The ski season at Breckenridge will come to a close on April 24th with significant profit increases for Vail Resorts compared to the 2014-2015 season. This is good news for the company and for the three resort towns Vail has plans for summer activity expansion: Heavenly, Vail, and Breckenridge.
The VP of Breckenridge Mountain, John Buehler, attended the annual homeowners meeting at Beaver Run in April and provided us with several exciting pieces of news regarding the summer activity expansion plans here in Breckenridge.
Vail Resorts has coined the term Epic Discovery for its summer attractions, which Buehler defined as “connected on-mountain experiences that immerse our guests in nature through interpretive, learn-through-play activities.”
One way in which this is achieved will be through stations educating visitors about the region’s wildlife with fun facts (an average sized human would have to eat 15 pounds of meat in a day to eat the equivalent of an eagle’s diet) and interactive pieces (faux deer ears that let you experience the amazing sense of hearing deer have when you place them on your ears).
Other exciting summer activity expansion features include:
- A two-and-a-half-hour scenic canopy tour starting at the top of Independence Chair, through Ore Bucket on Peak 7, and to the base.
- A 40’ x 40’ climbing wall, scenic overlook tower, and learn through play area will be placed on the top of Peak 8, bringing summer visitors off the base and onto the mountain so they can enjoy connecting with nature and experience the beautiful vistas from the top.
- An exhilarating half-mile zip line tour will also be installed, beginning at the top of the SuperConnect lift and swinging adventure seekers as high as 485’ above the ground!
In addition to the exciting enhancements Breckenridge will receive, some practical ones will also go into place. The 5-chair, the Mercury chair, and the Independence chair will be replaced with bigger and more efficient lifts. The Stables employee parking lot will double in size, ramps for ADA access will be installed, new landscaping will be put in, and drainage will be improved.
Some of these improvements will make operations more efficient while others are beneficial for the environment. Vail Resorts was recognized among 100+ other companies in the United States for working in its business and beyond to limit global temperature increases by limiting carbon energy use, committing to cleaner power plans.
Many of these improvements are made possible by the significant revenue increase Vail Resorts continued to experience this ski season over last year. As of April 10th the company reported the following increases: lift tickets by 19%, spending by 19%, skier visits y 13%, ski school by 10%, and retail/ rental sales by 12%.
