Time Machine: 10 years ago, Vail Mountain ends 50th anniversary season with a massive party
Dominique Taylor/Vail Daily archive
10 years ago
April 12-14, 2013
Vail Mountain ended the ski season with a massive closing weekend party.
O.A.R. played a free show at Ford Park on Friday, Sublime and Rome played a free show, also at Ford Park, on Saturday, and the World Pond Skimming Championships at Golden Peak took place on Sunday, followed by a free concert from Grammy-winning reggae artist Jimmy Cliff at Solaris Plaza.
Vail Mountain received 13 inches of fresh snow on its Closing Day of Sunday, April 14, the Vail Daily reported, and although the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin were slated to stay open through closing time on Sunday, China Bowl and Blue Sky had to close early due to gusty winds.
20 years ago
April 13, 2003
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Beaver Creek Mountain closed for the season, despite ample snow.
“As of last week, 343 inches of snow had fallen at Beaver Creek this season — the most since the 1996-97 season,” the Vail Daily reported on April 14, 2003. “This year’s total is about 15 percent more than the average 295 inches that fall on the slopes.”
From March 30 to April 14, Beaver Creek received 54 inches of snow, the Vail Daily reported.
Vail Mountain was also seeing above-average conditions, the Vail Daily reported, quoting Vail Mountain spokesperson Jen Brown.
“As of March 31, 364 inches of snow had fallen on Vail this season, compared to an average total of 308 inches, Brown said,” the Vail Daily reported.
“It’s been five or six years since we’ve had this much snow,” Brown said.
30 years ago
April 16, 1993
A letter to the Vail Trail urged the paper to get rid of its real estate section, saying the elimination of the section would make Vail Trail publishers “feel better about not promoting greed and overdevelopment.”
“It is too bad that the lure of advertising revenue has led you to produce such blatant real estate industry propaganda,” wrote Jon Wagner of West Vail. “The constant presence of real estate ads (and of course, the Realtor mugshots) is bad enough. The so-called feature articles are even worse. These articles contain some of the most self-serving, thinly veiled advertising/P.R. I’ve ever seen.”
40 years ago
April 15, 1983
Vail Mountain skier visits increased by 10 percent during the 1982-83 season, the Vail Trail reported, citing figures released by Vail Associates.
“More than 1,243,000 skier days were recorded at Vail Mountain from when it opened Nov. 21 until the lifts shut down this past Sunday, April 10,” the Trail reported. “During the winter of 1981-82, Vail Mountain had 1,125,000 skiers.”
Beaver Creek had 232,000 skiers during the 1982-82 season, the Trail reported.
“Though the Vail Mountain figure is about 40,000 less than the record 1979-80 year, the total Vail and Beaver Creek numbers mean more skiers than ever before visited the area,” the Trail reported.
50 years ago
April 11, 1973
The Eagle County school board decided on a name for the new elementary school which was under construction in Dowd Junction.
“Although many students had a liking for the name Whiskey Creek School after the nearest creek, the board decided on the name Meadow Mountain Elementary School,” the Vail Trail reported.
60 years ago
April 11, 1963
Twenty-seven members of the U.S. Foreign Service Institute visited Eagle, Lake and Summit counties in an effort “to better understand their own country, and go back to the various foreign assignments to explain our country,” the Eagle Valley Enterprise reported.
The U.S. Foreign Service Institute members toured the Climax mine, skied at Cooper Hill, toured Vail Mountain, and enjoyed a dinner meeting at Vail lodge.
Harold Koonce gave a comprehensive run-down on what’s going on in Eagle County, the Enterprise reported.
“As is commonly recognized, Eagle County has followed the general pattern of the State of Colorado in that mining and agriculture are giving way gradually to the predominance of recreation as our principal industry — and that appears to be the trend for the future,” Koonce said. “Our resources with the brightest prospect at this time is our great and varied offerings to the recreation seeker. With a background of unexcelled mountain and wilderness scenery, much of the best fishing streams and lakes, and big game hunting in the state, we have this past summer seen the complete transformation of one of our valleys and mountainsides into what promises to be one of the greatest ski areas in the world. As for skiing, all is ‘Vail’ in Eagle County. Vail’s plans for the coming year include a construction program about as comprehensive as that attained there last year: the addition of three or four medium-sized lodges, about 40 new homes, two more double chair lifts, swimming pools, riding trails, and a golf course. Vail lays claim to the most extensive area of ski-able terrain in Colorado; and envisions the development of very comprehensive summer-time inducements for the vacationists, who annually throng to Colorado.”
