Vail Ski Resort
Front side of Vail Resort in 2005
Vail Ski Resort Location inColorado Show map of Colorado Vail Ski Resort Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Vail,Eagle County, Colorado, United States
Nearest major city	Vail Denver – 100 miles (160 km)                 (viaInterstate 70)
Coordinates	39°38′20″N106°22′26″W / 39.639°N 106.374°W /39.639; -106.374
Status	Operating
Owner	Vail Resorts
Vertical	3,450 ft (1,052 m)
Top elevation	11,570 ft (3,527 m)
Base elevation	8,120 ft (2,475 m)
Skiable area	5,317 acres (8.3 sq mi; 21.5 km2)
Trails	195 total 18% beginner 29% intermediate 53% advanced
Longest run	Riva Ridge – 4 miles (6.5 km)
Lift system	31 total (2gondolas (12 and 10 person), 4high speed six's, 14 high speed quads, 1 fixed grip quad, 2 fixed grip triples, 9surface lifts)
Terrain parks	Yes, 2, 1 Super-Pipe
Snowfall	354 in (29.5 ft; 9.0 m)
Snowmaking	Yes
Night skiing	No
Website	vail.com

Vail Ski Resort is aski resort in thewestern United States, located near the town ofVail inEagle County, Colorado. At 5,289 acres (8.3 sq mi; 21.4 km²), it is the third-largest single-mountain ski resort in the U.S., behindBig Sky andPark City,^[1] featuring seven bowls and intermediategladed terrain inBlue Sky Basin.

Opened in late 1962, Vail is one of 42mountain resorts owned and operated byVail Resorts, which also operates three other nearby ski resorts (Beaver Creek,Breckenridge, andKeystone).^[2]

Vail Mountain has three sections: The Front-Side, Blue Sky Basin, and the Back Bowls. Most of the resort is wide open terrain with all types of trails. There are cruising runs accessible from most front side and Blue Sky Basin lifts, as well as the wide open Back Bowls, glades, and chutes.

Vail has the fourth-largest area of skiable terrain in North America afterWhistler Blackcomb,Park City Mountain Resort, andBig Sky.^[3]

Vail Village is modeled onBavarian village styles, with pedestrian streets. Unlike other Colorado ski towns such asAspen,Breckenridge, orSteamboat Springs, which existed as 19th century mining towns prior to the establishment of their ski resorts, the Vail village was built when the resort opened.

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Vail Ski Resort was founded 63 years ago in 1962 by Earl Eaton,Pete Seibert, Harley Higbie, and others.^[4] It is at the base ofVail Pass, named after Charles Vail, designer of thehighway that passed through the valley.^[5]

DuringWorld War II,Massachusetts native Seibert joined theU.S. Army'sTenth Mountain Division which trained atCamp Hale, fourteen miles (23 km) south of Vail, betweenRed Cliff andLeadville. During the training, Seibert and Eaton became familiar with the surrounding terrain, areas of which would become resorts in later decades. They discovered a peak that they believed to be well-located and with good snow, calling itNo-name Mountain, which later became Vail.^[6]

Construction of the resort began in the then-uninhabited valley in 1962,^[7] and it opened six months later on December 15. There were originally three lifts, including onegondola that ran from Vail Village to Mid-Vail on the line where Gondola One operates. Several double chairlifts were later built: Golden Peak, which ran from Golden Peak base area up to the Riva Bahn Express midstation; Giant Steps, which ran from Vail Village to the bottom of the Avanti Express lift; the Avanti double chairlift; and two double chairlifts out of Mid-Vail, the Mountaintop and Hunky Dory lifts. A double chairlift, High Noon, serviced the Sun Down and Sun Up Bowls on the backside of the ridge. As Vail grew, a village formed at the base near the gondola, which was taken down in the 1970s and replaced with aLift Engineering double chairlift.^[8]

By the early 1970s, the construction ofInterstate 70 from Vail toDenver was mostly completed, replacingUS Route 6. The opening of theEisenhower Tunnel in 1973 (north bore, now westbound) provided easier access from Denver to ski resorts likeCopper Mountain, Breckenridge, and Vail. Also in the mid-1970s, PresidentGerald Ford and family continued to vacation at their Vail home, bringing it international exposure. Later, Vail Village was expanded. In May 1970, Denver was awarded the1976 Winter Olympics, with Vail later selected (in early 1972) to host thealpine competitions,^[9][10] moving from the original sites just east ofLoveland Pass;Loveland Ski Area (slalom) and undevelopedMount Sniktau (downhill,giant slalom).^[10][11] However, Colorado voters denied funding by a 3:2 ratio that November,^[12][13] and the games were relocated toInnsbruck in Austria, which had recently hosted in1964.

By the mid-1970s, the mountain had been further expanded, with a second gondola added in the Lionshead area, which also included a residences and shops at the base of the slopes.

In 1976, a gondola cable snagged on a support tower on Friday, March 26, and two cabins derailed, killing four people and injuring eight.^[14][15][16] The gondola was closed for the remainder of the season, and trading in stock of the ski resort's parent company was temporarily suspended.^[17]

Vail hosted theAlpine World Championships in1989 and co-hosted with nearbyBeaver Creek in1999.

Vail Associates bought Vail,Breckenridge,Keystone, andHeavenly in California in 1996.

The 1999Alpine World Ski Championships were held in Vail/Beaver Creek.

In 2004, the original Lionshead skier bridge was replaced with a newer, wider bridge.^[18]

A new plaza was opened at Vail Village in 2008.^[18] On February 27, 2010, one of the original black diamond trails into Vail Village,International, was renamedLindsey's to honor Vail'sOlympic gold medalistLindsey Vonn. The trail is next to Giant Steps and one of two flanking the defunct Giant Steps lift line.

In 2010, Leitner-Poma constructed another high-speed quad in the Back Bowls. The High Noon Express (#5) replaced a Doppelmayr triple chairlift that had been in use since 1979 and was the resort's 17th high-speed quad to be built.^[19]

In 2011, Vail opened a new ski-in/out fine dining restaurant at mid-Vail. The Tenth, built between the Wildwood Express and the Mid-Vail facility, is named for the famed US Army division that trained nearby and several Vail founders once belonged.^[20]

By 2012, Vail's original high-speed quads from Doppelmayr were beginning to show their age and were due to be upgraded. The first to go would be the Vista Bahn Express, which as part of Vail's 50th anniversary celebration was replaced by a Leitner-Poma ten person gondola. Gondola One (#1) provides a fast, warm and sheltered ride between Vail Village and the Mid-Vail area.^[21]

For the 2016–17 season, the Sun Up lift was replaced with a high–speed quad by Leitner-Poma. The lift was also renumbered as lift No. 9, instead of lift No. 17, as Vail sought to plug numbering gaps in their lift system. With the installation of the Sun Up Express (#9) lift, all major uphill lifts on the mountain arehigh–speed detachables, and the only fixed grip lifts are Cascade Village, Gopher Hill and Little Eagle.^[22]

For the 2017–18 season, Vail built their third high speed six pack when it contracted Leitner-Poma to upgrade the Northwoods Express (#11) lift, which at that point was the remaining lift servicing Patrol Headquarters that had not yet been upgraded.^[23]

To mark Vail's 60th anniversary, the 2022-2023 season saw Leitner-Poma construct two new high speed chairlifts. These new lifts included a high speed six pack to replace the Game Creek Express (#7), and a new high speed quad known as the Sun Down Express (#17) to provide direct lift service to the Sun Down Bowl.^[24]

With more than 5,289 acres (8.3 sq mi; 21.4 km²) and an average snowfall that has averaged 360 inches (30 ft; 9 m) during the last thirty years, Vail is regarded as one of the best combinations of terrain and dependable snow in the country, often ranking No. 1 in Colorado.^[25]

Vail has been the number one ski resort in the United States fourteen times in a 17-year period.^[26]

Vail Resorts operates on National Forest System lands under special use permit to theWhite River National Forest. Master Development Plans, Winter and Summer Operations Plans, Construction Plans, and every phase of the permit holder's skiing operation is approved by the federal government annually prior to construction and operation. In exchange for the use ofNational Forest system lands the resort pays an annual fee to theU.S. Treasury amounting to about one dollar per skier visit. Twenty-five percent of the fees collected are returned toEagle County for roads and schools, in lieu of taxes. The federal government supports the objective of providing healthy recreation opportunities in quality natural outdoor environments. Millions of national and international users during all seasons of the year appreciate the opportunities provided byVail Resorts and White River National Forest through the public and private partnership on federal lands.

Reference: Code of Federal Regulations, Title 36: Parks, Forests, and Public Property, Part 251—Land Uses, § 251.51 Definitions. Ski area —a site and attendant facilities expressly developed to accommodate alpine or Nordic skiing and from which the preponderance of revenue is generated by the sale of lift tickets and fees for ski rentals, for skiing instruction and trail passes for the use of permittee-maintained ski trails. A ski area may also include ancillary facilities directly related to the operation and support of skiing activities.^[27]

In 1972 the White River National Forest analyzed the terrain surroundingVail to determine ski area feasibility of the greater regional area and identify additional opportunities for public parking and access to National Forest lands betweenVail Pass and Lake Creek aboveEdwards. The investigation was stimulated by the planned construction ofInterstate 70 overVail Pass, or alternative Red Buffalo Corridor, and the awarding of the1976 Winter Olympics to Denver by theInternational Olympic Committee in 1970 with the showcase downhill event later planned for the yet undevelopedBeaver Creek ski area. New parking areas on Shrine Pass, Battle Mountain, Meadow Mountain, Minturn, Stone Creek, Avon, and Lake Creek were identified as development sites, base areas, and potential new skier entrance portals. Integration of Vail Ski Resort, including Blue Sky Basin, with skiing terrain on Battle Mountain, Grouse Mountain, Meadow Mountain, Stone Creek, Beaver Creek, and Lake Creek were analyzed and considered physically feasible as an integrated mega-resort with multiple portals. Twenty-eight ski lifts were planned for Grouse Mountain above Minturn, which was rated comparable toSnowmass in overall size and capacity with significant amount of terrain in the intermediate category with good snowfall.

Findings were presented to William Lucas, Rocky Mountain Regional Forester, by Thomas Evans, Forest Supervisor, and Erik J. Martin, professional landscape architect, lead member of the Blue Ribbon study committee for ski area planning feasibility, and program manager for ski area administration. Grouse Mountain above Minturn was highly rated for developed alpine skiing and conceived by White River National Forest skiing experts as a potential future phase of a large mega-skiing complex on National Forest System lands linking the existing Vail ski area and Battle Mountain east of Minturn with Grouse Mountain, Beaver Creek, Meadow Mountain ski area, Bachelor Gulch, and Arrowhead on the west side. Development of Grouse Mountain did not occur due to the high cost of development, rejection of the '76 Winter Olympic Games, vocal public opposition at the local and statewide levels, and a desire byVail Resorts to fully develop Beaver Creek and Vail Mountain prior to expansion. The opportunity to provide developed alpine skiing on Grouse Mountain was eliminated from future consideration with the establishment of theHoly Cross Wilderness in 1980.

The 2002 Revision of the 1984 Land and Resource Management PlanForest plans, White River National Forest, Chapter 3-Management Area Direction, 8.25 Ski areas – Existing and Potential, pages 3–80 through 3–8, and 8.31 Aerial Transportation Corridors, page 3-84, establishes long-term planning direction for Vail Ski Resort. Lift access from remote areas and new portals, including Minturn, were analyzed in the plan. The theme of an 8.31 aerial transportation corridor designation is to serve the principal purpose of transporting people to, from, and within communities, and ski areas. The theme of an 8.25 land allocation is to allow ski areas on federal lands to be developed and operated by the private sector to provide opportunities for intensively managed outdoor recreation activities during all seasons of the year. The 8.25 management area prescription includes existing developed ski areas and undeveloped expansion areas with potential for future development.

Ski areas provide winter sports activities and other intensively managed outdoor recreation opportunities for large numbers of national and international visitors in highly developed settings. In some areas, use in the summer may be as intensive as in the winter. The White River National Forest forest plan addresses vegetation management, intensity of use, seasons of use, and motorized access. The 8.25 management area includes existing resorts that have already been permitted and developed, as well as additional suitable terrain into which development is planned for the future. The 1984 Forest Plan and 2002 revision were authored by Erik J. Martin, Program Manager for Ski Area Administration, to identify future expansion opportunities and alternative special-use permit boundaries for Vail ski area. The 1984 Land and Resource Management Plan [Forest plan] was revised in 2002,^[28] and analyzed in a Final Environmental Impact Statement.^[29] A summary of the Final Environmental Impact Statement to accompany the Land and Resource Management Plan – 2002 Revision is available to the public at local Forest Service Offices, public library, or National Forest web site.^[30]

• Summit: 11,570 feet (3,527 m)
• Base:       8,120 feet (2,475 m)
• Vertical:   3,450 feet (1,052 m)

• North:  40% of skiable terrain.^[31]
• South: 20%
• East:   20%
• West:  20%

• Skiable area: 5,289 acres (8.3 sq mi; 21.4 km²)
• Trails: 193 total (18% beginner, 29% intermediate, 53% advanced/expert)
• Longest run: Riva Ridge – four miles (6.5 km)
• Average annual snowfall: 370 inches (30.8 ft; 9.4 m)
• terrain parks: 3
  • 1Superpipe
• Bowls: 10 (7 official)^{[clarification needed]}
  • Sun Down Bowl
  • Sun Up Bowl
  • China Bowl
  • Siberia Bowl
  • Tea Cup Bowl
  • Inner Mongolia Bowl
  • Outer Mongolia Bowl
  • Pete's Bowl
  • Earl's Bowl
  • Game Creek Bowl

There is aSNOTEL weather station for Vail Mountain, located near Eagles Nest at an elevation of 10300 ft (3139 m).^[32] Vail Mountain has asubalpine climate (KöppenDfc).

• Shirley Welch (August 17, 1012).Vail: The First 50 Years. Arcadia Publishing.ISBN 9780738595320.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toVail Ski Resort.

• Official website
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• Ski areas and resorts in Colorado
• Vail Resorts
• Tourist attractions in Eagle County, Colorado
• White River National Forest
• 1962 establishments in Colorado

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