Vail Celebrates 60 Years

This winter season marks 60 years since the inception of the iconic resort of Vail in Colorado when it opened in 1962.

Vail Ski Resort was founded 60 years ago in 1962 by Earl Eaton, Pete Seibert, Harley Higbie, and others.It is at the base of Vail Pass, named after Charles Vail, designer of the highway that passed through the valley.

During World War II, Massachusetts native Seibert joined the U.S. Army's Tenth Mountain Division which trained at Camp Hale, fourteen miles (23 km) south of Vail, between Red Cliff and Leadville. 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 it No-name Mountain, which later became Vail.

Construction of the resort began in the then-uninhabited valley in 1962, and it opened six months later on December 15. There were originally three lifts, including one gondola 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 a Lift Engineering double chairlift

Since then, Vail Mountain has very much been an industry leader with improvements to infrastructure, access to mountains and ensuring guest experience on the mountain is of the highest calibre. With more than 300 days of blue skies each year and over 5000 acres of skiable terrain, Vail is one of the ultimate ski destinations for those seeking big powder days, expansive skies and incredible back bowls.

• New Lifts: To mark 60 years of the resort, owner and operator Vail Resorts will be opening two new lifts to increase access to the seven legendary back bowls. Game Creek Express (built in 1985) has been replaced by a high speed 6 person chair that improves reliability and uphill capacity by almost 50%.
  Vail's newest chairlift 'Sun Down Express' connects Sun Down bowls to Wildwood improving the experience for Vail's most iconic back bowls.
• Accommodation and Food: From the stunning Lodge at Vail, to the iconic Arrabelle and Four Seasons, Vail offers some spectacular accommodation options complete with exceptional gastronomy. At the base of the mountain why not try Nobu Matsuhisa or up on the top stop off at Wildwood Restaurant, known for Bar-B-Que above 10,000’.
• Looking ahead to the next 60 years, Vail Resorts are committed to propelling the industry with a focus on equity, inclusion and diversity; bringing sustainability efforts to life; creating access opportunities for youth; and a strong commitment to adaptive skiing and snowboarding. The company's Commitment to Zero net emissions across its portfolio by 2030 continues in earnest.