as well as the newly-added Independence Bowl. Located miles away from any condo, road or chairlift, guests can hike 30-45 minutes or take the Keystone Adventure Tour (KAT) guided snowcat program for transportation to the top of the world. Keystone’s KAT program started three years ago and was so successful that the resort added about 300 acres (121 ha) of steeper terrain in Independence Bowl last year. Highly trained guides provide avalanche beacons and years of experience to ensure you find the best powder and steeps. This year Keystone is taking the KAT experience to a whole new level with a new yurt in Independence Bowl and a catered gourmet lunch program. It’s high luxury with high adventure. The full-day guided KAT program is for expert skiers and riders only and depending on the group size and ability-level, can provide anywhere from seven to ten runs. Bring a camera and your sense of adventure. Check out Keystone’s other “can’t miss” adventures such as snowbiking tours, full-moon snowshoe events and the resort’s early-season Friday night lights event featuring free live concerts, night skiing and amazing lodging deals (Nov. 21, Nov. 28 & Dec. 5, 2008). For more information on Friday night lights and other events, please visit http://keystone.snow.com/fnl/index.asp
For more information, visit www.keystoneresort.com.
Heavenly When you're up for everything. Heavenly Mountain Resort once again received honors for being the top winter sports destination at Lake Tahoe and the highest-rated ski area in California by readers of SKI Magazine. Straddling the states of California and Nevada across 4,800 acres (1,942 ha) of diverse terrain, Heavenly is famous for unparalleled scenic beauty and world-class nightlife.
Heavenly’s accessible, breath-taking location attracts destination visitors from across the globe and is particularly popular among travelers and school groups from the United Kingdom. In addition to its close proximity to San Francisco, the resort is two hours or less from two international airports. Once at the resort, the Heavenly Village offers thousands of hotel rooms and condominiums within walking distance of the Heavenly Gondola, dozens of bars and restaurants and six Las Vegas-style casinos.
Just last season, Heavenly unveiled Olympic Express, a new high-speed quad chairlift on the Nevada side of the mountain that replaces the original Olympic chair. The new lift provides high-speed access to Nevada Woods, home to some of the best tree skiing on the planet. The majestic red firs in this area create a truly euphoric ambiance. The natural beauty and exhilarating ski experience offered by Nevada Woods can't be matched. Also new last winter, Heavenly unveiled three new ski trails off Olympic Express, one new trail off of Dipper Express and the Heavenly Sky Flyer. Measuring 3,100 feet (945 m), the Heavenly Sky Flyer is the longest zip line in the lower 48 states. Guests will achieve speeds of up to 50 mph (80 kph) as they zoom along the treetops. For winter 2008-09 Heavenly plans to debut two new trails in Ski Ways Glades, a popular tree-skiing area located on the border of California and Nevada, and one new trail in Powderbowl Woods on the California side. Heavenly will also re-grade Skyline Trail, creating easier and faster access to Nevada from the top of Sky Express in California. Also, the West Coast’s largest snowmaking system is expanding onto Stagecoach run, increasing the amount of terrain Heavenly can cover with snowmaking to 75 percent and allowing the Stagecoach base on the Nevada side of the mountain to open earlier. Heavenly will also enclose the upper-deck at East Peak Lodge creating 90 to 100 more indoor seats at Heavenly’s primary on-mountain lodge.
For more information, please visit http://www.skiheavenly.com/
To access and download still images and video clips, we encourage you to register and visit www.thenewsmarket.com/vailresorts
Whew! With so much excitement at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly, you may just have to come visit us to experience for yourself why our resorts are once again ranked among the very best in the world. We look forward to seeing you this winter.
With warm regards,
Patrick Barrett May Lilley
International Public Relations Manager International Public Relations Coordinator
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