Where to Ski And Snowboard - Vail Resorts ploughs £50m into ski areas

Vail Resorts ploughs £50m into ski areas

7th July 2014, by Abi Butcher

Skiers at Canyons will enjoy a new permanent restaurant and better snowmaking

Vail, Beaver Creek, Canyons and Breckenridge ski resorts are to undergo some major refurbishments this summer. Vail Resorts, which owns the four North American ski areas, is ploughing $85 million (nearly £50m) into improving facilities, snowmaking and lift systems in time for the 2014/15 ski season.

At Beaver Creek, a new high-speed six-man combination gondola/chairlift will replace the Centennial Express, the resort’s primary lift from the base area, increasing the number of skiers and snowboarders travelling up the mountain by 35 per cent. Some 34 extra snowguns will be added to the Gold Dust and Lower Larkspur trails.

Vail’s most historic hotel, The Lodge at Vail, is undergoing a major renovation of 56 hotel rooms and the lobby, which will be finished in December.

In Breckenridge, the four-man Colorado Super Chair on Peak 8 will be replaced by a high-speed six man chair that will improve uplift by 30 per cent, providing a faster route for skiers and snowboarders to Peaks 6, 7 and 9. The Peak 9 restaurant is also being remodelled, and given a new kitchen.

Last year, Vail Resorts took over Canyons ski resort in Park city, Utah and for the 2014/15 season will replace the temporary Cloud Dine — the only on-mountain restaurant for Dream Peak and Iron Mountain — with a permanent 316-seater restaurant. The pump station at Canyons will also be upgraded, to increase efficiency by 25 per cent.