Collingwood (ON), Canada – Blue Mountain Resort will open The Orchard at 9 a.m. today. Skiers and boarders will have access to three of the popular Ontario ski resort’s six new trails spread out over 64 acres of terrain, all of which are serviced by Blue’s fifth high-speed, six person chairlift, The Orchard Express.
“Since we announced The Orchard expansion, we’ve seen a tremendous amount of interest from our guests regarding the new trails and their expected launch date,” stated Dan Skelton, President, Blue Mountain Resort. “Having The Orchard online today further demonstrates Blue Mountain’s commitment to early season opens while also providing the best possible alpine experience in Ontario.”
The Orchard represents a C$7.5M investment and is the largest on-hill development undertaken by Blue Mountain in the last 30 years. While The Orchard trails have been cut since 1987, they remained undeveloped for skiing and snowboarding until recently. A major part of the terrain expansion included chairlift construction, the addition of night lighting to all six runs and snowmaking infrastructure added to three of the six trails.
To celebrate the opening, Blue Mountain also plans to make one lucky skier or boarder’s dreams come true with 60 minutes of private access to the trails prior to resort opening for the winner and four friends. The group will also receive their choice of skis or snowboards, as well as respective boots and bindings, overnight accommodations at Blue Mountain, and exclusive access to The Orchard’s snowmaking and grooming operations.
“We wanted to amplify The Orchard experience for one lucky winner and their friends in a way that not only reflects the excitement we’ve seen from our guests, but also pays tribute to Blue Mountain’s terrain expansion in a similarly unique and celebratory way,” stated Paul Pinchbeck, Director, Marketing.
Running through January 10th, weekly videos will be released at BlueMountain.ca/Orchard. To win, entrants must correctly answer trivia questions embedded in each video. If entrants answer each question correctly, their name will be submitted into a random drawing for the Grand Prize. The contest culminates in a Grand Opening Ceremony forecast to take place at the base of The Orchard on January 17, 2014.