South Lake Tahoe, Calif./Nev. – December 13, 2011 – Behind the power of the West Coast’s largest snowmaking system, Heavenly Mountain Resort will open Stagecoach Express on Wednesday, December 14, 2011, giving skiers and snowboarders top-to-bottom skiing and riding on the resort’s Nevada side.

“It snows every night at Heavenly,” said Pete Sonntag, Heavenly’s general manager. “There’s no question – if you’re planning on skiing or snowboarding over the holiday season, Heavenly is the place to be. Not only do we have the finest surface conditions, but we’ve got a great variety of terrain for every skill level. And we’ll continue to make the investment in snowmaking to get more and more terrain open for our guests.”

The addition of Stagecoach Express means Heavenly will be able to offer nearly 2,400 vertical feet of skiing and snowboarding on more than eight miles of the finest snow surface conditions Lake Tahoe has to offer. Overall, Heavenly has nine lifts and 15 trails open, with advanced, intermediate and beginner terrain available. Snow depths on the open trails range from 18-24 inches and snow coverage is wall-to-wall.

The Ski and Ride School of Heavenly is offering the full lineup of lessons, with multiple surface lifts and the Big Easy chairlift to serve beginners. Heavenly’s new Bear Cave kids’ center is open, providing a warm, state-of-the-art sanctuary for breaks during lessons.

Heavenly also features the region’s biggest early-season terrain park, with 26 features spread across two lines, featuring 30- to 40-foot jumps for the hard core riders, as well as a progression line for those just looking to achieve lift off.

Stagecoach Lodge will open with food and beverage, as well as rental and retail services.

With cold temperatures in the forecast, Heavenly plans to open the California side of the resort by Friday, conditions permitting.

Holiday Fun at Heavenly

Celebrate the 13 days of Christmas at Heavenly Holidays 2011, a two-week festival for the whole family at the Heavenly Village featuring professional ice skating shows, ice sculptors, carolers, local artists and a 16-foot snow globe where kids can get their photos taken with Santa. It all starts with Local’s Day on December 19, 2011 and culminates December 31 with A Heavenly New Year’s Celebration including ice sculptors, live music, fire dancers and a 9:00 p.m. ball drop and fireworks show.

Book Now, Save Big

With 4,800 of skiable terrain and a 13-day continuous celebration, Heavenly is the premier destination for your holiday travels. Book your trip before Thursday, December 15, 2011 and receive a special offer of five nights lodging at Aston Lakeland Village and four days of skiing for $965 per person. Visit www.skiheavenly.com for more details.

B-roll Alert

Fresh video footage of Wednesday’s opening will be available tomorrow by noon PST.

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 Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar California 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.