The Vail Ski Resort opened for business December 15, 1962. Construction of the new ski resort in Colorado and its first three ski lifts began in the spring of 1962. The idea of Vail began with a former soldier who trained with the Tenth Mountain Division at Camp Hale near Vail during World War II, Pete Seibert, and a man who wanted to establish a new resort and knew about the local mountain, Earl Eaton. These were two of the men instrumental in the dream of making Vail a premier ski destination. The first winter season of business in 1962-1963 saw over 50,000 skiers arrive at Vail. The first lift tickets could be purchased for around eight dollars. There were three lifts in use at first. They were the base gondola, the mid chair, and the back bowl chairlift. The first logo of Vail used three colors. Blue for the sky, white for snow, and black to represent the mountain rock. Vail was the first ski resort in the US to install a gondola lift. By the early 1970’s, Vail had become the most popular ski destination in Colorado. About this same time, the gondola lift and village were built on the west side of the resort. It was named Lionshead. In 1996 Vail Associates purchased the ski resort from the Ralston Purina Company, as well as a couple other nearby ski resorts, and the company name was changed to Vail Resorts. Around 2000, the back country Blue Sky Basin was opened to skiers. The ski resort and the town of Vail were named after Charles Vail. Mr. Vail was the Colorado Highway chief engineer for many years in the 1930’s. He helped cut the original Highway 6 over Vail Pass. Highway 6 was later replaced with the East-West Interstate 70. The closest airports to Vail, Colorado are the Eagle County Airport outside of Vail and Denver International Airport in Denver approximately one hundred miles away. Today ski enthusiasts can enjoy over seven miles of mountains encompassing over 5,000 acres. Ski Magazine named Vail as the number resort in North America for the 2006-2007 ski season. The Vail Ski Resort is about twenty miles west of Summit County and the ski resorts of Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper Mountain.
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