Sprucing Up Vail

Sun., Aug. 18, 1996

Staff And Wire Reports

Alpine skiing

Vail resort, North America’s most popular ski resort, and its sister, Beaver Creek, are spending $150 million this year on a huge makeover that sets a new standard for their competitors throughout the West.

“That’s more than most ski resorts are worth,” marveled Mike Shimkonis, spokesman for Telluride Ski Area.

Major improvements include a huge new base area, a high-speed chair and a high-speed gondola.

A new lift will connect Beaver Creek with Arrowhead resort, permitting European-style village-to-village skiing. Alongside the lift, a ski village will be built at Bachelor Gulch.

Many improvements will center on apres ski, an increasingly important lure in a stagnant skier market. These include a new members-only club on Vail Mountain and a performing arts center and ice rink at Beaver Creek.

Covering 4,112 acres, Vail is the biggest ski mountain on the continent. It has led the nation in skier days - the equivalent of a full day’s lift ticket - for a decade. Last year, it reported 1,652,191 skier days.

Still in the planning stage is adding 1,000 acres of lift-served back bowl terrain, as well as 1,000 acres of terrain skiers can reach by hiking.

Daily lift ticket prices are expected to be about $50 this winter.

, DataTimes

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