Vail's 50th Anniversary

This year marks a huge milestone for Vail: the big 5-0. Join the season-long celebration of Vail Mountain’s 50th anniversary during the 2012-2013 ski and snowboard season and into the summer of 2013. From First Tracks with the US Ski Team and Gondola Dedication on Opening Day to Snow Daze and Spring Back to Vail, guests and locals alike are invited to join in on a celebration of Vail’s extensive history over the past 50 years, and all that the next 50 years will bring!

50th Anniversary Highlights:

• First Tracks with the U.S. Ski Team: November 15, 2012. For the third year in a row, join in a live, public celebration as the 2013 U.S. Alpine Ski Team is named in Vail. Catch your favorite ski racers, including Olympic gold medalists like Lindsey Vonn, Bode Miller, Julia Mancuso and Ted Ligety up close at the live event at Arrabelle Square in Lionshead beginning at 4:30 p.m.
• Opening Day Gondola Dedication: November 16, 2012. Vail will officially debut its new gondola on opening day of the 50th anniversary season on Friday, Nov. 16. The state-of-the-art Leitner-Poma of America gondola will feature 10-passenger gondola cabins and a cozy 7.5 minute ride from the base of Vail Village to Mid-Vail with heated, cushioned seats and Wi-Fi access.
• Snow Daze: December 10-16, 2012. This year, the resort is taking Snow Daze up a notch with a stellar lineup of bands, including Wilco, The Shins and Michael Franti & Spearhead.
• Vail's 50th Anniversary Public Film Premiere: December 14, 2012. Walk the red carpet, grab a bucket of popcorn and witness the history of Vail and its founding unfold at the premiere of a 50th anniversary film by Roger Cotton Brown, Vail’s original filmmaker.
• Vail’s 50th Birthday Celebration: December 15, 2012. Vail Mountain officially turns 50 on December 15, 2012 and the resort is celebrating with a free, public, outdoor party to commemorate the resorts’ history and evolution into what it has become today.
• Vail Family Holidaze: December 16-31, 2012. Vail Family Holidaze returns in December for its third season with activities, annual tree-lighting ceremony, ice-skating performances by world-champion ice skaters, kids’ and holiday concerts, the New Year’s Eve Torchlight Ski Down and Fireworks and much more.
• Burton US Open: February 25-March 2, 2013. The Burton US Open, which first took place in 1982, is now the longest-running snowboarding competition in the world, attracting the world’s top competitors. After taking place on the east coast for 30 years, the event will now take center stage at Vail Mountain beginning in 2013.
• Ski Heritage Week: April 7-14, 2013. This week-long event will celebrate the history of the modern sport of skiing at one of the most iconic ski resorts in the country: Vail.
• Spring Back To Vail: April 8-14, 2013. The annual party to close out the ski and snowboard season returns with concerts, parties, pond-skimming and more.