Vail Overview

Vail

Vail Ski Resort was founded by Earl Eaton and Pete Seibert and first opened for business on December 15th 1962. Eaton was a local boy from the eagle valley who learned to ski as a way to get to school in the morning. Seibert was from Massachusetts and joined the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division which trained at Camp Hale, 14 miles south of Vail. 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 they believed to be well-located and with good snow, calling it No-name Mountain, which later became Vail. The first year of operation  ticket prices were set at five dollars for a skiing experience that consisted of one gondola, two chairs, eight ski instructors, and nine ski runs. One of Vail’s biggest assets was it was only half the driving distance from Denver to Aspen. That year, Bob Parker became the new marketing manager of Vail. Parker's objective was to put Vail on the national map, stating that skiers were guaranteed to have a exceptional ski experience. Since then, Vail has continued to expand at an exponential rate. Today Vail Ski Resort is the largest single resort in the United States with 5,289 acres of the some of the most diverse and expansive skiing in the world. Located off of interstate 70 in the Eagle valley, Vail features 7 bowls, 33 lifts and 193 marked runs. Vail continues to expand yearly by building new lifts as well as purchasing other resorts around the world. Vail Resorts Inc. currently owns 10 mountains in America and is partnered with even more in Switzerland, France and Austria. Vail offers one pass that has access to all 26 mountains.