Ellicottville, NY – The 2010-11 Holiday Valley ski and snowboard season will feature $4 million in improvements including a new high speed quad chairlift, two new slopes, increased snowmaking, new rails and tubing park improvements at the popular resort in Ellicottville, south of Buffalo.nThe entirely new Morning Star lift is 2,580 feet in length, 580 feet and 29 percent longer than the old lift. Yet the trip to the top will take half the time. To prepare for the new location of the bottom of the lift adjacent to the Eagle lift, modifications were made to the bottom of the resort’s Cross Cut, Morning Star and Hoot Owl trails. New terrain was added to lower Cross Cut as it now redirects skiers to the left toward the new base of Morning Star. Day’s End and lower Fiddler’s Elbow were doubled in width to guide skiers to the new base terminal. Lights will extend from Explorer, down the bottom of Falcon and the bottom of Fiddler’s Elbow to the base of Morning Star for night use. The lift line of Morning Star will be lit, and night skiing will be available on Devil’s Glen Glades. Additional lights will be installed on the Morning Star slope.

A new trail named Bear Cub has been cut on the south side (skier’s right) of the SnowPine lift. This beginner/intermediate trail is about 2500 feet in length and it meanders through a very scenic and secluded section of Holiday Valley. It terminates at the bottom of the Wall headwall, just before the bridge.

A new Gobbler’s Glade starts off of Woodpecker and finishes up at Fiddler’s Elbow. This challenging run is filled with trees with a remarkable pitch and a northern exposure.

More than 6,000 feet of new snowmaking lines were installed on Champagne, Independence, lower Morning Star, Cross Cut and Fiddler’s Elbow.

In the terrain parks, six new beginner rails built by Northern Rails will be installed in the Beginner’s Park on the west side of Snoozer.

The warming hut at the Tubing Park has been expanded by 30 percent for the winter ahead. The new space will include a game room and more space to warm up between runs.

The planning process is underway for reconstruction of the Main Clubhouse Chalet and relocation of the Holiday Valley access road. The new layout of the Main Lodge will incorporate the Tamarack Club and the existing Resort Services Center into a balanced and efficient design that will better serve summer and winter customers. The Holiday Valley access road will be moved north of the existing location, allowing unimpeded pedestrian access to the Main Lodge from the parking areas.