Posted by: Kim_Hamilton on 11/17/2010 10:20 PM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 11/18/2010 10:44 PM
Expires: 01/01/2015 12:00 AM
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Bear Valley Mountain Resort adds 400 Acres! Now 7th Largest Resort in California! Unveils New Plans for 2010/11 Season~with Video By John Hamilton
Angels Camp, CA....Bear Valley Mountain Resort held their Winter preview to the local community this evening at Greenhorn Creek Resort. They also gave special recognition to Local Tough Mudders and held preview meetings for the Race, Devo, All Mountain and Freestyle Teams. The largest news is that Bear Valley is opening up the "Village Bowl" which adds 400 new acres of ski-able terrain to the resort. With this Bear Valley becomes the only resort in California to expand this year....
Hard Working "Tough Mudder" Volunteers Honored at Greenhorn Creek and 400 More Acres. More photos above and full video coverage enclosed...
Not only are they one of the only resorts in California to expand they are one of only a handful to expand in North America.
With the permission and assistance from the Forest Service they have been thinning trees and creating the runs on what will be according to General Manager Jim Gentling, Black Diamond and Intermediate terrain. Meaning....after a storm and recent grooming Intermediately skilled skiers should have a great time in the new bowl. On powder days it will increase in difficulty to Black Diamond level.
During big snowfall years with the entire mountain open Bear Valley has always "Skied Large" it will absorb 3,000 to 4,000 skiers and lines will still be short and wait times brief. The new acres will help this even more. During Christmas, Martin Luther King Weekend and the big weekends that always strain the resources of any ski area, Bear Valley this year will probably have the shortest lines around even with more skiers and boarders on the mountain.
It may even make for more effective use of parking areas! Bus lot parking instead of being on the outer edges will probably only be a few steps away from the new Village Bowl. So bus lot parking may become a destination. The only drawback to the new area will be that it will be serviced by "Rolling Gondolas" until the Village Lift is completed..
Food and Beverage service will also be going up a notch this year as Bear Valley Icon and Village and Lodge Manager Mark Phillips has bought all of the Food and Beverage Operations at the Mountain as well under his control. This year you will be able to expect and get great, freshly prepared food at the Mountain as well as the Village.
The Bear Valley Lodge has been freshened up during the off season and the 4th floor now features flat screen tvs, upgraded rooms and better amenities throughout.
Bear Valley is one of the largest employers in the Calaveras county region and for 5-6 months out of the year with the passes closed it truly becomes a local neighborhood. It is great to seem them continue to move forward and expand as they are a huge driver of our local wintertime economy.
Arnold, Angels Camp, Murphys and more all benefit from a good snow year. Bear Valley marketing led by Rosie Sundell has made a big push in pushing Bear Valley and the Ebbetts Pass Corridor as a destination draw.
The event was held at Greenhorn Creek for a reason. Calaveras during the winter can boast one of the most varied menu of activities in the US. Golf, Winetaste or shop in sunshine with warm temps in the foothills and ski a world class resort in the afternoon.
This combined destination marketing approach is really starting to pay off as Calaveras County's Tourism and Hospitality sectors are still gaining jobs and revenue even when other parts of our local economy are still struggling.
Local Tough Mudder participants and volunteers were honored and Tough Mudder will be back in 2011 for another great off season event. Local Tough Mudders finished very well. Several even qualified for the Tough Mudder Finals. The Senior Winter Games will be held at Bear Valley this year and they are even looking at bringing in the Senior Summer Games here in 2012
Bear Valley is making snow now and with a big storm coming in this weekend we could see an early opening to this season as well. Check out BearValley.com or our site and we will let you know about opening day.
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