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Breckenridge Ski Resorts

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Vail Resorts Purchases Two Midwest Ski Areas

To reach the large Midwestern market of skiers and snowboarders, Vail Resorts announced Thursday the addition of two Midwest ski areas: Afton Alps and Mount Brighton. What’s more, Summit locals with the Epic Pass, Epic Local, Summit Value and Epic-7-day have instant access at the newest ski areas.  As part of the acquisition, Vail Resorts plans to enhance both the on-mountain and base area experience at each ski area. “We plan to bring state-of-the-art racing, terrain parks, coaching and technology to the guest experience. We also will connect these urban ski areas to our world-class resorts in Colorado, California and Nevada with new season pass offerings, providing the chance to experience the best skiing and riding locally and in the West,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts.
Vail Resorts has entered into agreements to purchase the two ski areas for $20 million, said Kelly Ladyga, spokeswoman for VR.  Both Afton and Brighton serve major snowsports markets in the Midwest with more than 468,000 active skiers and snowboarders in the nearby Minneapolis, St. Paul and Detroit metropolitan areas, according to a press release.  “We are thrilled to welcome Afton Alps and Mount Brighton to the Vail Resorts family,” Katz said. “These acquisitions are part of a new strategy for Vail Resorts to drive season pass sales and build broader guest loyalty by looking at premier smaller ski areas located near major urban markets.”
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Breckenridge More Than a Great Ski Town

There was a time in the not-too-distant past, longtime Breckenridge residents say, when a dog could lie in Main Street all day and not be bothered by a car. The population was 393 in 1960, on the verge of becoming a ghost town after the collapse of mining.

Today, it’s the postcard of a Colorado ski town, drawing visitors from around the world for skiing, shopping and mountain splendor. In winter, you’re almost as likely to share the chairlift with someone from Europe as from Colorado. Just more than two hours’ drive from Colorado Springs, Breckenridge is a great weekend destination, even if you don’t ski or snowboard.

Click here to read about all the Winter Activities in Breckenridge.

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Nation’s Ski Areas and U.S. Forest Service Fight Over Water Rights

Ski-area operators and their federal landlord faced off in federal court Thursday, arguing over ownership of the resorts’ rights to water they use for snowmaking and other purposes.

Last year the Forest Service introduced a new rule in its ski-area permitting process that required ski areas to transfer some water rights to the federal government, arguing the water should stay connected to the publicly owned land. The Lakewood-based National Ski Areas Association — or NSAA — sued, calling the new permitting condition a federal takeover of private property that ski areas acquired legally through state water courts.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge William Martinez entertained oral arguments from both sides in a case that could decide the fate of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of ski-area water rights.

Click here to read the entire article. 

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Breckenridge Receives Forest Service Approval For Peak 6 Expansion

One of the most popular U.S. ski resorts, Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado, could have more terrain to handle its visitors by the 2013-2014 ski season. Vail Resorts, the owner of Breckenridge Resort, announced Tuesday that it has received U.S. Forest Service (USFS) approval for including 543 acres on Peak 6 within the ski-area boundaries.

The Summit County resort generally records annual skier-visit numbers similar to nearby Vail Mountain. However, Breckenridge’s current terrain of 2,358 acres pales in comparison to Vail’s 5,289 acres. The Breckenridge terrain expansion would represent a 23-percent increase. A new high-speed, six-person chairlift and four-person, fixed-grip lift are planned to access 400 acres of the new terrain. The lift-served terrain would be 45 percent intermediate, 15 percent advanced-intermediate, and 40 percent expert. The other 143 acres would be expert-only, hike-to-terrain along the top of the ridge.

Much of the terrain lies above the treeline, so only about 68 acres would need clearing and grading to create seven below-treeline trails below the open bowl. Additional construction would include a 1,200 square-foot restroom facility and a 500 square-foot ski patrol station.

“Peak 6 will be a tremendous addition to Breckenridge, significantly improving the guest experience by adding both new terrain and lift capacity,” said Rob Katz, chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts. “In addition, the new terrain provides access to intermediate runs and high alpine bowl skiing that will be enjoyed by a wide variety of our guests.”

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Meteorologist Forecasts Good Start to Ski Season

In October, skiers and riders had high hopes for winter after Aspen and other Colorado ski resorts got hit with a big snowstorm early in the month. The season quickly petered out, though, with lower-than-average snowfall and higher-than-average temperatures.

Meteorologist Jack Boston doesn’t think skiers will be heartbroken two years in a row.

“You had that early-season wallop and then nothing much after that. This year is going to be different,” said Boston, expert senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, a weather service with headquarters in State College, Pa.

Boston said conditions will be favorable for snowfall in the Colorado mountains starting in late September and continuing through at least November. Ski resorts should be able to build up a decent snowpack early in the ski season, he said.

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