Vail Mountain opens Back Bowls
VAIL — For the third time in the past decade, the Back Bowls of Vail have opened early this year. The earliest the Back Bowls have ever opened was on Nov. 16, 2002.
After Sun Up opened on Saturday, Nov. 24, Sun Down opened Sunday, Nov. 25. Access to those bowls are now open via High Noon Express (Chair 5) and Sun Up Express (Chair 9).
“We are excited to open a portion of the Back Bowls this early in the season and are thankful that we were able to provide that legendary experience for our Thanksgiving holiday guests,” said Doug Lovell, Vail chief operating officer. “Vail has had a strong start to the season, with a foot of snow in the last 48 hours and almost 6 feet of snow this season. We are definitely experiencing mid-winter conditions.”
Thanksgiving guests still in town faced either sitting in traffic heading back east, or sticking around for another day on the mountain, now offering 2,166 acres of skiable terrain, and more anticipated to open this week.
Lifts open include:
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Gondola One
Eagle Bahn Gondola (No. 19)
Born Free Express Lift (No. 8)
Avanti Express (No. 2)
Wildwood Express Lift (No. 3)
Mountain Top Express Lift (No. 4)
High Noon Express (No. 5)
Game Creek Express (No. 7)
Sun Up Express (No. 9)
Northwoods Express (No. 11)
Gopher Hill (No. 12)
Sourdough Express (No. 14)
Little Eagle Lift (No. 15)
Lionshead Carpet (No. 34)
All guests are reminded that they must observe all posted signs, closures and slow zones, especially during the early season. Closed trails may contain hazards due to early snow coverage. Accessing closed terrain is a violation of the Colorado Ski Safety Act and will result in the loss of skiing privileges and could involve prosecution and a fine.
Epic Pass: Last Chance extended
The last chance to purchase the 2018-19 Epic Pass and other Epic Season Pass options — including the Epic Local, Epic 7-Day and Epic 4-Day — is Sunday, Dec. 2.
The Epic Pass provides skiers and riders with a multiresort pass offering access to more than 65 resorts in eight countries for $949.
New for the 2018-19 winter season, the Epic Pass will now feature unlimited, unrestricted skiing and riding at 19 mountain resorts including Crested Butte, plus seven days at Telluride, in addition to unlimited access to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. The remaining lineup of passes is available for purchase at epicpass.com.
Snow Days
From Dec. 13 to 16, Vail Snow Days features an expanded four-day lineup of events and activities from free concerts, a Pray for Snow Bonfire, pub crawls and more.
Visit http://www.vail.com/snowdays for a list of all activities.
