VAIL, Colo. – When Mother Nature flipped its switch overnight from summer to winter on October 25th, the optimists among us began contemplating early season training weeks earlier than usual for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athletes training at Golden Peak.  The ensuing cold wave allowed snow guns to blaze and snowcats to groom, turning optimism into a reality.  SSCV kicked off early season training on the Golden Peak Expansion on November 3. –the earliest start date in years on Golden Peak in the inaugural year of early season training on the Expansion.

A project thirty-some years in the making, the Golden Peak Expansion sits at a higher elevation than the other Golden Peak training areas, enabling earlier snowmaking and grooming activities.  The confluence of Mother Nature and human-made enhancements is truly a game-changer for SSCV athletes.  

SSCV Executive Director Kirk Dwyer stated, “We can’t thank Vail Resorts and Vail Mountain enough for their support in getting Ski & Snowboard Vail and its athletes to this point.  Now more than ever, it is invaluable for our athletes to be engaged with their coaches and peers in a socially distanced, safe outdoor environment right here at home.” 

With Vail Mountain’s recent completion of the most extensive snowmaking expansion of any resort in North America for the upcoming season, early season skiing and riding will open for guests on November 20.  Weather dependent, Vail Mountain is planning an aggressive opening scenario from Golden Peak, Vail Village and Lionshead Village base areas. 

Beth Howard, COO of Vail Mountain said, “We are excited to partner with Ski and Snowboard Club Vail to get these athletes back on the hill.  The combination of natural snow and good weather for snowmaking, along with our industry-leading snowmaking expansion, is putting us in a good position for a great opening day.”