Vail kicks off 50th year with new gondola

Vail, one of Colorado’s best-known ski resorts, opens this month for its 50th anniversary season. Most significant of the celebrations is the debut of Vail’s new state-of-the-art 10-passenger gondola. It offers a 7.5-minute ride from the base of Vail Village to mid-Vail with heated, cushioned seats and Wi-Fi access. This year, Vail will host the Snow Daze (Dec. 10-16) concert series and Family Holidaze (Dec. 16-31), when the mountain is transformed into a winter wonderland – plus the Burton US Open (Feb. 15 to March 2), the longest-running snowboarding competition in the world. (http://www.vail.com)