Heavenly is home to four unique, progressive terrain parks, where creativity conspires with a clean, crisp presentation for an unforgettable experience. Heavenly’s Terrain Park Crew draws its inspiration from skate parks, setting jumps and features in a way that allows riders to pick their own line. The team has always been a step ahead of the competition in terms of ingenuity and imagination, winning awards for its original use of recycled materials to create a more urban-based feel. Heavenly’s Ante Up Terrain Park is currently the largest at Lake Tahoe, and will be the site for this season’s Stateline Showdown amateur slopestyle competition series.

SPT has built over 250 event courses, resort parks, and projects on snow including every course for all 14 Winter X Games, Winter Dew Tour, Burton US Open, Winter X Games Europe, DC Mtn Lab and the Nike Just Do It commercial. They will bring that expertise to Heavenly this season, helping to design, build and maintain an 18-foot, competition-quality halfpipe that features Lake Tahoe as its backdrop.

“We are stoked to be involved with Heavenly and their initiatives to push the terrain park program and the return of the Heavenly halfpipe,” said Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson, president of SPT. “This pipe has it all – great quality with the world’s most beautiful lake behind it.”

Heavenly plans to build the halfpipe in the lower section of High Roller Terrain Park. It will be a roughly 400-foot-long, competition-quality, 18-foot pipe with a 56-foot-wide transition. The location on High Roller provides for an orientation that allows for a uniform consistency between both sides of the pipe and a proper pitch, meaning one side won’t melt faster than the other and will have even cuts with the Zaugg Pipe Cutter. Heavenly plans to have the halfpipe open by Martin Luther King weekend, January 14 – 16, 2012, weather and conditions permitting.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve been able to offer a halfpipe to our guests and I’m super excited to see it return to Heavenly and have the expertise and support from SPT,” said Mike Thomas, Heavenly’s terrain park manager. “If you’re looking for the next magazine cover shot, you’re going to want to consider this pipe.”

The Tahoe Value Pass – The Best Deal in Snowsports!
The 2011-2012 winter season is scheduled to run from November 18, 2011 to April 15, 2012, weather and conditions permitting. Season passes are now on sale, starting at just $389 for the Tahoe Value Pass, which provides seven-day-per-week access to Heavenly Mountain Resort and six-day-per-week access to Northstar California Resort. Prices are guaranteed through November 29, 2011. Some restrictions apply. Starting November 18, 2011, you can turn in your day lift ticket and apply it toward the purchase of a season pass. Other pass options are available, including the Epic Pass, priced at just $669. The Epic Pass offers unrestricted access all season long to Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, and both Heavenly and Northstar California Resort at Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada. For more information, visit www.epicpass.com.

About Heavenly
Heavenly Mountain Resort is a world-class destination offering guests a one-of-a-kind combination of scenic beauty and exhilarating on-snow experience. Heavenly is a subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc., the leading mountain resort operator in the United States.  One of the largest resorts in North America, Heavenly spans 4800 acres, climbs to Lake Tahoe’s highest elevation at 10,067 feet and features than 97 trails for every level of skier or snowboarder.  For more information on Heavenly Mountain Resort, please visit www.skiheavenly.com or call 800-HEAVENLY.

About Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is the leading mountain resort operator in the United States. The Company’s subsidiaries operate the mountain resort properties of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone mountain resorts in Colorado, and the Heavenly Ski Resort and Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in the Lake Tahoe area of California and Nevada, and the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Company’s subsidiary, RockResorts, a luxury resort hotel company, manages casually elegant properties across the United States and in the Caribbean. Vail Resorts Development Company is the real estate planning, development and construction subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc. Vail Resorts is a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: MTN).  The Vail Resorts company website is www.vailresorts.com and consumer website is www.snow.com.

About Snow Park Technologies
Established in 1999, Snow Park Technologies (SPT) is a company dedicated to the design, construction and progression of all areas related to terrain park development. SPT is the world’s leading consulting team for special projects on snow and is comprised of an all-star crew whose passion and commitment give SPT its greatest strength. SPT’s wide range of expertise includes designing and building some of the most renowned resort terrain parks and halfpipes, high profile ski and snowboard competition courses and countless on-snow productions. SPT’s client list consists of top industry leaders including Burton, ESPN Winter X Games, Winter Dew Tour, Nike and DC Shoes, as well as some of the top resorts in the country. For more information, please visit www.snowparktech.com.